P_e_t_s's Xanga

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 03:22:53 GMT

http://originallydelicious.8k.com/amanda.html

That's right.

The featured blogs on Xanga are fun to read, though!

Regardless, I'll be writing more on that site from now on until I get frustrated and migrate back here.

Happy trails!

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:30:36 GMT

It's been a very interesting weekend.

Thursday, in my crazed attempt to go to the bathroom after school hours, I tripped over a step on the gym stairwell and fell forward, landing on my palms and knees, and bruising my right knee. Megan had to help me up since I was in a fit of hysterical laughter.

Friday, I went out to Stonestown with Thurston after school (Megan ditched us to get Korean food with her family!), and nearly tripped over a wayward sidewalk crack, but I thankfully caught myself (no thanks to Thurston, of course). I watched Red Eye with him back at my house since I love that movie so much. (:

Saturday, I attended my usual martial arts class and then went to the library with my family. I checked out about fifteen novels that I know I don't have time to read in the near future. The five us of ended up going to USF for a basketball game. USF won against LMS, 88-76, or something along those lines. Eh, basketball games aren't too much of a big deal to me...we went because my dad has connections and it was free (for us). I THINK I'm getting over my cheese issue? Dunno, it's an on-and-off thing...because I was able to painlessly eat some nachos, and I also discovered that I must've burned off my taste buds or something because the jalapeno peppers tasted like nothing. Bleh.

I came home ... and exploded at "Subject P," engaging in a heated, one-hour-and-fifteen-minute discussion with him. He says I should have just been direct to his face instead of bottling all these feelings up...but, how the heck was I supposed to know that he is completely stupid to the bazillion hints that have been dropped like seagull crap all around him?! On that note, he seemed a little more tolerable today...neither of us are acknowledging the existence of the talk, but he appears to be more cautious around me. No big deal; gives me less to get angry over.

Oh, Sunday. I went to the zoo for the first time in a month, and oh, what a welcome back!

I and two others were assigned to big pens...it started off normally; all the animals were still in their enclosures, so the locks on some of the cages were still shut (some animals, like Sassafrass the prehensile-tailed porcupine, are really nice and won't do anything to you while you clean their cage). Mind, the locks are supposed to be open by the adult staff only for a pretty good reason.

Emily, one of my partners, went ahead and fetched the keys, unlocking ALL the cages. While she did this, I was sweeping out Sassafrass's enclosure in between trips to the kitchen to take her food dish and water bowl in. I saw Emily open the cages out of the corner of my eye...but I thought nothing of it. After I swept Sassafrass's floor clean, I moved onto Harley the kinkajou's cage, since it was the next one over.

... Admittedly, I should have considered the fact that it was Emily who unlocked the cage, not any member of the staff. I scanned Harley's enclosure; he was not in plain view, though there were a lot of scattered blankets and three carriers within, and I assumed the cage to be empty. Harrison walked by and we gave each other nods of acknowledgment, and I opened the cage. I stepped inside the cage, shut the door behind me, and... oh, god.

All of a sudden, Harley, who I only recognized as a brown, furry thing, jumped out of nowhere and latched himself onto my left hip/leg area. He was shrieking while biting and clawing at me in a rage; I vainly attempted to get him off me with a push of my left hand, but I didn't want to hurt him even though he was eating away at my leg, because I was both in shock and...hey, it's Harley. Everyone loves Harley (except for me, because even after this attack I can't say I've gotten a really good look at him...so I can't tell what he looks like, and this attack was the closest thing to petting him that I've ever gotten). Plus, it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong, since it was all out of instinct...

Somewhere in the middle of this I let out a peep, and Harrison came back, quickly opened the gate, and ripped Harley off my leg. THANK GOD FOR HIM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE. He put Harley in a separate carrier and told me to sit down...man, I felt so stupid, having stepped into the cage with Harley still in it. I apologized, but Harrison said it wasn't my fault, and Elaine took a look at my wound. She said that Harley's done worse to others...but mine wasn't anything to laugh at.

They said I could rest a bit, but the wound wasn't TOO serious, so I just got back to work and I cleaned Harley's cage. I was a little weary of venturing inside the enclosure a second time...but I remembered that the kinkajou was safely locked in his carrying case. Ugh. I don't think Emily was even aware of her mistake and what had happened--she was dealing with Inti the bobcat's cage about four enclosures over--and when she came to me to tell me that she had to leave early...she made no indication of holding any knowledge of the event.

I hope something like this doesn't happen to anyone else. The wound isn't pretty--I can see exactly where Harley's two front paws clung to my leg as indicated by two medium-sized bruises; there are four marks where he bit me twice (one mark for the upper teeth and one mark for the lower teeth...times two) over two large bruises; the open wounds are red like the color of blood, but none has flowed thus far. My leg hurt the rest of the day yesterday and all day today, so I spent my time hobbling this where and that (it hurts if I bend my knee or bring it up...)...it's constantly hurting, which makes me wonder if the swelling is responsible, but the pain is bearable. I just don't want to amplify it any more. o_o

So, yeah. I got mauled by a kinkajou. Very interesting experience. I don't think there are many people in the world that can say that they've been attacked by one... Hell, there aren't a lot of people who know what a kinkajou is.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:32:33 GMT

My mother, whom I haven't really spoken to much of late, approached me while I was in the midst of doing my homework and randomly told me that she doesn't think I should listen to Avenue Q due to the explicit lyrics. It was kind of funny; imagine, the horror after discovering that you've taken your teenage daughter to an X-Rated musical and then finding out a few months later that she is in possession of the soundtrack. She seemed really prepared to argue with me: the look on her face after realizing that all I had to respond with was an apathetic nod without lifting my eyes. Eh. I have to admit, some of the tracks are pretty disgusting--there are only a select few that I like, so I think I'll keep listening to those songs even though I told my mom I'd stop altogether.

I got into an argument with her a few weekends back, over laundry. Christ, I don't understand why I got so worked up over it--I could feel the pressure building up in my head and I had to take lengths to calm myself down lest I start crying ( ... over laundry), but I think it was because it's been a solid year since I last fought with her? Could be, or it might just be because both my parents have this talent of getting their kids to cry every time there's a serious discussion or feud.

Peer Resources ...

... Adee's been trying really hard to get Megan and I to feel comfortable in the 9/10 Research class. It's safe to say that I don't like the class, I don't like the other students (save for Megan, of course), and I don't want to be in the class. I wanted to use the 9/10 Peer Resources class as "compensation," credit-wise, for all the after school work I put into the program. Goddammit. If I stick to this class, I'm going to be tacking an independent research project (AKA, using Mr. Mar's 9/10 Health class students as guinea pigs for a study on stress levels and ways to relieve it) AND the planning of the Stress-Free Fair (I do NOT remember having a bounce house at Lowell last year; having it again is the plan for this year) on top of leading the Tuesday After School Mentors class, organizing Peer Resources sweatshirts for the four of us (Ruby, Jonathan, Megan and I) as well as the 26+ other coaches who don't do jack, and PRO-Catwalk. Oh, lord. I still have to email the sweatshirt dude. I told him I'd email him on Friday. Then I told myself I'd send the email out on Tuesday. That never happened.

Maybe, in a parallel, alternate crazy universe, I would love to be in the 9/10 Research class. By "alternative crazy universe," I mean a universe where the other students in that class actually cared about the program. They don't. They're just lying to Adee, putting on their happy smiles and feigning sincerity...

For God's sake, when Adee steps out of the room, they turn time on the clock forward. They rip open the ceiling and hide things in there. They toss balls around, knocking over the orchids...and...one of them licks things. I feel like I should be more cautious about what I touch in that room from now on.

The only problem is, I can't say to Adee, "I don't want to be in the 9/10 Research class because the other students are obviously there for show" ...

I can't stand fakes. They all unravel as soon as authority is out of sight and earshot...

There's a part of me that senses that Adee knows this fact as well. The other day, she noted how Megan and I get most of the work done...

I don't know anything else to do except for wait until the six-week's lee-way time Adee's granted us is passed and I can finally get away from those upperclassmen.

In light of this, March's PRO-Catwalk project will be fairly easy; we don't have to make anything up from scratch because we'll be helping Nurse Rainey with the Food and Fitness Fair. Perhaps, this month, I'll be spared of the anxiety and pessimism that always creeps up on me in the coming days before the event...because this time, it isn't something that's being attempted for the first time in Lowell history.

Though, it'll feel weird not rushing to get a bunch of posters done. I may struggle to draw and color all those awkward-looking butcher-paper posters that the students see on the catwalk, but there's a strong feeling of satisfaction that comes with seeing people view them--or enjoy them, even, as with the animal project back in December. (:

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 05:59:51 GMT

Hm. Does this count as a "diary"? My entries are not consistent; I write when I want to, and even then, I write when I can. All the same, there was a suggestion earlier this week or two that I and the other students in the 9/10 Peer Resources Research class keep "diaries" during our pursuit in the research of stress to gauge our own levels ...

Oh! If I'm lucky, no one will pursue that suggestion! Eh heh.

Is it possible to hate someone so much that you feel nauseous whenever you're around them, going to be around them or just experienced them? For the past two weeks up until Friday, I've felt like keeling over and vomiting on school days at 11:40 AM - 11:44 AM on my way to Chinese. On Friday, I just felt terrible coming out of Chinese at Mod 13--it was a stronger feeling then the other days, as I felt that I had to slow my breathing lest something unwanted force it's way out...

... It was probably just the Chinese food on Friday. I've never had niangao before that day, and I didn't feel that great after downing it. But, still...

Friday, February 22, 2008

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 01:51:51 GMT

I got "chewed out" for being stupid yesterday. And by "chewed out," I mean to say that Adee approached me about the issue.

First off, Adee was all day yesterday because she had to go to a meeting. Whoever decided to vandalize the Peer Resources bulletin board picked one helluva day to screw around.

I spotted their handiwork right after Reg, because I walk down that part of the hallway to meet Megan if she isn't already waiting outside of my Reg. I was initially pissed to the point where I wanted to put a threatening message on the board directed to the culprits, only to be later dissuaded. My temper simmered down during Chemistry, after which I tore down the violated sheets of yellow paper and stomped off to Peer Resources.

As I previously noted, Adee was absent, so we had a substitute. I used this time to write out a couple words onto a paper I was planning on sticking on the board.

Sheet #1:
Dear You,

Vandalism is bad.
It makes my heart sad.
So please, don't do it anymore.

Love, Me

Sheet #2:
Once upon a time there was a purple seal. Her name was Alfredo. She loved to roller blade and make daisy chains.

[insert image of a happy seal saying, "I <3 the world!" here]

Sheet #3:
One day, Alfredo went to her favorite daisy patch to make chains. To her horror, she discovered that the word "LOUIE" had been burned into the grass...twice! She was so sad that she killed her brothers. The end.

Sheet #4:
Alfredo attended Lowell High School in San Francisco, California. Unfortunately, she was a seal, so she got kicked out. Saddened, she spent the rest of her days frolicking in the sea. THE END

Sheet #4 was borne out of Megan's rejection of Sheet #3--she said that it would only encourage more of this behavior, which I agree with. After Megan and I finished doing a terrible job of re-covering the Peer Resources board with brown paper after school today, only Sheet #2 and Sheet #4 made it up. I decided against stapling Sheet #1 up for the same reasons.

... Now, after school YESTERDAY was a disaster. Sort of. Wednesdays is the normal day for PRO-Catwalk meetings in T-14B. Unfortunately, due to Adee's absence, by the time I scrambled down to the bungalows, the door was locked. I tried going next door, to the Wellness Center, but it was locked too. Megan, Jonathan and Ruby were off doing their own thing, and it was my job to get into the room. Crud.

I was pretty irritated after neither Megan, Ruby or Jonathan answered my cell phone calls, the fact that my Chemistry binder (with my homework...) was in the room, and that fifteen minutes of knocking didn't elicit any responses. As expected, I lost my temper and proceeded in violently kicking, bashing, pounding and punching the door to the Wellness Center. By this time, my three friends had arrived and were confused as to why the door was locked shut.

My violent outburst brought out this lady that I've never seen before to the door. My first reaction was, "Yay, finally!" ... though that later shifted to, "Why the hell didn't you open the stupid door?" I didn't count on her being in a bad mood as well.

Amanda: WeareapartofPeerResourcesandweneedtousetheroomtodayafterschool.
Lady: Calm down! Say that again.
Amanda: [inhaling] We're from Peer Resources and we're supposed to use the room for a meeting today.
Lady: Well, we were told to promptly lock up. Can't you meet in the main building instead?
Amanda: No. Adee ALWAYS lets us use the room.
Lady: Well, I can't let you in.
Amanda: ... Let me at least get my books; they're inside.
Lady: Alright, fine, but--what's your name?
Amanda: Amanda.
Lady: You need to calm down. I'm in the middle of a session and you can't be--doing this!

She let me in (rather hesitantly, might I add) and I stumbled into the other room, nearly breaking a coffee table on the way to my Chemistry binder. I scooped up my possessions and decided against going the way I came--the last thing I wanted was to exchange another word with the lady--so I just went out through the door for T-14B.

And then, I heard her voice.

Lady: Close the door!

I didn't say anything, holding the door open and turned away, ignoring her.

Lady: Close the door, now!

I shifted myself away from the door and let it shut. And I felt like crap. Ergo, in a "I hope that lady dies a horrible, horrible, terrible, bloody death before ever seeing the light of day again" way.

And we left. Since it was relatively early, before 4PM, the four of us headed off to Noreiga to unwind.

... And, yeah. Adee asked Megan and I about the incident today after school. Turns out it was all a product of miscommunication--Adee had forgotten to tell someone to leave the place open for us. Gah.

And now I have to go apologize to the lady.

Well, I don't "have to," but Megan wants to.

But I don't.

I hate apologizing to adults.

I guess I have to live up to this.

...

Friday, February 15, 2008

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:58:50 GMT

Oh, gosh.

Sometimes, when I'm outside (oftentimes alone) I see things that make my heart warm. In today's case, it was two instances; on the L Taraval, and in West Portal.

On the L, sitting across the way to my right was a young mother and her preschool aged child. They spoke Cantonese, so I could not understand what they were saying, but it was clear that the rambunctious little girl was being much louder then normal social etiquette allowed. At her age, however, this was just cute.

In the girl's hands was this brown paper bag--your typical disposable lunch bag--that had a pink handle made of construction paper glued to it. I'm assuming the bag contained all the chocolate goodies that she harvested from her preschool's Valentine's Day activities--Happy Valentine's Day, by the way--and the little girl accidentally dropped it. She became irritated by this action and, doing what small children do best, began wailing at the top of her lungs (in Cantonese) about the horrible injustices that befell her. The mother, clearly tired from the day's work, leaned down to pick up and return the bag to her daughter, making little effort to quiet the child down.

Something about this scene struck me as "adorable." It was so cute. I hope that little girl has a good life.

When I got off the bus, as I was crossing the street, there was a small family--a mother, a grandmother, a little boy, and a baby that the mother pushed in it's stroller. The little boy had a lollipop in one hand and his grandmother's palm in the other; he wasn't looking out for approaching cars, and the grandmother slowly led him across the street. I found this touching, partially because I have a soft spot for the elderly. It kind of reminded me of when I was young; up until the age of three, my grandma would walk me around West Portal, sometimes taking me on the M down to Stonestown. Those were very happy times.

From these sights, I have decided that if I were to die, I would like to go out in such a way that the life of a young child or elderly grandparent is spared. (:

In other news, this month's PRO Catwalk project was another success! We succeeded in selling all 100 bars of Fair Trade chocolate. Though...I admit that I couldn't care less if we didn't sell out--all I want is for the other students to become more aware of what we advocated, and that they could spread this knowledge.

Thank you, guys. Seeing your happy faces and enthusiasm makes all that stress over the planning and art (moreso art in my case, as I have suddenly become the resident artist) worth it. (:

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 23:44:07 GMT

x_x I seem to be getting sick every three weekends. This causes me to call in sick for half the days I'm supposed to be at the zoo....

... I hate losing my voice. I feel so pathetic when my normal tone of speech is reduced to a whisper. ...

T___T I'm starting to think I never fully recovered from five months back. >__> <__<

In light of my sickness, Willis actually listened to me for once in martial arts. He also mistook me for older then I really am. o_o

o__O

Urgh. There was an unofficial training session at West Portal Park/Playground today that I missed again due to my health. For the record, these sessions have been going on almost every Sunday since before December and I haven't attended a single one. It's sad, cause I actually told them I COULD make it today, even going to the extent of promising Havel that I'd BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM because apparently, he's going around saying crap about me. I have a good idea of what it is, and it doesn't bother me too much; it's their laughing that I can't stand. Yesterday, Percy was running his mouth about Havel saying god-knows-what (I think Percy said that Havel said I was fat. Uh, HELLO, PERCY FANG, TAKE A LOOK IN A GOD-FORSAKEN MIRROR. YOU'RE THE LAST PERSON ON EARTH WHO SHOULD BE SAYING THOSE WORDS TO ME. Oh, I'm SORRY, you CAN'T look in a mirror because any mirror you'd try looking in would SHATTER. That's a shame. That's a real, real shame. I hope you know that by saying, "I swear on my Pokémon," you've driven my opinion of you even lower then it already was, and it was PRETTY DARN LOW to begin with).

hjgakdshasd i can't stand both of their whiny little voices.

Wow, that was an unexpected outburst.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:57:40 GMT

O_O WHOA.

... :D

:'D

8D

>=]

>=D

Hehehehehe. ^______________________^

I got my application for my black belt yesterday. I had no idea that there was an application side to the test... When Steve handed it to me, I just stared at it for a while, put it away, went to class, then took it out after class to stare at it some more. It sort of reminds me of a job application.

UCSF Tae Kon Do Dan Certification

PURPOSE:

Our goal is to provide a fair, consistent, and thorough testing procedure for our students. We intend to provide an achievable standard in which all UCSF certified Black Belts may take pride.

Application for Dan Certification must include:
    1. Completed UCSF Tae Kwon Do Dan Certification Application.
    2. Two (2) passport size I.D. photos.
    3. Martial Arts Resume:
          a. Complete chronology of training and promotion history.
          b. Copies of all previously earned Dan certificates.
    4. List of short-term (1-2 years) and long-term (3-5 years) goals.
    5. A minimum 250 word essay on "What Tae Kwon Do Means to Me".

... asdjhskad. I think I'm really happy because this means that it's actually going to happen. THEY'RE NOT GOING TO POSTPONE IT ON ME ANYMORE! ^____________^

... I flipped to the second page of the application entitled "Testing Outline." The only parts I'm worried about are "Technical/Knowledge," "Power," and "Panel Questions"...

...

... Uh oh, I only have a little under two months.

I can do this.

=]

Speaking of martial arts, I had to go to the morning class yesterday. The morning class is chock full of little kids...all of which I believe are afraid of me. There was this one kid, Sean/Shawn (however you spell his name) who stood at about a head taller then me, skinny, and frail-looking. Yeah. Uh. Him. I accidentally kicked him in the crotch. Oops. He SAID he was wearing a cup, though I have reason to believe he wasn't. I feel kind of bad, but I take comfort in the fact that I don't like him much. It may be wrong of me to feel this way, but the guy gives me this annoying assumption that he has the confidence level of a peanut. Pathetic.

IN MY DEFENSE, we were doing shuffle-roundhouse-kick exercises, and Steve told me to kick lower. Since Sean's taller, this raises the height level of his crotch, which brings it dangerously close to the striking level of my lowered kick. Bam. Collision. Pain (for him, that is. I'm just left standing there, wondering what on earth I kicked).

Megan, Thurston and I rushed to Serramonte to get some last-minute shopping done, both for Monday and last night. Megan and I were about an hour late to PK's sixteenth birthday party because we got horribly lost. It was a fun party, though we both felt out of place because: a, we don't dance; b, we didn't really know a lot of people there. I ended up chatting the night away with Megan, getting a few words with PK and Katharine before going home. Hmm, dressing up isn't too bad.

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:22:30 GMT

When two caged birds are kept together for a long period of time, in the event that one bird dies, it is not uncommon for the surviving bird to die of a broken heart. While this may have been the case for my late parakeets, it bids me to wonder how true these statements hold to human beings. One may direct me to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, but both protagonists took the means to kill themselves...they didn't suddenly drop dead of heartbreak.

... That much being said, I don't really like my Spring semester schedule. On one hand, I lucked out--I didn't get Hunt, so I don't have to go through the Pang-Hunt combination I anticipated. One the other hand, I only have one class with Megan because in order to have Ceramics Advanced, I switched out of the English class she had...so all that's left is Chemistry. T____T On the third hand, I shouldn't complain, `cause other people have it worse. At least I have one class with her. At least...

But it feels weird, `cause for the past year and a half I've always been with her around Lowell. And today, I found myself moping around Mod 18 in my desperate attempt to locate her whereabouts (she didn't pick up her phone; I eventually found her in the last three minutes before class started). It just feels really weird walking around alone...with a blank stare. Seriously, I've been zoning out a lot as I weave through the hallways without her. Amanda, you need to learn to be independent! But, no, I'm just like a caged bird who has lost its cage-mate (mind you, I'm not implying that my lack-of-classes with her as broken my heart, it's just brought this sudden feeling of loneliness).

MEGAN, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WHEN WE GO OUR SEPARATE WAYS FOR COLLEGE!?

Gosh darn it, I'm just a pathetic little leech, huh? They say that the more time you spend with someone, the more painful it is to separate. That hasn't even happened yet, and look at me, whining like a little girl.

In other news, I spent the majority of my weekend GAMING! I got back into the Tales of the Abyss game...rather, I beat it yesterday after school. I'm in a total Tales of Symphonia/Tales of the Abyss craze right now, with a spice of (though, I didn't like that game much...). I'm AWAITING the release of Tales of LegendiaTales of Symphonia: Knight of Ratatosk...even though it comes out in Japan this spring, I'm guessing I'll have to wait a year or two before the English release. But, when it comes out in America... WHEE, THE SEQUEL TO TALES OF SYMPHONIA! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3~

... In my craze, I watched the four subbed episodes of Tales of Symphonia The Animation, even going to the extent of putting this one scene into writing. The bold represents the actual dialogue from the episode:

'I started feeling strange after we released the Seal of Fire...I lost my appetite and could not sleep; I have not eaten or slept since that day. Then, after the next seal, I began to lose all feeling. I could not tell the difference between heat, cold...or pain. And, now...'

"Say..." Lloyd looked over his left shoulder, over the golden field of wheat, to the blonde haired girl sitting beside him. "Can you sing me that song again? I feel better when I hear you sing."

Collete's blue eyes gazed sadly at the brown-haired boy as she slowly shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak, but was unable to summon words. She placed two fingers to her throat, motioning to her friend.

"No..." Lloyd's eyes opened, suddenly realizing why she had been so quiet this whole time. "Don't tell me! Your voice... You can't talk anymore?!"

Collete said nothing, turning away.

"Collete!" Lloyd placed a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking the girl back and forth. "This...This can't be happening!"

Collete reached for his free hand; holding it palm-up in her left, she used her right index finger to trace onto his skin.

Lloyd read the letters out loud as they were writ: "S...o...r...r...y--Sorry?" Collete smiled, nodding as she illustrated her next phrase. A tear dripped down Lloyd's cheek. "I'm...I'm..."

Collete put his hand down on the soft plain. 'I'm sorry, Lloyd.' Her sad smile did not falter. 'I can't sing that song for you anymore.'

"I'm so stupid!" Lloyd hit his forehead with each word--"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I'm such an idiot!" His fist did not move, but his body shook with tears. "There was someone suffering so much, right next to me... But I could only think of myself. Goddammit!" Collete returned her gaze to the yellow grass. "What am I doing?! Damn..."

The girl leaned over, pulling Lloyd into an embrace.

"... Damn..."

*tears of joy* I went to the extent of downloading a crapload of music from the series, and I've been extremely fond of A Song by Tear/Grand Fonic Hymn by Yukana. It's one of those songs that you expect to hear in a church...though, the words are not in any language the world actually uses, and it feels like it's meant to be put on repeat and played for forever. GAH, I want this song played at my funeral.

While listening to the music last night as I tried to fall asleep (around...two in the morning? The areas under my eyes have gotten darker >_<), I got an EPHINANY that'll help me FINALLY start writing a movie script for AFA that's due...on Valentine's Day.

Writing, COMMENCE! =D ... after homework, of course.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 23:39:01 GMT

It's interesting when you take a glance at the "footprints" feature Xanga provides, onlyto find that a majority of your traffickers are from New Jersey and New York, with the occasional Canadian. At first, I was perplexed--why on Earth would people from those places come here? And then, I realize...oh. Those people, from like, two-three years ago? Yeah, back when I was really active on this one Werewolf forum. So...hi, guys! If memory serves me right, I blocked all of you--please don't take offense, I've just decided to deal with real-life subjects, as opposed to...online relations that no longer exist. o_o

I had to take Mitchell to his swimming class at UCSF today because Jordan and my mom went to attend the Nature Trail orientation. So, there I was at UCSF at noon, ordering food from Subway for the two of us, and in my head thinking, 'God, I hope I won't have to do this every day in college.' Granted, I hope I'll be able to cook SOMETHING by the time I get out of high school so I won't have to rely on outside services to survive (it's a money-drainer, after all)... It's not that I have some vendetta against food service people--it just feels weird when I'm alone and getting food... o.o ... On second thought, I'm like that with vending machines, too. Yes, I need a vending machine buddy. O_O

Something I remembered, though--whenever I say "yes," I have a tendency to nod my head. I wasn't aware of this until eighth grade, when I was on the schoolyard and Jordan walked by. My friends asked him if he was my brother, and he answered, "yes," while nodding. My friends then said, "He does the head nodding thing too!"

... Anyway, this ties into Subway because when the guy asked me if I wanted the sandwich toasted, I did the head thing again. I don't really like that quirk of mine. I don't think about it; it just happens.

So Mitchell and I were eating our sandwich halves on the stairs (`cause all the chairs were taken...) when Steve walked over. I asked him if he was FOR SURE going to test us in late March for the black belt...he's, what, postponed it on me FIVE TIMES ALREADY!? He just said what he's been saying--"Are you ready? Is everyone else ready?" ... Best not to get my hopes up.

Us brown belts had to work with Mr. Staley today...I really, really don't like working with him for several reasons: one, he deals with punches and arm movements, and my zone of comfort lies with kicks; two, when he's demonstrating on you, he doesn't hold back--it HURTS when he kicks and punches, and there is no cushioning when your head slams onto the hardwood floor. Ouch. One thing he's good for, I'll admit, it one-steps! For the test, I'll need to know the first twelve "basic" one-steps, and provide eight of my own. By "my own," I mean, "one-steps-I-make-up-on-the-spot-and-some-that-I-steal-from-Mr.-Staley." We learned several combinations today--which I'll note down later for reference so I can look back it them when I can--and my partner had trouble understanding them. I admit to getting frustrated and angry after many unsuccessful attempts to get her to perform the combinations correctly...but at the end of class, she came up to me and thanked me for my assistance. I feel bad for getting mad, now.

In other news, last night I finished making my first set (avatar & signature) in a long time! If only I had the time to be active in a forum to show them off.

The icon has about 116 frames, and I don't like how the background of the animation is yellow... The signature, on the other hand, is 156 frames long, and very pretty. At least, that's what I think. (:

Later Reference:

[Sparring Technique*; me, person]

fighting stance (right leg back)
LEFT FOOT step forward, LEFT HAND punch chin
RIGHT FOOT step out (perpendicular), LEFT HAND grab left hand
RIGHT HAND punch side of face, RIGHT HAND grab shoulder
RIGHT FOOT sweep left foot in the same direction the toes are pointed while pulling on left hand and shoulder [person falls]
(optional) LEFT HAND punch face, RIGHT HAND punch chest.

* right-left interchangable

[2-person wrist grab; me, person 1, person 2]

right hand grabs RIGHT HAND, left hand grabs LEFT HAND
BRING ARMS up high, GRAB wrists
RIGHT FOOT thrust kick floating rib, LEFT FOOT thrust kick floating rib
DRAG persons down to the left [persons fall on floor]
(optional) KICK faces
run away

[One-Step 1; me, person]

right foot step forward, right hand punch FACE; RIGHT FOOT step back, LEFT HAND blocks (push right hand down/aside)
left hand punch FACE; LEFT HAND grab left hand
RIGHT FOOT thrust kick stomach
RIGHT FOOT step out to left
RIGHT FOOT back kick stomach
run away

[One-Step 2; me, person]

right hand punch HEAD; RIGHT FOOT step forward, RIGHT HAND block right hand
right knee STOMACH; RIGHT HAND block right knee
BACK OF RIGHT HAND strike ribs
LEFT HAND come behind head
RIGHT HAND and LEFT HAND strike head
RIGHT HAND shooto head
RIGHT FOOT step back inbetween legs, RIGHT HAND heelpalm groin
RIGHT FOOT side kick right knee

[One-Step 3; me, person]

left hand shoves CHEST; LEFT FOOT step back, LEFT HAND snaps down on left wrist, RIGHT HAND comes up on left elbow
LEFT FOOT step behind RIGHT FOOT, RIGHT HAND push left arm away
RIGHT HAND backfist face

[One-Step 4; me, person]

both hands grab shirt collar
both HANDS grab thumbs on corresponding hands (not on tip of thumb, try to get "meat area")
pull hands outward, bring hands down onto elbows [person in an almost kneeling position]
RIGHT KNEE chest [person falls backward]
LEFT FOOT kick groin
run away

... I hope I can make heads and tails of these outlines in a few months. It's something; everything else, I forget after a few weeks. I hope this works.