Today was a pretty normal day as far as school days go, but considering the last two school days we were on different schedules, it actually felt kind of weird.
I started the day off in AP U.S. History, like usual. We actually went over how to write notes. We have to write notes on our own for this chapter, and a girl in my class has twelve pages of notes typed. He just went through a passage and told us what we would put down. It's basically exactly what I had for that passage. Other than that, we just took a quiz over the chapter. Our test is tomorrow, and I'm surprisingly less sure about this one than I was the last. It seems like a ton more information for some reason.
I can't remember everything we did in AP English, but I know we went over this article together and had to summarize the different sections in a group. We're going over how to write summaries right now, and we're kind of working our way up a step at a time. Who knew there were so many steps to writing summaries. As a side note, our text book for this class is the most boring thing ever. I want to fall asleep when I read it. (This is completely oposed to the AP U.S. History text book that I love and find incredibly interesting.)
We each made up something called a beat report in yearbook. Each of us have at least two teachers that we have to take these to on a regular basis. They write down things that are happening in their classes that they want yearbook to take pictures of, and you're in charge of taking pictures for whatever teachers you take the report too. That was the main thing we did today, and I took it to one of the teachers I have (my AP English teacher). Other than we just brainstormed theme ideas and stuff.
Computer applications was the same as always. We just sat there at our computers and did whatever the text book told us to. I also gave a beat report to the teacher since she's the other teacher I'm assigned to. She doesn't have anything going on in her classes, but she gave me a list of Key Club stuff, which is convenient since Ji and I signed up to take Key Club pictures.
After lunch, I headed up to the middle school for peer tutoring. In the first class I'm in I didn't do much other than briefly help a girl with her social studies homework. In the next class, I helped some of the kids with their addition problems. (They're learning stuff about adding doubles.)
Government was a little interesting today. We had all separated into groups the day before, and today, each group got to preform a skit. Each skit was based on a different doctrine of the U.S. government. My group (which consisted of Laura, Haley, Jordan, and me) had judicial review. Our (very random and short) skit basically went like this: Jordan was a governor who had punished Haley for loitering. While I can't remember what exactly Haley's punishment was, it had something to do with balogna and a strip mall. Laura was Haley's lawyer, and I was the judge who was supposed to declare the punishment unconstitutional. I had one line. Haley did her line about her punishment being unfair, and I lost it. How can you now when it involves balogna and strip malls? Anyway, Laura said her line, and then it was my turn. However, I was laughing way to hard and couldn't talk. This made the other three start laughing as well. After a couple of minutes, I was able to force my line out even if I don't think it was really understandable. The four of us then went back to our desks, still laughing. That was definitely the highlight of my day. (I think most of the laughing may have come from the fact that I was nervous though, not because I thought it was funny.)
We also finished watching a 9/11 conspiracy theory video in government. While the video brought up some interesting points, I don't really believe it. I mean, it used Wikipedia as a source. I use Wikipedia all that time, but it's not exactly the site you use if you want people to listen to you. Still, it was interesting.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
Busy Weekend
The blog post you're reading right now was written over a kind of long period of time. I wanted to write about this, but I didn't have time to just sit down and write, so I wrote bits and pieces of it whenever I could. Part of it was written Sunday, and part of it was written Monday.
This weekend has been extremely busy. On Friday we had a social after school. The idea was that the new kids could meet new people and stuff like that. We got free drinks, and then everyone basically grouped into their normal groups. I don't even remember seeing any of the new kids, and the freshmen seemed to stay in one large group toward the entrance of the gym. Ji and I were supposed to get quotes for the yearbook. It didn't go to well since no one really wanted to be there. We got a total of three quotes. My sister wrote down something completely random that had nothing to do with the social, and my friend Haley and another boy just made stuff up that they didn't mean. The only good part was getting out of class.
As we were walking to our lockers after the social, Ji mentioned that she wanted to do something after school. I was reluctant at first because I had tons of homework, but then my sister showed up too. Needless to say, Ji came over. We made brownies and had a lot of fun. (Even if Ji and I think the brownies made us sick.) After a while, my mom, brother, and sister were going shopping, and Ji and I eventually decided to go along too. We went to Factory Card Outlet first because my sister wanted stuff for her birthday party. Ji and I may or may not have played with some toy swords. After that, my mom and brother went to Target while Ji, Regina, and I walked down to some craft store that I don't remember the name of. Ji and I kind of ditched Regina and just wandered aimlessly around the store. Regina took forever, so at some point, Ji and I decided to go next-door to Petsmart. We looked at all of the animals, but we definitely stared at the cats for the longest. They are so adorable! I wanted to adopt them all. There were two kittens running around with each other, and another two were laying on top of each other. They were all absolutely adorable. We eventually made it back to Target, and we just kind of looked through clothes and other stuff until it was time to leave.
The next day Ji, Laura, Haley, and I went to this theme park in our area called Holiday World. We were there all day, and everything has already started to blur together, but I'll try to pick out some of the more memorable things that happened. I know the first thing we did was go to eat at the Alamo, the Mexican restauraunt in the park. After that, I can't really remember the order of anything.
We didn't really ride that many rides now that I think about it. We rode two of the roller coasters, the Liberty Launch, the log ride, and Raging Rapids. That was about it. I got absolutely soaked on the log ride and Raging Rapids. I got the wetest out of my friends, and my clothes never dried.
We also watched two of the shows. One was were they sing a bunch of country songs and the other was a diving show. I've been to this park a ton of times and seen both of these shows before. The diving show in particular never really changes, but they'd added this whole part that none of us had see before that was pretty funny. One of the divers was out in the audience (behind us actually), and he started saying stuff about how he could dive better than the diver up on the "stage." We didn't realize it was part of the show at first and were a little weirded out. At one point, one of the divers was dressed like Tarzan. Haley's been wanting to watch Tarzan forever. You should have heard her when he came out.
We ate way more that day then I have ever eaten in that park. I had fried oreos for the second time. Those things are amazing, but I can only eat two. I gave to other two away to my sister, who had joined us by this point. We also ate blue and red ice cream. That stuff is amazing! Haley and I actually went to get ice cream while Ji and Laura got some other food somewhere else. While carrying the ice cream back to the restaurant they're in, it all started melting. By the time we got back, I had red and blue ice cream down my leg. Ji's was basically soup by the time she ate it since she was still in line when we got back.
At one point Ji and I went into this glass blowing shop that no one else wanted to go in. We were in there forever. I honestly hadn't bothered to go in there since I was a little kid with my mom. Later on, we went back in because Haley wanted to get fudge from the candy/baked goods area in there. I decided to get a mystery box in there. Regina told me I shouldn't because everything in those boxes sucked. She was wrong. This store is in the Christmas section (remember we're at Holiday World), so a lot of the stuff was Christmas-themed. I picked the least Christmas looking box and got a dolphin one. It even has a little heart! I love it! Plus, it was cheaper than if I'd actually picked it out.
Ji also wanted to play a lot of the games. At one point, Ji, Haley, and I played this duck game that everyone wins. It's meant for little kids, so we were a little embarassed at first. Ji and I got little ducks, and Haley got a teddy bear. Laura also won a stuffed minion from Despicable Me playing another game that she gave to Haley.
As we were leaving, it was decided that Ji, Laura, and Haley would come over to our house and watch Tarzan, which Haley's been wanting to watch forever. We even invited our friend Jordan. We picked up Jordan, and then went to Ji's house for a bit. I've never actually been to Ji's house before since she usually comes to mine. We all sat in her room talking (and looking through her diary written almost entirely in Spanish while she lived in Guatelmala) while she took a shower. Ji warned us that her mom would over us food, and she was right (although we turned her down). I've only met Ji's mom a couple of times, but she is a very nice and friendly person.
We eventually made it back to our house. I was finally able to change out of my wet clothes, and we sat in my room and talked for about ten minutes. Then, Laura reminded us that she had to be back home in about an hour and a half, so we needed to start watching Tarzan. Watching a movie from your childhood is so much more amusing with other people. None of us had watched it in a while, and we made some interesting observations. Ji, who said she had hated the movie before, was crying at the end. She also said she was shocked by Jane's voice (last time she'd watched it, it had been in Spanish), which I found funny for some reason. When the movie was over, everyone went home, and I got to relax for the first time that day.
Sunday was pretty much homework day since I didn't get to work on it Friday or Saturday. Let's just say I'm glad that's done with.
This weekend has been extremely busy. On Friday we had a social after school. The idea was that the new kids could meet new people and stuff like that. We got free drinks, and then everyone basically grouped into their normal groups. I don't even remember seeing any of the new kids, and the freshmen seemed to stay in one large group toward the entrance of the gym. Ji and I were supposed to get quotes for the yearbook. It didn't go to well since no one really wanted to be there. We got a total of three quotes. My sister wrote down something completely random that had nothing to do with the social, and my friend Haley and another boy just made stuff up that they didn't mean. The only good part was getting out of class.
As we were walking to our lockers after the social, Ji mentioned that she wanted to do something after school. I was reluctant at first because I had tons of homework, but then my sister showed up too. Needless to say, Ji came over. We made brownies and had a lot of fun. (Even if Ji and I think the brownies made us sick.) After a while, my mom, brother, and sister were going shopping, and Ji and I eventually decided to go along too. We went to Factory Card Outlet first because my sister wanted stuff for her birthday party. Ji and I may or may not have played with some toy swords. After that, my mom and brother went to Target while Ji, Regina, and I walked down to some craft store that I don't remember the name of. Ji and I kind of ditched Regina and just wandered aimlessly around the store. Regina took forever, so at some point, Ji and I decided to go next-door to Petsmart. We looked at all of the animals, but we definitely stared at the cats for the longest. They are so adorable! I wanted to adopt them all. There were two kittens running around with each other, and another two were laying on top of each other. They were all absolutely adorable. We eventually made it back to Target, and we just kind of looked through clothes and other stuff until it was time to leave.
The next day Ji, Laura, Haley, and I went to this theme park in our area called Holiday World. We were there all day, and everything has already started to blur together, but I'll try to pick out some of the more memorable things that happened. I know the first thing we did was go to eat at the Alamo, the Mexican restauraunt in the park. After that, I can't really remember the order of anything.
We didn't really ride that many rides now that I think about it. We rode two of the roller coasters, the Liberty Launch, the log ride, and Raging Rapids. That was about it. I got absolutely soaked on the log ride and Raging Rapids. I got the wetest out of my friends, and my clothes never dried.
We also watched two of the shows. One was were they sing a bunch of country songs and the other was a diving show. I've been to this park a ton of times and seen both of these shows before. The diving show in particular never really changes, but they'd added this whole part that none of us had see before that was pretty funny. One of the divers was out in the audience (behind us actually), and he started saying stuff about how he could dive better than the diver up on the "stage." We didn't realize it was part of the show at first and were a little weirded out. At one point, one of the divers was dressed like Tarzan. Haley's been wanting to watch Tarzan forever. You should have heard her when he came out.
We ate way more that day then I have ever eaten in that park. I had fried oreos for the second time. Those things are amazing, but I can only eat two. I gave to other two away to my sister, who had joined us by this point. We also ate blue and red ice cream. That stuff is amazing! Haley and I actually went to get ice cream while Ji and Laura got some other food somewhere else. While carrying the ice cream back to the restaurant they're in, it all started melting. By the time we got back, I had red and blue ice cream down my leg. Ji's was basically soup by the time she ate it since she was still in line when we got back.
At one point Ji and I went into this glass blowing shop that no one else wanted to go in. We were in there forever. I honestly hadn't bothered to go in there since I was a little kid with my mom. Later on, we went back in because Haley wanted to get fudge from the candy/baked goods area in there. I decided to get a mystery box in there. Regina told me I shouldn't because everything in those boxes sucked. She was wrong. This store is in the Christmas section (remember we're at Holiday World), so a lot of the stuff was Christmas-themed. I picked the least Christmas looking box and got a dolphin one. It even has a little heart! I love it! Plus, it was cheaper than if I'd actually picked it out.
Ji also wanted to play a lot of the games. At one point, Ji, Haley, and I played this duck game that everyone wins. It's meant for little kids, so we were a little embarassed at first. Ji and I got little ducks, and Haley got a teddy bear. Laura also won a stuffed minion from Despicable Me playing another game that she gave to Haley.
As we were leaving, it was decided that Ji, Laura, and Haley would come over to our house and watch Tarzan, which Haley's been wanting to watch forever. We even invited our friend Jordan. We picked up Jordan, and then went to Ji's house for a bit. I've never actually been to Ji's house before since she usually comes to mine. We all sat in her room talking (and looking through her diary written almost entirely in Spanish while she lived in Guatelmala) while she took a shower. Ji warned us that her mom would over us food, and she was right (although we turned her down). I've only met Ji's mom a couple of times, but she is a very nice and friendly person.
We eventually made it back to our house. I was finally able to change out of my wet clothes, and we sat in my room and talked for about ten minutes. Then, Laura reminded us that she had to be back home in about an hour and a half, so we needed to start watching Tarzan. Watching a movie from your childhood is so much more amusing with other people. None of us had watched it in a while, and we made some interesting observations. Ji, who said she had hated the movie before, was crying at the end. She also said she was shocked by Jane's voice (last time she'd watched it, it had been in Spanish), which I found funny for some reason. When the movie was over, everyone went home, and I got to relax for the first time that day.
Sunday was pretty much homework day since I didn't get to work on it Friday or Saturday. Let's just say I'm glad that's done with.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Frequency of Posts
I need to talk about how often I'll be posting in the future. I've been in school for over a week now, and I'm getting a decent amount of homework. I wanted to try posting (and uploading videos) pretty frequently, but I don't think that's going to be possible. Out of my six classes, I only get homework in two on a regular basis, but the homework from those classes still takes an insanely long time to get done.
The past couple of days, I've been stressing trying to get way too much done. Trying to post blogs and film, edit, and upload videos really often isn't helping this stress. I don't know how long this will be, but at least for now, I don't know how often I'll post or upload videos. I'm already getting less sleep than I usually did last year. I need to slow down a bit and just focus on school work. Most of my posts and videos in the near future will probably be on weekends mainly with the occasional one during the week.
I don't know how long this will last. It may only be a month or so, or it may stay this way for the rest of the school year. We'll see.
It's not just this blog or my videos either. I've been trying to get too much done with a lot of different things (reading, writing, etc.), and I really need a break (and to be able to get to sleep earlier).
The past couple of days, I've been stressing trying to get way too much done. Trying to post blogs and film, edit, and upload videos really often isn't helping this stress. I don't know how long this will be, but at least for now, I don't know how often I'll post or upload videos. I'm already getting less sleep than I usually did last year. I need to slow down a bit and just focus on school work. Most of my posts and videos in the near future will probably be on weekends mainly with the occasional one during the week.
I don't know how long this will last. It may only be a month or so, or it may stay this way for the rest of the school year. We'll see.
It's not just this blog or my videos either. I've been trying to get too much done with a lot of different things (reading, writing, etc.), and I really need a break (and to be able to get to sleep earlier).
Book Review: Quest of the Demon by M.L. Sawyer
ISBN: 0011233648
Release date: January 28th, 2011
Publisher: Smashwords
Read from August 1st to 15th, 2011
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. This is kind of random, but I thought the map at the beginning was kind of cool. As much as I did enjoy the book, I had a few things I didn't like. There were some mistakes throughout the book, but I was expecting that because it's self-published.
*There will be some spoilers in the rest of the review*
Darci's relationships with Leif and Taslessian. At the beginning, it seems like there's something going on with Darci and Taslessian. They even kiss (granted they're both drunk). Then, at about the middle of the book, they just seem to stop talking to each other. Granted Taslessian has kind of shut himself off from everyone, but I still thought it was kind of weird. As for Darci and Leif, I was kind of confused with their whole relationship. It's hard to tell what's going on with them. It was just a bit confusing.
I was also a bit confused with the ending. It just seemed so abrupt. Darci just wakes up at home. I couldn't tell if that had happened right when her and the Demon disappeared or if something else happened that she just doesn't remember. Middle-aged Taslessian showing up at the end was also surprising. I really want to read the sequel. (I'm asuming there will be one based on that ending.) I'm hoping that will help make sense of the first one's ending a bit.
Regardless of all that, I did enjoy this book, and I found it very interesting. I definitely want to read the sequel. I want to see what happens between Darci and Taslessian. I found the world the author created very interesting, and I always love reading fantasy books with magic in them. I loved the dragons in this story so much. It was a great book, if a little confusing at some points. I was also a little surprised at how gory a couple of the scenes were. I wasn't expecting it, but I don't think it was a bad thing.
I'm going to try something new. I also filmed a video review of this book, which you can watch below. I may do this with all reviews in the future or only some or maybe none at all. I'm not sure yet.
I recieved this book for free from the publisher or author in exchange for a fair and honest review. This did not affect my review of the book.
Release date: January 28th, 2011
Publisher: Smashwords
Read from August 1st to 15th, 2011
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Darci is a popular sixteen-year-old girl who plays basketball and lives in an ordinary country town. But her life is changed forever when she is accidentally transported to the land of Nahaba by a young apprentice wizard called Taslessian.Review:
Within hours of her unexpected arrival, both teens are thrust into a dangerous journey to the cave of Grisham the Great in the hope that he would be able to send her home.
Upon reaching the cave, however, Darci quickly discovers that there is no such thing as accidents, and that their journey is only just beginning.
The Quest of the Demon has begun.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. This is kind of random, but I thought the map at the beginning was kind of cool. As much as I did enjoy the book, I had a few things I didn't like. There were some mistakes throughout the book, but I was expecting that because it's self-published.
*There will be some spoilers in the rest of the review*
Darci's relationships with Leif and Taslessian. At the beginning, it seems like there's something going on with Darci and Taslessian. They even kiss (granted they're both drunk). Then, at about the middle of the book, they just seem to stop talking to each other. Granted Taslessian has kind of shut himself off from everyone, but I still thought it was kind of weird. As for Darci and Leif, I was kind of confused with their whole relationship. It's hard to tell what's going on with them. It was just a bit confusing.
I was also a bit confused with the ending. It just seemed so abrupt. Darci just wakes up at home. I couldn't tell if that had happened right when her and the Demon disappeared or if something else happened that she just doesn't remember. Middle-aged Taslessian showing up at the end was also surprising. I really want to read the sequel. (I'm asuming there will be one based on that ending.) I'm hoping that will help make sense of the first one's ending a bit.
Regardless of all that, I did enjoy this book, and I found it very interesting. I definitely want to read the sequel. I want to see what happens between Darci and Taslessian. I found the world the author created very interesting, and I always love reading fantasy books with magic in them. I loved the dragons in this story so much. It was a great book, if a little confusing at some points. I was also a little surprised at how gory a couple of the scenes were. I wasn't expecting it, but I don't think it was a bad thing.
I'm going to try something new. I also filmed a video review of this book, which you can watch below. I may do this with all reviews in the future or only some or maybe none at all. I'm not sure yet.
I recieved this book for free from the publisher or author in exchange for a fair and honest review. This did not affect my review of the book.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Peer Tutoring.
I think I can say that the school year has officially begun now. Today was the fifth day of school, and I finally got to actually go to peer tutoring today. I got put in the special needs department at the middle school. The middle school is right behind the high school, so I just walk across the parking lot and up the hill every day for third block.
I'm working in two different class rooms, and it went well although some of the kids didn't want to pay attention. I definitely remember why I want to teach high school and not middle school now.
As for my other classes, I had two tests today, and I think both went well. We finished the movie Cyberbully in computer applications today. I think I'm going to post a review at some point in the future. I really enjoyed it, even if it's a bit preachy at the end. There were some interesting conversations in government. That's honestly my favorite class right now.
This post is extremely short. I actually had something longer typed, and then I lost it. I don't really have time to type it up again though.
I'm working in two different class rooms, and it went well although some of the kids didn't want to pay attention. I definitely remember why I want to teach high school and not middle school now.
As for my other classes, I had two tests today, and I think both went well. We finished the movie Cyberbully in computer applications today. I think I'm going to post a review at some point in the future. I really enjoyed it, even if it's a bit preachy at the end. There were some interesting conversations in government. That's honestly my favorite class right now.
This post is extremely short. I actually had something longer typed, and then I lost it. I don't really have time to type it up again though.
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