Tuesday, August 30, 2011

IS TIRED ...AND BUSY. -__-

How can it only be Tuesday? 

I feel like I've been swamped with homework, projects, playing around, and planning epic plans for more than just a few days. It's insane. 

But yeah, yesterday, Shanice and I stayed in Graphics for an hour and a half, Shanice doing make up work since she got transferred in the class two weeks after school started and me helping her and finishing my assignment in Graphics. After that, I spent the rest of the time helping Godfrey cleaning and sorting his room since the technical adviser guys were coming today. 

We didn't expect to stay behind that long since Shanice, Jackie, Seth, and I had already made plans to meet up at Jackie's house and attempt to straighten Seth's hair (I don't even know how we got to that topic during lunch, but hey, he was willing to let us do whatever with it :D), but Jackie had a pep club meeting until 4 on Monday and her straightener was broken or something, so we had a change of plans. Instead of meeting up at Jackie's house, we were going to meet up at my house and Shanice was going to bring her straightener since I didn't know if Shelle left hers at home since she moved to her apartment earlier. 

So yeah, Shanice and I didn't get home until almost 5 o'clock, and by then, Seth and Jackie had already arrived, and so had my mom. It was extremely awkward for everyone, lol, especially since I didn't tell my mom or cousins that we were having guests over. But yeah, Shanice and I came up with a cover story: this was for a marketing project. XD

We ended up taking an hour trying to straighten Seth's stubbornly curly hair. In the end, his hair was still a little curly at the ends, and he looked like he had Justin Bieber hair but extra fluffy and long. It was pretty funny, especially when we put a whole bunch of pony tales in it. I'd post some pics of his newly straightened hair, but I think that'd be incredibly mean for me to do, showing his embarrassing pics to a whole bunch of strangers on the interweb. :P

Then we started talking about maybe doing a flashmob during our Reel Club trip to the CNN center or something. Then I had to kick them out since my mom was babysitting for me while I was "working on my project", and it was already 6:30, and I hadn't done any homework or did anything for Assassin. -__-"


Today, we got to show our EPICOOKIE commercial to our marketing class, and it was, hands down, the best in the class since we were the only ones who made a commercial, and also because everyone else's skits were painfully awkward and hilarious.

Plus, our commercial included nerf guns, crazy little boys, random subtitles, and hilarious bloopers. Just sayin. :P

I'd blog some more, but I really have to do my calc homework, work on my lit project, work on the Assassin game, figure out which poem I want to write a poetry response on for this week, attempt to do my physics homework (which I didn't bring my book home, so... nah. :P), study for my upcoming two day calc test (no calculator on Thursday and calculator on Friday), fill out college applications, print out my admission tickets for the SAT and ACT, and, oh yeah, babysit. 

I thought senior year was supposed to be easy???

slightly depressing, but totally true. 

Later peeps!


pointy.star

...


STUPID INTERNET, STOP CRAPPING OUT! 

Sunday, August 28, 2011

My Book Addiction, E-readers, Hurricanes, & Such

Sadly, no IMM this week. But! I spent around $70 buying books online last night. This is bad, I know, especially since I hardly have enough time to read any book besides the ones I'm assigned in AP Lit nowadays. But the covers are so pretty and the plots sound soo good and I've been reading rave reviews for all of them... I couldn't stop myself. -__-"

(Did I even give myself a book buying ban ever since I got back from Vietnam?)

Maybe once I get the books, they'll inspire me to find time to read like crazy. :D Although my shipment from Amazon isn't coming until January cuz I pre-ordered John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. But I thought that Amazon usually ships the pre-orders on the day they come out and ships the rest of the books the following week that you ordered them? That's how it was the last time I pre-ordered anything from there. But that was a while ago...

Anyway! You should definitely pre-order The Fault in Our Stars on Amazon if you like any of John Green's books because the pre-orders are going to be signed! And there's a 5% chance that your copy of the book will also have a Hanklerfish, courtesy of Hank, John's brother. Found that out on their vlog; those two are hilariously nerdily awesome. :D

Also, I should prolly tell you now before I forget again, but since I don't have much time to read or write anything non-school related, most of my book reviews will be mini reviews since I honestly can't take enough time to write and analyze what I liked and didn't like about a book that I just read. So yeah, sorry in advance. 

Plus, my free month of Netflix is going to be over in a few weeks, and since I don't get enough time to watch anything in the first place, I want to spend some more time watching movies and stuff on there before deciding if it's worth paying for a few months more of Netflix since it is relatively cheap compared to going to the movies and stuff anyway. 

In addition, I've been thinking over the past few days if I should get an ebook reader. Not anytime soon, though, since I'm short on cash and I've already got a ton of physical books to read already. But if I make up my mind and decide to get one, then that would give me enough time to slowly start saving up for it without totally bankrupting me. :)

I was thinking about getting a Kindle or a Nook for when I go to college since it would be a lot easier to lug around one of those than a whole bunch of books (I still need to read all of those books though...) around to college and on trips home and stuff. I mean, ebooks usually are cheaper, too. But, I love having the physical copies of books where I can easily go to my bookshelf and turn to a favorite passage and stuff. Plus, a lot of hardcovers have really cool features of lettering on the book underneath the dustcover that I love discovering once I get them. Plus, there are a lot of books that get discounted or go on sale after a while, so they're pretty cheap, too. 

But if I did get an ebook reader, I think I would get a Kindle so that I wouldn't become distracted by the prospect of going on the internet like I know I would on the Nook. Plus, I know from friends that Kindles really do last a long time before dying out, and I know that my eyes won't strain from staring at the screen for so long like it does when I read stuff on my laptop although I still won't be able to read books in the dark like I can with the Nook. 


So yeah. Kindle or no Kindle? Ebooks or physical books?

Actually, I really should be working on my Lit project... Jeebus, why does that lady give us so many projects anyway?! I really don't want to do itttttt. :(

Plus, I already have to work on another project today. I'm going over to Josh's house later today and meeting Kirk there to work on our Marketing project. We're going to film our commercial of our awesome product, the EPICOOKIE. NO YOU CANNOT STEAL OUR IDEA, WE'RE GOING TO GET IT PATENTED. ...EVENTUALLY. XD

That should be fun, especially since we're going to have nerf guns to protect our armored truck holding the cookies. But, we're filming outside wearing all black in 99 degree weather. D: Oh well, we'll survive. :)

Talking about weather, I know that Hurricane Irene is hitting the northeast coast, but I think that the southeast could also be affected a little. I dunno; I wasn't paying that much attention. -__-" Anyway, I hope the hurricane's damage won't be too bad. 


In conclusion, I really should go work on that project, lol. 

Laters~


pointy.star

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Book Review: Vampire Rising (Alex Van Helsing, #1)

Title: Vampire Rising (Alex Van Helsing, #1)
Author: Jason Henderson
Pages: 272
Publication: May 1, 2010
Publisher: HarperTeen
Summary taken from goodreads:
The Van Helsing name reborn.

Fourteen-year-old Alex has no idea that he's descended from the world's most famous vampire hunter, but that changes fast when he arrives at Glenarvon Academy and confronts two vampires in his first three days. Turns out Glenarvon isn't the only school near Lake Geneva. Hidden deep underground lies an ancient university for vampires called the Scholomance. And the deadly vampire clan lord known as Icemaker? You might say he's a visiting professor.

When two of Alex's friends are kidnapped by Icemaker, it's up to Alex to infiltrate the Scholomance and get them back—alive. Assisted by the Polidorium, a top-secret vampire-hunting organization with buried ties to the Van Helsings, Alex dodges zombies, bullets, and lots—and lots—of fangs on his way to thwarting Icemaker's plans and fulfilling his family destiny.

3 STARS - I LIKED IT


MY REVIEW:


So, I decided to do lists instead of a review this time.

LIKES:
  • lots of action
  • funny moments for comic relief
  • Alex did NOT end up with a girl
  • manga was mentioned quite a bit throughout the book
  • characters have some pretty awesome names (Icemaker, Minhi, Sangster)
  • Alex wears glasses (so far, he's the only protag that I've read who actually wears glasses besides Harry Potter)


DISLIKES:
  • nothing really although the plot was slightly predictable since it uses quite a few of the same elements that are typical in an action series (parents don't tell him his heritage, bullied at school, etc.)

A good beginning of a series that will definitely interest young males.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Tumblr Pics 13

Gais, my group in Marketing has the greatest project idea ever. It's called the EpiCookie. We've already got the promotion and cookie design planned out. It's going to be epically amazing. I'll show you a pic of the cookie once Josh makes it.

Anyway, enjoy! :)
















Tuesday, August 23, 2011

UPDATE: NO HW. XBOX 360. NETFLIX. FLAILING. PACKING/READING. ASSASSIN.


GUESS WHAT. 

I DON'T HAVE ANY HOMEWORK TODAY. :D

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVEN'T HAD ANY HOMEWORK SINCE SCHOOL STARTED. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW ECSTATIC I AM. 

Although I do have a poetry response due by Friday... but I'll get to that eventually. :P

Anyway, there's so much that I never had the chance to talk about since my last update since I was so busy doing homework and projects and papers and studying, and I still haven't filled out any college applications yet. D: But I refuse to talk about that right now. I blogged about my dilemma a while ago. 

So, like usual, I'm going to give my version of a brief recap on everything that's been happening lately. :P


On Friday, the 12th, my friend Bryan convinced me to get on my brother's XBOX 360 to play with him even though I've never even played on the at all before. In the end, I ended up creating my own profile and avatar and such, spending $12.50 on XBOX Live Gold, which lasted up to 3 months. So, we ended up playing a private game on Modern Warfare 2 where he taught me how to play and stuff over the mic. I didn't play for long, though, since it was one in the morning and I was tired. 

The next day, though, I created an account on Netflix because I thought that by buying Gold, it said that I could watch Netflix on there, but that wasn't true. However, you get a free month of Netflix for signing up, so I still get to watch movies on my laptop and on the XBOX anyway, which is awesome, because I found so many movies and tv shows and anime that I've been wanting to watch, but never had the time.

I still don't have the time to watch any of them, though, since I've been so busy with school, so I'm quite sad about that. Maybe I'll have time to watch something tonight. :D Actually, I need to catch up on The Nine Lives of Chloe King, which I started watching a week before school started. I mean, the acting's not that great at times and the plot isn't that original, but I can't stop watching it... Plus, I'm too lazy to read the books anyway. :P


Anyway, I basically stayed up until 1-2 in the morning doing homework. It was insane. I was practically a zombie by the end of the week. Actually, I drank coffee in the morning on Thursday and Friday, and I was kind of hyper by the 2nd half of the day both days. 

But seriously, NO ONE TOLD ME THAT YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A SOCIAL LIFE IF YOU TOOK AP LIT. We have so much work in that class! We had a group project due on last Wednesday, a college essay due the next day, and a poetry response due the day after that. 

Bryan and I stayed up til one on Facebook's video call thinger working on our essays and poetry response and math homework. And we were on there for more than 2 or 3 hours. NO SLEEP. NOT COOL.

But, because of one of the projects for AP Lit, I made a new friend who I like to flail around with. :) Her name's Mia, and we were assigned partners for our A Lesson Before Dying (it's a book! nothing too morbid, lol) project. So we met twice, after school at The Bare Bulb and at my house on Saturday, and had awesome ideas on how to make our PowerPoint slideshow be awesome and hilarious. So, a plus side to AP Lit, you do make new friends. :3


The people at The Bare Bulb are going to get to know me pretty well, lol. I've already been there at least once a week since school started, and I was there for an hour on Sunday with Emma for a study group for our Calc test today (which I think I did pretty well on! :D), even though there was supposed to be more people coming, but complications and church and such. :\

Actually, I'm pretty sure that The Bare Bulb will be getting to know the senior class of HOCO pretty well throughout the school year. At least the honor students anyway. :P


Also, I found out on Sunday while my family went out for lunch together for the first time in ages (the 'rents wanted to try out the Golden Corral), that once I go off to college, my parents and Brian are moving back to Hawkinsville to live there at the house on the farm that Daddy's in the process of building right now. That means that after I'm done packing for college, I'm basically going to have to pack the rest of the stuff anyway. D:


One of the first thoughts that I had after hearing the news, I could only think, "how am I going to read my books?" I mean, there's no way that I could bring all of my books to college, and my of TBR books are the majority of the books that I own, so, if I had to pack all of my books away, how was I ever going to be able to read them? I asked Shelle that, and she said that, over the summer, I shouldn't get a job; I should just babysit and read and only read. 

I think I'm going to do that over every holiday and weekend whenever I have the time to do so. :P Because I miss reading YA instead of literary books, according to goodreads, I'm 5 books behind my schedule of my reading challenge. Not cool, yo. I was 8 books ahead before we left for Vietnam over the summer. But then I hit that reading slump afterwards and was too busy with school to do much reading, and yeah. Now I want to read like crazy, but I don't have the chance.

I'm glad my room doesn't have as many books as this, since it'd be a major pain to pack up, but then again, how cool would it be to have a room like this? :D
Plus, there's something else that's been keeping me pretty busy. My super sekret, epic plan.

Actually, it's not really a plan. It's a game. An AWESOME game. Called Assassin. 


You've probably heard of it before or seen it on a tv show or something. You know, that game where you get assigned a target (another player of the game) and you have to take them out, and once you do, you get your target's target as your next target, and you keep on taking out other players and the last player standing is the winner.

That's basically what Assassin is. 

A few weeks ago, I was reading a book called Spray by Harry Edge and was inspired. In spray, it's a city-wide game where people kill their targets with water guns. Players from any age from 15 and up can play, and there's 200 players in the game. 

So, I was reading it in school during the times when I had nothing to do, and I was thinking about how awesome it would be to play the game at school. I told some friends about it and they all agreed that it would be epic, so on Friday the 12th, I was ready to tell the rest of my friends about the game and get their opinion on it. 

I told my friends about it at lunch and we agreed that it should be a seniors only game or else it would get too chaotic having the whole school playing the game, and I spent the rest of the day telling other seniors about the game. Luckily, in Lit, we had to go to the multi-purpose room to get our transcript checked, but there were only 3 counsulers there and 2 or 3 classes full of seniors that I knew the majority of, so I went around the room, telling groups about the game and making the rules as I went as questions arose, most of them based off of the book. 

Then, after school, I texted Jeffy to see if he was busy later because I had to babysit and I wanted to talk about the game with him and get his input. So, around 8, we went walking around both of our neighborhoods while I told him about the game and catching up and revising some rules, with a promise to write the rules that night and emailing it to him for him to proofread and give feedback. 


I had originally told everyone that I was going to make a group on Facebook for the game and adding everyone that was a senior on it and having the added members invite their senior friends to the game to get more players, but Jeffy convinced me to let only the admins be the ones to approve of the invited friends before they joined the group to make sure that no underclassmen could get in. 

I also knew some special cases that I wanted people's opinion on, because one of my new friends, Seth, is considered a junior since he missed too many days of school last year to pass even though he's taking senior classes this year, and Josh is a junior who takes senior classes, and therefore, knows the majority of the seniors playing the game. Everybody that I asked said that they were okay if the two joined the game, since I was the gamemaker and I could do whatever I wanted, but I'd rather be democratic and have a majority vote on things like that, you know? Give people or ideas a chance instead of just shooting everything down and all.

Anyway, the way to play Assassin is basically like Spray, except for the water guns, because that's totally against the school rules. 

Firstly, to be a player, you have to have a Facebook account so that other players can be able to see what you look like to know who to look for if they're your targets. To "kill" your targets, you have to put a sticky note or sticky with your name on it (you can have symbols or messages on them if you like) without them knowing what you just did. Afterwards, you have to tell your target that you killed them so that you can find out who your next target is. Also, you can only kill one person a day, which gives you time to stake out your next target and also because you have to get on Facebook later that night to send a message to one of the admins (Emily, Jeffy, or me) so that we can keep track of the players left in the game and to make sure that they have the right target. In addition, you can't attack in the classrooms, at your target's workplace, or in your target's home unless they invited you inside first (otherwise, that'd be called breaking and entering :P).

That's basically it. There's some other small stuff (enough to make it 3 pages typed up O__O), but yeah, that's it. People keep on "killing" their targets until there's one player left, the winner. Still don't know what to do for the winner, but I'm hoping that I'll get enough people to donate some moneys to buy a giant cupcake or something for them. Or make a crown that says Assassin on it. :D

Anyway, everyone that I told the game about was really excited to play since this had never happened at HOCO before, and some people were even talking about how, if this game went really well (it doesn't start until Sept. 1st), it could be the start of a HOCO tradition, hopefully seniors exclusive. 


How awesome would that be? I only started the game because I thought that it'd be a fun little game to play with my friends, but for it to become a tradition, that would be pretty amazing. I really do hope that the game won't become a flop, though, because I really want everyone to enjoy playing the game. 

It sucks that Emily, Jeffy, and I can't play the game since we're the admins (we're assigning everyone their targets using a random list generator at random.org, so that it's fair), but I do like the fact that I helped create the game and the craziness that's bound to ensue; I'd feel really happy if everyone else was enjoying themselves, too. :)

So yeah, that's the SUPER SOMETHING EPIC that I kept on mentioning for the past week and a half. 

Now, I'm going to read or something. ^^

But before I go... some pics from The Hangover, cuz they're funny. XD



Peace out!


pointy.star

Monday, August 22, 2011

Cool Stuff: Apple Carvings

I've decided to create another feature here, at serious insanity, called Cool Stuff where I feature stuff that I deem to be pretty impressive that I've recently discovered and would like to share. They'll range from hobbies to world records with plenty of pictures or videos.

So, for my first feature, I present to you apple carvings! :D








Pretty cool, right? :D

They're all from different sites that I found using Google images. 

Since I only have to study for my calc test and read my lit book today, I'm hoping I'll finally have time tonight to blog about my epic secret plan and what's been happening lately. We'll see!

Later~


pointy.star

Sunday, August 21, 2011

In My Mailbox (35)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.


Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins
Dani Noir by Nova Ren Suma
Hex, a Witch and Angel Tale by Ramona Ray
Seers of Light by Jennifer DeLucy
Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten
Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
Tell Me a Secret sampler by Holly Cupala
swag


So, I'm going to a study group at the Bare Bulb for AP Calc in a few hours, still have to write my technology article, and need to get halfway through Their Eyes Were Watching God by today. TOO MUCH WORK.

I WANT TO READ. D:

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Mini Reviews: Nothing But the Truth, Plain Kate, Don't Die, Dragonfly (The Seer, #1), Standing Against the Wind


Title: Nothing But the Truth
Author: Avi
Pages: 203
Publication: First published in1991, current version published on January 1, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Summary taken from goodreads:
In this thought-provoking examination of freedom, patriotism, and respect, ninth-grader, Philip Malloy, is kept from joining the track team by his failing grades in English class. Convinced that the teacher just doesn't like him, Philip concocts a plan to get transferred out of her class. Breaking the school's policy of silence during the national anthem, he hums along, an...moreIn this thought-provoking examination of freedom, patriotism, and respect, ninth-grader, Philip Malloy, is kept from joining the track team by his failing grades in English class. Convinced that the teacher just doesn't like him, Philip concocts a plan to get transferred out of her class. Breaking the school's policy of silence during the national anthem, he hums along, and ends up in a crisis at the center of the nation's attention.
                                               3 STARS - I LIKED IT ENOUGH

MY REVIEW: WARNING: THIS IS SLIGHTLY SPOILER-ISH

Omg, the ending!And no, the ending wasn't a cliffhanger. It was just the way the plot kept on building up and becoming even more complicated as time went on in the story that you're wondering how it'll all end, and then, BAM! It's over. No resolution.

At first, I was outraged that it ended just like that. I had expected a happily ever after most middle grade/young adult books I've read recently. And really, after all of the events escalated in the book, I wanted to see how the author would fix everything in the end.

But, after thinking it over, I think Avi made the right decision leaving the ending as it is because, like what it says on the cover, this is a documentary novel, and sometimes, life doesn't end with a happily ever after. Sometimes, you're left with just a sad scene that has a lasting impact in your life.

Anyway, other than the ending, I liked the rest of the book enough. The writing style was interestingly different --told in memos and transcripts of conversations-- and the characters were very realistic. You could understand their motivations and reasoning easily from early on in the book. 





Title: Plain Kate
Author: Erin Bow
Pages: 314
Publication: September 1, 2010
Publisher: Arther A. Levine Books
Summary taken from goodreads:
The drizzle had broken into patches as they walked. As Drina scooped up the pale sand, Kate found herself standing in the smudge of shadow cast by the deadfall. She had never before noticed the way shadows gave things weight, made them look heavy and real and connected to the ground. Without hers...  
She edged into the light. Her shadow looked strange and thinned. It seemed not cast against the ground, but floating above it, like a fog. What Linay had said was true: No one would notice this, at first. It was just an uneasy little change, like the half-felt movement of a boat that slowly induces a great sickness. 
Plain Kate lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the wood-carver's daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden talismans are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade”: a dangerous nickname in a country where witches are hunted and burned in the square. For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate. 
Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the angry town, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes she can't live shadowless forever -- and that Linay's designs are darker than she ever dreamed.

3 STARS - I LIKED IT ENOUGH

                                                           MY REVIEW:

I would love to have a cat like Taggle. That is all. :D




Title: Don't Die, Dragonfly (The Seer, #1)
Author: Linda Joy Singleton
Pages: 288
Publication: September 1, 2004
Publisher: Llewellyn Publications
Summary taken from goodreads:
After getting kicked out of school and sent to live with her grandmother, Sabine Rose is determined to become a "normal" teenage girl. She hides her psychic powers from everyone, even from her grandmother Nona, who also has "the gift." Having a job at the school newspaper and friends like Penny-Love, a popular cheerleader, have helped Sabine fit in at her new school. She has even managed to catch the eye of the adorable Josh DeMarco. 
Yet, Sabine can't seem to get the bossy voice of Opal, her spirit guide, out of her head . . . or the disturbing images of a girl with a dragonfly tattoo. Suspected of a crime she didn't commit, Sabine must find the strength to defend herself and, later, save a friend from certain danger.

2 STARS - IT WAS OKAY

                                                             MY REVIEW:

It was okay. Kind of predictable. Knew how everything was going to end up after the first few chapters.





Title: Standing Against the Wind
Author: Traci Jones
Pages: 208
Publication: January 10, 2010
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Summary taken from goodreads:
Patrice Williams was happy living in Georgia with her grandmother, then her mother lured her to Chicago and ended up in jail. Living in the projects, Patrice is an easy target for everyone. Not only won’t she stand up for herself, she cares about her grades—unlike her classmates. But that draws the attention of Monty Freeman, another eighth grader who asks Patrice to tutor his little brother. When Monty becomes her guardian angel, Patrice begins to think something stronger than friendship might be growing between them. Still, nothing will stop her from applying for a scholarship at prestigious Dogwood Academy—except her mother.

4 STARS - I REALLY LIKED IT

                                                           MY REVIEW:

A short story that had great characters, a believable plot, and stuck true with the time period.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Cover Lover 8

GAH. WHY DOES MY AP LIT TEACHER GIVE US SO MUCH PROJECTS AND STUFF TO DO?!

I'VE BEEN SO BUSY WITH MY AP CLASSES AND MY SUPER AWESOME PLAN THAT I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO TELL YOU ABOUT IT. D:

BUT, FRET NOT. I WILL GET AROUND TO IT. EVENTUALLY. HOPEFULLY BY SUNDAY. :D

ANYWAY, ENJOY! :)









The Italian versions of The Mortal Instrument series look awesome!