Zzzz...

Surprisingly, I'm not really tired today. Maybe it's because I've finally taken the practice exam for AP Calc today, so all of my last minute studying that I did over the weekend has finally ended. I still need to study everyday, because the real AP exams are just next week, but I don't have to try to cram everything all at once anymore like I did over the weekend. 

I don't know. I didn't really have anything planned for today's topic mainly because I figured that I would be exhausted, so I'd just talk about taking a nap or something, but what do you know. Here I am, coherent and totally unexhausted. :P

I still have to study Calc and work on my Engineering semester project and read some review books and a few other things, so I think I'll feel the drain later, once I'm on my bed fighting the urge to daydream. :P

...Maybe I should take a nap. I wish I had someone to cuddle with like these baby otters. 

*sobs* FOREVER ALONE.

Lol, I was talking with my friends after school about crushes since one of them confessed that she liked Luke, so that's probably why I keep on thinking about a certain boy who constantly confuses me. 

So yeah, I guess the challenge is over now. I'm glad that I actually finished it! :D I had so many weird, random topics, lol. I think I might stick to posting poems that I like on here every once in a while when I find one. 

Now I'm off to decide if I should take a nap or not. XD

You.

A while ago, I read a book that I can't for the life of me remember the title or plot of; I just remember that it was contemporary. Anyway, in the book, the protagonist's art teacher made her class do this exercise where you get a partner and facing each other, one person keeps on asking, "Who are you?" while the other person keeps on giving a different answer each time their partner asks the question.

I thought that it was a pretty cool way to see how you think about yourself. I never tried doing the exercise with anyone, but after reading that passage, I tried it in my head, asking myself "Who are you?" and answering myself mentally, and I was surprised at the answers because I never consciously thought about myself like that before.

I don't remember what I answered, which is both a shame because I would have liked to see how my answers differ now, but I guess it's also a good thing since that means that my answers won't be biased  when I do it again.

Here is how I answered the question, "Who are you?":

Who are you?

Melissa

Who are you?

a girl

Who are you?

a bookworm

Who are you?

afraid of the future

Who are you?

Asian

Who are you?

thirsty

Who are you?

the middle child

Who are you?

reticent

Who are you?

lazy

Who are you?

unmotivated

Who are you?

crazy

Who are you?

someone who thinks about a certain guy too much

Who are you?

confused

Who are you?

I am me.

If you couldn't tell, I don't have such high thoughts about myself, lol.

You should try it out yourself. Who are you?

X-Ray Vision

What if you had x-ray vision? I think that it would be cool for about 2 seconds. Then it would be annoying, lol. Maybe it would be better if you just had x-ray glasses instead?

spiffy, eh? XD

But check out these cool images I found on Google! :)

Can you believe that the A to Z Challenge is almost over? I still can't believe that April is almost over. Where did the time go?!

Whale Vomit

Whale vomit is some expensive stuff. It's technically called ambergris, but that doesn't really catch your attention, does it? :P

Lovely picture, right? XD tobiee drew it.

Ambergris is actually an ingredient in expensive perfume because of its sweet scent. I know, my mind was blown, too, when my friend, Austin, told my graphics class about it a few weeks ago. You find out the randomest information when you have a substitute teacher, lol.

Since it's so hard to find (it's a rock that washes up on shores), it's really expensive, which is why only high-end, luxurious brands use it. But you can read this article that talks about how whale vomit won't be in perfume at all anymore.

These guys are actually breaking a block of ambergris. It's huge! :c

I wonder what other normal everyday items that people use include weird ingredients in them...

Violin Covers Are Full of Win

Check this guy out. His violin covers are awesome!

These are some of my favorites of his. "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift:

"River Flows in You" by Yiruma/"Wedding Dress" by Taeyang:

"Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes:

"How to Love" by Lil Wayne (there's some "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion mixed in it, too):

So yeah! Listen to them! They're amazing! He makes me want to learn how to play the violin so badly. XD

Umbrella Cookies

I'm pretty sure that most non-Asian people have not heard of this type of umbrella cookies that I'm talking about, but that's why I'm sharing them with you! (Not literally; I don't even know where you live! :P)

These cookies are pretty nostalgic for me since I remember eating them a lot when I was a kid. I still love eating them to this day, but since it's mainly sold in really big Asian stores, it's hard to buy, so I always end up slowly savoring the packs that I do get.

They're really crunchy with this distinct taste that I have no idea how to describe, lol. I don't know about most people, but for me, I can really taste the flavor after chewing it for a bit, after I bite into the little seeds, which are the little black and white things in the cookie.

And the cookies got their name from their shape. This is one side.

This is the same cookie flipped over.

If you ever happen to see a pack of these, I suggest you try them! These cookies have more of a subtle flavor, so you're probably either going to like them or just hate them because they might be too bland or something for you...

I really want to eat some of these now... D:

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Ugh. What can you do to help your friend when their life is seriously sucking?

I hate feeling helpless.

Graphic Novel Review: The Girl Who Owned a City by O.T. Nelson, Dan Jolley, Joelle Jones, and Jenn Manley Lee

Title: The Girl Who Owned a City
Author: O.T. Nelson, Dan Jolley, Joelle Jones, and Jenn Manley Lee
Pages: 125
Publication: April 1, 2012
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Summary taken from goodreads: 

A deadly virus killed every adult on Earth, leaving only the kids behind. With her parents gone, Lisa is responsible for her little brother, Todd. She has to make sure they stay alive. Many kids are sick or starving, and fierce gangs are stealing and destroying everything they find. Lots of people have given up, but on Grand Avenue, some kids are surviving. Because of Lisa. 

Lisa figured out how to give the kids on Grand Avenue food, homes, and protection against the gangs. But Tom Logan and his army are determined to take that away and rule the streets themselves. How long can Lisa's group keep fighting them off? They need to find a place to live safely. A strong place. A secret place. 

In a world like this, someone has to take charge. But does Lisa have the strength to take charge of a whole city?

3 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW: 

I really liked Lisa. She was smart and mature for a twelve year old while, but you could tell that she was still a kid because of the naivete that she displayed on rare occasions. Plus, she was a natural born leader who did not become pigheaded from arrogance because she acknowledged the heavy burden of responsibility that came with being a leader. 

The other characters weren't that fleshed out, but they still were interesting to read, especially Lisa's little brother.

There were some plotholes that weren't mentioned again after the beginning, like the origins of the virus that killed everyone but the kids (which reminds me of Michael Grant's Gone series), and if it was still alive, ready to kill kids at a certain age. And the resolution was somewhat iffy, too. I'm not going to give it away, but we're talking about kids here; kids easily let their emotions get in the way. I'm not sure if Logan's decision was really plausible. 

Nonetheless, I actually liked this graphic novel enough to overlook the plotholes. 

Sequels of Series That I Want to Finish Reading NOW

There are so many series out now that it's insanely hard to keep up with even just a handful of them. I can hardly keep up with any of my series anymore since I don't have enough time to read all of them or the money to buy them since I am now jobless (but hey! I'm slowly starting to look for jobs now. :D).

When I first started getting into YA, I was borrowing piles of books from my local library every week, so it wasn't that hard to continue a series since the library could easily get books from other libraries. But for the past year or two, I stopped going to the library and started buying my own books, so now I have too many books, too little time, and too many series that I have yet to read or yet to read the sequels or whatever number in the series.

The thing that I hate the most about series are the long waits in between book releases. Usually, before reading the next book in a series, I have to go back to the previous book and skim it to refresh myself on what happened. I'm fine with doing that, but I still find it a hassle sometimes, and that's the main reason why it takes me so long to continue reading a series.

But yeah, there were some series that I have been dying to read ever since I bought the latest books in the series, but as time passed, the need to read them slowly went away as they gathered dust under piles of other TBR books. But every once in a while as I look at my favorites shelf, I remember the greatness of the series that I read and suddenly feel the need to read the next books in the series that I own and have yet to read.

These are some of those books:

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Linger and Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter

Frostbite by Richelle Mead
The Iron Codex by Caitlin Kittredge

I've decided to start a new meme called TBR Books That I Want to Read since my TBR pile is so huge, I can categorize it into many different lists. I think that making the lists will be a great reminder and incentive for me to read more so that I can cross the books off of my list and feel like I accomplished something, lol. Expect to see more lists soon!

Redheads

A few weeks ago, there were some posters released for the animated movie Brave, which I absolutely cannot wait for it to be out. From the trailer, I already knew that I was going to love the main character, and the fact that they all have accents made the movie even more appealing for me. You know how much I love accents, lol.

Another thing that I really like about the movie is the fact that there are so many redheads in it. When you think about it, there aren't that many movies, animated or not, that feature so many redheads in them. There could be many factors as to why they aren't as prominent as brunettes or blonds, but I'm not going into that.

I just wanted to show you guys the posters. :P Here are the redheads of the cast:

Doesn't Princess Merida look like an awesome protagonist? 

And here's the rest of the main cast.

The movie comes out on June 22nd! I can't wait!

Watch the trailer to hear their awesome accent for yourself. :)

Quick [Random] Question #6

If you've ever been to a prom, was all of the planning before it stressful? Mine seems to be, and I didn't even want to go to prom in the first place!

At first, I was adamant on not going to prom, but then I gave in a few months ago, and it just seems like my friends and I have been trying to plan everything out for ages now. What sucks is that it wasn't until this week that we got some definite answers on what we could do and what we couldn't, and prom is Saturday, two days away.

Like, we still don't know where we were going to take pictures since it's supposed to be raining on Saturday, so I had to come up with a plan that if it rained, we'd take pictures at my house, and if it didn't, we'd just take pictures outside at Jackie's house with the surprise limo that her mom is getting her (how awesome is her mom? Lol, Jackie knows that she's up to something, but she can't possibly believe that all of her friends are in the loop).

Another problem is about dinner. Cheddar's doesn't make reservations after three in the afternoon, so we're still not sure if we'll be able to eat there since we have such a large party.

That brings me to another thing; I really don't like the fact that people keep on asking to join our group at the last minute. Our group originally consisted of seven people, and somehow it's doubled to fifteen. I would have been fine if I was actually good friends with the other people who are coming along, but I don't really even know a third of them, and it's such a hassle trying to plan something when everyone doesn't care what we do. You'd think that it'd be easier if everyone didn't give a shit (hypocritical, I know, since I'm usually one of those people), but Emily always needs to have a plan and know exactly what we're doing, so I'm usually roped into helping making the plans since no one else wants to take charge and think of something, and it just irritates me since I really don't care about prom. I just want to have fun and not deal with any unnecessary problems.

But it's whatever. It's only two more days, so there's not much we can do anymore anyway. I just hope that it won't be a huge disappointment. We've talked so much about what we should do and questioned what to wear and how to style this and that and everything that I've really gotten to the point that I can't bring myself to care anymore. Maybe I'll give a shit on the actual day, but right now, I'm so over it. 

Why is prom so special? I can dress up any day. Sure, I'll probably be given odd looks, so what. I'm weird and I know it. I'm fine with that. :P

Now I'm really getting off topic. I thought that prom was a fun event with a few minor stressful things to worry about like getting a dress and a date if you want one, but all of this planning is really ridiculous. 

Photography Techniques

My advanced graphic communication class is actually split up into two different classes: advanced graphic communication (graphics) and advanced photography. Because of this, we have different assignments half of the time, and the other half is when our assignments overlap and we end up learning from each other. Last semester, we focused more on graphics, and this semester, we're focusing more on photography.

As we were learning about pinhole cameras and other photography stuff, I learned some technical terms that described how pictures are taken, and I thought I'd show you show some of them. They're pretty basic, and I'm pretty sure that you've unknowingly used these techniques before, too.

When Krista came over during Spring Break, we went for a walk and decided to take pictures of a basketball that she was dribbling around. Before I knew it, we were trying to come up with the most creative ways to place the ball, unconsciously using a bunch of photography techniques. 

The most common techniques that we used were perspective, angle, patterns, texture, repetition, contrast, and background. Some others were lighting, reflection, and framing.

Guess which techniques were used for each picture. You can use more than one technique for most of the pics.