Sunday, January 10, 2010

RECAP: CHRISTMAS BREAK - FLORIDA ADVENTURES

i know that i've been delaying telling ya everything that's happened since christmas break, but i have to say this first:

JAEJOONG IS IN CANADA RIGHT NOW!!!
WE'RE ON THE SAME CONTINENT!

I HAVE NEVER WISHED SO HARD TO LIVE IN CANADA AS I HAVE NOW XD


oh my god. i just wrote a freakin bunch about what happened over christmas break and now it's all gone! i dont feel like rewriting it. i'm just gonna tell you the stuff that i remember or care about.

i had to wake up at 4 or 5 on the 20th to go to florida. i slept at 2-3 so i basically took a nap. i was sleeping on and off the whole ride there to the kennedy space center. took a bajillion pics there. saw a crocodile or an alligator there, not sure which one it was. saw a really big bird's nest. watched lots of movies and stuff there.

some pics

we went to eat at a vietnamese restaurant somewhere that my parents remembered at, after we left around 6, i think. they both used to live in FL before moving to GA. the food was good.

stayed at a ramada hotel that wasnt too far from disney world. parents only booked one room even tho there were 6 people (one of my uncles came, too) and only one bathroom. but we had already brought a blanket and pillow so my dad and uncle slept on the floor, mommy and brian slept on one bed, and shelle and i slept on the other.

we still had to get up early for disney world the next day to beat the traffic and stuff. but before that, we stopped and ate at the world's most unique mcdonalds or something like that. it really was different. they had an upstairs full of games and stuff. and a deli or something besides the usual to choose to eat, too.


when we finally got to disney, we definitely got a good enough parking spot since we were still early. we only went to epcot which was cool. we went to the giant golf ball ride thingy first (it was the first ride there) where you traveled through time. i was surprised that i remembered so much of the details from world history (i definitely want to go back to review before the AP exams XP).

we walked around and did other rides and took lots of pictures. i was really irritated for some reason. and the adults were so slow. and yeah, i hated the fact that i was really grouchy half of the time and didnt even know why i was acting like it either.

we had to wait in really long lines for 2 rides. we had to wait for an hour and a half for one, i think.

the last thing we did at the rides places was go watch honey i shrunk the audience. i still remember watching it the last time i went there when i was a kid. it was really good. brian kept on screaming and jumping in shock/fright; it was hilarious.

some more pics that i took...

then we went to the different worlds. earlier, the adults were taking their sweet time walking super slow, but when we actually wanted them to slow down so we could take in the sights and take pictures, they were walking faster and just basically speeding through the different countries.

they decided to go ahead of us when shelle and i stood in line for a crepe. so after we got the crepe (it wasnt as good as the one lil made us in cali) and quickly ate it, we went at our own pace. and when we got to the japan part, we wanted to watch the sugar candy making thingy that had just started, but it was so crowded, so we decided to go to the store that was right behind it.
the store was really big, they had another performer lady doing something in there, too. and it was full of japanese stuff! there were giant hello kitty and other hello kitty stuff on one whole side of the store. there were pokemon plushes, a whole glass display of swords, japanese manga and books, japanese postcards and mini posters (i got one and a postcard), there were anime stuff especially naruto. i even saw a vampire knight shirt.

i'll try to post the pics up when i get them from shelle. [EDIT: DONE :D]

some more pics of the other worlds:

it sucked that we couldnt take that many good pics towards the end since it was getting too dark.

this is how the golf ball looked when we were leaving:

and then we left and went quickly through the other countries cuz the parents were really tired and wanted to leave already cuz it was around 5. so we left the place and went looking for our car, and then left to go eat somewhere.

we went back near the other place we ate at, but went further in and ate at another vietnamese place. in my opinion, it wasnt as good as the other one we went to the day before. it was more crowded in there and it felt like we waited for a long time for the food to come (might be cuz we were all tired), and there was another big family (it was 2 families eating together) eating near us and their kids were really loud, especially the boy, his voice was really loud and after a while, it got annoying.

i dunno, i think i like eating at less crowded places in general.

we spent another night at the ramada hotel. shelle and i went exploring since it was still pretty early while daddy and our uncle went fast asleep.

we woke up not as early as the day before, and left to go back home. we stopped by a KFC for lunch. hadnt eaten that in a long time.

and then we got home and i unpacked and started packing again for grandma's the next day.

i'll end the recap here. i'll tell ya what happened at grandma's next time since i dont have the time now.

oh, i had some other announcements, too. kimi ni todoke is being made into a live action! and code geass is being considered into being made into a musical. i havent even finished watching the first season yet, but i already like it and know the basic concept. i cant imagine it as a musical, tho.

and i watched daybreakers with krista, shelle, and christina. it was really good! we missed a little of the beginning cuz we had to go pick up krista and we left the house only 20 minutes before it started.

i definately prefer this vampire movie over twilight or new moon (i still havent watched new moon yet, but just from watching the trailers turn me off). and i was totally caught off guard at times during the movie cuz i was not expecting to get shocked while watching it like when i watched the first resident evil movie.

but on friday, shelle and i suddenly wanted to watch a movie, so we went online to see what was on and i remembered that daybreakers just came out that day and we wanted to watch it. the movies started in 15-20 minutes by the time we left the house (we're ALWAYS rushing to the movies now that i think about it ^^"), so we were rushing there. only to find out that we couldnt watch it together cuz it's rated R and they were carding everyone. so it totally sucked.

that's why krista and i were worried that we might not get to go and watch it on saturday even tho when shelle bought the tickets earlier, they didnt card her. but when we got there, they didnt card us or anything and we were rushing to get in there cuz the movie had already started.

after that, we had to take krista back home. we hadnt seen each other for 2 months but it felt like a long time since the last time we'd seen each other. suprisingly, she knows major at school, this dood i got to know at lunch and after school from aliesha and sydney who had moved to warner robins high earlier in november or december.

anyways, we made tentative plans for a sleepover at my house this weekend if i'm not busy.

now, i really have to go.

since this post has no pictures on it (at the moment, anyways), i'm gonna put some of my favorite bands/people up :D
DBSK look for their new single, BREAK OUT in japan.

junsu's been looking hotter ever since their comeback

changminnie's such a cutie here :P

 and these two are adorable

later!


pointy.star

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

2010 Book Challenges

somehow, i came upon GAL Novelty, a blog that reviews books that they've read, and i found her post about book challenges. the challenges sounded really interesting, but i already know that i cant complete that many (or the types of the challenges she joined), so i only decided to do these 5 instead. :D

2010 Debut Authors Challenge
sign up here
* The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year.* I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.
* Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/BarnesandNoble.com/GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.
* The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!
-quick note: i am a VERY broke high school student, i have no idea how i'm gonna pay for all of these books ^^"

my list of books that's most likely to change as the year goes on

[x] 1) Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
2) Mistwood by Leah Cypess
3) Dirty Little Secret by C.J. Omololu
4) All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
5) Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis
6) The Rise of Renegade X by Chelsea Campbell
7) Voices of Dragons by Carrie Vaughn
8) The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
9) The Turning Book 1: What Curiosity Kills by Helen Ellis
[x] 10) Happyface by Stephen Emond
11) A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley
[x] 12) Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
[x] 13) Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
[x] 14) Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
[x] 15) Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
[x] 16) The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney
[x] 17) Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White
[x] 18) Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
[x] 19) Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
[x] 20) The Unidentified by Rae Mariz
[x] 21) The DUFF by Kody Kiplinger
[x] 22) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver


Fantasy Reading Challenge
sign up here
The Fantasy Reading Challenge can include YA Fantasy or Historical Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy or any other sub genre of Fantasy. There really are no limits to this challenge as Fantasy is such a wide and varied genre. Just enjoy and have fun!
i'm doing the curious level just because i dont have much time to read that many books this year. but if i can, i'll change it to the fascinated level because i'm a big fantasy fan.

[x] 1) Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde
[x] 2) Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
[x] 3) Fang by James Patterson
{x} 4) The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
{x} 5) The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
{x} 6) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
{x} 7) Need by Carrie Jones
{x} 8) Wondrous Strange by Lesley Linvingston
{x} 9) Wings by Aprilynne Pike
{x} 10) Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara
{x} 11) Evernight by Claudia Gray
{x} 12) A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
{x} 13) Stargazer by Claudia Gray
{x} 14) Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara
{x} 15) Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
{x} 16) Dull Boy by Sarah Cross
{x} 17) The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
{x} 18) Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
{x} 19) The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
{x} 20) Cast in Courtlight by Michelle Sagara
{x} 21) The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
{x} 22) Lord of Snow and Shadow by Sarah Ash
{x} 23) The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
{x} 24) Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
{x} 25) Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
{x} 26) The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott
{x} 27) Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
{x} 28) Lament: the Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
{x} 29) Violet Wings by Victoria Hanley
{x} 30) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
{x} 31) Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
{x} 32) Ruined by Paula Morris
{x} 33) Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
{x} 34) The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan
{x} 35) Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
{x} 36) Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
{x} 37) Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda
{x} 38) Ash by Malinda Lo
{x} 39) Epic by Connor Kostick
{x} 40) Hourglass by Claudia Gray



Finish That Series Challenge
sign up here
This is an opportunity for you to finish all of those series that have been sitting on your book shelf looking at you. I don't know about you but I have quite a few. With this challenge you count series completed, not books read. I have a series with 20 books in it, although I'm not sure I'll include this one, it doesn't matter how many books are in the series or if you've read most of them and only have one or two left to read. The object of this challenge is to finish the series.
i'm only doing curious because i know that it'll kill me trying to finish a series that i actually like.

 [x] 1) Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke
[x] 2) The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong
{x} 3) The Gemma Doyle Trilogy by Libba Bray
{x} 4) Study Series by Maria V. Snyder


Wish I'd Read That Challenge
sign up here
This challenge is for all those books you wish you'd read. It might be Pride and Prejudice, War and Peace, a Nora Roberts Romantic Suspense, the Outlander series or a childhood classic Winnie the Pooh. These don't have to be books you currently own, you can buy them, borrow them or beg for them. This is a great challenge for getting those TBR piles reduced. So go have a look at what you might read and challenge yourself.
curious level, again, maybe upgrade to fascinated since i have such a large list of books i want to read.

[x] 1) The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
2) Firebird the anthology by various artists
3) Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carol


Romance Reading Challenge
sign up here
This challenge includes all sub genres of Romance i.e. paranormal, young adult, historical etc. So this should give you plenty of options.
i figured i'd sign up for this one too since most of the books i'm reading are going to have romance in them anyways, so it'd be killing two birds with one stone. :P i'm doing the fascinated level for this one :D

[x] 1) Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
[x] 2) Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
[x] 3) Need by Carrie Jones
[x] 4) Evernight by Claudia Gray
[x] 5) Stargazer by Claudia Gray
[x] 6) Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
{x} 7) The Unwritten Rule by Elizabeth Scott
{x} 8) Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz
{x} 9) The Everafter by Amy Huntley
{x} 10) Night's Rose by Annaliese Evenas
{x} 11) The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
{x} 12) Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
{x} 13) Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott
{x} 14) Keeping It Real by Justina Robson
{x} 15) Candor by Pam Bachorz
{x} 16) The Swan Kingdom by Zoe Marriott
{x} 17) Lament: the Faerie Queen's Deception by Maggie Stiefvater
{x} 18) Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph
{x} 19) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
{x} 20) Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
{x} 21) Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
{x} 22) Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
{x} 23) Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder
{x} 24) Perfect Chemistry by Siimone Elkeles
{x} 25) Ash by Malinda Lo
{x} 26) Hourglass by Claudia Gray
{x} 27) Hate List by Jennifer Brown
{x} 28) The Glass Maker's Daughter by V. Briceland
{x} 29) Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
{x} 30) Entr@pment by Michael Spooner

so yeah, i figured why not when i saw these challenges. i'm a bookworm, i blog about everything i like/dislike, i can use a challenge. ^__^

[x] means that i've finished reading the book
{x} means that i've went over my set goals