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

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

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:

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.

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!

SOMETHING EPIC.

I AM IN THE PROCESS OF MAKING SOMETHING EPIC. YOU WILL MOST DEFINITELY HEAR ABOUT IT SOON. BUT I'M SUPER BUSY UNTIL PROBABLY SUNDAY, SO YOU WILL MOST LIKELY HEAR ABOUT IT AROUND THEN. 

I DO NOT KNOW WHY I'M STILL TYPING IN ALL CAPS. IT'S FUN. :D

Anyway, today was also really busy. During lunch, I started telling my friends about my EPIC PLAN that I'd been thinking about for the past week and proceeded to tell all the seniors that I had classes with about it during the rest of the day. I was so excited that everyone wanted to participate and couldn't wait to get it into action! It totally made up for the fact that I bombed my calc test in the morning. 

After school, I went dress shopping with Emily and Jackie like I said in my last post. Surprisingly, I ended up buying the first dress that I tried on. I'll prolly upload some pics when I actually go to homecoming and stuff. Too tired and busy to do it right now. 

I also got an awesome looking jacket, which cost $35, and was a lot more than what I usually pay for a jacket, but both Emily and Jackie said that it was totally meant for me, and I really do like it. I can't wait for fall so that I can wear it! XD And I got a shirt and a tank top, too.

Then, I kind of had to rush home since Shelle was leaving for Atlanta soon, and someone had to babysit the kids, so I did that and part of my lit project until eight when their parents came home. After that, I met up with Jeffy to tell him about the EPIC PLAN, and we finalized somethings and changed a few things around, and he's helping me out, and once we get it all together, it will be magnificent.

You don't even know. :P

Anyway, I gotta go and work on it!

Ta!

pointy.star

I Made a New Good Friend Today :)

Today, I was at the Bare Bulb with Emily and Meethu after the Latin Club meeting was over after school to work on our project in AP Lit on The Awakening (We just got assigned another project for A Lesson Before Dying today D:). 

I know Emily pretty well. We gave each other and Jeffrey the title "Bestest Buddies" since our first year of Latin two years ago. She gives me a ride to and from school every day. We hang out occasionally when we can work around our schedules. We went to the last two Harry Potter midnight premieres together. We're pretty close.

Meethu, I met her last year since she moved to HOCO over the summer. We only had AP Lang together last year, and we didn't sit near each other in that class, so I didn't talk to her much. I just had the impression that she was this pretty, innocent, smart, little Indian girl. Really, you should hear her voice; she sounds really innocent.

Today, my image of her was completely torn apart and ripped to pieces. I learned that she's pretty loud and crazy and goes all out when she has a crush on someone. Like, borderline stalkerish, lol. It's not like she stalks her crush, but she got a job at the movie theater since he works there and tries to get the same shifts as him. She also knows where he lives thanks to Google Earth. And she thinks that her crush might be gay since all of the other guys that she liked turned out to be gay. XD

I also learned that the image I at first had of her was what she was usually like at school, since it takes her a while to open up and become as loud as she did this afternoon with us. Actually, she said that Emily and I were the first ones that she even acted like her normal self with at HOCO. It made me feel special. :3

While trying to work on our project, we kept on digressing and gossiping half of the time. And then end up laughing our heads off. We were probably the obnoxiously loud people there that I usually get annoyed at, lol.

We would usually end up talking about Meethu's crush or something about love/crushes/relationships. Since Emily's pretty cynical, she'd talk about how she would never have kids since she'd most likely neglect them and that she would prolly never marry since no guy will ever ignite a passion inside of her to make their relationship last. Meethu and I disagree on the latter; I think that she'll eventually find someone, just not in high school. I mean, after reading so many young adult books and just watching high schoolers, I already knew for a while that high school relationships don't last. Everyone's too immature and hormonal and inexperienced.

That's why I've never bothered getting a boyfriend since, well... ever. I guess I'm pretty cynical, too, since I already know that we'd never last for long and eventually break up because of something immature or because I don't do long distance relationships. Especially now, since I'm a senior, I'm really not looking for a relationship because I know that we'd break up eventually since we'd probably go to different colleges, and like I said, I don't do long distance relationships; I'm the type of girl who has to see her boyfriend regularly. 

When Meethu found out that the last time I had a crush on someone was the summer before I went to 9th grade, she was surprised since she's the type of person who's always had a crush on someone. Like I mentioned earlier, she's also the type of girl who, when she likes someone, goes all out in it. So for her to hear me say that I haven't crushed on anyone for so long, it was shocking, and she wanted to know how I could just not like someone, like a switch was off or something.

I told her it was almost subconscious. Like, I already knew that high school relationships don't last, so I didn't want to deal with all of the drama it came with, and my mind subconsciously knew that, so I didn't really crush on anyone for long. At least, not long enough for it to become something. I've had small crushes before, when I got to know a guy, but after a few days, I realize that we're more like friends than anything else and the crush goes away. 

By then, we had to leave since it was getting late, and Meethu and I have an AP Calc test tomorrow that we really should be studying for (which I didn't study nearly enough...). But, after a while of going over some practice problems, I started thinking back on what we had said, hence the reason why I'm blogging about it. I usually type out whatever's been bugging me in order to try to answer whatever my mind's trying to ask.

And I guess I wanted to go back to that moment and tell Meethu that even though I don't want to have a relationship while in high school because of the messes that it usually comes with, I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend. I mean, who doesn't want to be with someone who makes you smile and adores you? It's just that I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend; I'm just not looking for one. Which is probably why I haven't had a crush since nearly four years ago.

If, suddenly, I happen to really like a guy and he reciprocated my feelings and we started going out sometime during this school year, I'd be happy about it. It'd be fun going on dates and teasing each other and just connecting. And then, when we break up, I'm pretty sure I'll be sad, but it's not like going to regret anything; it's all about the experience. Because really, it's usually not like a book where the girl gets the guy and they live happily ever after with each other forever. 

In real life, I think it's more about trial and error. You go out with one person and when you finally separate, you eventually find another person and you'll end up comparing them to your first relationship, and really, that's fine as long as you're not comparing them out of longing for your first love. Because I think that after being in a few relationships will help you realize what you want in a relationship and help you figure out just exactly what type of person you're looking for in the end. 

But this is all just my opinion. I'm only 17 years old and have never even been in a relationship myself. I could be totally wrong. This is just what my gut tells me. In 10 years, I could be totally wrong. 

Besides, I believe this because of the mentality that I have. I know that I'm not going to be in any super serious relationships for a while where it usually involves a ring and such. I'm not going to slut around looking for hookups either; please, I'm too much of a romantic to do something as dirty as that. :P I'm just going to go out and have fun and we'll see how it ends. 

But, like some of my friends, they're looking for the one. The one that they want to marry even though they're also my age and young and hormonal and inexperienced. I still can't believe that they waiting to find their significant other at such a young age instead of just having fun with whoever strikes their fancy for the moment. We're young. We're going to make mistakes. There's no need to be wasting away waiting for the one right now. Don't worry about it so much.

And some of my other friends have different tastes in guys, and they're also too mature to date high school boys. I can understand them pretty well. :) Some of my other friends aren't looking for relationships or no one interests them to look for one. I totally get them. 

But yeah, that's my opinion on relationships and such. :P 

There was something else that Meethu brought up earlier. She asked us if we were going to prom even though it's far away. Emily said that she had to go since her mom was forcing her, and she actually had to have a "warm, male person" as her date as her mother instructed. I feel sorry for her, lol. 

I said that I wasn't planning on going, and Meethu said that I had to go since it was my last chance since I didn't go to prom last year. Somehow, I think that I'll be forced into going to prom, either by my friends or by my sister. D:

And Meethu brought the question up in the first place cuz she wanted to know our opinion on her plan to ask her crush to prom, which involved baking a cake (since he loved the cake she made for AP US History last year) with his name on it saying "XXX, I have a question for you..." and having a note encased with aluminum foil inside of the cake asking him to the prom. And giving it to his mom so that he could get the cake when he went home after school. 

Emily and I both thought that it was too stalkerish and a little overboard. :P Don't know if she'll still go with the plan when prom comes around though... 

Also, Emily's forcing me to go to the homecoming dance next month since you have to have at least one merit in DECA every semester to stay in the club and somehow going to homecoming means that you get one. It sucks. I bought two dresses over the summer, but they're not fancy enough for homecoming, so that means that I have to buy another dress. 

I am super picky when it comes to dresses and other girly clothes since I have an awkward body figure and basically don't look good in dresses in general (in my opinion anyway). But, we're going dress shopping tomorrow with Jackie, and I have a coupon for JC Penny, so hopefully, I'll find a good dress for a relatively low price since I haven't babysat for a while and am low on cash. 

Anyway, it's getting late. I need to go to bed earlier since I've been sleeping later than usual and as expected, keep on yawning a bazillion times a day. :\

I'm glad that I made another crazy friend, though. :D

pointy.star