Holmes!

Okay so for sure for sure this will be my last post before Costa Rica. Hahaha!

So today with nothing else to really do I went out with my friend Jamie and her dad to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie and go out to FroYo afterwards. And let me just say that it is amazing!! I haven't seen the first one due to complications involving crappy DVDs from Netflix, but the second is just... too amazing for words. Full of action, drama, and comedy rolled into a great two hour film. And let me just say that Robert just looks hilarious in drag. Nuff said.

The previews were quite interesting which included previews of Joyful Noise and Rock of Ages. Both of which I really want to see now cause they look hilarious and funny. Rock of Ages is really interesting cause of the plot line you can pick up straight from the previews. That and Tom Cruise has beautiful long hair in the film being a rock star. Hahaha!

My only real complaint about the whole thing was the morons who don't have any common decency to shut off their phones. I mean is it that hard to do so? It shouldn't! But no. Out of the corner of my eye I saw one girl a couple rows in front pull out her iPhone for a moment and then put it away. The BIG problem was this one person who DIDN'T silence their phone and everyone heard their stupid annoying ringtone. TWICE. Seriously?! If you're not gonna have any decency to silence or shut off your phone then why did you waste your money to come to a movie theater?? If you do intend on using your phone, silence it, turn the light down low, and sit in the back where no one has to see you and get annoyed. I know I like to use my phone being a teenager with friends who live on the East coast, but at least I have the common sense to put it away when I'm in a theater because it's basic common knowledge to shut it off because it's rude! Ugh, well done people. Just great job for being totally rude.

Whew glad I got that fish rage out of me.

So for sure this will be the last post I'll have before going to Costa Rica. Till the new year, Addio!

XOXO,

Liz

Happy ________!

Just insert the holiday you celebrate cause I know there are people of different religions and I'm too lazy to say Happy Holidays. Hahaha.

So far vacation's been kinda lazy. Had a party with the drama club after finals which was really long but really fun. Just singing, dancing and screaming galore by a bunch of high schoolers and the old alumni that have gone to college but were able to make it. My sister totally rocks at Just Dance and beat everyone who challenged her.

So Christmas Eve yesterday we decided to open our presents early due to the fact that my darling cat Kline decided to open them himself with his teeth. Afterwards we went to a friend's house for a Christmas dinner and gift exchange. In the end I got a stress toy and MP3 player. So in all I got:

1. Footie PJs (But with no pockets or butt flap!)

2. Journals galore!

3. A tiny sketchbook

4. A mug with cocoa

5. 50 bucks

6. And of course the family trip to Costa Rica

Which by the way we are starting to pack for our trip. The best part is that Costa Rica is having their summer right now so it's gonna be warm! We're gonna be in the jungle for a few days and do other stuff that I can't remember now but I know one of them involves fishing since my stepdad got some fishing gear for Christmas. It reminds me when we used to go fishing with my Grandpa Andy and my sister one time caught a catfish.

Anyway, Wednesday we'll be going to Denver and the next day we're flying out to Costa Rica. Till we get back, bye!

XOXO,

Liz

Vacation my love! It's been too long!

So finals week is over and thus Christmas Vacation has begun!

All my finals were ridiculously easy which I find quite surprising seeing as how I thought they would be a challenge. Out of boredom and curiosity I looked up the finals that were posted online. English I got an 85% on which kinda surprises me cause I thought I did a bit better. Think I'll go into regular English for next year since this is the only class I get a B on and it's a bit challenging. Anyway, I got a 94% in Algebra 2 which I only think I got some wrong with definitions that I were totally clueless on but I'm glad I aced that final. Spanish was an 86% though I really thought I did better on it. Probably had some difficulty on the listening part... ugh.. Hate stupid CDs I can't understand to save my life. And a 90% in Dance for performing a tap dance with a group to a rap about the play Othello. Weirdest song in the universe.

Good news is this is MUCH better than last year's finals which I got C's on that I wasn't too proud of. Hopefully my Chemistry and World History Finals get good results too.

So now it's vacation. Other than the New Year's trip to Costa Rica and a get together with friends not much else is happening. Drama club's planned a Christmas party tonight and it'll be nice to hang out with friends before going into the jungle for a few days.

I got a package from my dad today with presents for me and my sister. Marina got a book by Terry Pratchett and I got two journals for writing. Y'know it's kinda funny who I'm so passionate at writing but when people ask what I write I instantly get shy about it. I don't know why that is. I've been writing since the eighth grade and only shared my works with few people. I dunno, I just wish I could be more comfortable with telling people about my passion without feeling like an idiot when telling the plot of the story I'm writing.

Well anyway that's that. Think I'll end this post with some quotes that are on the journals I received.

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." ~ Edgar Allan Poe
"Peace is always beautiful." ~ Walt Whitman

Unexpected Weekend

Whoa how long was I gone from Blogger? This new posting stuff looks funny... Well whatever.

Hell week has passed with long days of studying and NEW material being covered BEFORE Finals. Talk about disorganization huh? Luckily I got all my studying stuff and have been going over a little bit before tomorrow. We get half days so for the first time in six months I have to sit still in my classes for two whole hours. Luckily we get a brunch in between and by 12:30 it's lunch and we get to leave. Only have to deal with three days of mayhem and testing and then we're on break for a couple weeks.

For this Christmas vacation, likely chance says we're going to a friend's house again for a Christmas party. And come New Year's the family's going down to Costa Rica and we'll be spending a few days surrounded by jungle. Sadly the status of my step brother, Steven, coming is kinda low seeing as how he's been having trouble with his passport. But hopefully that'll get fixed and he'll be able to come. Nothing like spending a week surrounded by nature. It'll be a photographer's paradise.

So this has been a rather unusual weekend.

For starters my step dad found a kitten chilling at our house and fed it and eventually brought her into the house. He wanted to keep it and named her Butter. Why? I really have no clue. My step dad loves cats ever since we reunited with our cat Chip and he also is allergic. Not quite sure how that works. But now we have a new addition to the family who has given mixed feelings to our other four animals. Maggie wants to be friends but fails to remember that she's 140 pounds compared to a tiny kitten who's a few months old by our educated guess. Stella is ecstatic about a new friend and Butter seems pretty mellow around her. Chip has no clue she exists (poor old man), but Butter hissed at him so she doesn't like him. And as for the used to be baby of the bunch, Kline, is losing his mind. It's actually the first time anyone's heard him make a hiss. Butter appears healthy despite some fleas which we gave medication for and she loves everyone.

And another unexpected event happens to be the death of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. How's that for shocking? A reporter apparently claimed that he died from "overwork" after "dedicating his life to the people" AKA a possibly stress-induced heart attack. Nothing like falling out of power via heart attack, eh? So from what I saw South Korea placed an "emergency alert" and now that Kim's dead who knows what'll happen? Let's just keep our fingers crossed that North Korea will be one less power crazed country to worry about.

Well time to get back to reading Homestuck. Best comic ever!

XOXO,
Liz

Hot Showers = Greatest invention ever!

Another week down and another week closer to finals. Time to start studying like a maniac along with managing the crazy homework teachers still give us.

Had to take off on Monday since I was still sick and just spent the day watching anime. Next day: Too much work! Well at least I got sick before finals and academic focus week. Bunch of easy work in all my classes.... Well I do have a research paper to do in English which the rough draft is due Monday and I luckily got a head start on it. And I need to memorize a script I made for a speaking final in Spanish and I have to perform a tap dance with a group of people and all other crazy stuff.

Friday was my best day out of every other day this week. I performed my choreography final in Dance first since my mom had to go somewhere today and I did amazing. I danced to a piano version of an opening to one of my favorite animes: Air TV. A lot of people thought I was beautiful and I even almost made people cry, including my teacher. I was so nervous having to be the first one to perform. But I went at it and I did amazing!

Adding on to that, the formal was also last night! I went with my sister and her boyfriend and met up with friends at the dance. The red dress I'm wearing was in fact my mom's dress that SHE wore in high school. Same size and everything! I was so happy I got to wear it. We even have her prom dress but I don't think that'll fit either me or Marina any time soon. My mother was a tiny woman when she was in high school. Anyway, had a lot of fun with my friends dancing and acting like morons (in a good way). And I wish they made formal shoes for these dances that don't kill your feet. Flats hurt so much. Well anyway it was a great night. Other than Adele playing twice in a row. It's not that she can't sing it's just her music is on ALL THE TIME. Nothing like coming home tired of having a good time.

Lemme see... Going to a friend's birthday party today and trying to finish homework... Yep that's gonna be my weekend. And then it's Hell Week AKA Academic Focus week where we spend the time preparing for finals. Ugh... I just wanna be in Costa Rica already...

XOXO,

Liz

Hooray for feeling like total crap

Feels like forever since I was last on here.

School's been a bit hectic with finals coming in two weeks. The teachers are rushing to make sure we've learned everything we're supposed to by the time finals come. All it is is just pure insanity. Just a lot of work in most of my classes including English which involves researching for a paper where I'm supposed to argue on a current issue. I signed up to perform my final dance this upcoming Friday so I'm pretty anxious to perform. I've been working on my solo for a little over two months now so I feel like this is gonna go great. Crap... I just remembered I need to have a speaking final to do for Spanish. Sheesh... This is what I get for signing up for the Honors class. Well I kinda have to finish two years of a language as a requirement.

Nothing else big and eventful going on as far as my knowledge goes. Well then again I'm starting to feel sick which is kinda ruining my ability to think straight. Such as saying thanks for making pancakes when I was being made waffles. I'm just not working. In fact I haven't been all weekend. Sore throat and nasal congestion is no fun at all. I'm amazed I was able to go to my friend's birthday party last night at all. Was worth it teaching people how to play improv games and the awesome chocolate cake. Spent most of my day today watching Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family and seeing the sixth HP movie; not really one of my favorite movies from the series due to the raging hormones part distracting from what's really important.

Should take a Nyquil soon so I could possibly consider going to school tomorrow. If not, well I'm in some crap..

XOXO,

Liz

More Rantings from the Teenage Mind

Yesterday my sister and me saw an interesting commercial for a new episode of 20/20 that talked about sixteen year olds sailing the world, children growing up with the Westbero Baptist Church, child pageants, and a soldier's dog from Iraq sent home to his family after he died. And yes, in that order.

I'm not kidding. Apparently there are teenagers who wish to sail the world by themselves at that young of an age. Crazy? Yes. And they had their parents' consent knowing the risks of months of isolation in the dangerous ocean. They even showed a video of one guy completely terrified for his life. Is it complete irresponsibility of the parents? Yes and no. Yes because a sixteen year old really shouldn't be doing such a dangerous adventure such as sailing the world on their own. No because the parents know the risks and so do their child so it's not like they didn't give a thought about it before their child set sail on the ocean. I mean if I was in that position I wouldn't allow it. It's really risky and I wouldn't do it at all.

Westbero Baptist Church. I'm sure everyone's familiar with these nut heads. What's the worst part of it? When children probably as young as two or three become a part of it. It's almost scary to hear them spout out hate at such a young age and a high chance likely says they really have no idea that what they're being taught is wrong. Because they're so young they'll assume everything their parents say is right despite the fact that they participate in protests that end in violence. These kids don't really know what they say until they finally have minds to think for themselves. And when they speak against these beliefs, they're rejected by their own loved ones. What's sad is that this is true for a young woman who spoke against the church and was kicked out of her own family who didn't seem impacted for banishing their own daughter who now lives a thousand miles away unable to see her growing siblings.

I hate how they're against everything. They hate homosexuality, Jews, people in the army, and America. I mean if you hate the country you're living in so much why don't you live somewhere else? And if God hates us so much then why are we still here? And if he hates Jews so much then does that mean he hates his own son, Jesus who was a Jew? Without Judaism, Christianity wouldn't exist. With the exception of the belief that Jesus is the Messiah, they're the same thing. I don't know why people have to make such a huge deal about it. What's the most irritating about these people is that they protest at funerals for people who supported homosexuality and soldiers who died in the army basically saying "Good riddance". My step-brother's in the Air Force and if he were to die in action, I would never ever stand for people protesting at his funeral. It's totally disrespectful and stupid. And do homosexual people go to hell? Of course not. I mean if you don't like the idea of two men or two women being together, fine. Quit being so overcritical over it.

Y'know everything would probably be better if everyone was Buddhist. It's not a religion, but a philosophy on how to live your life. It's nice and peaceful and there's no deities (Well save for Chinese Buddhism). It's the same peaceful teachings of other religions and there's no hate. I learned this stuff cause my sister's Christian and Buddhist and I listen to what Buddhism teaches.

Anyway...

So I've done my fair share of rantings about child pageants. I think many people realize how stupid it is to doll up your child past a certain extent. I mean it may be cute once in a while if it's at a moderate level but you go out of bounds when you dress up your kid like the hooker from Pretty Woman. It's even outside the catwalk and in real life. Clothing stores for children sell really questionable clothing, including padded bras for seven year olds. What seven year old wants boobs?? When I was seven all I wore was jeans and graphic shirts! Childhood's shifted a lot since I was young. There are even girls in salons as young as ten and eleven getting their eyebrows plucked and getting bikini waxes!! What eleven year old has that huge amount of raging hormones that they need a bikini wax?? What's even worse is the French Vogue magazines that display girls in lingerie. Sure French Vogue is a really messed up magazine but it's rather disturbing to see girls that young dress three or four times their actual age. I mean are you just opening these kids up for pedophiles to, oh I dunno, kidnap/rape/kill?? Do people like this actually understand that there are creeps like that in the 21st century? Clearly not. I don't have a problem with dressing up your girls to look cute but there's a word to not make your kids look like they're adults. It's called moderation.

Sigh.... Finally got all of that out.

XOXO,

Liz

Merry Turkey-mas

My family went to a friends' house to have a big dinner with family and friends. We made a lot more turkey than we needed and we had a lot of other food too. Along with the turkey there was ham, mashed potatoes (with cheese!!), sweet potatoes, rolls, gravy, salad, my mom's mlince which is to die for (Croatian dish that's basically tortillas burned a little over a flame and then has turkey drippings in it. Pure bliss), and pie. Prior to dinner, all I had was a piece of fruit and some Coca-Cola. No joke. I really wanted to save up for the mass amounts of food to come and it worked. Had room for seconds and two pieces of pumpkin pie. And sadly watched the 49ers lose their game against the Ravens but whatever.

Like sane shoppers my family is, we took no participation in Black Friday. I really don't see a point because people are crazy to get items for cheap at a small stock. It's nothing but pure insanity. People are trampled to death because other people want to get in the store first and I just saw on the news a woman used pepper spray and injured ten people for an XBox 360 at half price. I mean seriously?? You're gonna injure/possibly kill people for a stupid electronic for your kid? How stupid can you get?! It completely amazes me how Black Friday is still in existence to this day. People start fights and some are trampled to death to get some item of their desire for a super low price.

If there's something that barely exists in the 21st century it's common sense.

So the day of giving thanks is over and now it's the season of jolly and holly and other things ending with olly (Reference to The Hogfather for those who don't get it). My mom got me and my sister to get out all the Christmas stuff and now the tree is up, decorated, and giving me a headache due to the tremendous amount of lights; most blinking in crazy fashions. We have new stockings, multiple decorations chilling around the house, and eleven small trees, one of which has a Purdue University theme, are scattered about the house. Even the palm tree in our house has green lights on it.

I don't really want too much for Christmas. I mean just some sort of materials for writing and drawing, shopping money, and love from my family and friends is all I will really need. Not going anywhere during the Christmas season but on New Year's my family will be going out to Costa Rica.

Oh God I just remembered I have school on Monday. No biggie though. My only assignment was to get some books on a current issue for a report and I did so everything's peachy keen. But everything will be crazy in the upcoming weeks due to finals coming up in just a few weeks. Thank God the play's over so I can finally get some proper sleep knowing I got my homework done on time.

XOXO,

Liz

*Belch*

So far vacation's going great. Kinda boring since I really have nothing to do but I get to sit around and watch anime and random movies all day.

My sister's boyfriend got his wisdom teeth pulled yesterday so he's been chilling all day here with us. Amazingly enough he only needed anesthesia and woke up a little dizzy instead of being totally loopy. He's really limited to what he can eat cause of the pain and his gag reflex doesn't really help with his appetite. So before dinner he only had Jell-O and Jamba Juice. But he's doing much better.

We had an early Thanksgiving dinner since last year we had no left over turkey. My mom bought two turkeys: one for the party tomorrow and one for us. She cooked one of them for us, made stuffing, mashed potatoes and our cousin brought her amazing mac and cheese for us which is totally to die for. My eyes were a little more hungry than my stomach seeing as how I only ate half of my dinner. At least I got some left overs.

Now we have Thanksgiving tomorrow and my only food before dinner that day will probably be some toast since we have amazing cooks for friends.

Also today I went to the library and got some books for a report in English. Luckily I just have to bring them though I should start reading one or two of them now while I have the chance. We have to write a report about current topics to talk about since it's been done in literature over the years, including Shakespeare where we just finished reading Julius Caesar. Miss Ireland gave us a great range of topics to choose from and I got quite a few ideas what I wanted to do and when it came down to finding some books my choices were narrowed to one topic: Teenage pregnancy.

I think it'd be a fun topic to talk about seeing as how it happens way too often. What I really hate about teenage pregnancy is the media glamorizing it to make it appear that nothing bad will happen if you get pregnant at sixteen when in reality, your life really spirals out of control when it happens. Like shows such as Sixteen and Pregnant and Teen Mom. Do you think those girls are happy that they're sacrificing the joys of being a teen because they have to take care of a child? If I was in their position, it'd suck big time. It's because that stuff is scripted so these girls appear happy to have to care for a baby until it grows to a young adult. I mean movies it's obvious to tell that it's a movie and it's not real and some of these girls are having a really crappy time trying to go through school with a stomach the size of a planet. I don't know why some people get ideas from movies that it's okay but TV shows really mess with people's heads.

It's hard to tell on reality TV if it is reality or if it's completely scripted so the audience will like it. My mom heard that on a show called Real Housewives of something she can't remember that a guy on there committed suicide and it was real. That's a big issue since reality TV screws with our perception on what's real and what's totally fake. It's why I never watch MTV because I know it's all fake and most reality TV I never watch because I'll assume it's scripted to the audience's liking. Sorry Jersey Shore but your show is really stupid and having your skin orange isn't exactly attractive.

I seriously have a tendency for going off on rants. Hahaha

XOXO,

Liz

What'd you do July 24th 2010?

I looked back in an old blog post and remembered on July 24th I went to a dentist to get my teeth cleaned.

While that was happening people all around the world were videotaping their daily lives in the documentary Life in a Day.

I wanted to watch this documentary because it looked like a really interesting documentary. As it turns out, I was right. Out of 4,500 hours of footage from 80 thousand submissions from 192 countries filmed, an hour and 35 minutes condenses and summarizes the day of July 24th 2010 from the eyes of many different people of different cultures.

It's really interesting to see what's considered normal for different people across the world. Whether it's living in the streets or a cemetery or a small apartment people go through their lives as how they see it and their views on certain aspects of life are. Like a guy travelling the world by bicycle from Korea who wishes for Korea to be united as one. A woman from India making offerings to the Hindu god Vishnu. And as shocking as this sound, riots in Germany. People even answer the questions of what's in their pockets, what they love and what they fear. You'd be amazed with what these people have to say.

I love movies like this because it really opens up people like us to different cultures and what they think on life compared to what other people go through normally. You see the hardships others have to face to make it through the day. Different points of view really shape our world to what it is now with how many cultures there are. I mean in America we really have no specific way to show that we're Americans. We're all just a bunch of different cultures jumbled together in 50 states. So I like seeing documentaries and stuff about different places around the world. I see things I never see every day and it fascinates me.

I remember when I first saw the documentary Babies which recorded the first year of the lives of four different babies from Africa, Mongolia, Japan and America. It's amazing the conditions the children from Africa and Mongolia live in are normal for them and they're fine with the conditions they live in compared to the clean lives of Japan and America. It opens the world to other ways of life. It makes people less selfish.

XOXO,

Liz

Thank God It's Over!

So the week has come and gone again, and now it's finally Thanksgiving break!!

The week went by so slowly. Extra crazy this week which included a lot of homework... Finished Caesar in English, took two tests on Friday, anything you'd expect off of a stressful week... On top of which Tara Romero's funeral was on Monday so you can imagine how silent it was in the morning. It's really sad cause I heard the church was filled with a lot of people. Even people who never really knew Tara. I got mad when I heard my friend commenting how stupid it was to go to someone's funeral if they don't know them. One, the service was open to any and everyone. Two, it doesn't matter if most of those people didn't know her. It doesn't change that she died in a brutal way and it scares everyone. What's really terrible about Tara dying is that no one really knows how gang violence can leave a huge impact on people until it actually happens. I mean if Tara was just injured then it would've been nothing, but she was killed and it changes everything.

Anyway, should get off the sad stuff...

I stayed at school until Wednesday until eight with the last dress rehearsals for Rumors. Doesn't help the fact I had a lot of homework each night and I was half dead doing most of it.. It was so worth it when opening night came on Thursday.

It wasn't really that full of a full house due to it being a school night but quite a crowd of people came. It was really great to see the actors in action after weeks of practice with a complete set. They really brought down the house and broke some legs! Ms. Brown got her Modigliani wine glass that she wanted (Though she doesn't drink wine but sparkling juice and stuff to feel fancy). Friday night went just as great and we all went to Denny's afterwards.

Saturday.... The matinee wasn't the strongest show cause it was a lot earlier, some forgot their cues, lights weren't working at the beginning of the second act and on top of which my sister was high off of Benadryl and Excedrin because she was having an allergic reaction to the make up and Benadryl's supposed to make you pass out and it was all we had. So to keep her awake she got caffeine in her system from the Excedrin and a Monster energy drink.... Not the best combination in the world because she was just shaking and feeling really crappy. Luckily by the end of the matinee she was feeling so much better. In between the end of the matinee and the beginning of the last show we played a lot of improv games including a new one called Objection. Objection was a really entertaining one to do.

The last show ended brilliantly with broken legs and all (Metaphorically speaking). Best night ever! Well... Guess it would've gone better if the kids at the concession and working in the house were doing their jobs. Apparently two of them were making out during the second act and someone (that wasn't the manager) had to break them up. This makes me mad that I hear the house kids not doing anything and the manager isn't doing his job to keep them occupied. So a likely chance says some of those kids ate some concessions without paying. So keeping my fingers crossed we get this situation handled and it doesn't happen again for the musical.

Oh and we've already started discussing (sort of) of what musical to do in the spring over Facebook. It's really hetic with everyone having different ideas and tastes. It all really focuses on something relatively well known, the ability to do it (talent, resources and budget), hasn't been done recently, and something EVERYONE will agree on.

So far the only plays we have a focus on are The Boy Friend and Once Upon a Mattress... Neither of which are actually really known that well. Everyone's throwing down other ideas that would be really great to do like Beauty and the Beast and other popular plays that'd be fun to do. Ugh... Which we would be able to come to some sort of conclusion and soon.

Anyone have suggestions for plays? Any at all? Feel free to comment.

XOXO,

Liz

I want it to be Thanksgiving already..

So a three day weekend has passed and the next vacation won't be until next week when he have the entire week off for Thanksgiving.

Thursday went by ending with a bunch of homework, of all days before a three day weekend.. By the end of this week we have to finish talking about the industrial revolution and finish reading Julius Caesar. And drama had their Chile's night which was sooo filling. Nothing like a bacon cheeseburger to end my night.

With Veteran's day off and nothing to do, I decided to have my movie party. Got help from my step dad to set up an old VCR he had cause I seriously wanted to watch The Thief and the Cobbler. Look it up cause it's an awesome animated movie. Along with that we also watched The Producers (2005 version) and Hetalia: Paint it White! My friend Jamie got it on that day and was able to come over so we could watch it. Everyone got their fill of Hetalia for the day making a bunch of happy otaku girls.

Weekend went by uneventfully with really nothing to do. God, I don't even remember yesterday. Oh yeah... I helped finish building the set for the school play that's coming out this Thursday. The set looks just great and made Mrs Brown so happy. It looks like my great grandmother's house and we love it! My sister and I even got a hug too she was so happy.

I feel kinda bad she can't be all bubbly like that in my first period class because she has to put up with a bunch of obnoxious kids who can't shut up. She had to give a girl a referral to the office because she lost all of her participation points for the day. Sounds harsh but I can't blame Mrs Brown if I was in her position. I'd be losing my mind. Heh, actually I'm losing my mind because I have to be in the same room with these people. It really annoys me when people just stop caring about their grades and would rather fail than try at all. And it sucks cause it happens in Algebra 2 as well. I swear I'm gonna lose my mind the next time I hear someone say "When are we gonna ever use this later in life?" Is it really THAT difficult to just do the stupid homework? You need three years to graduate so deal with it! Math is used for pretty much EVERYTHING. Without math, the human race wouldn't exist right now and neither would all the technology we use. So just use the brain God gave you and think before you say crap like that.

I just irritated when people think they know everything when they don't and it annoys me and I'm sure a lot of other people too. Not just in academics but in the music we listen too as well. Like Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson. I just get so mad when people bash on music artists for the stuff they create. If no one has seen Lady Gaga's music video to Judas, you can imagine how many people would go berserk to someone portraying themselves as Mary Magdalene. I gotta admit that when it first came out, I was really shocked that Lady Gaga went that far with her music career but hey, it grew on me. I like her music and that song because it's about FORGIVENESS. Take a few minutes to let the song go through your head and you'll understand. It has nothing to do with her bashing religion, or being stupid and a slut which she isn't. People, she went to Julliard for God's sake! Lady Gaga is actually a smart person. She's just different because she wants to be an idol that says "It's okay to be yourself" and that's what she is doing and is proud of it.

It's the same thing with Marilyn Manson. He's a unique guy and I just feel like bashing someone's head in every time someone blames him for contributing to violence and murders which he DOES NOT. My friend Maribeth loves Marilyn Manson (She even has a sweater that she was wearing when she hugged him) I have not seen any violent behavior out of that girl. Marilyn Manson grew up in a rather messed up childhood which led to a rebel phase when he was in high school. He makes music so kids who're like him feel that there's one in society where they will be accepted instead of feeling like they're freaks. It's all going back to being yourself and proud of who you are.

Wow... I did not expect this rant to come out..

XOXO,
Liz

Argh...

Ugh... Hate slow weeks.. It's cause we have a three day weekend this week isn't it?

Monday was the worse day of the week due to everyone remembering the shootings on Friday night (and still are). It was a Facebook event to wear black in memory of Tara Romero. It started off super terrible cause a fourth of my dance class had to sit outside because they wouldn't stop crying. I can't say I blame them cause I was close to tears too. These people knew her. Sweet, sweet Tara. Gone. But y'know you pick up the pieces and move on... some people more slower than others. That's what sucks about death is that it gets in the way with our daily lives. There's no time for emotion or it just ruins other plans. Stupid modern life... But whatever. Sometimes you just got to deal with it and live life how it's given to you. By the end of the day, most everyone's tears dried and we just went on with life.

Tuesday: Anime club day. We finally finished our game of Jeopardy and watched some anime clips online. Another stress filled day with school work and more school work.

Wednesday: Same but with GSA today. We made bracelets and T-shirts special for the club with fun paints and glitter. In Advisory we talked about whose responsibility it is to help students succeed and what not which I kinda found really stupid since I feel like we should have talked about how not to be affiliated with gang violence seeing as how one of the students was shot on Friday. But whatever... I think it should be common knowledge to never get involved in that stuff.

In fact, I'm watching the news right now and earlier they were talking about the shootings and raising awareness for gang violence. As it turns out, the suspected gang members were out looking for rival gang members and just opened fire on a bunch of teenagers. This just makes me more upset and angry at the people who took Tara's life and put two others in the hospital, fighting for their lives. I mean what gets people into that crap? What are they trying to fricking prove?! That the human race has no intelligence?! Well congratulations any and all gang members rotting in prison. Hope you are proud of yourself! All that getting involved in a gang gets a person in life is behind bars and hate. I don't care what stupid reason one has for joining a gang, it doesn't exactly end well for anyone. You wind up fighting other gangs over stupid differences and end up getting yourself killed or getting innocent people killed. Are you that stupid to not see that? Open your eyes before you hurt yourself. You're not cool or whatever for acting like a jerk and hurting innocent people, because it just makes you stupid. No one has a real reason for being a part of that crap, so just don't.

I just needed to get that little rant out of me.

Anyway...

Also drama's been doing a lot of set building and rehearsing and what not. We open up the play next Thursday which is pretty exciting. Been helping building the set and it just looks awesome. So anxious for opening night. And tomorrow we have a Chile's fundraiser night to help get the club some more money.

And this Friday is no school for Veteran's Day.

XOXO,

Liz

If I die young

Will explain title later.

So week's gone good. Just more work in academics and drama club. I got to help lead a Socratic Seminar in World History about the Occupy protests in Oakland. It's a pretty interesting subject seeing as how it's getting a bit out of control because of people being idiots and getting tear gas in their faces.

Drama's going great. We got Chile's to get us a fundraiser night to get us some money before the show. My mom came in to help paint a few flats with awesome burgundy paint which the teacher loved so so much. She even painted a Modigliani painting for the set which made her ecstatic from what I hear.

Now here's where it goes from happy to super depressing.

This past Friday, a young 14 year old girl was shot and killed by a bunch of psychos who wounded a bunch of other kids. It happened around where my sister's boyfriend lived and he didn't leave until one in the morning out of fear. The thugs that shot these kids were taken into custody, thank God. This whole shooting has just made me so depressed because this girl was a student at my high school...What if that was one of my friends? Or my sister? Or me? It's terrible to hear that a teenager's life ended so abruptly especially when it's so close to home. The news article said the girl's name was Tara and that she was a sweet young girl. It just hurts so much because a person that age has an entire life ahead... and it just ends within seconds. Tara will never go to prom, graduate high school, go to college, marry, have kids, or grow old. All of it, taken away by a bullet. She never deserved to die; no child does. And I hope those thugs rot in prison for what they did. I may not have known Tara but she should never had died...

Tara Romero, may you rest in peace.

XOXO,

Liz

Everyone Hail to the Pumpkin Song

So Halloween has come and gone and I'm filled with joy. I dressed up as the Mad Hatter on Monday which was awesome. A lot of people dressed up in cool costumes. Even my English teacher dressed up as Lady Gaga! One of my favorite costumes of the day including my friends Travis and Lovisa's freaky clown and jester. That's why I like this school cause they let you wear your costumes at school for Halloween as long as you follow dress code.

After helping a bit with some drama set building after school, I quickly finished my Algebra 2 homework to go, you guessed it, trick or treating. It's a little awkward seeing two teenagers still willing to go out to get free candy. Got a lot of comments that me and Jamie were the tallest trick or treaters that they saw. But hey, it's free candy on a yearly basis. Who wants to miss out on that? Not me! Lots of adorable little kids and nice people that live in my area. And a lot of dog people too. Went over to Jamie's neighborhood for trick or treating which was practically almost over but we were able to get quite a few houses before nine. As a result... Well you can see the picture of how much candy I got. Anyone interested, those are four one quart bags. Contents: Reese's, Milky Ways, Snickers, assorted chocolates, gum, marshmallows, Tootsie Rolls, and all that sweet stuff that helps dentists pay for their bills and the toothpaste companies to keep making money.

So the night of monsters and sweets has passed so now people will begin planning big dinners with families and soon will be setting up crazy decorations for the yuletide season.

Today wasn't the best day in Dance for me or my teacher. So we have to turn in an outline that was due today of what basic idea we have for our final choreography and apparently some people are mentally incapable or something to take less than thirty minutes out of their life to do something so simple. Or there's of course the whining and complaining that they shouldn't do it because it's dance class. Reminder guys: It's high school. In case you've been in a coma for the past two years you've been here, they're gonna expect more work from you so you'll be prepared for college. Get with the stupid program, put on your big girl panties, and stop acting like you're the center of the universe when you're not. Sorry the teacher's not like the old dance teacher so deal with it. And it sucks cause a lot of kids give her so much crap and disrespect and she doesn't need or deserve it. She can be really nice if you don't act like a snob and actually do what she tells you to do. Sorry if you hate tap dancing but suck it up cause you signed up for dance for the year and good luck trying to change your class to regular PE.

Yeah... I just had to rant cause I'm kinda irritated with some people in that class. Not naming names but I think I got my point across. I just hope the rest of this week goes better.

As for the rest of the day, just same old school work except today I actually went home without any homework which makes me feel really happy. And I helped a bit today with more set building which included painting (and getting paint on my shirt) and seeing the actors/actresses go through part of scene two. Oh and we were able to get Chile's to give us a night of fundraising some money before the show and I believe we get 15% or something like that. But yeah, really nice for us to get money since we're already spending a lot more than we expected on Rumors alone. We still have money but we could use more for props and stuff.

XOXO,

Liz

Chinese food. Yum

Another weekend of homework, relaxation and movies.. and now Chinese food. It's the reason I've been liking broccoli for years... Though this time I got more broccoli than beef so I'm full.

Another good week of school has passed. Played some entertaining Jeopardy in anime club and played the Dating Game in Drama club and stayed after school for set building for the play. Wasn't really that great since only about six people showed up and no one knew how to use the buzz saw which is kinda surprising to me. Doesn't help much that the director can be quite stubborn... But anyway I hope more people come and we get stuff done in time for the play which is in less than three weeks.

Academic wise the new quarter's going good. So far it's all A's and I'm doing great in my classes. Started tap dancing in dance class and I feel like just bursting out in dancing to great jazz music. My English class began reading Julius Caesar. Yep. Shakespeare.

And this past week was Anti-Drug week so people dressed up. And people will be dressing up on Monday for, you guessed it, Halloween. I'm really excited to show people my Mad Hatter costume and to see others as well.

Y'know I kinda wonder what happened to the purpose of Halloween. I mean it's a holiday where you dress up as generally something scary. Yet I see girls in short skirts and revealing tops and a lot of women's costumes that look that way. If that's scary then it's pretty scary indeed. Hahaha.

I love thinking back to what I was years before when I went out trick or treating. Lemme see... As far back as I can remember, I was Blossom from the Powerpuff girls when I was four. Heh. The costume came with the huge eyes that I didn't wear but I wore the wig/hair and dress. I don't remember who I was when I was five but I'm pretty sure I was a princess. That was my trend for a couple years to go as some sort of princess. My mom made my own princess dress when I was six with a tiara and everything. When I was seven I cut my hair short and I got my mom to make me a Snow White costume using a doll's dress for reference. I was a tiger at age eight with cool make up. At age nine, I was a pirate. Ten, the grim reaper (or Death). Eleven, (failed) Marluxia from Kingdom Hearts. Twelve, Captain Jack Sparrow. Thirteen, (another fail) Xigbar. And last year I was a ghost. And of course this year, the Mad Hatter.

Yes I still go trick or treating. Who says you're too old to get free candy on a yearly basis? And who doesn't like candy? Huh? In the past couple years, I got a Kool-Aid from one year and one of my friends got a can of peas in another year. Yes, a can of peas. No rocks so far. Hahaha.

So now I'm gonna go back to my relaxing weekend and trying to get through all four hours of Cleopatra.

XOXO,

Liz

It finally works!!

I mean the Home Access that allows me to see my grades. It's been down for about a week or so, so some people aren't able to log in. But luckily it now works so I finally get to see my report card! I got all A's and one B that's from Advanced English. I'm really proud that I'm doing well especially in Algebra 2. It's much more easier than I thought it would be... Let's just hope that won't be jinxed cause that'd be really really terrible.

So this past weekend I went to my friend Jamie's sixteenth birthday party and had a lot of fun. We played (violent) ping pong, made pizzas, and walked to Starbucks.... Some of us were cosplaying at the time which was quite fun but luckily we got no weird stares or anything. After getting Starbucks we went back for present time and cake. And let me say this: It's not everyday you get Happy Birthday sung in four languages on your birthday. That's why I love my friends. While being sung in English, it was also sung in French, Spanish and Swedish. And God was that the best chocolate cake ever!

So for this week.... Crap I just remembered I need a shirt for Wednesday to make a shirt for GSA. Well other than that I made an Anime Jeopardy! game to be played tomorrow and hopefully this Thursday for drama we figure out what to do for tech stuff. Oh, and it's Anti-Drug week so people dress up and stuff again.

XOXO,

Liz

Today should be Friday...

Actually yesterday should have been Friday. Ugh... Once again: Hate slow weeks.

Luckily everything's going better than last week so I don't feel like ripping out my hair.

So we're on the second quarter of the year, but I don't know what my report card looks like since the school wants to save paper by putting all our grades, progress reports and report cards online, and the website isn't working so I apparently don't exist... Along with a bunch of other people I know... Will try again tomorrow.

As for this week, it's been Breast Cancer Awareness week so everyone dresses up on certain days and stuff. Tomorrow everyone's supposed to be in all pink so that's probably the only day I'll actually participate in cause I'm bored.

Been practicing on some my choreography for my dance final and I have a general idea of what to do and luckily we get to practice tomorrow and bring in our music which includes iPods if we have them. I'm gonna dance to a piano version of a song called Tori no Uta. Yes I got this from an anime and it's really beautiful.

So the only thing I have to really really worry about tomorrow is an oral presentation in Spanish where we have to be like a news broadcast thingy... Luckily it's in sixth period and I have most of my stuff memorized.

And after that I go to a friend's sixteenth birthday party which I'm psyched for.

And now I'm thinking of whether to do my dance review which isn't due for two more months and I could finish in less than thirty minutes or watching Hetalia clips.... Think that's obvious

XOXO,

Liz

Those Damn Yankees!

So today with nothing to do besides watch Sunday football, I went out with my friend Jamie to see Damn Yankees. Our local playhouse was putting it on, and I also needed to see a dance performance or musical for Dance so I can do a review and get that out of the way so I can focus on the end of the year choreography that's due in less than two months. But anyway...

For those who've never heard of Damn Yankees, it takes place in 1956 Washington DC where Joe Boyd, among other baseball fans like him, is upset once again for another loss for baseball team, the Washington Senators. He wishes to play for the team to help them beat "those damn Yankees". Then he's met by a mysterious man named Mr. Applegate who offers to make him young and athletic to play with the Senators. Upon becoming a young man named Joe Hardy, many problems come up such as Joe's attachment to his wife, Meg, and trying to make up a past believable to the ever persisting press.

It's a really good play; especially when my town's theater performed it. In fact, my friend Nora and her mom performed as extras and were really great. Really great story with lots of comical moments that kept me entertained (not like I ever wasn't).

So back to school again tomorrow. Still need to work on my Halloween costume...

XOXO,

Liz

Most stressful week of the year...

Ever have one of those weeks at school where everything starts piling up and you feel like ripping out your hair or just wanting five minutes to shut your eyes? Yeah.. It's been one of those weeks. Just homework on top of homework and by the time I'm done, I'm so tired and all I want to do is just crash and never wake up.

Best cure for stressful weeks? A nice hot shower. Just taking one is so refreshing and it clears up your head from all that stress. Thankfully the week's over and I'm only left with some crazy Algebra 2 homework I can easily get help on.

So other than some stressing homework, all of the dance classes got to perform in the "flash mob" today. I put quotes around flash mob because you know how it's supposed to be a big surprise and stuff so no one else can know but those performing? Yeaaaah some people forgot or didn't know that. And it became an event on Facebook too. But other than that it went really well.

And now it's all over and I can take a weekend to relax and probably finally get to finish Gurren Lagann and catch up on other animes.

XOXO,

Liz

Vampire Fish People

Doctor Who just gets more interesting with every new alien.

Friday, as the pictures show, was the homecoming parade. Obviously Anime and Manga club and GSA was in it so it was fun. I still laugh a little seeing the Proud 2 "bee" LGBT poster we made. C'mon you gotta admit it's cute, right? It would've been better if I wasn't getting hot and I didn't become exhausted afterwards. Wasn't my day when I didn't feel like doing anything in Algebra 2 or Spanish 3.

Best part was that a little later I finally got to see Steven when we picked him up from the airport! I'm so happy to finally see him. Stayed up with him last night watching part of the fifth season of Dexter which was awesome! I've never fully payed attention to the other seasons but I know enough from Wikipedia and I remember some parts of the last season. After that I was somehow pulled into adding horror movies he wanted to watch so he told me to add, of all things, The Human Centipede.

For anyone wondering what it is, don't even think about it. It is one of the most disturbing movies in the universe and I curse myself for looking up trailers to that when someone told me to. Ugh.. Just makes me shudder thinking about it.

I only stayed up to see the first thirty minutes which really began like a stereotypical horror film: Go out to see friends, get a flat tire, don't know how to change or fix it or you don't have the necessary tools, in the middle of nowhere (depending when it's taking place: no cell reception), go out to look for help, end up in a creepy person's home, story goes off on its own from there.

After that I passed out and went to bed before it got really messed up. So here's some morals for horror films:

1. Know how to fix a tire or how to change one

2. If you try to get help in a foreign country, know some basic phrases so you actually get help.

3. If you do seek for help nearby, do not go into a person's house to use their phone unless they look perfectly sane.

And that's all I have to say on that subject.

So now I'm back to my normal school week tomorrow. I seriously need to get some fabric selected for my Mad Hatter costume. God bless my mother have giant plastic tubs of assorted fabric.

XOXO,

Liz

OMG Dr. Phil!!

The only thing on TV on a Wednesday afternoon besides a recording of Doctor Who and that's Dr. Phil..

Had no school on Tuesday due to Furlough day and if you don't live in California, it pretty much means, "We're getting budget cuts and can't have school on this day. Have a nice day off." One of the sad things about living in California and it's that we're broke...

Anyway, bright side is that after a day off we get to go to school later for advisory day. And today was twin day and me and my friend Jamie dressed up as Italy and Romano from Hetalia. Tried to pull off a curl but since my hair is already curly it kinda fails... Even with hair gel. I tried to give myself spiky hair but it just made my hair a blobby mess of gel and goo... Fail big time.

I now love my dance teacher because she's considering doing the dance we're learning and taking all of her classes and doing a flash mob on campus. The only problem is getting people to learn the dance and get it perfect if we were to do a flash mob. I still love the idea and I'm hoping that we could be able to do a flash mob.

In GSA today we just discussed about making posters for the homecoming parade and that'll be done tomorrow during Food Fair which we couldn't sell energy drinks even though there are people selling our back up plan, root beer floats, and coffee. Oh well... hopefully we'll get things situated to do the next food fair.

Oh and we got to wrap up a kid in advisory in toilet paper and make them a mummy. Nice to finally be doing something fun for once in that class.

And I'm so glad to finally be getting a new seat tomorrow in Algebra 2 because I can finally have some focus without having the feeling to rip out my hair. Second time's a charmer cause I asked before to get a different seat but I couldn't be moved without putting a troublesome kid next to the kid I'm sitting next to. But the teacher decided to move me towards the front and trade places with another kid. Now I'll be in a nice happy place.

Ugh.. I just want it to be Friday cause then I get to see my stepbrother Steven for the first time in... I dunno a couple years? He's in the Air Force so cause he's busy so much he hasn't come to see us in the longest time but we still have contact. He's even coming with us to Costa Rica for New Years' too. So I'm gonna be super psyched to see him soon.

XOXO,

Liz

We're on a Mission from God

The Blues Brothers has been something I've been dying to watch and I finally got to yesterday.

So sadly as it turns out, anime club won't be selling Pocky cause the president's had too much on her plate to buy the Pocky.. but it's whatever. We have another Food Fair next month so we'll be able to do that one.

Drama club's super fun. A lot of people joined and I know this will be a great year. My sister got a part in the upcoming play; we're putting on Rumors. It's supposed to be pretty funny. Rehearsals start on Monday after school and I think people for tech starts on Wednesday.. Still gotta check that out. I can only imagine what we may do for the musical. I hope it's something fun and in our budget range.

I'm so glad it's finally the weekend. Just watching old SNL skits on Netflix and The Blues Brothers to my heart's content.

Y'know I found out the only reasons that I shouldn't like The Blues Brothers:

1.The fact that a decent portion of the cast is dead

2.They tried to make a sequel AFTER Belushi died

And that's it.

Nothing going on this weekend though I think I should start on planning my Halloween costume seeing how it's already October. Oh! And I need to catch up on some reading. Been lagging behind thanks to school and laziness... Got Interview with a Vampire but it goes by way too slowly than the movie so I'll just catch up on Alex Cross.

XOXO,

Liz

Freshmen Newbies

So this week was the first week that the freshmen came to the clubs they wanted to join.

Anime club was loaded with new faces which was really awesome. I know this is gonna be a great year of anime club. Next week we'll be selling Pocky at the Food Fair and walking in the Homecoming Parade cosplaying.

Today was GSA club and we had quite a lot of people join. We went into a seminar discussing about a new law that allows history classes to talk about people of different sexual orientations that helped shape our society. It got really interesting to talk about the tolerance of homosexuality in today's communities.

I think it'd be great to talk about people of different sexual orientations in our schools, especially in elementary school so we don't question this later when people think we should know it already. I mean if we let racial diversity being taught in school then why not sexual orientation diversity? I really don't find it fair that when I was in grade school I wasn't taught much about Asian and African American history cause I lived in a town where everyone was either Caucasian or Mexican, no Asians, and anyone I grew up with who was black was most likely adopted by a white family. I'm not kidding. It wasn't called White County for nothing. Anything I learned about African American or Asian history was 99% of the time from the History Channel.

When I moved at age eleven, I knew what homosexuality was and I was totally fine with it. It didn't bug me at all. I got new friends and most of them were bisexual. I'm an affectionate person so I have a tendency to hug people and a group of snobby girls saw that as a bad thing when I'd hug my friends and would pull the "Are you a lesbian?" crap. I find this annoying when people can't leave a person alone for their sexuality. At my new school, anyone gay or bi usually kept it hidden unless they were dating someone of the same sex. It ticks me off that no one could freely be proud of who they were because other people saw it as wrong. I mean what if I was actually a lesbian? That'd hurt so much with what those girls did. But you know what that was over a year ago so I could totally care less and that's just a chapter in my life I wish to say, in the words of Cee-Lo Green, forget you.

I was glad to move here cause no was so picky about sexual orientation. Granted it still exists but it's not as bad. I was glad to join the GSA and meet more people and probably think of ways to help my bi friends back in Indiana to tolerate with this. And I really support schools teaching about people of different sexual orientations so kids see that it's okay to love the same sex if you want to.

And this intolerance bugs me so much. How many times in history do we have to keep doing this? Fifty years ago everyone hated African Americans and twenty years before that it was the Irish and it just keeps going and going all the way to Biblical times with the Jews. How long is this gonna keep up? Till the end of time? People should seriously get over themselves with racial and sexual orientation discrimination. Yes, the Mexicans take our jobs to live in a decent country without being deported, but they're jobs that we don't want in the first place. And so what if someone is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? It's who they are and what makes them a unique individual whether they like boys or girls.

This is the definition of marriage I found on dictionary.com: An institution where a man and a woman make their decision to become husband and wife.

I got a little irritated seeing gay marriage right underneath that. I know it's supposed to be between a man and a woman, but does that really matter? It should be about love, right?

So here's my new definition on marriage: The bond between two people who love each other to be together forever.

Sexuality has nothing to do with it.

This is why I get mad that religious people get in the way with their kids being themselves. I hate it when they see it as wrong and won't accept their kids for who they are. It's ironic seeing how Christianity tells us to love everyone but being homosexual is a bad thing when it really isn't. It's why these kids get so depressed because they're bullied and no one's there to support them because they won't be accepted or are too scared of what their parents may think and they end up killing themselves. My heart drops when I hear that stuff on the news with 14-year-olds killing themselves cause they just choose to end a life that hasn't really begun so soon... It hurts so much...

Well that was my rant...

GSA won't be doing Food Fair cause we're not allowed to sell energy drinks and it's too last minute to change it. But we will be in the parade too.

And tomorrow's Drama Club and I'm really hoping my sister does get a part in the play. It's my first year of drama so I'll be doing tech stuff and whatnot.

School's slowly getting busier... Have my first group project in Spanish and I think I'm stuck with some slightly clueless people... Will soon be reading The Canterbury Tales in English.. And I'm still brainstorming my final dance choreography before December... It's going pretty slowly. Heh..

XOXO,

Liz

Forgetful Lucy

Yeah was watching 50 First Dates yesterday.

Weekend time again where I chill, do my homework, re-watch movies on my DVR, and Sunday football.

The week ended a little tiring but good... and slightly frustrating.

I got really upset when I got a sixty percent on my last Algebra 2 quiz. And I'm at the state of paranoia where my grade in that class is an eighty percent and a single grade in anything could mess it up badly for me. It doesn't help that I ended the eighth grade with a C minus in Algebra 1 either...

My thing with math is that I know how to do the problems, but it's the tiny mistakes that really screw with my grade. Like subtracting something when I really should have added something or making a number that isn't the original equation, and I look it over and assume it's correct so I think nothing else about it. It's a terrible habit to have and I really, really need to fix it this year.

What made it worse is that when the teacher said there were make ups I didn't hear the part that they were only for people who weren't even there. I find that really unfair because I actually want to do good unlike people who probably could care less about their grade.

Whatever... Now I just gotta fix my test taking habits and hope that the next test doesn't bring down my grade.

On the bright side, Friday was also Club Day where everyone signs up for clubs they want to join. Anime Club went off with a hit and we had 24 people sign up which was awesome! Really great day for anime club. We cosplayed, played some music and had an awesome table of anime and manga stuff. I say great success.

I signed up for the Drama Club along with like 70 other people cause my sister wanted me to join and I was interested. Funny thing is the first play only has ten roles and a likely chance that most of those people are going to want to audition. Luckily I plan to do tech since I haven't acted since I was..... When was my dance class's production of Alice in Wonderland? .... Well it's been a while so I kinda have some stage fright with acting and stuff. Will stick with techy thing-a-mabobs.

And this weekend is like the same before: Relaxation and homework... And Sunday football.

XOXO,

Liz

Slow Week...

Yeah I don't think I need to explain much. This is too slow of a week for me.

As it turns out, the back to school flu season is in. It's of course the time of year where everyone starts suddenly getting sick with coughing and sneezing of the sorts. Now one of my friends can barely talk and my sister's friend has tonsillitis. How's that for a great time at school when you catch someone's cold?

Ugh.. and I'm so exhausted, my throat's scratchy and I still have a stuffed up nose. Had to walk home today in 90 degrees of heat which sucked. Thank God I don't have a ton of homework and I didn't have to carry it all home and will pick it up later.

So this Friday is Club Day where freshmen sign up for all sorts of different clubs. I kinda laughed to myself a little cause there's this club called the friendship club where you go there and make friends.... I feel like that'll last one meeting. That's why you sign up for a club in the first place; to make friends. And you do that by meeting people in your classes. Whatever, that club fails it's not my problem.

Anyway, I'm helping the anime club recruit freshmen and I'm the public chair so I made some awesome fliers. Can't wake to make more friends soon!

XOXO,

Liz

Eliza's Day Off

Yep. I'm too sick to go to school today so I'm staying home and resting up.

God I hate being sick. I only get sick at least once or twice a year but when I do, I hate it.

My throat's all scratchy and my nose is stuffed up which temporarily destroys my sense of smell. Ugh... Hate it so much!

I swear I woke up today thinking it was Sunday, and I didn't have to go to school today. And I had a super weird dream.... Rice with gummy bears that cause chaos in the world.... Was there something in that bruschetta I ate last night?? Whatever, I have weird dreams anyway.

So I'm spending my time at home filling up on liquids and catching up on anime.

Hope I get better much much sooner than later...

XOXO,

Liz

Aaaa-sneeze!

First cold in months and it sucks. I got it yesterday afternoon when I got the sniffles and sneezies. It sucks cause it's the weekend and I'm gonna spend it being slightly miserable. Then again I don't really have anything to do this weekend that I know of so it's whatever.

Rest of the school week has been nothing but of course work. Got a nice amount of homework so I should get on that so I won't procrastinate and have a panic attack or something.

As for now I'm listening to GirlDeMo from Angel Beats! and it is awesome! Look it up. Some songs by that band is Alchemy, Crow Song and My Song. And yes it's a Japanese pop band but it's so much better than the crappy excuse for music we Americans make.

On top of that I'm watching the second Pokemon movie while a cup of hot chocolate is resting all warm and snuggly in my tummy.

XOXO,

Liz

Yawwwn

So I'm back in school for another long week of school work.

So far it's consisting of me roasting like a Christmas turkey. For whatever reason, the AC at school stops working by lunch time. I don't know if they just shut if off if it's just broken and they haven't fixed it but it's not good when you feel like passing out in fifth period from heat. Luckily I still have my water bottle so I don't faint or anything.

And let's see...

Pretty sure my dance teacher doesn't like first period due to the fact that a lot of people talk and don't do anything and the teacher makes us sit down and lectures us about procedures. It's really frustrating when other students, myself included, actually pay attention and do what she tells us to do and no one else does. Ugh... So there's that crap.

Finished Antigone in Advanced English 10... Is not the happiest story in the universe. Look it up if you wish but it's kinda messed up.

And there was an anime club this week and GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) meeting today. Yep, I joined a gay straight alliance. I'm straight but totally for homosexuality. Don't like it? Well never said you have to.

So now I'm gonna go back to watching Family Guy like I do on any boring school night.

XOXO,

Liz

10 years later

So it's the ten year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

I didn't know what happened on that September day until I was ten years old. I was five when the attacks occurred and any memory of that day, it was a normal day in kindergarten and I was home by noon. And how was I supposed to understand that a bunch of terrorists crashed into buildings with no real reason? I was only starting to understand what death was. It really was shocking how many people lost their lives when those planes crashed. I'm just happy that no one I knew was caught in or killed in the attacks.

Everything's changed so much since that day. The next year we went to war with the Middle East and we see the people in that area so differently. It's stupid how many Americans have stereotyped Indian and Islamic people to wanting to bomb any airplane their on with Americans. You think those people like being stereotyped thanks to some psychopath who thought what his goons did was honorable. Thanks a ton bin Laden for taking our troops away from home because of your ignorance.

Well it's ten years later, Osama's dead, and now memorials are gonna being built/finished being built and a new World Trade Center's gonna be opened in two years. Now I just want our troops home so they won't miss another Christmas with their families. I know cause my step brother's in the air force and we're trying to get him to come with us on our Costa Rica trip this year.

My normal life now is consisting of Sunday football and more writing.

Oh and I started a new blog once again at this link >>> http://lifethroughcalvinandhobbes.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

XOXO,
Liz

Serious Subjects People Ignore

Yeah remember that book I got yesterday? Thirteen Reasons Why? Well I finished it today... And cried my eyes out. Yes it's really sad when the reasons are revealed why the girl, Hannah, killed herself, but there's a somewhat happy end. It's a really really good book and opens up people's eyes to the world around them and what can be hidden sometimes under our noses.

Today in advisory we were discussing cyberbullying and now that I've finished the book, it got me thinking if they ever talk about the signs to know if someone's suicidal or if they ever will. I myself believe it's a serious subject to talk about. I have friends who had had suicidal thoughts in the past and I think with me around, they're still here now, alive and enjoying life. (No I won't give out names) So I find it amazing how they talk about not doing drugs or alcohol or no bullying but I don't think I've ever heard of people talk about the signs of suicide.

In Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah had brought up the subject of suicide to be talked about in one of her classes. She left a note to a teacher anonymously so her classmates thought that someone was doing it as a joke. If someone is suicidal, it is NOT a joke and anyone who thinks or does that seriously need a CAT scan. Suicide is in NO way something to joke about especially when it actually happens. It hasn't to me but I'm sure somewhere in this sad world it has happened where it was assumed as a joke or an act for attention and then it actually happens. And why would anyone use suicide as an excuse for attention? If I want attention, I raise my voice for people to hear me, not say I want to cut my wrists until I hit an artery because it's not funny. If someone is sounding or acting suicidal, know the signs and help them or get help. Talk to them even if they don't want to, or do whatever, just anything to keep that person living to see the next thirty thousand sunrises (AKA little over 80 years).

So again, if you think you have someone close to you who may be suicidal, do NOT hesitate to do anything you can to help them no matter how much they say they're fine when it isn't true.

And to end this serious blog post, free verse poetry I made up today.

If someone is on the brink,
With no where else to turn,
No other options,
What would you do?
Would you let them fall off the edge,
Or pull them back to safety?
Would you let their life end with a sharp blade,
Or take the blade away from their hand?
Would you embrace them and tell them everything will be okay,
And never let go?
What would you do?

XOXO,
Liz

No Vacation till November

Yeah doesn't make me for a happy Liz. Heheheh. Our next day off is our three day vacation for Veteran's Day.

My friend Nora's birthday party was the best. We played The Beatles Rock Band, devoured pizza, and played some drama games. Best birthday party so far!

So back at school, started some choreography in dance, test in Chemistry, more Antigone in Advanced English 10 and of course the irritation of people who don't seem to care if they need to repeat Algebra 2 or Spanish 3.

Today was the first anime club meeting which I've been anxious for since school started. We did elections and began discussing what we'll do this year. I feel like this will be a great year for the anime club.

Tomorrow is Back to School night where the parents get to meet the teachers and find out what is being done in our classes. Will be a little crazy since my step dad will be too busy to help us divide and conquer so we'll just have to jump back and forth between me and my sister's classes with our mom. I feel like we'll go more to Marina's classes than mine since she's a senior and leaving once she's done with high school but then again I am staying here so my classes are just as important.

And today I went to the library and I finally got the book Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher. I heard it was a good book. It's about this boy named Clay as he listens to the tapes created by the late Hannah who committed suicide not too long ago and finds out the events that lead up to her death. I'm already almost halfway done and close to tears. It's a really really sad book but really great to read and opens people's eyes to some of the harassment that some people face and feel Hannah's pain. Definitely not a book you wanna read during school if it makes you really sad during class and makes you cry. I feel like that'll happen to me. Heheheh. But again, really awesome book. Check it out the next time you're at a library.

XOXO,
Liz

Three days of relaxation.. and birthday parties

So the three day weekend I've been waiting for has finally come. And thank goodness.

Today was our neighbor's kid's first birthday party and he's just the cutest! Had some tacos and really good chocolate cake that I never finished. And Conner got his first cupcake and made a little mess. Sadly by the end of the party he started to get a little cranky. It was good to see the birthday boy and go. Had a good time.

And tomorrow I'm going to my friend Nora's sweet sixteen party. Really happy I get a nice fun filled weekend.

Jeez my house smells so good and basil-y right now. My mom got a pasta maker and is having loads of fun using that. She made the best cheesy ravioli ever!

As for Monday I don't have any plans other than chilling and possibly catch up on some anime so I'll have something to put on my other blog.

XOXO,
Liz

Even more getting used to things

So last Friday was our first school dance which went pretty good. I had quite a few friends go and we all had tons of fun dancing. It wasn't as scary as other dances so thank God. Turns out that when the teachers said they would see if people were dancing dirty to a certain extent, they were serious about it. So about every few minutes a teacher would shine a flashlight on a group of kids. It wasn't so bad cause everyone would just freeze if they were doing something they weren't supposed to. Was okay for me and my friends since we don't do stuff like that. Overall, really good dance.

Saturday went by like normal and Sunday we drove up to San Francisco for Marina to visit her boyfriend. We went out for tacos and Italian sweets and did a little bit of roaming around Pier 39; mostly looking at sea lions which were funny and plain adorable. Really good day.

And now a new week of school has commenced. Just the same old usual school work and irritation of people who don't care for their education. And anime club will have its first meeting next Tuesday and we'll be deciding on president and vice president and what not. Fun had by all.

XOXO,
Liz

It's all going good

So as of now, I've been going to school for a short time, but everything's starting to smooth out. Got lucky today with less homework than what I've been getting the previous three days. Though I am slowly realizing what my least favorite classes are though.

I don't like chemistry because everything's a bit disoriented, people are disruptive, and the teacher's too soft-spoken. We've been getting assignments to do lab reports but he doesn't give us any templates on how to do them, but he's fine with whatever we turn in. I was able to take notes on the periodic table so it's not a total loss. Keeping my fingers crossed that I won't need to repeat it in case my grade starts to drop.

I also don't like Algebra 2 and Spanish 3 because I have juniors and seniors in those classes and for whatever reason, they decide to act like their four years old. Actually it's not just juniors and seniors; it's all people who don't take their education seriously. It really ticks me off when I'm trying to learn in a class of people who having nothing planned for their future and completely slack off in their classes. It's even more irritating when the teacher has to resort to yelling to gain a class's attention and then nothing gets done. Do any of these kids really want a future career and a family to support? I guess not.

The other day I was watching Freakanomics and there was one segment where they tested 900 students if they would get better grades by being bribed to be payed by getting good grades. I'm just thinking, "Really? You need to bribe kids to make them pass the ninth grade?" There was one kid failing all of his classes who was complaining that his parents were being strict and asking where he would be going and stuff and it's like, "Dude, they're parents. They're just doing their job they promised to do when you were born." My parents are the same way: they're trying to make sure I don't live a crappy life when I'm out on my own. It's what all parents do, so just deal with it.

I just hate hearing people my age complain how their lives suck cause they're failing their classes and all this other stupid crap when they do that to themselves because they have no motivation for school. You people should seriously be lucky you have an education cause there are kids in China who don't have an education and are making your Nike shoes because their country's never heard of child labor laws. Heck, even girls are treated like crap because they're only seen as tools for making babies. These kids want to be doctors but they can't because they have no access to an education because of the little money their families or they believe that women shouldn't have educations to be lawyers or doctors. How'd you like to be in their position if you plan to waste a perfectly good education? You're given an opportunity to do something great and those kids really deserve that education if you're just gonna waste it. So that just makes me mad that those kids in places like Africa and China are less unfortunate than people here.

So there's my little spiel of what's on my mind.

As for the rest of my life, going to a dance on Friday and hoping it goes better than the last school dance I went to.

XOXO,
Liz

He's a Family Guy

Yep. Instead of loading up on anime I've been obsessed with Family Guy.

So second day of school went so much better. I didn't feel like I was gonna pass out on the spot. I still need some folders for my Algebra binder and a couple book covers though I really don't see why I need book covers cause it's just a waste of paper. And it's not like they keep books from being damaged. Sure as heck didn't keep my Geometry book from getting water damage. Anyway, got some homework which wasn't too bad. As of now I need some stuff signed for Chemistry and a 35 dollar lab donation. I find it ridiculous that a lot of these science and art classes need to ask students for money just to have the necessary supplies. My art class required 50 bucks for the entire school year and each student only had 2 bucks for supplies. So I don't know why the school has to ask the parents for money just to be able to do anything in our classes but whatever...Wonder when the school will be able to make a couple smart decisions.

And so my weekend is slowly ending with finishing another James Patterson book, writing a little, and finishing my homework. Going to a belated baby shower today. I say belated in the fact that the doctors said the baby had some form of dwarfism and and he wasn't going to live but it turns out that the baby was really tiny and one birth later, he's been doing his best to gain weight and getting healthy. And so today we're going to throw a baby shower.

And I'm still debating with whether or not I wanna go to this Friday's school dance.

XOXO,
Liz

Lord Almighty...

Strike me where I stand.

Out of all the first days of school, this is by far the worst one.

So we have a new dance teacher who I have for first period. Quickly figured out that if you act like a smart mouth that she'll get mean. A guy decided to go "What CAN we do?" when she was explaining procedures which are as basic as any class procedures and she yelled "Well you can show some respect in my class!" which got an "Oooooh!" from the rest of the students.

My World History teacher is really nice so I have nothing to complain about. My Chemistry teacher put us to work with a small experiment and a lab report that he barely explained how to do it so....Yeah. My English teacher gave us homework about defining analysis which took me an hour to do since we had to use a car as an analogy and I was half dead. Well I did sign up for an advanced English class so it's obviously normal. I like the teacher though cause she did a lot of traveling and has been to Croatia and loves to go there so I got a little happy.

After lunch I was slowly beginning to feel tired as I went to my Algebra 2 class. I barely remember much of that class other than getting some papers. Then I had Spanish 3 which is an Honor's class so it's a lot more work than my previous years in learning Spanish.

So I walked home in the heat needing a whole bunch of papers signed, a couple assignments, and in need in six composition notebooks: 1 for World History, 1 for Chemistry, 2 for Algebra 2, and 2 for Spanish 3.

Sophomore year's not gonna be friendly to me. Hopefully not every day is gonna be like today: Plain exhausting.

XOXO,
Liz

Movie Review

So in the past few days I've finished three animes, saw Tangled for the first time, and hung out with Jamie roaming around downtown.

Tangled was a really good movie. I kinda thought it wasn't gonna be good for whatever reason, but anyway, I saw it on Netflix, added it, watched it, and loved it. While I am gonna miss the old traditional animation on Disney princess movies, I did love the CGI in this movie. It was really beautiful and the story line based from the Brothers Grimm's tale of Rapunzel. It was just like any other Disney princess movie I grew up with: Sweet, romantic, and of course, plenty of music. Really loved that movie and for anyone who hasn't seen it: Go see it now!

On another note, I'll be starting up my sophomore year this upcoming Thursday and I'm so looking forward to it.

XOXO,
Liz

New Schedules

So yesterday me and Marina got our schedules, ID cards, the whole nine yards. So happily we already got our Whooping Cough shots two years ago when we got three shots in one day. I thought it was for Chicken Pox but I guess I was wrong. Oh well. Least I don't need needles injected into my arm so I was so happy for that.

So here's my schedule in order:

Beginning Dance
World History
Chemistry
Advanced English 10
Algebra 2
Spanish 3

And I still have my advisory class with Mr. Brezette and I'm super psyched cause he also has my sister for one of his British Literature classes. So I feel uber happy about that.

So for the first time in a few years my school picture actually looks decent for once instead of crap which makes me happy. And I purchased a yearbook for this year as well. I was glad I was able to get my schedule earlier because we had to fix a fine from the water damage to my old geometry textbook cause I didn't need to be in a super long line for like over an hour. It was really good cause I got to see some friends I haven't seen since the start of the summer. Just five more days..

Which reminds me I still need to get my English homework printed. Hahahaha.

After getting our schedules, we drove to Gilroy so I can have more luck with back to school shopping at the Kohl's since it's the only place I'm able to find jeans and capris that fit. I also tried to get a pair of Vans but the store was just loaded with people because of a sale and I couldn't find what I wanted.

Bright side is that there's a Plato's Closet by the mall opening up at the end of the month so maybe I'll find stuff here.

So today's just another ordinary day. Sitting at home watching anime like there's no tomorrow. I'm slowly getting my way to finishing Chobits and Soul Eater.

XOXO,
Liz

Cue the Final Fantasy Victory Music!!

So I'm so happy to say that I'm done with my English summer assignment! Now all I gotta do is print it and I'll be the happiest person in the world!

Now that I'm finally done with my English homework I gotta pick up the slack and work on my Spanish homework that I've sadly ignored since my Yosemite trip. Luckily it's just verb stuff which thank God that I have an entire book with just verb tenses and what not. So I can easily breeze past that and study up a little bit before school which starts in nine days.

Now today me and my sister were supposed to get our Whooping cough shots, but since it's stupidly expensive to get them at Walgreens, our mom's gonna schedule an appointment for tomorrow at a doctor's. And thank goodness for that since I watched Intervention just last night and saw a lady inject crystal meth in her arm.

I was pretty disgusted when I saw that, cause I was like, "What makes people do this?" This woman was picking skin off her face and it was just plain scary. I'm still amazed people consider doing drugs making them "happy" when in the end, they just look disgusting from all the damage it is doing to their body. It's convinced me enough to never do anything stupid like that.

Anyway, yesterday I saw the movie The King's Speech and I just loved it. It's about King George VI and his struggle with his stammer when he sees speech therapist, Lionel Logue. It's a really great historical film and very enjoyable even when Colin Firth bursts out swearing. I have to say though it's really hard to adjust to Geoffrey Rush when he goes from a pirate with a "scraggly beard" to a formal and clean Australian speech therapist. I really recommend this movie for anyone. And other than swearing, it's not that bad of an R-rated film.

So this Friday, me and my sister have our orientations and schedule pick-ups. Hopefully I'll have the same classes as some of my friends so we can work on homework together. And this year I've been told that there's gonna be a newspaper club and I plan to join that and hopefully no one will go crazy on the freedom of speech thing and get the club shut down.

XOXO,
Liz

Back to the Beach

So yesterday me, my mom, my step-dad, my sister, and her boyfriend went out to Capitola for a nice day of relaxing at the beach. On the way we took a little detour to a small Croatian bakery and deli and bought a nice load of Polish sausage and some other Croatian goodies. And just tasting Polish sausage for the first time in over a year is just pure and utter bliss. It's like meat candy whenever my grandparents gave some to me or Marina. Never thought I'd miss it so much.

After the detour, our GPS took us out to God's country for whatever reason and it took an hour longer to get to the beach. I didn't mind so much though I did have a full bladder for quite some time.

We just chilled on the beach. Didn't bring my camera cause I didn't know how much battery I had. Roamed the beach a bit and picked up some shells and rock. I even found granite. See lots of kids make sandcastles out in Capitola. Oh, and I did see a group of girls use a long piece of kelp for a jump rope. Very nice to go to Capitola in the afternoon.

As for today, we went to the mall for a little bit of clothes shopping for school. Didn't get as much as I thought I would, but I did get a tank top from Macy's and a Hetalia T-shirt from Hot Topic that I couldn't live without.

And now my mom's making dinner for our neighbor's coming over later.

XOXO,
Liz