So apparently I decided that I got really bored of my original background and blog layout. Instead of having a black background to post on, I wanted to change it to a white one. Oh, and one more thing. In case you're wondering why there is a giant lotus blossom instead of the original Tang Orange Juice picture, that's because that's what my middle name means. Now, my profile is still the Tang OJ, so don't be upset, those of you who have been following me since this April! I also thought, a lighter, more dynamic background might be more pleasing to the eye, and (hopefully) attract more Followers. Please let me know what you think!
Meanwhile, Christmas is approaching :D Let's see; Christmas Eve is next Friday, and the day after is Christmas Day. I want to know-- do you celebrate an entirely different holiday, like Kwanzaa or Chanukah? If so, please tell me all about it! This year for Christmas, I asked for an assortment of shoes. I love oxfords; they look like vintage shoes, and just look classy and unique. I also wanted/needed books, books, and more books galore. So far, I haven't really asked for anything in particular. Just basically what people think I might like, which is strange, compared to last year's "list" (I won't go into detail).
Unfortunately marching season has ended. Our last parade, the Christmas one, was two Sundays ago. Since I am not at the high school yet, I won't get to see those wonderful people until next August ): Now I must endure the long wait. On the up side, I got my first letter! I had an All-County pin from last year that I added on it. As you'll notice, my new Followers, I frequently talk about band in my posts. It's just part of my life!
Ah, snow, snow, snow. When will you come? I see frost on the pavement, but I want the real deal. And will you bring new friendship and resolutions along, too? Speaking of resolutions, 2011's New Year's Eve is coming up! I need to slow down. Christmas hasn't even ended yet! Well, if you have any resolutions you would like to share with me, just post a comment! Farewell, and see you in the next post!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Creative Writing/Hero’s Journey: An Extraterrestrial Tale
Here is my short story we did in my English class-enjoy!
There is no space left on earth.
We used to have our own suburban homes, twenty-acre farms, luxurious penthouses, you name it. Those things no longer exist. You see, in Washington, D.C., of the year 2070, everyone lives in pods the size of a twin bed. No taller, no shorter. Each family of pods—literally—are linked so as not to be separated.
Fifty years ago, safety laws were enforced across America, then the continent, then the world. Since then, the death toll has decreased drastically. New cures for illnesses were found by doctors and scientists, which means there’s a one-in-a-million chance anyone could get infected. Our studies have grown so advanced, a cure for cancer has even been found! With these safer environments and laws, people have lived longer than ever before.
My name is Carmen Heath. I work for NASA. My cropped brown haircut makes me stick out like a sore thumb amongst most women, who generally have thigh-length hair nowadays. It’s a trend. My not-so-tall stature is common among many women, too.
For years I have tried to get the government to pay attention to my ideas about our population problem, but fate never allowed it. Until recently . . .
NASA’s mission director, Simon Hect, and I have been close colleagues for many years. We discuss many plans and ideas, and basically how to impact the world in a positive way. When I told him my brainstorm, he told me I should launch a mission of exploration to Mars. “Since Earth is too crowded, like you always say,” he continued, “why not get permission from the government to explore the possibility of a population transfer to Mars?”
My fear inclined me to become skeptical. “What if they veto the idea?”
He grandly declared, “If they want the planet to combust, they’ll say that. I say seek adventure, be rebellious, save the world!”
I pondered that for days on end. Finally, I telegraphed a letter to President Allen, asking for consent to do as Simon had encouraged me. As I had foreseen, she rejected the proposition. Anxiety and doubt flooded my thoughts. Maybe she was right. I hadn’t thought this through enough. What if my country turned against me?
Little did I know that someone else had the same idea as I . . . the Emperor of Japan heard about me and my idea from the director of Japan’s space program, who heard it from Simon. The Emperor agreed that my idea would work, and contacted President Allen. This formed an alliance with Japan on the project to move people to Mars and explore. Soon, other world leaders found out, so now I’m the Head Organizer for the project. Without the help of other countries, I never would have been able to go to Mars.
Unfortunately, President Allen decided to make a law against all space exploits. She did not want to put our country and world in danger, and thought the plan to populate Mars was too far-fetched. According to her, we should all accept the fact that earth is crowded for a reason. Why not? We didn’t know what the living conditions were on Mars. That’s the whole point of our investigation. Whatever—I’m not going to argue in a circle through telegraphic messages with our government.
Of course, by now it was much too late for her to stop us. Regardless of her regulation, I had decided to put the plan in action anyway—if I didn’t, our world would continue to suffer. We were already taking off!
The force of the lift-off pulled my skin back, making it so that I had a silly, unintentional grin on my face. It felt as if my face was like rubber stretching. At last we burst through the ozone and into the vast unknown. Cue the singing angels.
Before us stretched an infinity of stars and glowing dust, a gorgeous spectacle. There was no sound—the universe was eternally silent—except for the gasps of awe from those aboard the shuttle.
“You may now release your body restraints and move about the shuttle,” our Navigator announced over the speakers.
“Can we exit the ship?” I inquired. A German scientist babbled a reply I could not make out, but he seemed to be shaking his head.
We stayed in space for a day, living off of “space food,” until we finally arrived on Mars. There was a red haze about the planet, making it so that every surface was painted scarlet. I could not hear anything with my helmet on, but there was a distinctly musty smell about the planet. In the time we were there, we had some mishaps that really got in the way of my mission: data from journals and computers were being torn out or deleted; fuses and circuits were taken out of electric supplies; and at one point, an Australian’s oxygen tank had a leak in it, so they only set foot on Mars for two minutes. All of this seemed entirely too coincidental—my suspicion was immediately stirred.
I had a hunch there was a saboteur on this shuttle. And I think President Allen was behind it. Oooh, the fiend! My head felt hot as I realized she wanted my mission to fail. Well, she was going to have to get through me first. I wasn’t about to play immature cat-and-mouse government games! I had a plan to catch the evil-doer, and I was going to stick to it. When I reported the plan to the pilot, he suggested I just leave it alone and not worry about it, or call a meeting.
“No! I want to catch him myself!”
“Alright Carmen, but things would be a whole lot easier if you did call a meeting,” he said carefully.
Fine. I don’t need a wise ol’ pilot’s help.
My plan did not work. I stayed up all night—or whatever you call it in space—to see if anything would happen while everyone was supposed to be asleep. At one point I thought I heard someone awaken, but other than that nothing happened.
The next day, I got to explore Mars. The atmosphere felt as if we were underwater—it was thick and unmoving. Of course, the glee of floating from spot to spot brought all of us explorers much pleasure and relief of the stress of space travel. The red soil-like substance beneath our feet was tough and jagged—the whole terrain looked and felt rugged.
We explored and recorded our data for an hour or so and then started heading back to the ship. Only, there was no ship. We were stranded. Who had done this?!
“Someone had better explain this right now,” I hissed through my teeth, albeit no one could hear that. The saboteur bravely stepped forward.
“I am in service to President Allen. You are not to continue with your mission; she will not permit it,” he explained. I was enraged. This man had deliberately marooned us on another planet and ruined my mission.
“We will leave this man here and return to Earth by calling the crew,” I instructed.
“Miss Heath, that’s unreasonable. Why don’t we just telegraph President Allen with a light-speed aircraft to transport us back to Earth?” suggested the Australian man.
“No. This man cannot b—“
I can’t believe I was having such harsh ideas—leaving a man to die on Mars! Preposterous, but he deserved it. . . perhaps we could complete the mission at the NASA station. I was beginning to feel the wheels turning in my head.
“I suppose that would work, and either way we would be able to complete our mission, and hopefully have residents here,” I looked at Simon for agreement.
“I say we try it and unite with President Allen!” Simon proclaimed. I contemplated the conversation I had just gone through. Maybe other ideas do work. Other people, after all, do have valid points. In the past, people called me a control freak. Now I understand.
We telegraphed President Allen requesting a rescue shuttle, and it did not take her long to reach us. We all boarded the mini-shuttle, and sky-rocketed back toward Earth. Ah, so long, space. See you later.
President Allen was glad to transport us home, and decided that yes, we should make a “Mars Neighborhood.” With our ideas combined, great things would be coming for the rest of our lives.
We plunged back through the ozone, the air sweltering around the shuttle. We touched down perfectly and safely. To my great relief, the other spaceship had already landed, too. All of us, after we entered the station, were plagued by the media. Every newschannel throughout the world was on.
My mission now felt more complete. President Allen and I were on good terms, and we were incorporating other nations’ ideas and theories into civilizing Mars, too. Now that I have grown in my ability to listen to others, I can accomplish many great things. The “Mars Neighborhood Project” has proven to be a success, and our world will forever be united.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
"Look--a Twister!!"
Today was really queer (that's my word of the day). For starters, we already had End-Of-Quarter Testing, so that meant a different schedule and no homework. That's the ONLY good thing about big tests. Then last night, the area that I live in was given a Tornado Warning until 2:00 am. This morning we also had a flash-flood 
warning, to add onto it. I'm serious--right now, it's coming down in torrents outside, you can hardly see the house just across the street!! By the way, this is just a picture off the internet; it wasn't the tornado that's in my area. It just looked cool and intimidating XP We rarely have twisters, anyway.
Here's the interesting part: Right as everyone was heading out the doors to the bus lot, people started turning around and shouting "THERE'S A TORNADO WARNING!! RUN!" Of course, some people were overreacting, but that's not to say that the matter wasn't serious. So we all had to go back to our last period classes. Fortunately, we allowed to have ipods out :D However, that didn't last all but 10 minutes. Everyone literally freaked out when my last period teacher came in and said, "Alright everyone, we need to calmly go out in the hall and line ourselves up against the walls like we do during drills." Yeah right, like anyone was calm about it!
We were in the crouching position--where all our weight is on our folded legs and our hands are covering our head--for about 10 minutes. Then we were allowed to sit on our butts in a more comfortable position, given that we were going to be stuck there for an hour. I was squished in between my friends; good thing we all liked each other! We played thumb wars, Would You Rather, etc. Sadly, I'm right in the middle of reading Eclipse (I'm assuming you all know what book that is, part of the notorious series by Stephanie Meyer), so I wasted an hour when I could've been reading :( FYI, I'm not one of those super-crazy Edward/Jacob fans! I am simply just reading this novel for my own personal enjoyment.
In the end, it all turned out fine. I must say that I was a little disappointed though. Nothing exciting ever happens in this town! However, it gave me the perfect excuse to blog about it ;D Marching Season has ended, so we only have about three games left and one or two parades, sadly. I'm going to miss everyone in the band!! After December, I won't get to see them until next August. . .oh well. That's what Facebook is for :P Answer these questions: 1.) Have you ever had a tornado in your area? 2.) What's the scariest encounter you've had with nature's forecast? 3.) If your legs have ever gone numb, how long did it last?
Don't forget to leave me comments!!!
<><><>Kristen
warning, to add onto it. I'm serious--right now, it's coming down in torrents outside, you can hardly see the house just across the street!! By the way, this is just a picture off the internet; it wasn't the tornado that's in my area. It just looked cool and intimidating XP We rarely have twisters, anyway.Here's the interesting part: Right as everyone was heading out the doors to the bus lot, people started turning around and shouting "THERE'S A TORNADO WARNING!! RUN!" Of course, some people were overreacting, but that's not to say that the matter wasn't serious. So we all had to go back to our last period classes. Fortunately, we allowed to have ipods out :D However, that didn't last all but 10 minutes. Everyone literally freaked out when my last period teacher came in and said, "Alright everyone, we need to calmly go out in the hall and line ourselves up against the walls like we do during drills." Yeah right, like anyone was calm about it!
We were in the crouching position--where all our weight is on our folded legs and our hands are covering our head--for about 10 minutes. Then we were allowed to sit on our butts in a more comfortable position, given that we were going to be stuck there for an hour. I was squished in between my friends; good thing we all liked each other! We played thumb wars, Would You Rather, etc. Sadly, I'm right in the middle of reading Eclipse (I'm assuming you all know what book that is, part of the notorious series by Stephanie Meyer), so I wasted an hour when I could've been reading :( FYI, I'm not one of those super-crazy Edward/Jacob fans! I am simply just reading this novel for my own personal enjoyment.
In the end, it all turned out fine. I must say that I was a little disappointed though. Nothing exciting ever happens in this town! However, it gave me the perfect excuse to blog about it ;D Marching Season has ended, so we only have about three games left and one or two parades, sadly. I'm going to miss everyone in the band!! After December, I won't get to see them until next August. . .oh well. That's what Facebook is for :P Answer these questions: 1.) Have you ever had a tornado in your area? 2.) What's the scariest encounter you've had with nature's forecast? 3.) If your legs have ever gone numb, how long did it last?
Don't forget to leave me comments!!!
<><><>Kristen
Friday, October 15, 2010
My Toy-Storical Life
Heute ist Freitag, 15 Oktober, 2010 (I wrote the German way to say the date! :P)
Have you ever just wanted to reminisce and dig out your old toys and play with them?? Well, I remember when I was about 4 or 5, I LOVED this Fischer Price brand of toys called, "Little People." My older sister played with them, and when my little sister came around, we passed them down to her. Now she's too old to play with them, so Mom is going to send them to the church consignment DX(waaahh). She told me they were in a box in the Den, and if I wanted to play with them one last time, I could. I set it up, and took pictures of it to remember them.
house with a garage and back yard
firefighter in a helicopter rescuing a kitten (I think at one point we had a firetruck. . .)
farm yard with siloh in the background--can you find the cow?? ;P
Barn with a farmer and chicken in the hayloft (FYI, the farm set and school house were my favorite, and still are!) 
A little girl at the fair
random bunny going down the school house's slide
swing in a school house
gas station/car wash
Have you ever just wanted to reminisce and dig out your old toys and play with them?? Well, I remember when I was about 4 or 5, I LOVED this Fischer Price brand of toys called, "Little People." My older sister played with them, and when my little sister came around, we passed them down to her. Now she's too old to play with them, so Mom is going to send them to the church consignment DX(waaahh). She told me they were in a box in the Den, and if I wanted to play with them one last time, I could. I set it up, and took pictures of it to remember them.
Santa on the elevator
house with a garage and back yard
firefighter in a helicopter rescuing a kitten (I think at one point we had a firetruck. . .)
farm yard with siloh in the background--can you find the cow?? ;P
Barn with a farmer and chicken in the hayloft (FYI, the farm set and school house were my favorite, and still are!) 
A little girl at the fair
random bunny going down the school house's slide
swing in a school house
gas station/car wash
school house
See how much fun it is to just be young again? I reccommend it-- it takes away the stress of being a teen sometimes. In other news, I've posted in one month, like I said!! This week we don't have a lot of marching band practices, so that relieves some of the stress. It gives me time to do stuff like this :) Today, I decided to bum out in a hoodie and no makeup and just my plain black skinnies--it felt good not to do my normal dressing up. In my Foreign Languages class, we are currently studying German! It's a lot like English; in fact, English derived from German! Hence some of the similar spellings and syllables. I love Oktober (yes I just spelled it the German way). . .
So--tell me how your October is going! What kind of extracurriculars are you doing? Had a really funny joke you think is worth posting to me on this blog? Talk to you guys later!!
<><><>Kristen
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Happy October!
It's been quite awhile since I last posted--sorry about that, guys! For maybe until December I have TKD and marching band interfering with my normal schedule of posting at least twice a month. Speaking of which, last Saturday (sept. 24th), I had my first band competition! We got A LOT of second place trophies, but our Pit Crew, Percussion section, and Drum Majors got first place (clap clap clap). It was boiling--I probably drank about a gallon of water, so I'm all peed out^_^ It was great, though. I got to see my friends from other schools that had also entered the competition, and observing everyone's uniforms was really cool. They were all very diverse. We also have the Jamboree coming up on Thursday, and another competition on Saturday!
This month is October, one of my favorite cool-weather months! I decided that for Halloween, I'm going to be a gypsy. I bought my costume this year, since I knew I wouldn't ever have time to make my own. It's red and has gold sparkly sequins on it, and an aqua skirt. Yes, I'm 14, but seriously, how come so many teens are "too old" to Trick-or-Treat?! Dressing up and getting free candy AT NIGHT is the coolest thing ever.
I only have a few minutes left, so I'll have to sign off early: Thanks for reading my blog, and if you come across this, Follow it and comment!!
<><><>Kristen
This month is October, one of my favorite cool-weather months! I decided that for Halloween, I'm going to be a gypsy. I bought my costume this year, since I knew I wouldn't ever have time to make my own. It's red and has gold sparkly sequins on it, and an aqua skirt. Yes, I'm 14, but seriously, how come so many teens are "too old" to Trick-or-Treat?! Dressing up and getting free candy AT NIGHT is the coolest thing ever.
I only have a few minutes left, so I'll have to sign off early: Thanks for reading my blog, and if you come across this, Follow it and comment!!
<><><>Kristen
Sunday, September 5, 2010
School (waaaaa)
Ah--it's officially the school year for me. I think we're going to have 180 days--8 days down, 172 more to go!! *Sigh* I can't believe it. Where I live, we started school on August 25th. I've had an essay and lots of algebra homework and a test to do already, but I really like my teachers. Unfortunately, I have the same algebra teacher as I did last year, which means the same WORK and STUDYING to do. I know how she works, though. Honestly, Mrs. S, WEEKEND HOMEWORK IS USELESS. But she can be pretty cool at times.
My wardrobe still consists mainly of Souffe shorts, tank tops, and sandals, so I'll have to revise a bit. Thanks Mom, for the awesome black skinny jeans/pants/whatever-fabric-they-are-made-of from Old Navy!! Recently I bought myself a buffalo plaid buttondown, and I can't wait to wear it. I've wanted one of those for awhile. Too bad it's too hot to wear it. . . meanwhile, I am experimenting with hair styles. Curly, two buns on either side of my head (sort of reminds me of a fairy), mini braid, pig tails. I'm trying to avoid the usual half-up-half-down and straight bob, so I'm adding small twists to how I wear my hair. Haha, "wear my hair." That rhymes!
We had our first home game last Friday, and we won. The band, according to Mr. M, did really well for our first game than any other first game. We had an away game this past Friday, and I hate to say it, but our football team was creamed. Really bad. Yay; I just realized, we don't have the usual marching band practice tomorrow! A break is nice once in awhile.
Right now, I am enjoying my 3-day weekend at "the lake," as we all know. Amazing weather fit for swimming, but not too hot, tubing, jetskiing, boat rides, etc. It feels good. I slept in until 10:45 today--you really can't blame me, I've been waking up at 5:40 for the past 2 weeks! Tomorrow is Labor Day-- kick back and relax, everyone! Invite friends over, go shopping, whatever. My family is having relatives over for lunch. Ugh, that reminds me--I have to do chores in the morning. . .oh well. Fun comes with a price.
Signing off,
<><><>Kristen
My wardrobe still consists mainly of Souffe shorts, tank tops, and sandals, so I'll have to revise a bit. Thanks Mom, for the awesome black skinny jeans/pants/whatever-fabric-they-are-made-of from Old Navy!! Recently I bought myself a buffalo plaid buttondown, and I can't wait to wear it. I've wanted one of those for awhile. Too bad it's too hot to wear it. . . meanwhile, I am experimenting with hair styles. Curly, two buns on either side of my head (sort of reminds me of a fairy), mini braid, pig tails. I'm trying to avoid the usual half-up-half-down and straight bob, so I'm adding small twists to how I wear my hair. Haha, "wear my hair." That rhymes!
We had our first home game last Friday, and we won. The band, according to Mr. M, did really well for our first game than any other first game. We had an away game this past Friday, and I hate to say it, but our football team was creamed. Really bad. Yay; I just realized, we don't have the usual marching band practice tomorrow! A break is nice once in awhile.
Right now, I am enjoying my 3-day weekend at "the lake," as we all know. Amazing weather fit for swimming, but not too hot, tubing, jetskiing, boat rides, etc. It feels good. I slept in until 10:45 today--you really can't blame me, I've been waking up at 5:40 for the past 2 weeks! Tomorrow is Labor Day-- kick back and relax, everyone! Invite friends over, go shopping, whatever. My family is having relatives over for lunch. Ugh, that reminds me--I have to do chores in the morning. . .oh well. Fun comes with a price.
Signing off,
<><><>Kristen
Saturday, August 14, 2010
AIYAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
It's been what, 3 weeks now, since I last posted?!! Well, I just got a FACEBOOK (hooray!!!), and that's been dominating my time on the computer ^__^ My birthday was 3 weeks ago; 14 now!! I know this sounds cliche, but I actually DO feel a little more mature. I mean, I'm not playing with my little sister as much anymore, because she JUST WON'T STOP CHATTERING. I feel kind of band about it though. . .maybe I JUST DON'T WANT TO PLAY American Girls, Littlest Pet Shop, or Couch Cushion fort!! I'll find the time. . . For my birthday cake, Mom and R (little sister) made my cake. R got this idea from an American Girl magazine; a 4 layer RAINBOW cake, with blue icing and white icing to represent sky and clouds! It was really cute and creative. I'm surprised my white braces didn't turn different colors. . .oh well, that's the joy of eating cake :)
Last week, A (remember? my big sis from previous post) and I had the deadly, dreaded, everlasting MARCHING BAND CAMP. Our theme is James Brown (the "I Feel Good" guy, in case you don't know), and it's super upbeat, kind of jazzy music. One part is supposed to be kind of angry, and sounds like a riot song. Anyway, it was from 8 in the morning till noon, and 4 to 8:30. The break in between was so hot, we just couldn't march on that field. We went through all kinds of drills; from marking time, rotating, boxes, etc. I hated it, but I really enjoyed the sectionals to learn the music. I'm the kind of person who can play music sitting or standing; not simultaneously marching in formations!! (I can't multitask well.') And just so you know, marching is just heel-ball-toe; not stomping with our knees up like you would if you were a little kid.
This week was only in the evenings, and last night was parent night. We have about 60% of our show completed; we need to learn two more movements, and polish up a few things. I got a haircut again--little lower than chin length, regular bangs. I let my bangs grow out over the summer just so I could push them back, but now I want them back!! Dad and I also made the United Tae Kwon Do Demo Team--we can show off and get good publicity at festivals, openings, schools, and the like. Our first practice is tomorrow--I can't wait!!! I don't know what area I want to specialize in; breaking techniques or poomse(forms). . .I can only choose one. I also got my Saint Dragon girl orders in the mail; still waiting on Volume 5!!
I gotta go get ready for a daily class at the Dojang(TKD training)!
Kristen
Last week, A (remember? my big sis from previous post) and I had the deadly, dreaded, everlasting MARCHING BAND CAMP. Our theme is James Brown (the "I Feel Good" guy, in case you don't know), and it's super upbeat, kind of jazzy music. One part is supposed to be kind of angry, and sounds like a riot song. Anyway, it was from 8 in the morning till noon, and 4 to 8:30. The break in between was so hot, we just couldn't march on that field. We went through all kinds of drills; from marking time, rotating, boxes, etc. I hated it, but I really enjoyed the sectionals to learn the music. I'm the kind of person who can play music sitting or standing; not simultaneously marching in formations!! (I can't multitask well.') And just so you know, marching is just heel-ball-toe; not stomping with our knees up like you would if you were a little kid.
This week was only in the evenings, and last night was parent night. We have about 60% of our show completed; we need to learn two more movements, and polish up a few things. I got a haircut again--little lower than chin length, regular bangs. I let my bangs grow out over the summer just so I could push them back, but now I want them back!! Dad and I also made the United Tae Kwon Do Demo Team--we can show off and get good publicity at festivals, openings, schools, and the like. Our first practice is tomorrow--I can't wait!!! I don't know what area I want to specialize in; breaking techniques or poomse(forms). . .I can only choose one. I also got my Saint Dragon girl orders in the mail; still waiting on Volume 5!!
I gotta go get ready for a daily class at the Dojang(TKD training)!
Kristen
Saturday, July 24, 2010
After Music Camp
Wow. I'll just put it out there--music camp was WAAAAYYY better than last year, by far. I ended up making 3 times as many friends and getting a boyfriend (we'll get to that part later), and I loved ALL of the music rather than half of it. These are the pieces the Blue Junior Band (the one I was in) played:
- "Prelude and Fugue in B Flat Major" by Johann Sebastian Bach
- "March of the Irish Guard" (I only know who the Prelude and Fugue was by, the others I forget.)
- "Shenandoah Valley," and
- "Jefferson County Overture"
I started out with a second trumpet/cornet part, but then my brass instructor (not the conductor) bumped me up to the First Trumpet part!! There were only 3 of us doing those parts, and the rest were Second and Third parts. Yippee (; Unfortunately, the first trumpets weren't at the front section of the band, like a traditional set-up would be. We were at the back, where the Percussionists were. Nothing against them or anything, but generally first trumpets/cornets are at the front.
At first during rehearsals (which we had 3 times a day, 1 hour each), I thought they were too hard and boring. Probably due to the fact that I was lacking practice since April (sweat, sweat). . .so that meant my note range went down. If you're musical and play a Treble Clef instrument, you'll know what I mean when I used to be able to play a high G and it went down to a high E. But, as we rehearsed, sometime in the middle of the week, I could reach back up to at least an F, which is a major improvement, seeing how normally it would take me a month to build that back up.
I ended up having the same Musicianship teacher as last year, so it was just as boring. However, unlike last year, I paid more attention and we played a Jeopardy game yesterday to remember what we learned. My team was called, "That Team." I know--very original (; By the way, Musicianship class is basically about the history and theory of music, composers, and culture. Sounds boring, but some of it is pretty cool. Did you know that a Balalaika is a Russian version of a triangular acoustic guitar? Look it up! See, I learned something. . . gosh, I am such a band geek!! And orchestra students are called "Ork Dorks," since band people are called "Band Geeks."
My roommate was pretty awesome. I was friends with her last year, so it was a funny coincidence that she became my roommate ^o^ Remember the family friends I told you about in the previous post that were staying with us? Well, my roommate and I hung out with my then-un-boyfriend, who was part of that family, and his roommate. It's a lot of trouble to NOT mention specific names in this blog, and it'll only confuse me if I give them fake names. So I will refer to my boyfriend as "H" (without the quotes), his roommate as "K", my roommate as "L", and my sister as "A". (phew) That's easier! Anyway, we wandered around campus during free time and/or went to Tate St. (a street near campus we were allowed to shop on within the boundaries) and met up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
After lunch one day, L had to go to an orchestra private lesson early, so me, H, and K were all goofing around outside the Caf entrance. I had my trusty little ipod nano with me, so I took videos of them acting crazy and K sliding down the rails and burning his butt and walking around holding it (you had to be there!!). It was pretty much 100 degrees outside, so of course the rails were searing hot and K didn't stop and think XD
On Monday night, H called me an hour before lights out at 11:00. He asked me to be his girlfriend. I was like, "Are you for real? Or are you just testing your limits?" Because sometimes he doesn't mean what he says, or doesn't think things through enough. However, during that moment, I was holding my breath. He said he wasn't serious. I asked him again and he said "Maaaayybe. . . ." Then H finally said, "Yes, I mean it." I had to call him back later because I needed to check in with my councelors so they knew I was there, and then I said yes. I mean, H and I have know each other for a few years now, and he's my best guy friend. He still is. And always will be. I had liked H before he came down, and I was praying to God that something would happen. It was a miracle that H became my boyfriend ^__^ Unfortunately, he left today to go back up to Pennsylvania :'( We're going to try a long-distance relationship. . . .
Since H was in the Red Junior Band and K and I were in the Blue Junior Band, we couldn't see each others' concerts. L was in the orchestra, so we couldn't see hers anyway. H, A, and C, A's roommate/friend who also came down to visit, were all in Aycock Auditorium, while K and I were stuck in Taylor Theatre. I must admit, we did really well. And my lips didn't give out halfway through a high whole note like it did in rehearsals!! Everyone was on tempo, played most of the right dynamics, and, oddly enough, I never heard a woodwind crack or squeak on a note. This has been the highlight of my summer.
Now, I must survive a heartbreak and prepare myself for marching band camp this week, and Saturday is my 14th birthday. Please continue to comment, and thanks for reading this super-long post!! Been working on it for an hour. . . . by the way, I put the Tang orange juice picture back up, since my stupid background decided it wanted to abort my blog T__T Meanwhile, I am searching for a cool enough background with a black blank so my font can be white.
Red Beans and Ricely Yours (that's how Louis Armstrong signed off all his letters),
<><><>Kristen
Sunday, July 18, 2010
UNCG Summer Music Camp
Today, I am off to music camp, hence the title. I went last year; unfortunately, my MOM put me in the beginner band because apparently there were more people my age there. I was supposed to be in Junior Band. So this year, I am! If you're a musical person, you would love this camp. It's not just for band people; it includes chorus and orchestra. You are given a schedule according to when your lessons are and when you have meal breaks and free time. So basically, in between classes, I get to hang out with my new friends and walk around limited areas in the campus. And the dining hall is huge!! There's a buffet, so it's pretty much all you can eat XD Last year, I got two soft served ice cream cones every lunch and dinner ^o^
I can't wait to see what my roommate will be like--last year, she was pretty nice, didn't cause any trouble. Hopefully my new one will be like that too. I want to mingle as much as possible, not be in an all girls group. Guys can be nice too. By the way, we have family friends who came down here all the way from Pennsylvania last night! They have a 16 year old daughter, who is rooming with my big sister. Then they have a son my age, who I obviously can't room with, but still hang out. Then there's his little bro, who is 6. He'll be playing with my little sister while I'm away with everyone else.
Off the subject of music camp, I was at the beach last week. It was so cool, and the house was amazing (dude, it had an elevator!! XD XD XD). We celebrated birthdays for my aunt, uncle, and me on Tuesday. I don't want to brag, but let's just say I was given an amazing flat iron that is the most sought out and coveted. The InStyler. I was thinking, "Holy crap!! Did my aunt just give me that?! I didn't even ask for it! Who am I kidding, this thing is fantastic." I'm telling you, it's uber-amazing and works like magic on your hair. On Thursday, I woke up at 6:55 am with a mysterious fever. It was weird because I normally wake up around 10:30 or so. I was having cold spells and headaches the whole day, but that night, the fever broke. I still had a mini headache the next morning, but now I'm healed. (shouts heavenward) Thankyou God for this wonderful immune system!!
Okey-dokey, I'm off to eat lunch and watch Phineas and Ferb with everyone else. After that, we're all on the road to music camp!! ^_^
Au Revoir,
<><><>Kristen
I can't wait to see what my roommate will be like--last year, she was pretty nice, didn't cause any trouble. Hopefully my new one will be like that too. I want to mingle as much as possible, not be in an all girls group. Guys can be nice too. By the way, we have family friends who came down here all the way from Pennsylvania last night! They have a 16 year old daughter, who is rooming with my big sister. Then they have a son my age, who I obviously can't room with, but still hang out. Then there's his little bro, who is 6. He'll be playing with my little sister while I'm away with everyone else.
Off the subject of music camp, I was at the beach last week. It was so cool, and the house was amazing (dude, it had an elevator!! XD XD XD). We celebrated birthdays for my aunt, uncle, and me on Tuesday. I don't want to brag, but let's just say I was given an amazing flat iron that is the most sought out and coveted. The InStyler. I was thinking, "Holy crap!! Did my aunt just give me that?! I didn't even ask for it! Who am I kidding, this thing is fantastic." I'm telling you, it's uber-amazing and works like magic on your hair. On Thursday, I woke up at 6:55 am with a mysterious fever. It was weird because I normally wake up around 10:30 or so. I was having cold spells and headaches the whole day, but that night, the fever broke. I still had a mini headache the next morning, but now I'm healed. (shouts heavenward) Thankyou God for this wonderful immune system!!
Okey-dokey, I'm off to eat lunch and watch Phineas and Ferb with everyone else. After that, we're all on the road to music camp!! ^_^
Au Revoir,
<><><>Kristen
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Independence Day
This month is going to be fabulous for me! Yesterday, of course, was Independence Day. There's this corny joke that I learned: "Is there a 4th of July in England?" You're supposed to say, "Yes; there's also a 3rd, 2nd, and so on." TEEHEE I love it!! ^o^ Check out this so cute picture of Hello Kitty:
Don't you love it?! Right now I'm in PENNSYLVANIA with my best friend, *Bubby!! XD XD XD XD Remember how I mentioned in some of my previous posts my summer plans to go up in July? Well, that long-awaited day has finally arrived!! I may not be posting for QUITE awhile; it depends when I can find time between each vacation. Bubby, say hi! "HI EVERY1!!!! IT IS SOOOOO AWSM THAT KRISPY IS UP IN PA!!!!!!! we get 2 go 2 kennywood 2moro which will b soooooooo much fun right krispy?" YES, it will!! Totally cannot wait. In case you're wondering, Krispy is her nickname for me. *Bubby is mine for hers. Hope you can read her text talk X3 Gotta go play some Mario Kart on the Wii!!
Peace out,
<><><>Kristen
Saturday, June 26, 2010
After Recreation
I'm home--yippee!! I can reconnect with the outside world again. So you want to know about Recreation? All right, I guess I can spare some time.
The Recreation Center was at an abandoned school (not dilapidated and battered--we cleaned it), and we had no AC. Instead, we had gigundo fans that were like, 30 in. in diameter. I used that to dry my hair after my short shower =} The girl's room was really large--they were all classrooms. We had clotheslines to hang up swimsuits and towels. Gosh, I guess I'm really NOT used to sleeping on an air mattress!! It was so warm at night that I just slept with no covers, and freezing in the morning.
The worship services were so wickedawesomecool; we jumped up and down and sang along to "Jumping in the House of God," which was to the beat of Peanut Butter Jelly Time with the dancing banana in the video. (which by the way, my counselor [who dyed his hair purple and shaved it off so now he has a purple scalp] dressed up in a banana suit and danced around in it at the last worship service during that song!!) X3 On Monday night, we went out to go to Fun Depot, an arcade/go-cart/laser tag center. Let me tell you--I love speeding and crashing!! (Not in real life, that stuff is fatal and illegal)
Our family that we worked for consisted of 3 girls (ages 7,4, and 1) and a husband and wife. The children were sent to the DSS, the Department of Social Services, because of their living condition and other things. They had open sewage, and a lopsided deck. Our youth group dug 270 freaking feet of 4 ditches, each 1 foot wide and 18 inches deep. If I see another mattock, shovel, or sledge hammer, I'm gonna scream!! On Friday we finally installed the pipes. (sweat, sweat) that was really strenuous. . . .we also put a cool seal on their trailer roof since it was all the way out in the sun, and repaired the deck. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but the only power tool (an electric saw) was used by an adult DX
Wednesday was when we all took a day off and went white water rafting. We did class 1-4 white waters, not above. At one of the stops, we climbed up some big rocks and jumped into the water below (no more than about 10 ft., I guess). There were a whole bunch of yellow monarch butterflies; they were beautiful. I wonder what attracted them there. . . When our raft was going down a 4 ft. drop, my friend somehow managed to stick both arms and legs up in the air and almost fall off the edge! Meanwhile I had put my paddle against her back to push her back onto the raft. I'm (finger quotes) such a life saver (finger quotes)!! I had a really good experience on that, plus my biceps got a workout (; (although the guide told us to use our body when we paddled. . .oh well!) Then the youth group went to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Man, their pizza is ah-mazing!
We also went by Walmart on Thursday evening. Youth leader had to pick up a perscription for someone, so some people tagged along. One of the guys got a brilliant idea to buy us all cheap water guns, and when we got back to the Recreation Center, we ran around and squirted each other ^_^ It was a blast!! By the way, if you haven't noticed, I've been guiding you through my trip in chronological order. I hate jumping around. Friday was the last day to work, so we all pushed ourselves until we got it done. By then, we only had 20 min. to get back before dinner started, so we had to take showers afterwards (ew) DX Just so you know, we woke up at 6:00 every morning, and began working at 8:00 after breakfast and worship. So if you do the math, from 8:00 to 4:00 pm, that's 7 hrs of work, excluding the one lunch hour in between.
I had a really great experience, and this isn't corny: our youth group really did learn to work together and bond and and show Christ's ways to the family we helped. Recreation was dirty and gross, sure, but with it came fun and hard work. That's all for now, folks, so peace out!
*yawn*,
<><><>Kristen
The Recreation Center was at an abandoned school (not dilapidated and battered--we cleaned it), and we had no AC. Instead, we had gigundo fans that were like, 30 in. in diameter. I used that to dry my hair after my short shower =} The girl's room was really large--they were all classrooms. We had clotheslines to hang up swimsuits and towels. Gosh, I guess I'm really NOT used to sleeping on an air mattress!! It was so warm at night that I just slept with no covers, and freezing in the morning.
The worship services were so wickedawesomecool; we jumped up and down and sang along to "Jumping in the House of God," which was to the beat of Peanut Butter Jelly Time with the dancing banana in the video. (which by the way, my counselor [who dyed his hair purple and shaved it off so now he has a purple scalp] dressed up in a banana suit and danced around in it at the last worship service during that song!!) X3 On Monday night, we went out to go to Fun Depot, an arcade/go-cart/laser tag center. Let me tell you--I love speeding and crashing!! (Not in real life, that stuff is fatal and illegal)
Our family that we worked for consisted of 3 girls (ages 7,4, and 1) and a husband and wife. The children were sent to the DSS, the Department of Social Services, because of their living condition and other things. They had open sewage, and a lopsided deck. Our youth group dug 270 freaking feet of 4 ditches, each 1 foot wide and 18 inches deep. If I see another mattock, shovel, or sledge hammer, I'm gonna scream!! On Friday we finally installed the pipes. (sweat, sweat) that was really strenuous. . . .we also put a cool seal on their trailer roof since it was all the way out in the sun, and repaired the deck. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but the only power tool (an electric saw) was used by an adult DX
Wednesday was when we all took a day off and went white water rafting. We did class 1-4 white waters, not above. At one of the stops, we climbed up some big rocks and jumped into the water below (no more than about 10 ft., I guess). There were a whole bunch of yellow monarch butterflies; they were beautiful. I wonder what attracted them there. . . When our raft was going down a 4 ft. drop, my friend somehow managed to stick both arms and legs up in the air and almost fall off the edge! Meanwhile I had put my paddle against her back to push her back onto the raft. I'm (finger quotes) such a life saver (finger quotes)!! I had a really good experience on that, plus my biceps got a workout (; (although the guide told us to use our body when we paddled. . .oh well!) Then the youth group went to the Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Man, their pizza is ah-mazing!
We also went by Walmart on Thursday evening. Youth leader had to pick up a perscription for someone, so some people tagged along. One of the guys got a brilliant idea to buy us all cheap water guns, and when we got back to the Recreation Center, we ran around and squirted each other ^_^ It was a blast!! By the way, if you haven't noticed, I've been guiding you through my trip in chronological order. I hate jumping around. Friday was the last day to work, so we all pushed ourselves until we got it done. By then, we only had 20 min. to get back before dinner started, so we had to take showers afterwards (ew) DX Just so you know, we woke up at 6:00 every morning, and began working at 8:00 after breakfast and worship. So if you do the math, from 8:00 to 4:00 pm, that's 7 hrs of work, excluding the one lunch hour in between.
I had a really great experience, and this isn't corny: our youth group really did learn to work together and bond and and show Christ's ways to the family we helped. Recreation was dirty and gross, sure, but with it came fun and hard work. That's all for now, folks, so peace out!
*yawn*,
<><><>Kristen
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Recreation
Ni Hao everyone (Monica: ni lo.)! Today I'm off with the youth group to go on our mission trip, called Recreation (as you can already infer from the title). I think I mentioned it in my Vacation post over a week ago, but I'm not sure. We will be rebuilding homes and renovating, we might even use power tools. I call the chain saw!! Just kidding--that thing would probably be controlling me rather than vise versa. But I definitely can't wait to white water raft on Wednesday. . . .I've never done it before. I'm totally up for it! And let me tell you, I am bringing ZERO makeup. I mean, I'll probably rub it off from perspiration on my t-shirt, so what's the point? The only "makeup" I'm carrying is SPF 30 chapstick.
I will not be posting for a week, but I may tell you guys all about it on Saturday when I get back. Questions to think about/answer: Have you ever been white water rafting? Been hurt by a power tool (if you have, don't go into detail if you post it because all I will do is upchuck)? If you belong to a church, what kinds of mission trips did you go on? How many suitcases did you end up using? I need to go get my shoes on to leave--pray for my youth group and I as we prepare to help the folks out there!
Jai Jen,
<><><>Kristen
I will not be posting for a week, but I may tell you guys all about it on Saturday when I get back. Questions to think about/answer: Have you ever been white water rafting? Been hurt by a power tool (if you have, don't go into detail if you post it because all I will do is upchuck)? If you belong to a church, what kinds of mission trips did you go on? How many suitcases did you end up using? I need to go get my shoes on to leave--pray for my youth group and I as we prepare to help the folks out there!
Jai Jen,
<><><>Kristen
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Whoopee. I Got Tagged.
As you can see, Cassidy has tagged me with these questions. Oh, and here's the tag thingy:
Dang it. I can't copy and paste it. . .URRGH now I have to type it all out. . . .
- Be extremely beautiful or extremely intelligent? That's easy. Extremely intelligent.
- Go without brushing your teeth for a year, or without brushing your hair? WITHOUT BRUSHING MY HAIR!!!! Ugh. . . .just the thought of not brushing my teeth makes me want to puke.
- Be rich or famous? Rich. I don't want the paparazzi all over me. If I were rich, I could invest in a security system to keep them out.
- Have an amazing shoe or makeup collection? Well, considering I LOVE both, I'm just gonna have to choose "or". XP
- Be able to sing or dance? Sing. There are many reasons why I am not in Chorus. Or in dance class, either. I quit that a long time ago.
- Be stranded on a desert island or a desert? Desert. As long as I'm on land, I'm good.
- Have a computer or TV? Duh, COMPUTER!! Besides, with a computer, I can watch TV shows on there. And I hardly ever watch TV, anyway.
- Wear spots or stripes for the rest of your life? Stripes.
- Drink out of a teacup, or a mug? Teehee. . . .teacup (;
- Receive a box of chocolates or a bouquet of flowers? Flowers are pretty, buuuutt, I'd have to say chocolates. For obvious reasons!
- Hug or kiss from someone you love? Kiss. Not telling who. . . .
- Wear converse or stilettos? Stilettos. But not for an entire day. I just love how fancy they look, and my mom won't let me buy myself a pair!!
- Meet Johnny Depp or Robert Pattinson? Neither. I want nothing to do with either of them.
- Faerie or mermaid? Faerie. I want to fly and/or skydive someday!!!
- Cup of coffee or tea? I hate tea. And coffee is so overrated. . . .Juice please!! x3
- Pink nails or blue nails? Blue. But pink isn't that bad. . . .it all depends on what shade for each color! I wouldn't go with something so mundane like "pink or blue," but rather "rose or turquoise."
- Live somewhere sunny, or somewhere cold? Sunny. 'Nuf said.
- Have an amazing house or car? I know nothing about cars except that they are dangerous, kill the environment, etc., so I'd go with house.
- Be kind or funny? Sometimes when I crack a joke, you only hear crickets. So kind would be a little easier.
- Eat sweets or cake? I can't believe they just asked me that. . . .sweets. Cuz cake IS a sweet, baby!!
- Hold a tarantula or snake? EEEEEWWW NEITHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've already petted a tarantula. I'm telling ya, they may be soft as a kitten, but they are nasty little critters. Same goes for you, snake!!
- Wear a necklace or a ring? Necklace.
- Laugh or smile? Laugh, because then I could smile. Laughing without smiling is extremely hard. . . .
- Be hated or be a hater? Considering we're all haters, whether we like it or not, I'd rather be hated. Being a hater can get you in A LOT of trouble! Always be on the defense, guys.
- Wear pearls or beads? Neither. I like chains and studs and gemstones more.
- If you had to choose, would you rather lose your sight or hearing? I really need both to play my music and draw and all that, but I'd rather loose hearing because then I could see what I'm drawing or what notes I'm blowing through the bell of my trumpet.
- Have lots of money or friends? Friends.
- Love or be loved? I'd love, because then most people would love me since I loved them back.
Phew (wipes forehead pretentiously)! That was too much. Here are the people I will tag: Monica, Mizz Ali, and, well, I don't feel like tagging anyone else. So now you two are stuck with the burden of a long post HA!!
Peace out y'all,
<><><>Kristen
Sunday, June 13, 2010
VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY I'M FINALLY FRRREEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry. Mild outburst of celebration there. Well, my apologies for not blogging the day school was immediately out, but as soon as I got home my family and I were headed straight to "the lake." That's right, I put quotes around it for a reason because we all call it "the lake." Not telling the specific name since I don't want you to know where I live (;
So my summer plans go like this: at the end of June, the youth group is doing this thing called "Recreation," where we go to a certain part of the state that is in really bad shape, and help rebuild and clean up homes that desperately need it. We do that for 1 week. After that, I go back to the la--I mean "the lake," then I go straight to PA to visit some old friends. I seriously cannot wait for that; I haven't been up there since exactly 1 year ago! Yes-- June 13th of 2009 was when I moved to where I am now. Anyway, after that I go to the beach for 1 week, then Music Camp for 1 week, and FINALLY, my birthday!!! I really cannot wait to turn ___ (no age specified).
Then in August, right before school starts again, I have *marching band camp* can't wait for that either. . . .even though we will be doing grueling training for the whole day. From what my sister told me, this is what it sounds like. (sweat, sweat) my summer will be really hectic, but I will be doing things that I enjoy, since this is stuff I could never pull off during the school year (dude, do you not know how many unexcused absences that could give me?! I hate doing mini vacations during that time because then I'd have too much make-up work.) Dx
Tell me what your summer plans are, if you're comfortable with doing so.
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen
PS: I finally got the first 3 St. Dragon Girl volumes in the mail!! (yippee)
Sorry. Mild outburst of celebration there. Well, my apologies for not blogging the day school was immediately out, but as soon as I got home my family and I were headed straight to "the lake." That's right, I put quotes around it for a reason because we all call it "the lake." Not telling the specific name since I don't want you to know where I live (;
So my summer plans go like this: at the end of June, the youth group is doing this thing called "Recreation," where we go to a certain part of the state that is in really bad shape, and help rebuild and clean up homes that desperately need it. We do that for 1 week. After that, I go back to the la--I mean "the lake," then I go straight to PA to visit some old friends. I seriously cannot wait for that; I haven't been up there since exactly 1 year ago! Yes-- June 13th of 2009 was when I moved to where I am now. Anyway, after that I go to the beach for 1 week, then Music Camp for 1 week, and FINALLY, my birthday!!! I really cannot wait to turn ___ (no age specified).
Then in August, right before school starts again, I have *marching band camp* can't wait for that either. . . .even though we will be doing grueling training for the whole day. From what my sister told me, this is what it sounds like. (sweat, sweat) my summer will be really hectic, but I will be doing things that I enjoy, since this is stuff I could never pull off during the school year (dude, do you not know how many unexcused absences that could give me?! I hate doing mini vacations during that time because then I'd have too much make-up work.) Dx
Tell me what your summer plans are, if you're comfortable with doing so.
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen
PS: I finally got the first 3 St. Dragon Girl volumes in the mail!! (yippee)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
My Drawings
So as you guys can already tell, this blog post is based around my most recent drawings. I drew this title page for my friend Monica, since she loves manga and anime. I also love it. I drew it in shoujo the best I could with notebook paper and a sharpie, all freehand. Now, I may have copied some ideas, but I would never duplicate a mangaka's art! This took me about a week, even for only one page (heh heh. . .if I were a mangaka, then my drawing would probably be done waaay past the due date. . .T_T)!! But it was worth it, and when I gave it to my friend, she seemed happy.
Hope you guys enjoy it too, and let me know if I can improve it in any way (just don't be mean about it, because I'll be honest, I don't take harsh criticism very well)! And just an FYI, you may have to crane your neck a teeny bit due to the fact that I couldn't figure out how to rotate it. Dx
This is the entire page. 
This is my friend in a full Japanese-style school uniform, even though I added a bit of my style here and there to jazz it up (; And notice the sparkly detail in the background! If you are wondering what the Chinese characters say, it means "Shen Ming Nuan," or "Bright light." I went to this website http://mandarintools.com/chinesename.html to find out what her English name meant in Chinese; it came up with the zodiac year, meaning, pronunciation, and characters. From there, I just copied the characters onto paper in a bold form.
Heehee--this is her freaking out (which she doesn't do often. . . .that's mainly my reaction whenever she tells me something big ^__^)
She swims, so I added a few drops of water and snorkeling goggles. That's right, strike a pose, girl!
Ooohh, dramatic! Notice the blue aura.
Hope you guys enjoy it too, and let me know if I can improve it in any way (just don't be mean about it, because I'll be honest, I don't take harsh criticism very well)! And just an FYI, you may have to crane your neck a teeny bit due to the fact that I couldn't figure out how to rotate it. Dx
This is the entire page.
This is my friend in a full Japanese-style school uniform, even though I added a bit of my style here and there to jazz it up (; And notice the sparkly detail in the background! If you are wondering what the Chinese characters say, it means "Shen Ming Nuan," or "Bright light." I went to this website http://mandarintools.com/chinesename.html to find out what her English name meant in Chinese; it came up with the zodiac year, meaning, pronunciation, and characters. From there, I just copied the characters onto paper in a bold form.
Heehee--this is her freaking out (which she doesn't do often. . . .that's mainly my reaction whenever she tells me something big ^__^)
She swims, so I added a few drops of water and snorkeling goggles. That's right, strike a pose, girl!
Ooohh, dramatic! Notice the blue aura. Please remember to comment, and thanks for reading this!
Jai Jen,
<><><>Kristen
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Awards
Yaaayy!!! I finally got an award!! Well, I was nominated for one. If I'm not doing this right, someone tell me please! Oh, and thank you Cassidy--I have long awaited something like this >P I will nominate these people for these awards: Monica (enchanted 1996 or lovelyxday), Kaitlyn, and LeahPeah! Thanks for following my blog, and keep posting! Here's what you have to do for the YELLOW one:
Here are my awards:
A little late for this one (the yellow one) since it was in May, but I couldn't post it last night since I had to go to bed.
- Thank the person who gave it to you (Kristen, in case you don't know my name. Which you have no excuse not to know, given that it's all over the blog!!!)
- Give this award to 3 crackalackin' blogs of your choice
- List 5 of your favorite websites: (these are MY favorites)
- http://www.blogger.com/
- http://www.weeworld.com/
- http://www.onemanga.com/
- http://www.k-kristenskorner.blogspot.com/
- http://www.sanrio.com/
- SilentOrchestra
- Kaitlyn (is it ok to repeat people?? I only have 8 Followers to choose from!!)
- Chelsea
- Good Girls and Geeks aka Bonnie Rue (even though she doesn't follow my blog, I follow hers! You should seriously check out her designs and creations!!)
Here are my awards:
A little late for this one (the yellow one) since it was in May, but I couldn't post it last night since I had to go to bed.
Please spread the word about this blog to some of your other Followers; I need some more Followers too!
Jai Jen,
<><><>Kristen
Saturday, May 29, 2010
New Format
Check out my awesome new format!!! It's totally me. . . .girly, but with an edge. I won't reveal my source because I want to be the only one with a blog like this (; I was sad to remove my TANG orange juice picture because it didn't fit very well on the title bar-thingy. I may decide to put it back later, though.
This weekend is a 3 day weekend, hooray!! That means I get to sleep in thrice as much as I normally do on weekends--I wake up early for church, and Saturdays just depend. On Memorial Day, I will remember Mah-mah (see more previous blogs to know who she is). Even though she did not fight in any political wars, she did fight the war against cancer.
In case y'all have been looking at the labels on each post for the past 3 blogs, I have a countdown until school's out. Well, IT'S NOT ACCURATE. I was counting the weekends in that one, plus my math is terrible. So I will put in a correct one this time -_-
Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't forget to shop at Macy's. They always have Memorial Day weekend sales!
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen
This weekend is a 3 day weekend, hooray!! That means I get to sleep in thrice as much as I normally do on weekends--I wake up early for church, and Saturdays just depend. On Memorial Day, I will remember Mah-mah (see more previous blogs to know who she is). Even though she did not fight in any political wars, she did fight the war against cancer.
In case y'all have been looking at the labels on each post for the past 3 blogs, I have a countdown until school's out. Well, IT'S NOT ACCURATE. I was counting the weekends in that one, plus my math is terrible. So I will put in a correct one this time -_-
Have a great weekend, everyone, and don't forget to shop at Macy's. They always have Memorial Day weekend sales!
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
The Oddities of my School Day
Ni hao everyone! Here is my question of the day: Can you tell me how I managed to wake up late and get to school early, while every other day that I wake up on time, I am a little late? Honestly-- that's about the stupidest situation I could get myself into ever (if "stupidest" is even a word. . . . >: \ whatever). That's only how my morning went. In phys ed today, we played a "game" where we have a partner, and we chase them with a water noodle in tow until we hit them. Then you trade the noodle to the other person. It was really odd, but I kind of liked it ^__^ So yeah. I chased Monica around with a water noodle. Fun. Hence the picture of noodles over there ---------------->AAUGH I have the Ice Cream Truck Jingle in my head! (It's a Small World, start at beginning) Don-don-don, DAHN don, da-don-don, da, don. . . .Da-don-don DAHN don, don don (clap clap) etc, etc, etcetera! So tell me how your day went. Was it strange like mine, gloomy, ordinary, or frightening?
Jai Jen!!
<><><>Kristen
To Bonnie Rue: I posted the pictures on the YAYAYAY blog below; I didn't feel like creating another post.
Monday, May 24, 2010
I GOT KIDNAPPED. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .by my youth group. Since I was confirmed during the church service yesterday, they decided they wanted to kidnap all the "cofirmands"(though I'm officially a member of the church now) and bring them to youth group. My youth pastor told me that they do that every year to the new confirmands >D
So I was happily drawing upstairs in my room, when my sister came in the front door. I told her, "Hey, go turn the alarm on." She said, "Hold on, I need to grab something first!" Ends up I was the "thing" she had to grab!! When she came up the stairs, I was flabberghasted to see that Tyler (one of the youth group members) was right behind her. In my mind I was about to say Oh, hi Tyler! Why are you--waaaiiiiiiiit a minute. . . My sister then shouted, "GRAB HER!!!!" One of the guys hopped over the bed and tried to tackle me. In my frenzy to get out of his grasp, I accidentally kicked 2 people in the chest XP
I dashed down the back stairs, with Thomas (another member) right on my heels. I almost tripped and fell halfway down >( I tried to open and run out the back door, but he caught me in time. Then they all decided they wanted to grab me and haul me to the church van, but one of the girls said, "Put her down! Let her get some shoes on so we can go kidnap the others." (chorus of angels singing Allelujah) Voice of Reason finally comes to rescue poor little old me!
It took us about half an hour to get the remaining 3 people; one of them already knew, and the other two were completely taken by surprise. It was SO worth it--pretty much the entire youth members were there to celebrate our arrival. We played a game of "sit-down volleyball", where we literally sat in a chair and bumped a gigantic beach ball to the other side. It was a blast. Then we all ate subs, lemonade, and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. (Maniacally giggles) heeheehee. . . . I can't wait to kidnap next year's confirmands! >D
Aregato for viewing my blog,
<><><>Kristen
So I was happily drawing upstairs in my room, when my sister came in the front door. I told her, "Hey, go turn the alarm on." She said, "Hold on, I need to grab something first!" Ends up I was the "thing" she had to grab!! When she came up the stairs, I was flabberghasted to see that Tyler (one of the youth group members) was right behind her. In my mind I was about to say Oh, hi Tyler! Why are you--waaaiiiiiiiit a minute. . . My sister then shouted, "GRAB HER!!!!" One of the guys hopped over the bed and tried to tackle me. In my frenzy to get out of his grasp, I accidentally kicked 2 people in the chest XP
I dashed down the back stairs, with Thomas (another member) right on my heels. I almost tripped and fell halfway down >( I tried to open and run out the back door, but he caught me in time. Then they all decided they wanted to grab me and haul me to the church van, but one of the girls said, "Put her down! Let her get some shoes on so we can go kidnap the others." (chorus of angels singing Allelujah) Voice of Reason finally comes to rescue poor little old me!
It took us about half an hour to get the remaining 3 people; one of them already knew, and the other two were completely taken by surprise. It was SO worth it--pretty much the entire youth members were there to celebrate our arrival. We played a game of "sit-down volleyball", where we literally sat in a chair and bumped a gigantic beach ball to the other side. It was a blast. Then we all ate subs, lemonade, and chocolate chip cookies for dinner. (Maniacally giggles) heeheehee. . . . I can't wait to kidnap next year's confirmands! >D
Aregato for viewing my blog,
<><><>Kristen
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Confirmation
Today I woke up only to find that my stereo wouldn't work. Why? Because our electricity was out, that's why!!! I was laying there, mooning over the fact that "Oh no, I won't be able to go on the computer at all today!! My life is over. . . I spend half my day online, and what do I get?? This!! No hot water for my shower, crappy breakfast of dry cereal and water since we can't open the fridge, can't dry my hair, hair look nasty if I don't have a shower, debating if I should even take a shower, probably should, but would be doing it in the dark. . ." Yeah. My thoughts trail like that. But at around 8:30 the power came back on. Right after I had a crappy breakfast of dry cereal and water. Water is to be used in the later two meals--breakfast should be juice or milk!! Ends up that a tree fell on a power line last night. I don't know why or how, so don't ask. Other than that my day has been fine.
Today was Pentecost and Confirmation Day at church! I was supposed to wear red, but I wore my Easter Sunday dress instead. It is strapless, white with coral and peach flowers on it, and a coral-colored shrug. This is probably going to be the last time that I'll wear it, because it is already tight enough! Anyway, I was confirmed with all the other kids who did Confirmation class. This other boy and I are one year older; I wasn't here at this church last year, so I had to do it this year. It was really emotional for me--to be accepted into Christ's community. Mrs. Tammy, my faith partner, was there to see us "graduate" as well. To Tammy: Thank you for being there when I wasn't, for answering all my questions, and helping me in my faith in Christ. I really appreciate you! (I will write her a letter with my new HK stationery telling her all this ^_^')
THE EOGS ARE FINALLY FINISHED HOOOORRRAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My apologies--mini freak-out occuring. Seriously; they were soooo incredibly boring! After each test, I fell asleep. During break time after the test, I was still sleeping. These two jerks were sitting right across from me and flicking my foot while I was sleeping with one of their Livestrong bracelets. I finally told them off and broke the bracelet in two. Yeah, that's right! Go ahead and provoke the hibernating bear in her cave!!! Man, I was so P.O'd. . . . . >( This week we are getting right back on schedule. I can't wait until school's out--June 10th!!! Then I can FINALLY get some rest and relaxation. . . .
Yesterday me, my two sisters, and my mom went shopping at Target. We pretty much went just for the heck of it, though I did have a $50 gift card on me. I bought a red dress, a box of oreos, and a 50 pack of colored pencils. I've already eaten the middle row of oreos out x3
I really can't wait to use the pencils--Crayola colored are the BEST you can find out there. Most others are either too soft or don't shade well. Thanks for listening to my ravings of oreos >P
Peace Out everyone,
<><><>Kristen
Today was Pentecost and Confirmation Day at church! I was supposed to wear red, but I wore my Easter Sunday dress instead. It is strapless, white with coral and peach flowers on it, and a coral-colored shrug. This is probably going to be the last time that I'll wear it, because it is already tight enough! Anyway, I was confirmed with all the other kids who did Confirmation class. This other boy and I are one year older; I wasn't here at this church last year, so I had to do it this year. It was really emotional for me--to be accepted into Christ's community. Mrs. Tammy, my faith partner, was there to see us "graduate" as well. To Tammy: Thank you for being there when I wasn't, for answering all my questions, and helping me in my faith in Christ. I really appreciate you! (I will write her a letter with my new HK stationery telling her all this ^_^')
THE EOGS ARE FINALLY FINISHED HOOOORRRAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My apologies--mini freak-out occuring. Seriously; they were soooo incredibly boring! After each test, I fell asleep. During break time after the test, I was still sleeping. These two jerks were sitting right across from me and flicking my foot while I was sleeping with one of their Livestrong bracelets. I finally told them off and broke the bracelet in two. Yeah, that's right! Go ahead and provoke the hibernating bear in her cave!!! Man, I was so P.O'd. . . . . >( This week we are getting right back on schedule. I can't wait until school's out--June 10th!!! Then I can FINALLY get some rest and relaxation. . . .
Yesterday me, my two sisters, and my mom went shopping at Target. We pretty much went just for the heck of it, though I did have a $50 gift card on me. I bought a red dress, a box of oreos, and a 50 pack of colored pencils. I've already eaten the middle row of oreos out x3
I really can't wait to use the pencils--Crayola colored are the BEST you can find out there. Most others are either too soft or don't shade well. Thanks for listening to my ravings of oreos >P
Peace Out everyone,
<><><>Kristen
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Updates
Yesterday my school's band, chorus, and orchestra went to Carowinds (in case you don't know, it's a roller coaster park.) I was in a group with Monica (I follow her blog), her boyfriend, and my other friend. The lines for all the good rides took FOREVER, but it was worth waiting an hour for Nighthawk!! VERY hot and sticky yesterday. . .we weren't allowed to change out of our band polo shirt. YES. Polo. The worst kind of shirt you can wear outside all day in 85 degree temperature. All of our school's groups got SUPERIORS!!!!!! The band did fabulous; we played Marchus Maximus, A Song Of Hope, and Engines of Resistance. The composer for A Song Of Hope was one of the judges--it was almost scary! But the Superior and fun was what counted the most.
This week is the EOGs--ugh. But I'm prepared. I studied, and I've worked hard all year. On Friday, my team is doing a live wax museum in our Social Studies class. We are studying East Asia; for my person, I got Empress Wu Zetian. She's from the Tang dynasty!!! My last name is Tang, and so that explains why I have a giant TANG ORANGE JUICE on the title of my blog. To LeahPeah: I tried to find the Loveless song to put on my playlist, but I couldn't find it. Any ideas? I am currently working on Dorothy for my Wizard of Oz line in manga drawings. I am always so meticulous in my drawings; if one little, insignificant detail isn't right, I erase the whole area. But not everything, because then I will have wasted time. I have to go to my sisters' dance recital now--bye!
Jai Jen!<><><>Kristen
This week is the EOGs--ugh. But I'm prepared. I studied, and I've worked hard all year. On Friday, my team is doing a live wax museum in our Social Studies class. We are studying East Asia; for my person, I got Empress Wu Zetian. She's from the Tang dynasty!!! My last name is Tang, and so that explains why I have a giant TANG ORANGE JUICE on the title of my blog. To LeahPeah: I tried to find the Loveless song to put on my playlist, but I couldn't find it. Any ideas? I am currently working on Dorothy for my Wizard of Oz line in manga drawings. I am always so meticulous in my drawings; if one little, insignificant detail isn't right, I erase the whole area. But not everything, because then I will have wasted time. I have to go to my sisters' dance recital now--bye!
Jai Jen!<><><>Kristen
Friday, May 14, 2010
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!
I finally got my Hello Kitty lunch box and stationery!!!!!!!!!! EEEEE!!! I may have already described the stuff, but they're both red. The tin lunch box is red plaid, and on the top HK is dressed up like a nerd and says "I LOVE NERDS;" the stationery has retro HK all over it; it has a whole variety of envelopes and paper in the folder.
The whole WEEK I've been restless with impatience. But finally, FINALLY, it came in the mail yesterday. I was jumping up and down for joy, and when the UPS man rang the doorbell, I pounded down the steps to open it. At school today, I took my tin box to lunch. When I packed it, I even added a HK ice pack!! I'm a true Hello Kitty fanatic.
Jai Jen! <><><>Kristen
The whole WEEK I've been restless with impatience. But finally, FINALLY, it came in the mail yesterday. I was jumping up and down for joy, and when the UPS man rang the doorbell, I pounded down the steps to open it. At school today, I took my tin box to lunch. When I packed it, I even added a HK ice pack!! I'm a true Hello Kitty fanatic.
Jai Jen! <><><>Kristen
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Hello Kitty and friends pictures
YAY I'm so excited!!! I went online to the official Sanrio website, and browsed the Hello Kitty products section. I ordered some retro 35th aniversary stationery, and this AMAZING Hello Kitty tin lunch box. On the sides it is red plaid, and on the lid it has a picture of Hello Kitty in a Nerd outfit saying I LOVE NERDS, and the heart in LOVE is shaped like an apple. I can't wait till it comes through the mail!! If you read my profile, you'll know I ADORE Hello Kitty. This a history of Hello Kitty on video.
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen
Saturday, May 1, 2010
For Mah-mah
This is a video in honor of my grandmother, Poey Sim Khaw. My uncle made it for the family, but he said I could share it on my blog. Since I have a playlist playing (see below blog), you might want to press the pause button so you can hear the video. Thanks for watching!<><><>Kristen
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Hilarious Asian Jokes
Hey guys! Ok, so my [Asian] family came over today for lunch. We were all exchanging really stupid jokes together. Here are a few:
- What do you call a whole bunch of Asian people rolling down a hill? EGGROLL!!!
- How do you name your Asian child? Throw a whole bunch of pots and pans down the stairs, and whatever sound they make CHING TONG TING TANG CHAN, is their name!! (LOL)
- Why are Asian people's eyes always upward the way they are? When they were young, every time they came home to sit down at the table for dinner, they'd look down at their plate and say (smashing their eyes upward with their hands) "Oh no! Rice again!"
- You know how an Asian's eyes are always slanted, and everyone who doesn't have eyes like that make fun of them by pulling them up and saying, "Hey look, I'm Chinese! Uh-huh, huh, huh!" Well, me and my Asian friends all say, "Do the American!" We squish our eyes together to make them round like an American.
I know, it's hilariously horrible, but when you're Asian, you can do stuff like this.
Jai Jen!! <><><>Kristen
Thursday, April 15, 2010
My Unofficial Time Magazine Article
Hi everyone!! I just wanted to show you this letter to my state legislator that I cried about, stomped around in frustration about, and worked really hard on! I don't think it is actually going to be viewed by her, but the state requires each school's students to write a 500+ word letter discussing the harmful effects of fluorocarbon propellants on the ozone layer. I cannot mention the state legislator's name in the beginning of the letter on my blog just for privacy reasons. I sound very official; kind of like I'm on the staff of the Time magazine. So here you go!
Date: April 15, 2010
Dear Mrs. ______,
I am writing this letter to inform you on the impacts fluorocarbon propellants have had on us. Examples of these may include aerosol cans, hairspray, spray paint, home cleaning supplies, et cetera. Environmentalists are always saying that spritz bottles are better for the air and are easier to use. That’s not always true. They are better for the environment, but even though it is so trivial, lots of times there are people who complain that they take forever to spray.
Aerosol packaging is chosen for convenience. They are safe, and child resistant. They are applied with little to no waste of critical ingredients. All you have to do to get the spray to come out is press a small knob on the top of the can. These small facts are all handy and convenient.
However, these propellants include harmful chemicals to the environment. Not only are herbicides and pesticides bad chemicals for nature, but also they and other aerosol-packaged products deplete the stratospheric ozone layer. As you may already know, the ozone layer protects us from the harmful UV rays, also known as ultraviolet rays the sun projects toward earth. The propellants contain chlorine, which then rises up into the ozone and kills it off by making holes. The chlorine does this without being killed itself. You see, the more we use these propellants, the bigger the hole in the ozone layer gets. Sometime in the future, there will probably be no more ozone to protect us from being burned and getting skin cancer.
There are many solutions to the ozone dilemma. Conversely, many of them have flaws. We could restrict the use of aerosol propellants, but that would shut down many companies that produce items such as pesticides, herbicides, hairspray, and many of the previously listed. There may be people who would lose their jobs from working in factories that manufacture these items, but that is a minor possibility. Stores and franchises that sell these products may not earn enough money, given that many people buy and use these frequently.
One question might be,” what do we do with the old products and cans?” On the positive note, we can reuse the aerosol cans as scrap metal to repair or add on to machines and gear that need it. If the can is aluminum, then they can easily be recycled. They would not explode just because they are pressurized. However, sometimes the cans still contain the harmful chemicals that may be brand-new or expired. They might not be made out of reusable material, so that they would go in the dump. This brings me back to the whole ozone layer debacle: even if we reuse them, we are still harming the atmosphere.
Environmentalists may suggest that we ban the use of fluorocarbon propellants, and make new products that are, of course, environmentally friendly. The ozone problem would be temporarily solved. Many people who like to think ahead always imagine the worst, though. “What if the so-called environmentally friendly products contained a new chemical that harmed the atmosphere, yet again?” That will just have to wait until the future comes. I hope you consider these thoughts and ideas, and thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
Sincerely,
Kristen ____
Friday, April 9, 2010
Wakey, Wakey, Eggs-N'-Bakey!
Top 5 Reasons to Wear Night Vision Goggles at 5:30 am Before School:
- your shin is a device for finding furniture in the dark.
- you could trip, fall down the steps, and make a really loud thud that wakes everyone up and earns you a few bruises here and there.
- the street lamp blinds you when you walk in front of a gigantic window (if you have one, which in my case, I do).
- you could tread on the cat's tail and get a "HESSZZZSHH!!!" from her.
- you could simply just walk straight into a wall.
I am prone to all of the above (except #2) in the week day mornings.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
My WeeMee
Hey guys!! This is my WeeMee. Just go to www.weeworld.com to create an avatar like this. I sound like an advertisement. . . .<><><>
About Me and My Books
Mood: relaxed
Song: "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
Time: late afternoon
This is my first time EVER blogging. I keep a private journal at home, but that's not the same as this. There's nothing really to say, except that I am completely engrossed in 3 books I am currently reading. Those of you who appreciate books and adventure combined, prepare to be amazed!
"Peak," by Roland Smith, is about this boy who is caught tagging New York City skyscrapers. He has a choice: be the youngest ever to climb Mt. Everest, or go to JDC for 3 years. Sounds awesome, right? The next book I'm reading is "The Season," by Sarah MacLean. Alex, the main character, is caught up in the swirls of the London season and a mystery. It is similar to the books of Jane Austen. Finally, the last book I am reading (more like getting to) is "Fang," the latest Maximum Ride novel. His little sister/flock member foresees him dying. I said "flock" because he has wings, and so do the rest of the kids who stick with him.
Thanks for taking the time to read about my literary life! I am SUCH a literature freak. . . .
<><><>Kristen
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