Christmas Show 2010

This year, at Merryhill, the Christmas Show was a bit different than it used to be. Originally, it was all the grades singing this song. This year, however, we performed a play version of A Christmas Carol.

In A Christmas Carol, a cheap and cruel old man named Ebenezer Scrooge is taken to the past, present, and future by ghosts who try to teach him the error in his ways. He learns to be generous and kind, etc. etc. I’m sure you all know this already.
In the show, I was Ebenezer Scrooge. I had many, many lines to learn in about two and a half months. I had to practice the actual speaking, as well, i.e. the projecting, volume, etc.

We had many months of practice, but we were still having trouble until the last week of the play. Over 20 hours of regular school was lost for in rehearsals during the school day, as well as many after-school sessions. We also only had one day to get all the costumes in order. Some people still made errors in their lines that made strange holes in the dialog, and I had a lot of trouble remembering my lines, my cues, and what my movements were supposed to be. This was probably the biggest problem, and it was very difficult because it was changed almost every day. Once I had gotten it down, I learned that we would have no headset microphones on the day before the play, drastically limiting my movement. On the day before the performance, Monday, December 6, 2010, we went to the place where we would do the play to practice it. This was our last rehearsal, but we still had a few problems. A few characters had not been cast and were not cast. The movements were still being learned, as well as the transitions between scenes. The previously mentioned messed up dialog still existed. However, we did mostly well.

On December 7, 2010, we had the performance. There was no emergency rehearsal, which surprised some teachers, considering how there normally is one. We still had no hunger and ignorance, and we were all tense because of the possibility that the play would get messed up. There were still the problems, but they went unnoticed, and the play was a huge success. Many people, even strangers, told me I was a great actor. This went on for the next few days. I actually had to do one extra bow after my two bows because of the length of the clapping for me during the bows.

All in all, it was great experience, and I hope we’ll do a play next year, too.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part 1-Review

I’m not even going to introduce it this time. Where is your home-rock if you haven’t ever heard about Harry Potter. The beginning of the end has started. I watched the movie on 11/26/10, and let me tell you, it’s great.
First things first: we all know just about every book-based movie has some inaccuracy. Just like with the other Potter movies, if you want a comprehensive, word for word, reiteration, go read the book. I know some fans will rage (don’t call me ignorant, I read the book, I know what happens), but at this point, I don’t give a darn. It’s a good movie, and that’s what we’re here for.
I know no one wants spoilers, even though the book is a gigantic one. If you haven’t read it, stop reading. If you have, what do I have to tell you?
It’s a serious movie. It doesn’t have the slight comedy elements of Half-Blood Prince and, to be a bit unoriginal, it sets a darker tone. But there is one funny bit. Sorry if I mess it up.

Dobby:*Knocks down chandelier on top of Bellatrix*

Bellatrix: YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!

Dobby: Dobby was not trying to kill… perhaps maim or… seriously injure.

By the way, there’s new Dobby voice acting, and it’s not as good as the old one. Also, that text was not in the book, but who the frik cares, it’s hilarious.
Some say that the movie follows the story too much. Have you read the book? I would use a snappier line, but I’d rather not offend my readers. In any case it is different, and skips large parts of chapters and skips some medium-important things. You can find an excuse for this, though. What you can’t find a excuse for: THEY MESSED UP THE DATE OF HARRY’S BIRTHDAY!
Yeah. The movie’s awesome. Watch it. I COMMAND YOU, FOR MY POWER LEVEL IS OVER 9000 BECAUSE I HAVE FALCON PUNCH ON MY SIDE! Hooray for references to references I don’t understand.

Deepavali 2010

This year, we had a lot of fun at Deepavali (A.K.A. Divali).

On Thursday, 11/4/10, we celebrated the first day of Deepavali. Wee lit some lamps, made some chalk drawings, and best of all, USED FIREWORKS! We used Colored Snakes, garlic firecrackers, Flowerpots, and the most terrifyingly fast of them all, the one I gave a name myself, the HYPERSPEED!

The Colored Snakes were these little pill shaped things reminiscent of lamp pills that you put on fire. When set on fire, they slowly made a snake shaped structure out of ash. These were pretty bad snakes; it looked like the fire was pooping something, and smelled like it, too.

Garlic firecrackers are little packages of wood shaving inside paper. When you throw them at a hard surface, they explode with a pop. They’re always a nice way to begin or end a session of fireworks.

Flowerpots are these huge, mini-versions of regular fireworks. First it spit up color, then multicolored missiles into the air. There are explosions all over the place, blowing up like real firework missiles. These are probably the best fireworks on the non-pyrotechnic market.

“Hyperspeeds” are little spinners. They look like flowerpots, but act nothing like them. There are other types of spinners, but these are probably the most magnificent. After a short time on the fuse, it seems to have stopped working. Then it explodes, moving really fast, throwing multicolored sparks, and changing colors. They are quite epic.

We didn’t do anything on the second day, 11/5/10, but on the third, 11/6/10, we invited my uncle and set off… guess what… MOAR FIREWORKS! Yes, MOAR, because only epic people misspell stuff like more. The third day of Deepavali is the day when you celebrate brothers, so we invited my uncle and his family to set off fireworks. We used multiple types of sparklers, spinners, a Magic Trick, party poppers, a supreme party popper, and all the other ones we used before.

Sparklers are sticks that, when set ablaze, explode in beautiful arrangements. Some spat red sparks. Others exploded in yellow stars. And some shined white.

Normal spinners spin around, hurling yellow sparks in a small circle that they spin in once the fuse burns down.

Party poppers are these little canisters full of confetti. Pull the string, BOOM, a whole bunch of confetti flies out.

Supreme party poppers are much, much bigger, shooting out much more, bigger confetti. We were ripped off, though: there was barely any confetti in ours.

And magic tricks, somehow, are even better than Flowerpots, if MUCH more terrifying. Put it on fire and hold it, the ends explodes, sending down more stuff that explodes randomly over and over and over again, making a huge cacophony. We set off only one because it made a lot of noise. We wouldn’t have even bought them if we knew what they were.

Deepavali this year was really great, and I hope next year’s will be just as awesome.

Leadership Retreat 10-1-10

Today, we had our first leadership retreat. A leadership retreat is a special day at Merryhill when advisory groups learn teamwork. Today was the first for this year. I was in the purple advisory group. Purple, the color of the void, evil, and gigantic floating eyes with tentacles. Marvelous, isn’t it. Also, NUCLEAR SOAP!

This morning we walked *cough* ran against the rules *cough* to Cardoza Park. The place was quite entertaining, really. We waited for some 15 minutes and then started the day. We had 5 activities, which will be described in the next paragraphs.

The first activity we did had to do with concentration and memorization. Well, actually, with our strategy, it was just remembering a number and touching 1 to that number. We had to run around as fast as possible and touch a number stuck to the ground. The next person had to touch that number and touch another number. It wasn’t really difficult, just time-consuming, but maybe that’s just because we were a good team.

The second was slightly more difficult. By that, I mean THE MOST DIFFICULT THING EVER! We had to toss a balloon between one another, tell the person we’re throwing it to’s name and the body part they must hit it with. The problem: the balloon is full of air, it’s windy, and hitting a balloon doesn’t send it very far. We failed this challenge because we didn’t finish in less than 10 minutes, the limit.

The third was the most entertaining and delicious thing I’ve ever done. You placed an Oreo on your forehead and had to move it into to your mouth without your hands. If you wanted to, you could eat it. But drop it too many times in the grass we were doing the challenge in, and was the last person, dropped it tens of times. The whole team was giving him advice, but he kept dropping it. Finally, he got it into his mouth. Then he spit it out. What a horrible waste of an Oreo. Well, it did look disgusting at that point, so I guess it was okay.

The next event was uncomfortable. We had to move a banana across a line with only our feet. The uncomfortable part? The grass was very, very, wet. We had a lot of exasperation, but it was done fairly quickly.

The last challenge was kind of like that “minefield” challenge from TV. We had a blindfolded partner and guided them through an obstacle course. It took quite a long time to do.

Next was lunch. We had pizza, chips, and bad tasting juice juice.

Afterwards, we had a tug-of-war. Three people from each team played. We lost in both our games.

After returning to school, we ate ice cream and watched the movie The Blind Side until school was over. It was a really great day.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow-Play Review

Ah, we’re back to Rainbow Theater. Ready to hear my scathing review? Tough luck, chumps, because this was actually a good play. My sister even had a part in it: the Indian Chief Phantom.

Overview:

You should ALL know The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving’s scary story. EVERYONE at least knows the Headless Horseman. If you don’t, you are a disgrace to people everywhere (I kid... but maybe). The rural town of Sleepy Hollow is full of ghosts. And the worst of them is… the Headless Horseman! I think you saw that coming. No? EPIC FAIL! But ‘nuff of that, let’s move onto the main guy: schoolmaster Ichabod Crane. “Spare the rod, spoil the child.” Yeah, most of you won’t get that reference, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s the (HUNGRY) new schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow. He falls in love with Katrina the moment he arrives. The problem? Brom Bones, Katrina’s evil so-called boyfriend (even Katrina hates him). He doesn’t like it when guys like Ichabod come and like his girlfriend. So, anyway, a bunch of random, unimportant (but funny) stuff happens, and Ichabod finds out about the ghosts, and we learn he is a chicken. Check that. He’s an ostrich. Check that, that’s an insult to ostriches everywhere, especially the strong ones. Let’s just call him a fraidy-cat. Check… Oh just forget it! And then, a bunch of more random, unimportant (but funny) stuff happens, and Ichabod finally proposes marriage to Katrina. Of course, previously, we learned he only liked her money, though he did think she was beautiful. Anti-hero, anyone? Yes, I know, that’s an insult to anti-heroes like Darth Bane, who are completely epic, but I’m too lazy to type it. But I just… DANG YOU PARADOX OF EVIL READERS! And of course, Bones knows of this. He runs Ichabod out of the joint and into the graveyard, only thinking of his bad luck, and not the ghosts he was terrified of. AND OUT COMES THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN! And Ichabod disappears, his clothes still on the rack, one moment at a party, next moment gone, never to be seen again in Sleepy Hollow. The only thing left is Bones’s Heschan coin, and no one knows it’s his. YOU decide what happened to Ichabod. I’ll blame it on Bones, who is actually the Headless Horseman.
Other:
I didn’t feel much emotion, but the humor was LOLWTHOMGBBQ (Laugh Out Loud What The Heck Oh My God BarBeQue) worthy. But there is something faintly unsettling about seeing a headless actor with a stump on his head clap during the credits.

Rating:
I must say, it was a good play. What about LOLWTHOMGBBQ OXSOM? In other words, funny and good.

Our Home Concert

Yesterday, 9-17-10, we had a concert at our house. It was so exciting! Two days previous, we had set up our entire downstairs for the concert. We brought in all our rugs, moved the furniture, and even set up a monitor for people who couldn’t see the musicians. My dad made a slideshow all about the temples of Karnataka, the topic of our concert, and used a projector he was lent to show it on our wall. All the songs were composed by great composers in those temples.

Jayanthi Umesh, my mom’s music teacher and expert bay area singer, was the singer. Ravindra Bharati was the mridangist and Lakshmi Balasubramanam was the violinist. They were all music experts.

Over 100 people came to the concert. We were packed! I had NEVER seen that many people in a house!

There were 13 songs, each referencing a great temple of India. The songs were Matte Malaya Dhwaja Pandya Sanjate, Vaatapi Ganapatim Bhajeham, Ubhaya Kaveri Ranga, Hatakesshwaram, Sri Chamundeshwari, poetry of Putina and D.V.G., Trigunathmakale, Kandu Dhanyanade, and more.

The temples situated in Chamundi Hills, Mysore, Badami and Tiravarur, Srirangapattana, Nanjanagoodu, Melukote, Kolluru, Udupi, Sringeri, Dodda Malooru, Koodala Sangama, Beluru, and Devarayana Durga.

After the concert, we had dinner.

It was really, really, REALLY cool to have a concert in our house. If we hadn’t moved, we would never have even been able to host the concert because our old house was smaller. Our new house was another thing celebrated at the concert. Anyway, I think, and hope, that we will have more concerts.

My 12th Birthday

Yesterday, 9-12-10, I turned 12. I was waiting FOREVER for my birthday this year, and it was one of the best days of my life.

I woke up at around 8:30 in the morning. My parents told me to stay in my room while they set up for my birthday. I stayed in bed and watched videos on youtube on my dad’s phone until 9:30 in the morning. I then brushed my teeth, took a bath, and went downstairs. I got my presents. I got the new, AWESOME laptop I’m now typing this on, an Amazon Kindle with 5 books on it (I retract my opinion I posted on a previous blog about eBook readers), and 3 physical books as well. My grandparents gave me a card with $25, and the rest of my family gave me a LOT of cards and a $25 Gamestop giift certificate. My sister also gave me a lot of special stuff. She gave me origami, hand made bouncy balls, and other cool art stuff, and smelling stickers. My aunt and uncle and younger cousins also came too, and they gave me some money as a gift.

At 11:00 in the morning, my friends started coming. Sanjana, Sanjana, and Ankith all came, and we played Mario Kart Wii until it was time for lunch. We had pizza and orange cake. We then started watching the Karate Kid. However, a few minutes into the movie, we switched to Bedtime Stories. We also made our own personal ice cream sundaes.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, Sanjana and Sanjana left. We dropped off Ankith at 3:00 in the afternoon at his house. I spent the rest of the time watching videos on my new laptop and downloading an FPS until we had to leave to go to some houses for a religious festival. We left at 6:30 in the evening and got back at 10:00 in the night. I played the FPS I downloaded, Alliance of Valiant Arms, until 10:30 in the night. It ran really well on my laptop.

Like I said before, yesterday was one of the best days of my life.

eBooks-Oh the Delicious Irony

In science, in my first week of school, on 8-20-10, we talked about technology. One point that was raised was that one of the negative things about technology was that it made us lazy. And we stumbled on eBooks...

eBooks. What are eBooks.A ridiculous type of book with the letter e before it. Of course it isn't. It's a ridiculous type of electronic book. Electronic book, you say? Heresy, I say. BLASPHEMY! And the irony, don't get me started! Books created irony, and where do they go? Out the window when all sorts of newfangled contraptions like Kindles and Nooks, and the greatest evil, THE IPAD come to the world!

eBooks require the internet to get any books at all. Where's the accessibility in that, eh? And they are so EXPENSIVE! $200 could go so far. You could buy 10 nice, big, interesting books with that kind of money! And what about the libraries? Well, two things, of course! First, there is no "eBook library", and the creators wouldn't spend the money or time to code it, as it is difficult. And money, of course, is the other issue. Think of all the libraries the government is spending millions of dollars on! That's millions and millions, maybe even BILLIONS of dollars lost if everyone gets an eBook reader. And all the librarians will lose their jobs, and the billions of dollars spent on them will be lost too. There won't be any book signings anymore, either. What're you going to do, sign the eBook? *sigh* Better get a new Kindle, permanent marker won't come off... And where is the ambiance of scrolling your hand across a piece of plastic? There is no smell of fresh print, or yellow parchment, or hand-drawn pictures in eBooks. Isn't it so satisfying to flip a page in a book and learn a crucial part of the story. *engage stupid and unrealistic voice of girl who can't speak in complete sentences* OMG, like, flipping is, like, so, like, old. You must be, like, 30 to, like, flip a, like, what do you call them? Pages? Those are, like, so, like, old fashioned. And they use, like, legible and, like, complete, like, what are they? Sentences? OMG! Argh, typing this absolute garbage makes me cry. And if we keep advancing, eBooks will read to US, and no one will be able to read. People will get rid of books, and authors won't make physical copies of their books. What a dystopia. Another dystopia I heard about was when, a few years ago, I saw the back of a book called The Last Book in the Universe, and that book was the last book in the universe. Why do something as mundane as reading when you can just take a shot that tells the whole story, as if you were living it, in a millisecond. OH THE HUMANITY, WHY!

But, as much as I dislike eBooks, there are some good points. Making them is eco-friendly, compared to making millions of pages of paper. Still, plastic isn't bio-degradable... And jobs are also made by eBook manufacturing. And you can have a 3,500
book library in a 10" by 10" piece of plastic. And maybe libraries could still exist and lend books, since you can't buy every eBook.

We shouldn't let technology make us lazy, but we also shouldn't stagnate and never make stuff easier for ourselves with technology. A balance must be struck.

Well, I'm done here. I only have a certain amount of cynical wordplay and skeptics I can dispense in a day. But the dislike of eBooks is real. Think on it.

Iron Hills Triathalon

Yesterday, 8-21-10, I went to the Iron Hills Youth Triathalon. A triathalon is a athletic race in which competitors bike, swim, and run. At Iron Hills, I was in the 11-15 age group, so I had to swim 8 25 meter laps, bike 6.6 miles, and run 1.4 miles. People participate in triathalons because it is a good test of endurance and speed, as well as good exercise.

In the morning, I woke up at 4:30 A.M. and we left for the triathalon at 5:55 A.M. The triathalon was2 hours away, at El Dorado Hills, so we had to get up early to get there before it started at 8:30 A.M.

I registered 1 week before the triathalon. I had gone to 4 weeks of swim camp, coincidentally, and I was riding my bike most days in the summer as well. In my one week, I ran 2 days and did much more biking for 3 days.

I was in the 5th heat of swimming. In swimming, I was 8th, I think. Then we went biking in our swimming clothes. Real warm guys, real warm. The last bit was running. I went the whole way, and I was the slowest, but at least I didn't give up like some people. The triathalon was meant to be a "friendly, non-competitive challenge", so I didn't care what place I was in.

All the people who worked on the triathalon were very good. They encouraged me a lot even when I going really slowly and was having a hard time. When I finished, they applauded my endurance.

At the award ceremony, they called me up for third place, but then told me that it was a mistake and I was fourth. But in the girls list of times, I was number 3. I guess that that's okay, since I was one of the younger participants in the 11-15 age group, and the even younger kids started earlier and had less to do, so I guess I did well. I'm just happy the I finished the race, instead of giving up. Some kids did give up, I'm just happy I wasn't one of them. Finally, my family and I were happy. My parents thought that I wouldn't finish, which they told me after the triathalon. Thanks for the confidence, guys. Thanks...

Learning HTML

This summer, I have been learning HTML. At first, I couldn't even get it to register as HTML, but my dad helped me figure it out. FYI, a notepad HTML file has to be in All Files. Anyway, I kept learning it from davesite.com! Visit DaveSite! That was a link! I made it with HTML. At first, I did easy tasks like bolding, italicizing, making horizontal lines, etc etc. Then I started my website, Chez La Homei. It's based after our Christmas feast, which you can read about in a previous post.At first, I just came up with simple words. Then I added a few fonts and a little color. The I made some unordered list for a simple menu. The next thing I made was pictures. I had to debug it a lot because I kept messing it up. I now know that to make a picture, I have to use an "img src" tag with the web address of the picture, the EXACT address. Then I turned the pictures into thumbnails. It took me a longer time to figure that out because for that, the internet was absolutely useless. I had to crop pictures in paint, put them in a different page, put the "a href tag" with the real pictures address and "img src" as the address of the cropped picture. I then added staff biographies with a lot of color and fonts. Then I put up a video and added even MORE colors and fonts, as well as splitting the menu and adding some new items. Then I had to web host it. At first, I thought Yahoo hosting was just a text editor. Then I tried to make a page with a different thing, but the page got butchered for no apparent reason. I kept trying to fix it, but my first choice couldn't be edited, and the second wouldn't show up. Finally, I figured out that the code had to be in Index.html. I had posted all the pictures on this blog and put the pictures up with them, since the pictures wouldn't show up if I didn't bring it from the Internet. Then I had to get rid of them and instead used the code. Turns out the addresses stayed the same when I put them up on a virtually inaccessible part of my website that only I can access and I linked the pictures. Finally, it's done, and I got $20 for making it! I'm going to continue fixing up my website and by next year, I'll be studying Java. Go visit Chez La Homei! BTW, both links in this post were made by me using HTML.

P.S. School starts tomorrow

Despicable Me Movie Review

Intro:

Yesterday, 8/9/10(oh wow), I went to see Despicable Me. I've wanted to see for the whole summer, and next Monday is my first day of school, so I had to see it. And I wasn't disappointed.

Overview:

In Despicable Me, the pyramids are stolen, and the greatest villain in the world, Gru, becomes number two to Vector. Now he wants to steal the moon and reclaim his throne, but the Bank of Evil(formerly Lemen Brothers) won't fund him. He has to steal a shrink ray, which is stolen by Vector. Then he tries to steal it back... and fails miserably. But then he sees Vector's weakness: cookie selling orphan girls. He adopts them and he is very negligent. But he learns to like them. Watch the movie to learn how to heist of the century goes.

Other:

I felt a little sad about Gru's unkindness, but eh. Nothing much. I rate it an excellent. Make a Despicable Me Too(a name like Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa) and add some emotion and I might just rate it Phenomenal.

Treasure Island- The Musical Review

Intro:

My sister was in a musical based on the book Treasure Island, and I think you all know what that is.

Overview:

As is obvious, this is based around the book Treasure Island. It is a bit simplified, but that happens with every musical. I feel that the actors were a bit nervous as they started, but soon gained more confidence. At first, they were a little quiet, which made it difficult to figure out how the story began, but as it went on I gathered more info. A boy finds a treasure map when a ship captain dies next to them. He gets onto a ship and meets a group of sailors and pirates. After learning of the treasure map, the pirates start a mutiny and kidnap the boy and the map. The pirates go searching for it on an island, but find that a tribe of natives already used it. But after the pirates were captured, they learned that the treasure hadn't been used and the natives had lied. They take back the treasure and the boy decides to become a seaman.

Other:

There were a few casting errors, such as one of the shortest girls was an older sibling. The younger one was a full head taller. The actors gained confidence as time went. While the story seemed a bit vague, there was more to it than at first glance. The songs were a bit quirky though. To see why, think of this: a song about eating apples that goes like this: An apple a day keeps a doctor away. Some of the better actors were Long John Silver, the ship capatain, and my sister. They talked loudly and were very clear. I thought my sister's character, Alana, was a bit like her. Overall, it's a nice, solid good. Everyone in my family loved it.



(Please pay no attention to what's below this, I just want to remember it)

MAGICAL PEANUT BUTTER THREE TREE!

Manoj's Visit

On 7/29/10, my cousin Manoj visited us. It was years since he last came. He was 16 and was here because he needed to see some colleges. He was really nice to me and my sister. We went to Stanford University,UC Berkeley, San Fransisco, and a few other places. On the 30th, we went to Stanford in the morning(look at my Stanford blog) and watched Harry Potter 5 at night. Sadly, we didn't finish. The next day, we went to San Fransisco. We were there from noon to 6. Then we went to UC Berkeley by my parents' friend. Afterwards, we went home. The next and last day, Manoj was leaving. In the morning, I played Spore Hero with him and he taught me about some of the biology he was studying. In the afternoon, we went to Baskin Robbins and got ice-cream. After that, we went to Barnes and Nobles and my parents bought him a e-book reader called a Nook. Then we went back home, ate, and dropped him off at the airport. I really miss him because he was here for only a few days, but we had the same interests.

The Pun Punk(now alternating with Wisecrack Wizard and Cynical Sorcerer)

Intro:
I now will be alternating with a new name: Wisecrack Wizard. And I came up with another one right now: Cynical Sorcerer.

8/4/10

(Airline) Soap Operas.

Intro:I was complaining about my parents HORRIBLE soap operas when I made this.

Pun:
I wish they at least used BRAND soap in your soap operas, but NOOOO, they have to use that garage they give on airliners.

Wisecrack Wizarding!

Sue the Writers!

Intro:I made this pun a long time ago because my parents were so good at guessing what would happen next.

Pun:
You should really sue those writers, because they keep stealing your ideas! And we should get someone to EMP our house... it'll kill all our electronics, but at least we won't be bugged by secret cameras.

Wisecrack Wizarding!

-Pun Punk, Wisecrack Wizard, Cynical Sorcerer

Stanford

Yesterday 7/29/10, my cousin Manoj came to see us. He is looking at colleges because soon he’ll have to go to one. Today we looked at Stanford University. Stanford University is a really nice place. All the classes are after 9:00 A.M., so it is not like you have to wake up at 7:00 in the morning and go through classes groggily. The libraries are really good. They have a lot of books, but they also have other things. There are libraries for different subjects, one is basically a place for studying, and there is also a media library. They have a DVD collection second to only Netflix (which is pretty ridiculous, seeing as Netflix is a VIDEO-RENTING OPERATION) and every single videogame console and just about every game you’ll ever want. It’s really nice to go there and do “research”. There is also free electronic equipment for students to rent. The campus is utterly enormous, second only to a college in Moscow, if my memory is correct. Biking is the prime mode of transportation. Students also get 21 meals a week, but can optionally cook for themselves. If the eat less than 21 meals, they get credit to spend at the auxiliary eateries. Overall, it is really nice.

My Dad’s Birthday

This year, my dad turned 41. I wanted to do something different than normal, and so I took a leaf out of my sister’s book and made food. I made smoothies and stuffed dates. My first smoothie was absolutely horrible. It was strawberry milk with grape juice smoothefied. It was tasteless. Next, I mixed ice-cream with milk and strawberry syrup to smoothefy. It was SO much better. Then I made stuffed dates with cashews and grapes. I shaped them as a 41 and made a frame of 6 grape kebabs. It was a really
messy day, but the end result was good.

The Pun Punk-Episode 1

Intro:

This is my new line of posts. I make a lot of puns, so I decided to record them. I’ve forgotten a few, but here goes the rest.

7/27/10

Tour Bus? Where?

Intro: My family and I were looking for a tour bus in Toronto (year 2008), and our GPS was working less than optimally.

Pun:

I don’t see why we’re looking for an expensive tour bus. Our GPS is showing us everything anyway.

You were Pun Punk’d!

Not my best pun, but I have better.

Have to be Mean:

Intro: It was the day before my dad’s birthday, and my dad said my sister was really nice. He asked her to put away his coffee cup. She said… nah.

Pun:

I know why [my sister] is being so mean to you today. Since she can’t be mean to you [on your birthday tomorrow] she has to be twice as mean!

You were Pun Punk’d!

Good Cook, Bad Taste

My mom said she actually LIKED the High School Musical musical(read my review), so I made this pun.

You know, it's weird that your cooking is so good, seeing as you have such bad taste.

You were Pun Punk'd

-Pun Punk

High School Musical 2- The Musical Review

Intro:

Fro those of you who have lived under a rock for the past few years, High School Musical was a phenomenal movie series started by Disney that is huge. It makes me want to puke. Worse still, they ACTUALLY made a musical of it. Just to make it clear, I have nothing against the actors, just the whole story, which caused me to make this very mocking review of a movie-musical that causes nausea.

Storyline:

To be honest, there is no storyline. The famous high school students finish junior year (FYI, some of those “high school students” are still in middle school). Sharpe, the main villain, once again, causes strife to win the love of Troy by bribing him with a college scholarship at a summer job at the country club owned by Sharpe’s father(where the whole high school gets jobs, as well as Troy)… or at least make it look like she is his girlfriend. And now they have a ridiculously overdramatized talent competition and everyone wants Troy on their side. Ugh. I wonder who wrote the original storyline. Disney should fire them. Of course, everyone knows that Disney’s own live action movies fail miserably, and in my mind this is no exception, no matter how many people like it. On the other hand, their classics like Alladin and others are much better, and ALL of Disney/Pixar’s movies are phenomenally great (read my recent review of Toy Story 3), but there live action just fails because they miss a fundamental part of live-action: the action. But I’m obligated to say that the actors in the musical did well.

Other:

Some movies (again, read my Toy Story 3 review) make you feel. High School Musical didn’t. And this musical made me feel only one emotion. The overwhelming feeling of wanting to cover my face and hide from the humiliation (mind you, I didn’t go of my own free will). Oh, and I was insanely curious why the actors in the musical would condemn themselves to such a horrible fate. Overall, I rate this musical as almost mediocre, whereas the best type of movie (*cough Toy Story 3 *cough*) is rated utterly awe-inspiring and phenomenal.But I have to say that I'm not very experienced with this thing and my family loved it.

Toy Story 3: the Movie Review

Intro:

For those of you who lived under a rock for the past decade, Toy Story 3 is the last installment in Disney Pixar’s most phenomenal and epics trilogy, the Toy Story Trilogy. Created almost a decade ago, Toy Story was a HUGE smash hit. It spawned Pixar’s first sequel, the equally great Toy Story 2. But now we have Toy Story 3, and I have to say, it lives up to the series.

Overview:
Andy is owner of the toys that Pixar made famous, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye the horse, the Little Green Men, Piggie Bank Porkers, and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, to name a few. He loved those toys and always played with them. But now he’s going to college and he’s too old to play with toys. He enrages the toys when he calls them old junk. His mother tells him that he has to choose what to do with them. He decides to take Woody to college, but puts the rest in a garbage bag. Fear not, though. The toys are heading safely to the attic… something they don’t believe. But they’ll get there, as it’s only a few steps from Andy’s room… or will they? Andy’s sister asks for him to help with something, and when he’s not looking, his mother sees the garbage bag and puts it out for the garbage truck. Don’t fret though. Woody’s there to save the day! But he’s too late to save them himself. But the toys save themselves. They get into the toy donation bin inside Andy’s mother’s car. Woody tries to discourage them from going to daycare, which he thinks is horrible. However, all of them get driven there and donated. They are greeted by Lotso Huggin Bear, a friendly old bear that smells of strawberries. Anyway, Woody escapes, which he later learns is a nearly impossible feat. Because all is not what it seems, for Lotso is turned evil many years ago when he and his two friends, a baby doll named Big Baby and a clown named Chuckles. He crossed miles and miles to get back to his owner, but learned he had been replaced by another Lotso. Since his owner liked him the best, Lotso cracked. He told them all that they were ALL replaced. Chuckles wasn’t fooled, but Big Baby was. That was when they got to the day care. Lotso turned it into an evil hierarchy and put himself at the top. Chuckles was broken and escaped, though Big Baby became Lotso’s chief henchperson. Anyway, enough backstory. Woody just happens to escape into the house Chuckles lives in and learns of the evil crimes that take place in the daycare, such as the new toys being quickly put on the slaughter list and are sent to the young children’s room, who’s residents would break any toy in a week and be incinerated at the dump after being trashed. Meanwhile Lotso and his henchpeople live in comfort and luxury with the older kids. Woody must save his fellow toys and they all must get back to Andy’s house.


Other:

When a movie makes you feel, that movie is just pure AWESOMENESS! And this movie was one of those movies. I was happy to see the resolution and a almost cried when some sad things happened. So as far as feeling, this movie was great.

Conclusion:

The movie was awesome. Pretty obvious, seeing as ALL of Pixar’s movies are awesome. The only thing I didn’t like was that this was (probably) the last Toy Story. I wish there was a Toy Story 4. Then again, one day, they might make it.

Robotics Journal

6-21-10

Today was my first day at robotics camp. We're going to create some robots in teams and then we would play the robot game, VEX Elevation, by VEX. We were supposed to make a robot and win the game. No holds barred, our robot could do ANYTHING to the enemy robot! For full instructions, go to http://content.vexrobotics.com/docs/vex-elevation/elevation-game-manual.11242008.pdf. I was put in team 6. When deciding our team name, none of us had any ideas. Then I remembered the GREAT 42! THE MEANING OF LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AND EVERYTHING (the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy)! So we got ourselves called Team 42! This week, we'll be making our base drive, known as "The Protobot". It's quite fun. Sadly, I'll miss Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday because my family and I are going to Utah.

6-22-10

Today, we kept working on our drive-base. There was a lot of confusion over the instructions. Pretty obvious that there would be confusion, seeing as that they were pictorial, didn’t show arrows, pointed at stuff, etc., and were assigned gibberish instead of names. There was a lot to do and we progressed slowly. Sadly, the end result was only a finished 4 parts of the instructions, half done the previous day. While I’m at Utah, though, the team will work on it.

6-28-10

Today, I went to Robotics Camp after going to Utah. My team made a lot of progress. Today, we were working on designing arms for our robot and programming/testing it. I came up with a few ideas, but they had problems. I’m still working on my last idea. At 2:15, I went to get our robot tested. There seemed to have been some electronic difficulties previously. Anyway, our first programming delay was when we had to unscrew and re-screw an important element to connect the battery. Then we downloaded information. We got a crystal and started testing. However, because another team already had a crystal like ours, we had to use a tether. To attach the tether, we had to unscrew and re-screw THE SAME THING WE JUST UNSCREWED AND RE-SCREWED! And for some reason, it wouldn’t work. EVERYTHING WAS GOING CORRECTLY! Tomorrow, we are going to try and replace the most important part, which is probably the problem.

6-29-10

OH MY GOD, THIS IS SO EXASPERATING! WE REPLACED THE IMPORTANT PART ONCE, AND IT DIDN’T WORK! Then we did lots of re-downloading, testing, and… WE HAD TO REPLACE THE ELECTRONIC PART AGAIN! IT TOOK THE WHOLE TWO HOURS AT ROBOTICS CAMP! But at least we figured out the problem. One of the engines had died. We learned this after constant re-downloads of master and competition code. Also, the engines had to be placed into the main electronic piece in a specific order to work. Now the robot works, YAY! We had to replace the dead engine, which we did. Anyway, we just have some testing to do tomorrow.

6-30-10

OH GREAT! THERE WAS ANOTHER PROBLEM! Everything worked, BUT IT KEPT MAKING THE ROBOT GO IN CIRCLES! We replaced the engine AGAIN and IT STILL WENT IN CIRCLES! We showed the teacher, and he told us one axle wasn’t properly inside the engine and there was a programming error. WE HAD TO FIX THE ENGINE AGAIN, AND REPLACING IT TOOK HALF OF ALL THE CLASS TIME! Fixing the engine took another 3/8 of our time. And then, for the last 15 minutes, we reprogrammed it. But at least now it works perfectly.

7-1-10
Today, we figured out ANOTHER ENGINE PROBLEM! HOW MANY ELECTRONICS PROBLEMS IS THIS, 7???!!! One engine was slower than the other so it always turned in a circle, and only to the left. After fixing that, we worked on the arm. The guy working on it mistook advice (didn’t listen to me when I told him what was wrong with his reasoning, either), and he had to kill one part of the arm. Maybe we can still use it, though. We worked on the pivot, which we have finished planning and might be put into operation tomorrow or next week. This weekend, I don’t have Robotics, which is lucky because we’re going on a trip to Lassen Park and Crater Lake.
7-2-10
Today, we finished the plan for the arms. They will be feed systems. Treads are attached to motors so that the treads spin. The treads, in turn, pick up blocks and score goals by moving inward and outward. They will be attached to a pivot so that it can reach the highest goals and pick up the cubes on the ground.

7-6-10
Oh. My. GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MORE ENGINE PROBLEMS!!!!! At first, I thought that A) One engine was burnt out, and B) another was loose. I fixed both. However, there must have been another problem, because, though the constant circular movement of the robot weakened, it STILL moved in circles. One motor might be dead. We’ll fix it tomorrow.

7-7-10
First things first, we didn’t fix the motors. Actually, we didn’t do anything with them. We worked on the arms. They are on a pivot and are given torque by to high gear ratios connected by chains on an axle so that the gears will make the angle of the arms change. Anyway, we learned that our extremely light robot and extremely heavy arms weren’t compatible. We had to lighten the arms, shorten them, or, as a last resort, make the robot heavier. We decided to lighten them. However, that didn’t work, so we had to remove the extensions (maybe) and put the mounting towers closer to the front so that the shorter arms can reach the cubes.

7-8-10
Well, we finished most of the mounting tower. The bottom axle has been placed and so have the gears and motors. Tomorrow, we will add the chains to connect the bottom axle’s gears to the top axle to add torque. We also finished the arms, but the length was not equal and has to be fixed. By tomorrow, we have to finish the robot. Next Monday, we scrimeouge, Tuesday-Thursday, we have the tournament, and Friday, we dismantle the robot.
7-9-10
Well… today we finished the arms. They work as feed system. The mounting towers are just about done. But we didn’t finish soon enough. Today we were supposed to finish. But at least we aren’t the only group. Only about half of the six groups finished. But we REALLY need to step on the gas and speed it up. On Monday, we were going to purely scrimeouge. Now, we have to finish before we start the scrimeouges. Also, when we finish, we can choose whether to do autonomous mode or not. In autonomous mode, the robots work by themselves for twenty seconds. Even if only one group does it, they can do it. We have to wait twenty seconds anyway because of the autonomous mode timer in the programming.
7-12-10
Well… it’s Monday… and we didn’t finish. We will have only tomorrow. BUT IT’S NOT OUR FAULT! WE’VE BEEN PLAGUED WITH BAD LUCK EVER SINCE WE STARTED! Today, for example, we had to COMPLETELY dismantle the mounting towers we worked days on and put just two part facing a different direction. AND NOW the axles are too short. SEE! I’VE TOLD YOU ON MY OTHR ENTRIES! WE HAVE THE WORST LUCK EVER! We’ll finish tomorrow.
7-12-10
Okay, today, we just about finished. We finished fixing the mounting towers and attached the arms. We just have a few gears to fix and axles to change. The good thing is, we have a few minutes to do it tomorrow morning. I think our robot is one of the fastest in its class (feed mechanism arms, scoring, no defense or offense) since the entire drive base was made of aluminum. Anyway, tomorrow, the tournament starts. I wonder who’s going to win…
7-12-10
I’m going to be honest right now… today was… AN UTTERLY HUGE DISASTER! First off, we finished the robot and were just going to program, it, but it took too long. Our match was rescheduled. But then, our robot didn’t work. We had to forfeit and the enemy could just score without us. But their robot broke too. And suddenly- KERPLOP! EVERY SNGLE ROBOT STOPPED WORKING! The rest of the day was spent fixing the robots. Out of 15 planned matches, we finished… 1. And one team scored 0 points. Our robot only works on a tether, so we have to use that during our match. This means our robot can easily be interfered with. Today we were supposed to have seating matches, but now we have to skip them and go straight to the tournament.
7-13-10
Today was fine. However, during our match, something cracked. Literally and metaphorically. The arms kept it from moving. Luckily, our first match was a tie. But we lost the rematch. It was a really fun day and group one won. Tomorrow, we are playing for third place and have some exhibition matches. And finally, we’ll dismantle the robots.

7-14-10
Due to time constraints, the rest of the tournament was cancelled. For the first hour, we dismantled our robots, a very quick process. Then we watched part of the movie Transformers, because it was (according to our teacher) “mildly” associated with robotics.

My Utah Adventure

6/23/10

Yesterday, we started a road trip to visit Zion, Kolob, and Bryce Canyons. We left for the city of Bakersfield at 7:30 P.M. At 10:30 P.M., we arrived there. On the way, I looked at clouds, read, and slept. Today, from 7:30 A.M. (CA time) to 5:30 P.M. (Utah time), we drove to Zion Canyon. I repeated my routine from last night. On the way, my dad forgot how to open our van’s gas tank and how to use a car wash. I made up a spoof song about it:

He lost it!
He lost it!
Dad really lost it!
Which made us sad...
Because he was bad...
But then...
He found it!
He found it!
He found it!
Dad finally found it!
And luckily, the trip was free (because for the car wash, we were given an extra wash because the first didn’t work correctly)
Dad finally found it
Because of ME!

Once we arrived at Zion Canyon, we explored it by shuttle bus. Our first stop was the “Court of the Patriarchs”, home of the landmark the “Three Patriarchs”. After taking a few pictures, we got onto a new bus. Our second to last stop was the “Temple of Sinawava”. There was a river there, in which we did a little wading. Then we got onto another bus to go to the Human History Museum. Sadly, it was closed. At that point, we left for our hotel.

6/24/10

Today, we went to Kolob Canyon in the morning. We took some pictures and were back in our hotel for breakfast in two hours. Then we went to the village of Marysvale and went to on an ARK (Always Rafting and Canoeing) rafting trip. It was an awesome experience to go rafting. Our guide was Don, the owner of the company. My family was the fastest team of rafters, even though we had the smallest team and my sister and I were the youngest rafters. Going through rapids was really fun since we got soaked up to our HAIR in pitfalls known as “waterfalls”. During the trip, Don pointed out mountains like Big Rock Candy Mountain (WHAT THE HECK?!?!?!?), beaver dams, and vague faces in the mountains. I EVEN SAW KING KONG AND LORD VOLDEMORT (albeit Voldemort possessing Professor Quirrel)! Then we went to Bryce Canyon. We took a few pictures there and I made a poem about it:
Oh!
Bryce Canyon!
What a wonderful place to be!
All the things to do
And the sights to see!

You can see a mountain
Far, far away!
Up at Rainbow point,
You can see stuff and say
HEY!

Oh!
Bryce Canyon!
You’re so neat and cool!
Let me tell you,
You’re really a jewel!

6/25/10

Today, we went to Zion Canyon again for horseback riding. My horse was Chalkboard. He was a little slow at the beginning of the track until I was given a whip to whip him with. There was a lot of treacherous footing and we moved unsteadily, but I got used to it. However, once, the horse in front of me pooped. And my horse stepped in the poop. And a bunch of times, the horses peed, and we were in close contact with the alias of “Rocky Mountain Lemonade”. It was really fun, but very hot and somehow just as tiring as going on the same track on foot. We all got a drink and snack afterwards. Then we went to the Human History Museum and learned about Zion Canyon’s history. Then we left and went to Barstow, CA. Tomorrow, we will get home before noon.

Pomeroy, 6th Grade, and Graduation

This year, I was in 6th grade, my last year at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School. In 6th grade, I had a lot of fun. We went on great field trips, worked on great projects, and just had a lot of fun.

On Thursday, June 10, 2010, we had our graduation. It was the last day of school and my last day at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School. We had practiced three times for the ceremony a few days before it happened.



Upon starting the ceremony, we went to our seats with our partners. Then we listened to a speech by our principal, Mrs. Berman. It was also her last year at Pomeroy. Then we listened to our classmates make speeches. And then we started getting out graduation certificates. I was one of the first people to get the certificate. After giving everyone their certificates, Mrs. Berman made a second speech. And then we went and ate refreshments. It was an AWESOME day that ended an AWESOME year.

Back in class, we watched some episodes of the old 1930's cartoon, The 3 Stooges. It was EPICALLY funny. We went outside and played for a while after that. Finally, we came back in, stacked up desks and chairs, got our report cards, and left at 12 o'clock A.M. At home my parents gave me a GRAD(uation) balloon and we ate a small celebratory cake and some pasta.

I've been going to Pomeroy all my life. Actually, the majority of my school life was spent there. 7 out of the 13 years(kindergarten being the first) were spent at Pomeroy! Every year, I enjoyed myself immensely. In kindergarten, I learned to socialize and how to use motor skills. In first grade, I learned how work independently on projects. In second grade, I learned relatively advanced reading and math. In third grade, I did a LOT of reading that was truly advanced, such as the first six Harry Potter books. In fourth grade, I learned science, history, math, reading, and other subjects. In fifth grade, I learned art, drug awareness, and very advanced math. And finally, this year, In sixth grade, I learned art, creativity, advanced math, language arts, and poetry. I shall sorely miss my great years in Pomeroy.

The Exhaustion Song

This one is from couple of weeks ago:

This is a parody of a Doctor Seuss poem (it had something to do with brains in your head and feet in your shoes). I wrote it because I was EXHAUSTED after school on 6/4/10. I made it when I told a friend I had blisters on my hands, I’ve got bruises on my knees. It sounded poetic, so I made this poem:

I’ve got blisters on my hands
I’ve got bruises on my knees
I’m trying to be poetic
But I’ll ruin it with a sneeze

LAWL! Funny!

Open House and my Term Project

I wrote this post a while ago, but posting now as you can see!

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This week, on May 19, 2010, I presented my Term Project. Every year, students have to study something that interests them and make a presentation about it. I made a video and a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. My Term Project was on neurosurgery, a very difficult research topic. I went to the library one day and took out some books that could help me research. Then I started typing my presentation with the books and some help from the Internet. Finally, when I finished typing, I started practicing my presentation. When I presented it, my classmates said it was well researched. Here is a link to the small video I made from pictures from the Internet.

The next day, May 20, 2010, we had Open House. Open House is a HUGE event. Every year, in the days leading up to Open House, teachers clean up their rooms and get all sorts of stuff to show parents. There is also a barbeque (I didn’t attend because I’m vegetarian, and there was no veggie stuff), an ice-cream social, a book fair, an art fair, and classroom visitation.

First, we left at about 6:00 P.M. At 6:10 P.M., we arrived. The first thing I did was getting our pre-ordered ice-cream social tickets. Before I had ice cream, though, I went to the art fair to find the picture I drew for it. It wasn’t there. I had some ice cream.

Then we went to the book fair. This year, my sister bought Harry Potter 6 (we lost our last copy) and a Judy Moody book. I bought a book called N.E.R.D.S. and a book on paper airplanes. Then I visited my classroom and presented my Term Project again there. No one listened! I then went with some friends and we talked and raced. It was a lot of fun. Finally, I went and saw my 4th grade teacher, Mrs.Downey, just before Open House ended. After I visited her, we left.

This is my last year at Marshall Pomeroy Elementary School. I really think I put my last Open House to good use.

My Grandmother

This year, my grandmother came to visit us from India. She had also been here in September of 2009. We really enjoyed her company.

Once, a two days before she left, on May 29, we went cherry picking with her. First, we went to the Livermore temple after getting some food for a picnic we were going to have with our cousins. We met our cousins once we got to the cherry farm and started picking and eating cherries.




Funnily enough, it was the black cherries that tasted best, contrary to the generic red cherry. During the picnic part of our trip, we ate angel food cake, Hawaiian buns, and drank CapriSun Roaring Waters juice. I also *cough, cough* tried to skip stones. If you didn’t pick up the hints, I failed miserably.

My grandmother also made great food. Every day, she made something new and exciting. She showed me “allu muttar” and I REALLY liked it.

My grandmother left on June 1, 2010. On the day before, I made her a picture showing our whole family together. We wished her a happy journey before we left for school and she left for the airport.

I really miss my grandmother and hopes she comes back soon. Luckily, soon, my other grandparents are coming. I can’t wait!

Merryhill: Shadow Day

Today, April 21, 2010, I went to a shadow day at Merryhill Middle School. I followed around a sixth grader at Merryhill for a day! The first thing I did after arriving was meeting the principal, Mrs. Quinn. She told me that I was going to follow a sixth grader named Henry.

First, there was an assembly for the quarterly Honor Roll. There were Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels. After that, I followed Henry outside to the Music Room. I watched the students practice their yearly dance. Every grade has a different one. Halfway through, a person came and told us he had to set up something where they were practicing. It turns out that it was a giant bouncy slide. The students had to move somewhere else. Then, the Mega-iHome (at least I think of it like that) ran out of charge, so they had to listen to the music teacher’s iPhone. Next, we had math, also known as Home Room. The students were studying about regular polygons, a subject my class had finished studying a few weeks ago. I shared some of my knowledge and fully completed a worksheet, which was not actually due the same day.

Next, we had lunch. I thought the kids were just fooling around in class for a while before I learned they were actually eating lunch. It was very early, at only 11:00 am or so. Then, we had the official lunch. I had already finished and asked Henry some questions about the schedule. Today, we were going to have history, language arts, science, and P.E. So anyway, after lunch, we went to history. I basically didn’t do anything because they were working on projects and had a quiz on a book I’d never read. Then they read a handout I didn’t have. I thought the history teacher was very funny.

In language arts, I was given the book the sixth graders were reading, Animal Farm. It was an allegory about communism. I voiced some of the opinions I had about the small amount of the book that I read. Then, the teacher read us a story about a future where everyone was equal. It was HORRIBLE! All the people with ANY skill at all were badly handicapped by the Handicapper General. At the end, because two people wouldn’t be handicapped, they were killed. Afterwards, we had a short ten-minute break.

At science, we learned about ocean ecology. We also did a project about ocean food chain in which we made a food chain with note cards. Finally, we were supposed to have P.E., but since it was raining, we just stayed inside and had a break for and hour or so. After about half of the time, we had to move from the science lab to the cafeteria because there was a meeting in the science lab. Anyway, during the P.E. time, Henry and me became good friends. At 3:40, we were dismissed. I was picked up at 4:05.

All in all, I really liked the shadow day, and since I liked it so much, Mrs. Quinn offered to let me come again. I will be going for a half day tommorow.

A New School

Next year, I’m going to a new school for 7^th grade: Merryhill school! It is a private school. My parents decided to send me to Merryhill instead of Thomas Russell Junior High, which we had planned to go to. I’m going to Merryhill to prepare for high school and also to learn more.

A few days ago, my parents told me a little bit about Merryhill. In the summer, they send some test prep books where you do a few pages a day. This is so that students don’t forget what they learned. However, since I’m going to be a new student at Merryhill, my parents are going to get a lot more test prep so that I can get up to speed with the other students. I was FURIOUS when my parents told me this! I got really angry and so did my parents. However, I realized my mistake after 1 hour. They also showed me the schedule. One thing that stood out was lunch: 10:35-11:00! Next year, they will change it to 11:00-11:30. I still think that’s early.

At the end of the day, we will learn something like Spanish or music. The day ends at 4:00 after some questions about the days work. Some time in April, I am going to shadow a Merryhill student to learn about the school. All in all, I think that even though Merryhill is a strict school, I think it will be a great learning experience to go there.

The Poetry Slam

On February 3, 2010, I went to my first poetry slam. My dad told me that the Milpitas library was having a poetry contest. When I got there, though, I learned that it was a HIGH SCHOOL VALENTINE’S DAY poetry slam. Luckily, I wasn’t the only non-high-schooler. Before the poetry slam, I grabbed a chocolate cookie and a Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Candy Heart to eat.

When the slam started, my recitation was the second-to-last recitation. After 2 recitations, I grabbed a few tostitos and some salsa to eat. Some of the poems, like one about procrastinating, were really good. Others were... “ish*”... but the judges loved them.

I had chosen this poem to recite:

The Ocean is Formed by Many Rivers

Sometimes you learn from a person
That is one important way
Sometimes someone needs to help
Guide you on the learning highway

Sometimes you need written records
Something made by someone learned
When you need to learn that way
Do it, or you'll be burned!

Sometimes you learn through watching
A person doing something
That is also an important
And easy way of learning

Sometimes you need knowledge
And then you need to see
When done right
It is a cup o' tea

Sometimes company helps you
Being surrounded by those who are good
If you know great people
Use this way! You should! You should!

Do these all
Every way to learn
If you study hard
All knowledge, you shall earn

And so you can see
Many rivers create
A vast ocean
Whose thirst no amount of knowledge can sate

By: Abhijit Ramaprasad
(Translated from a 13th century Kannada poem from Someshwara Shataka)

I got a 27.3 out of 30 for my score. After the last poem, we had a brief intermission in which I ate a few snacks. And then the awards were given. I won the participation prize: COCONUT M&M’S[COCONUT M&M’S(!!!!)], a Fool’s Gold CD, and a certificate. One good thing was that the toughest judge, the judge who gave the director of the Poetry Slam the lowest score of all the judges, complimented my poem! He said,"Good Job".

*: The 1-4 place poems were “ish” but they won everything in the participation prize AND cash. I’m pretty sure I came in 5th. After the slam, my sister and mom went home. Me and my dad got some books before leaving. The slam was pretty cool.

Hi Bob

This is a poem I wrote during a 15-minute free write time a few days ago. My inspiration came from when I was just thinking,” Hi Bob”. I made rhymes and then I went along to completely unrelated stuff using them. Here is the poem:

Hi Bob
You robbed
Mr. Joe
Who went on a row
boat
Next to a slow
boat
to China
Where he stole from
Ms. Tyna
Who hated
Ms. Lina
And stole all her stuff
And got a huge fine-a
While sitting next to Dina
Who robbed Bob
Who hates Steve Jobs
And sells what he robs
From his gobs
Of money
And Honey
Made by bees
In the trees
Swaying in the breeze
Until the wind stops
And they freeze
Until they hear Bob sneeze
And they get back to work
Inside murk
And marshlands
Of the harsh lands
Called Ireland
Where Bambi on steroids kicks
A tick named Mr. Hick
Who frolicked with a dust mite who became huge
And stopped all the trouble
By eating
Bob

Avatar

Intro

On December 31, 2009, I watched the hit movie Avatar. This is a review of the movie.




Story

Crippled ex-marine Jake Sully is taken to Pandora for a special mission to collect $20,000,000 rocks called unobtanium to be sold on Earth. However, there is a problem. Indigenous people known as the Na’Vi have their village right over the largest deposit of unobtanium on Pandora. Jake is paired with a scientist named Norm. Because of this, a professor named Grace created the Avatars. She mixed human and Na’Vi DNA to create them. Some humans would remotely control the Avatars, which looked like the Na’Vi. The Avatars were supposed to gain the trust of the Na’Vi and get them to move. However, Jake gets lost in the Pandoran jungle on his first mission. A Na’Vi woman named Eteeri saves Jake’s life when he is attacked by a pack of wild dogs/hyenas/wolf things. She is about to kill him when a group of seeds from the Na’Vi’s sacred tree cluster around him. Eteeri then takes Jake to the Hometree village of the Omethicaya Na’Vi. Jake learns from the Na’Vi, but he is telling everything he learns to his boss. At one point, after learning about the Na’Vi and becoming one of them, Jake falls in love with Eteeri. However, on the next day, bulldozers come to destroy Hometree. However, when Jake disables and destroys the outer steering cameras in a fit of rage, a group of bombers, led by the insane, trigger-happy head of security, goes to destroy Hometree with missiles. Hometree is destroyed and Jake is removed from the tribe when the Omethicaya learn that he knew the gun ships were coming. Then the head of security takes Grace, Jake, and Norm to the main section of the base and imprisons them. However, one of their friends, a gunship pilot, saves them. But during their escape by gunship, the head of security shoots Grace and gives her serious injuries. They leave with the link center used to control the Avatars. An ensuing war (battle would not be able to describe it fully) causes many things to happen, and I won’t spoil the surprises, so see the rest of the movie yourself.


Pros

1.Good special effects. It didn’t look like some CGI image. It looked like an actual 10-foot tall person.

2.Good, understandable storyline.

3.It just looks good.


Cons

1.Lots of swearing.


Rating:

10 out of 10

Chez La Homé

Location:
Ramaprasad Home, Milpitas, CA, U.S.A.

Staff:
Waiter: Dad
Head Chef: Mom

Menu:*

Appetizers:

Idli Sambar---FREE

Main Meals:

Anna Sambar---FREE
Paper Dosa---FREE

Deserts:

Sugaar a la Coookie---FREE
Hallbai---FREE
Gulab Jamun---FREE

Drinks:

Water---FREE
Hi-C---FREE

Food:

A delicious vegetarian menu filled with nutritious and tasteful foods. The deserts are also simply splendid and sweet.

Service:

The waiter came in seconds after being called. He also picked up garbaggio quickly and washed plates nicely. The chef made food very quickly but management gave the food only when I was ready to eat.

Ambiance:

Good lighting, starry sky filled windows. Not noisy. Peaceful.

Rating**: 5

*As of January 1st, 2010. Daily Different Menus*** full of South Indian cuisine are there for each different meal.

**Out of 5

***Daily Different Menus include Chana Bathura, Pau Bhaji, Masala Dosa, Chomai, and etc. etc.