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| Ramblings about SEMI, New York (yeesh, I haven't done that yet) and
maybe Link Crew will come when I stop procrastinating. In the mean
time, I got my schedule!
2nd: AP Physics - Young
3rd: AP US History - Adams
4th: AP English Language - Courey
5th: Japanese 3 - Hurley
6th: AP Calc AB - Hedlund
7th: AP Biology - Slate
I originally had Journalism 7th and Bio 2nd, and I realized that
Physics wasn't on my schedule. Apparently, AP Physics is only 2nd
period, so after some though, I decided to drop Journalism...
Yes, I got to change my schedule today. <_<
In any case...comparison time! >_> | | |
| I'll be in New York from July 1st to July 26th. It's a night flight, so I haven't quite left yet. (By the way, I told some people earlier that it was July 21st...but that's incorrect, sorry. x_x Blah, it seems I've been making that error since May, I think...)
In any case, I'll miss you all while I'm gone. Happy Birthday to the ones whose birthdays I won't be here for. D:
...Normally, I'd write more, but I don't really have time at the moment, so bye for now.
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| Here's a long story from my day. I'm writing this late at night, so I apologize if it is incoherent or confusing.
It was during my 3rd period PE class, either as I was putting my things in my PE locker, or as I was taking them out. My lunchbox went missing, and I didn't notice until I went to SSR in the main gym. I searched the floors and benches in the locker room...but no such luck. Mr. Freidas thought the head custodian (John) may have seen it, but he was out and about working.
Now, I didn't mind the missing food and drink that much. There was a reusable Nalgene water bottle though, that I paid a decent amount of money for, but there were certain, more important valuables that were gone as well...
The despair from the missing lunchbox made me more cynical and depressed during 5th Period Chem...as Tiffany and Tushaar can attest to. Well Tushaar can if he wasn't laughing his head off too much. <_<
Before 6th, I thought I saw the head custodian just by the corner of the boys locker room, but I hesitated, not sure if it was really him. By the time I went over there, he was gone. The PE teachers had not been in contact with him either...things were looking grim. Still no such luck during 6th...after that, I went to Mrs. Lash and asked her to radio the head custodian. I was hoping he had found it...but he didn't. D:
My next best guess was that I left it at home, but I kind of doubted that, and I wouldn't be able to check inside my house anyways due to my missing key. I decided to go back to the locker rooms during 7th to take a glimpse inside various trash cans...then I had the idea to look inside every locker that was unlocked.
And in Locker...95, I believe, I found a black lunchbox with some food items scattered about it. The very one that I was looking for!
I searched through it, to see what was left. The sandwich was gone, as were the cookies, one water bottle, a Nutri-Grain bar, a Special K Bar, and possibly some dried mangoes. Not surprisingly, they didn't want the fruit, but there was a zip lock baggie of beef jerky. >_>
I don't really trust the food that was in there anymore. <_< However, I am glad that I found my lunchbox by a random stroke of luck. ^_^ Plus, I was able to go home since I had the key now. I'm guessing it was those "jerks" next to my locker in 3rd period...I think Adam seconded that >_>, but I can't say for certain.
To whoever thought this would be a "good" practical joke: ...You suck. This disappearing lunchbox pained me for almost the whole day. Besides being a problem that turned the day sour (well, until I found it, that is), it almost magnified prior "troubles."
Well, at any rate, I have the lunchbox back now, which is very good. My eyes are starting to shut, so it's time for me to sleep.
Until another day,
-Jynn Raisu
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| Though I should probably get some sleep right now, it's also
best to blog entries when the events are freshest in your mind. So...here
it goes. I actually started writing this last night, but I was unable to finish, as I stopped at around 12:40. As a warning, this will be a looooooong entry.
Fanime Day...0? (Thursday): Pre-Reg. Josh got there earlier and had his
badge within a half an hour. >_> By random chance, I met up with Chris
Simpson in front of the Convention Center. We waited in line for about an
hour...the line shrunk over time though. Anthony, Erica, and Jennifer Vu
showed up later, followed by Patrick and Natsuki, and the line was even shorter
at that point. I didn't have time to go to the concert, so I just went
home and finished some projects due/work for projects that were due
later.
Fanime Day 1 (Friday): Went home and packed after 6th, before going back to
Wilcox a little after 7th, leaving with Rachel and Erich. Part of the joy
of Fanime is simply the general atmosphere and just...looking at things, I
guess. The various cosplayers, the art in the Artists Alley, the
merchandise in the Dealer's Room, etc. I...think we headed for the
Dealer's Room first; Rachel kept rushing me. >_> Thus, I ended up
hastily buying a Gallade plushie for $15 ($16.25 with tax)...the shopkeeper
especially tried to push the sale. In retrospect, I think I only lost a
quarter, because I only saw one other vendor sell Gallade, for $15 as well (but
tax was only $16. >_>.) I also got a Salamence from said other vendor
for $16, and he was the only one who had it too. On later days, the
Salamence sold out, and the Gallades seemed to be scarce, so I think I made the
right choice buying them on Friday.
We met up with Patrick, Chris, Natsuki, Claire, Josh (in his purposeful Otaku
outfit), Richie (carrying his lightsaber on his back somehow, under the
sweater) and John later. I ended up going back to the Dealer's Room with
Natsuki, where I got a chance to browse things at a slower pace. This is
when I ended up buying the Salamence...the same vendor was selling a Toast
plushie too, but that sold out. I saw Tony as well, and ended up going
back to the Dealer's Room a third time to show him the various Pokemon
vendors. I said hello to the Anime
Palace guy, who seemed to
be selling Pokemon plushies for $12, cheaper than the $15 of everyone else.
I saw several nice costumes on Friday, including a Manfred von Karma and a
Franziska/Edgeworth traveling together, but my camera (which my dad bought that
very day) did not have an SD card in it. -_- It could take about 5
pictures...but I decided to wait until tomorrow. Josh got some good shots
of those anyways, and I did see the von Karma later at the Ace Attorney
gathering on Sunday (more on that later).
I went to Hydration for dinner with Rachel, Erich, Richie (who promptly left
Hydration to get a...McFlurrie smoothie thing and some fries from McDonald's),
Josh, and...I think that's it, correct me if I'm wrong. I got the fried
pork Bento...I think fried pork gives you the biggest meat portion, since the
subsequent fried squid and fried chicken Bentos that I got on Saturday seemed
smaller. But more on that later.
I think James met up with us after dinner (since he had a cello lesson),
donning his Mudkip costume. Partly due to the internet fad and partly due
to the awesomeness of the costume, James posed a billion times for pictures and
gave a billion hugs over the course of the weekend. He also got tackled
by this random guy who yelled "I LOVE MUDKIPS!" and brandished a
video camera. >_> I assume it will reach Youtube at some point.
At the Artist's Alley, we all got stuff from an artist named...Dani, I
think. The total sale for all of us ended up being $40 bucks, and we each
got a free bookmark. I picked up a Yuna print for Lana, a Yugioh print
(with Bakura, Marik, Kaiba, and Yami Yugi) for Ferheen, Erich got two prints,
Josh got one print, and Richie got one. We had a bit of trouble with the
math, but it was all sorted out in the end. >_> For the free
bookmark, I took an Axel one.
I also saw a cool Ace Attorney picture featuring Phoenix, Godot, and Mia's reflection inside a
giant Magatama...but the artist left by that point. I ended up getting
the picture tomorrow...again, more on that later.
So, after that long day, I left with Rachel, Erich, and James around...9:30
ish. According to Tony, Friday is Buying Day, because on Saturday and
Sunday there are panels and events to go to.
Fanime Day 2 (Saturday): I didn't wake up early enough (x_x), so I ended up leaving with my
mom instead of James. Thanks to Murphy's Law, my dad's car was low on
gas, so my mom had to go to Costco first...I ended up getting to the convention
around 11:20 ish, and apparently, Rachel, Erich, and James arrived just a bit
before that (they had had complications as well.)
My camera had an SD card this time, so I was able to take many pictures, which
I will upload later. I intended to spend less money on Saturday, and I
succeeded in that regard. I had my eye on a Cresselia from Anime Palace,
but I didn't buy it today. The Heracross and Toon Link were cool, but I
don't like getting too many $15 plushies. Unfortunately, Anime Palace
did not carry those, although they did have Staraptor (which my brother liked
but didn't think was worth it, same with Heracross). In addition, he said
the Stitches were too weird. >_>
Oh, I forgot to mention...on Friday I noticed a box with a Gengar
plushie...and it was still there on Saturday as well. The box also held a
Mismagius, a Giratina, and a Regigigas. If I had to be more selective, I
would have gotten just the Mismagius and the Giratina, but I wouldn't have
minded another Gengar <_< (this one was shaped slightly differently and
had a more...velvety texture and look to it). However, all of them were
$20. x____x Apparently, they were imported from the Pokemon Center
in Japan
or something. *sigh* $20 is way too expensive for a plushie...hell, $15
is too much. I think the Mismagius and Regigigasus (Regigigasi?)
disappeared by the end of Saturday.
In the Artist's Alley, I picked up two 11 by 17 prints of the aforementioned
Ace Attorney picture (one for me, one for Adam) at a price of 2 for $20.
However...these proved to be unwieldy, and I ended up exchanging them later in
the day for smaller 8.5 by 11 prints at a price of 2 for $10. I also did
this because the larger versions seemed too expensive, and I wanted to spend
less money. >_> I feel a bit guilty about this transaction
though...the large prints were still in good condition, but there was a slight
wrinkle toward the bottom middle, and one of the corners was very slightly
folded. He offered to hold the large prints for me until later in the
day...but it'd also be hard to give a large print to Adam during school hours,
plus the money issue.
At around 12:30, I left the Convention Center with James and met up with
Tiffany to go to Hydration for lunch. She had been up since 7:30, while
I, in contrast, had eaten breakfast 2 hours ago. >_> However, I
guess I still had the appetite for lunch...James and Tiffany also gave me their
hard-boiled eggs. <_< Clogging up my arteries, eh? I got the
fried squid this time...it was good, but I prefer the fried pork's larger
portion. The squid's more expensive too.
Tiffany had a badminton game at 2:30, so we parted ways at that point.
James and I went back to the Convention Center. Insert more general
hanging out, looking at stuff, James posing, etc. I played Yugioh with
Josh: my Gravekeeper deck vs. his Dragon deck. We switched decks during
the second duel (I lost with his deck <_<), but I ended up winning best 2
out of 3. I wish I had a third Necrovalley and an actual second
Terraforming...well, actually, three Gravekeeper's Commandants would be better
than the two Terraformings, but a second Terraforming is better than
nothing. I don't really like using proxies unless absolutely
necessary...but my field spell/its searcher are pretty much fundamental to the
deck.
At 2:30, I walked over to San
Jose State
to watch Tiffany's badminton game. Max was the scorekeeper, and the Rally
Scoring system made for a very quick match. The whole thing was less than
15 minutes...Tiffany lost both games, unfortunately. D: After
sticking around for a bit, I walked back to the convention center.
At a bit before 5 PM, I lined up with James for the Smash Bros Advanced panel,
and other Wilcoxians soon joined us, Rachel and Erich among them.
However, the panel ended up being canceled...I guess the panelists never showed
up. So, I walked back over to San Jose State to see Tiffany and Jaime's
Mixed game, which was set to start at 5:30 (I originally hadn't intended to go
because of the panel, but since the panel was canceled...) They didn't
actually have their game (at least, when I was there), but it was hilarious to
watch their exhibition. Max and Richard Jo later took Tiffany and Jaime's
place, for some even more amusing results.
After the various shenanigans, I walked back again to the Convention
Center. (This is where I left off writing yesterday...time to continue). I went to Hydration for dinner with Jimmy, Josh, Erich, Rachel, James, Natsuki, and Patrick...yes, that means I went to Hydration three times. It's still good though, I got the Fried Chicken this time. Rachel and Erich were stuck behind the tables, so I had to pay for them...that ended up causing a bit of confusion on where all the money went. >_> But it all sorted itself out, although I think I lost out on the tax. <_<
Rachel and Erich left at roughly 7:30 ish...the rest of us went to Damn the Internets. Though I acknowledge that the lead panelist did get screwed due to his lack of internet access, the panel overall was very...disappointing. I left the panel "early" with Josh at 9 (I'm surprised I sat through an hour and a half of swearing, racist remarks, and crude humor), but the panel itself practically ended early at 9:10-15 ish, as everyone just left. Went home after that, leaving the convention at around 9:30.
Fanime Day 3 (Sunday): I was afraid that I would arrive too late for the Ace Attorney gathering at 1 PM, but apparently the cosplayers were still assembled in front of the fountain. I rushed to take pictures...ditching Erich, Rachel, and James in the process (sorry guys >_>.) Apollo, Phoenix, and Ema were popular choices...there was only one Edgeworth for some reason, 2-3 Franziskas, one awesome Manfred von Karma, as well as a cool Godot, two Gumshoes, two Larry Butz, 1 Mia, and a few Mayas. The more interesting choices included a Lotta Hart, an Ini Miney, and...I think a Dahlia Hawthorne (one funny picture included Dahlia using her umbrella to shield the two Larry Butz posing between two of the fountains, likely getting splashed in the process. Edgeworth and Gumshoe later joined them.)
The Ace Attorney gathering migrated to a section of the second floor so that they could do mock court battles...I got a few more pictures here. On my way out though...I saw the Dugtrio cosplay! Yes, three guys, each in their...brown cylindrical mole outfit. Very cool. I wanted to contact James, so that we could get a Mudkip vs. Dugtrio picture, but James's cell phone isn't really accessible in the costume. So I called Rachel and told her where the Dugtrio was. I also stalked Dugtrio as it moved, eventually exiting the convention center and going in front of the fountain.
Rachel found James (a giant Mudkip sticks out in a crowd), and they went to the fountain as well. Thus began...an epic battle, that I did take videos of. Mudkip proceeded to battle with the Dugtrio...mostly using Slap and Tail Whip. However, the Dugtrio got up, separated, and surrounded Mudkip...things didn't look good.
Enter the guitar playing Pikachu, as well as a Jigglypuff! A more even fight now, eh? Well, not that electric attacks work on ground Pokemon, but...in any case. As the fight continued, Pikachu pulled out his secret weapon, his guitar, and started singing! "Never gonna give you up / Never gonna let you down..." Pikachu was Rickrolling the Dugtrio! It's...super effective?
After that, two other cosplayers joined the battle against the Dugtrio, one armed with a long spear, and the other with...shurikens? Some short of short bladed/short ranged weapon. However, the ones leading the Dugtrio said it was time to move on, thus ending the shenanigans. Heh...it was a hilarious sight to see.
Hmm...as for the Dealer's Room, I finally picked up the Cresselia at the Anime Palace booth for $11 bucks (yay, no tax). The guy said it was smart to buy here...the in store price would be $14.99. Perhaps I should have waited on getting Darkrai, Electivire, or Magmortar...XD There was also a vendor who reduced the prices of his Infernapes, Empoleons, and Torterras from $15 to $10. Lickylickys were also in the box...but judging from the $20 plushie vendor, I thought those were only from the Japanese Pokecenter. o_O If it's Pokecenter only, then that deal is $10 cheaper. In any case, I bought two Infernapes, one for myself and one for Tushaar.
After that, I went to the "How to be a Host" panel with Josh, James, Erich, Rachel, and Marsha. We also met a guy who Josh dubbed, "Cool Asian Guy," although I think he left before the panel ended, so I didn't catch his name. In any case, the panel was based off of Ouran Host Club...they had someone cosplaying each of the hosts, as well as Renge (the manager). They divided the audience into groups, and each Host was supposed to speak to each group about their particular type (wild, cool, mischievous, etc.). The groups would rotate every few minutes. The panelists did a good job of speaking in character...fangirl screams were especially loud when the twins (Hikaru/Kaoru) did anything. The sessions, however, were frequently "interrupted" by various staged events, such as one of them discovering Kyouya's "fanfiction," or Nekozawa (the Black Magic club guy) making a surprise appearance. In that regard, it was kind of like a skit...even the Zuka Club showed up, briefly kidnapping Haruhi. At the Q&A, when I asked Hunny to demonstrate his karate skills, I was pleasantly surprised to get a short performance, and Mori followed up by doing a backflip. Overall, it was pretty funny.
Hmm...other than taking more pictures and just generally hanging out, I don't think anything happened in particular. I left with Rachel and Erich earlier on Sunday...6:30 ish? Didn't go back on Monday though.
I'd have to say that I enjoyed Fanime a lot. Some of it is specifics, but it also just comes from the general atmosphere, just generally hanging out and such. I pre-registered for next year (only $35), so I guess I'll be going again.
...I think this entry is long enough, and it's near 12. Time for me to sleep...oh joy, lots of projects to work on...
Until next time,
-Jynn Raisu
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| When I was in...elementary or early middle school, I believe, when my mom made me do a lot of test prep books, I read an article about the social aspects of home made baked goods. It mentioned that the smell of freshly baked cookies reminds people of home, and thus, people are more likely to buy a house if they smell the aroma of freshly baked cookies inside. Cut to some time later, when my aunt was selling her house...and I remembered this little tidbit of info. I passed it onto her, and she made cookies...and I think brownies as well, when a potential buyer came to see the house. In the end, that very same couple bought the house. While baking cookies probably weren't the only reason, they likely did contribute to the successful deal.
Now, the reason that I mention this anecdote is because sometimes stuff on the STAR tests isn't all boring fluff. One of the passages describes how a man reads a particular poem and is inspired to follow its lesson. As I started reading the poem, I immediately connected with it...and here it is.
If—
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same:
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
...Now, during the break, I was talking about how I enjoyed this poem; the convo went something like this.
Jeremy: You remember that "If" poem? I liked it...I thought it was good.
Adam: Yeah. *nods in agreement*
Tiffany: Well, it's because you're guys.
The whole three lines sound a bit awkward by themselves, but she was referring to the last line of the poem, "You'll be a Man, my son!" Now, when I first read the poem, I was actually a bit disappointed by the last line...because despite all of the narrator's prior ambiguity, said narrator ends up describing who he/she's talking to as male, and I knew that gender bias would inevitably be brought up. The overall message of the poem, however, is universal...it applies to anyone, no matter what their age, gender, race, hair color, or favorite Pokemon is. Unfortunately, since the poem was written in 1895, it was probably influenced by whatever level of misogyny existed during the time period...Would I not like this poem as much if I was a girl? I'd hope not...
Er, as a side note, I personally think the title looks better as "If--" or "If-" instead of the solid line. But, as the editor on Wikisource says, "I've also reverted to — which had been removed by someone else (it may not be aesthetically pleasing, but it's correct)."
...But in any case, the overall message of this poem is universal, and I find the poem particularly inspiring. If I have the time, I'll try to memorize it...
Until we meet again,
-Jynn Raisu
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