Happy Chinese New Year: Year of the Ox!

Anyways, January 26, 2009 is officially the beginning of a new year! Year of the Ox!!! =D So, I figured that I'd add some miscellaneous facts about people born in the year of the Ox. Remember, this stuff is general, and might not apply to EVERYONE born in the Ox Year, but my description, the Pig, rather fits me, so why not? =P

The Ox people are dependable, calm and modest. Like his animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in his work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint. The Ox person needs peace and quiet to work through his/her ideas, and when he/she has set his/her mind on something it is hard for him/her to be convinced otherwise. The Ox person has a very logical mind and is extremely systematic in whatever he/she does, in spite of a total lack of imagination. He/she can be very stubborn, and difficult to dissuade once he/she decides on something. The Ox person is not extravagant, and the thought of living off credit cards or being in debt makes him/her nervous. The possibility of taking a serious risk could cause the Ox person many sleepless nights. These people are truthful and sincere, and the idea of wheeling and dealing in a competitive world is distasteful to them. It would be right to mention that people born in the Ox years are rarely driven by the prospect of financial gain. These people are always welcome because of their honesty and patience. They have many friends, who appreciate the fact that the Ox people are rather introverted and wary of new trends, although every now and then they can be encouraged to try something new. It is important to remember that the Ox people are sociable and relaxed when they feel secure, but occasionally a dark cloud looms over such person and he/she takes on the worries of the world and tries to find solutions.

Anyways, be sure to go check out your zodiac horoscope! Just Google it. =P I wish everyone a Happy year of the Ox! Gong xi fa cai! Xin nian kuai le! Shen ti jian kang!

Semester I: Final Grades!!!

W00t!!! I finally have my set-in-stone final grades for the first semester! I'm really happy with all of them, seeing as the only two classes I don't have A+'s in don't give A+'s (unless you have 100%, for English, which is, pardon me, sort of FREAKING IMPOSSIBLE), and I scored really well on all aspects of my English final (essay, poster, lit terms)!

Mock Trial: A+, 98.38%
Ceramics I: A+, 101.49%
Adv. Algebra 2: A, 96.73%
Adv. English 9: A, 98%
PE 9: A+, 99%
CP Biology: A+, 103.78%
French 3: A+, 97.36%

As for finals, I sort of, almost bombed some of them. =P But given I didn't study for any excepting English and French, it's all good. XD

Mock Trial: 97.5%, A+
Ceramics I: 1) 92%, 2) 100% = 96%, A
Adv. Algebra 2: 90.77%, A-
Adv. English 9: 1) 100%, 2) 98.67%, 3) 100% = 99.56%, A (You'd think that that would be an A+, but nooooooo...)
PE 9: 99.2%, A+
CP Biology: 1) 93.75%, 2) 88%, 3) 95.56% = 92.44%, A-
French 3: 1) 94.62%, 2) 94.55% = 94.59%, A

So yeah. I did pretty well on my finals. =D Yay!!! Now back to school... =( And history next semester... Ugh...

Bio/French Finals. And Breaking School Rules!

Soooo...

Apparently the "easy" bio final wasn't exactly that easy... XD I still did pretty well on them though. The scores were doubled in our grades, but without doubling, I got a 15/16 on Taxon, a 22/25 on Sponges, and a 43/45 on the Stinging Cells. So technically, I still did really well, considering I didn't even LOOK at the notes besides like... 30 seconds on the car ride to Cal. XD So all in all, I got a 93% on my final. Better than math. =P

French was... okay... I have no idea what I got, but... Hopefully I at least got a B. =/ Ho hum. Oh well, it's not like it'll make me fail French or anything...

So, my grades as of now are (determined semester grades are in bold, a.k.a the final has been entered):
Mock Trial: A+, 98.38%
Ceramics 1: A+, 100%
Adv. Algebra 2: A, 96.73%
Adv. English 9: A, 98%
PE 9: A+, 98.93%
CP Biology: A+, 103.78%
French 3: A+, 97.67%

And after finals, I snuck onto IHMS campus along with like... a mob of 20 other high school students. XD It was pretty uneventful. Said hi to Ms. Brown, Mrs. Goodhue, Mme. Prochnow, Mrs. Beggs, Mrs. LaHive (I went in during SSR, and said "Hi, Mrs. LaHive!" and every single head popped up. Rather interesting. XD), Mrs. Irwin, Mrs. Cline, and Mrs. Allison. Then I saw Mrs. Cicatelli too. =P
It was hella funny, because while I was visiting Goodhue for the second time, Mr. George came in, but right before he came in, I panicked, dropped my backpack, and plonked myself into the seat next to some guy sitting in from of Seohyun and Jillian. XD Then I stole his HNB and a pen to make it look like I was doing something. Then, when Mr. George left, Mrs. Goodhue was going to have the class take the Spelling Bee, and I guess she thought I left, because she looked up, and totally freaked when she saw me. =P I also narrowly avoided Mrs. Cooper too, but I was with Hsiang, and we were waiting for Lucy/Vivian from PE, and I just said really loudly, "What's taking them so long? I change WAY faster than them!" =P Then half the freshmen got kicked off by Mr. George five minutes before the bell rang. Afterwards, when school got out, I went back to Mrs. Goodhue's class, where Karna and Mrs. Goodhue had a intense debate about universal health care. XD So yeah. All in all, it was a pretty good day, and I am SO sneaking onto campus after spring/summer finals!!!

English/PE Finals!

Haha, more final joy.

English was HELLA easy. Just matching vocab. =) I laugh at the people who actually studied hella hard for that. XD I crammed yesterday. We finished our posters too, and I swear, Courtney's group would have failed without my group. basically, they didn't read the directions apparently, and forgot to put captions until I asked Mrs. Foss about it, and they were like, "We need captions?!" =P Then they copied our "barbed wire" link idea. -.- I hate it when people copy my ideas... Eh, whatever. XD

PE was boring. We did the BMI, the trunk lift thing, touch-your-toes things, and sit-ups. I think I'm good for BMI. Haha, Mrs. Block was like, "Record your own weight, it's a personal issue." XDD I have no idea what I got for the trunk lift. For stretches, I got 39 for my left leg, and 44 for my right. Then I did 45 sit-ups in a minute. =P

I got my math final grade too. I got 236/260 (which means I missed 6 problems). Equals 90.77%. XD And there I was, thinking that it was hella easy... Eh whatever. I still have what would normally be an A+, but Mrs. Turbeville doesn't give A+'s.

I really don't want to take the finals tomorrow though... Bio should be easy, but I might fail French... XD I need to review for that. I suck at subjunctive and imperfect forms... Oh well... Plus I have a Chinese test that I haven't studied for AT ALL, due to finals. (Not really, more like my own decision to not study, but whatever. =P)

Finals Week!!! Yay! (Not.)

Hm. I actually rather like finals week. I have one "hard" class and one easy class everyday! XD Mock Trial by itself, Ceramics (easy)/Math (hard), English (HARD)/PE (easy), Bio (easy)/French (hard). I don't like where the classes are though. =P I seriously have to run across the campus.
Ceramics (Fine Arts Building) --> Math (Main Building)
English (Main Building) --> PE (Gym)
Bio (Science Building) --> French (World Languages) <-- That one's okay. =P

Anyways, I had Mock Trial on Tuesday. It was pretty easy, except I stumbled over my words on an answer. =P I got a 97.5, though, so I still have an A+ in the class. I'm alternate witness for Varsity too! Yay!

Ceramics was easy , except it involved TONS of writing. =/ My hand HURT after that... I took home all of my projects today too, and finished my panda box after school.

Math was pretty easy too. Sixty-five problems in 2 hours; not bad. I think I messed up on a few, but whatever. I only need like, a 60% to get an A in the class. XD Unless I totally flunked it, in which case, that's just really sad...

But I actually have to study for English tomorrow. *gasp* No more running around chasing butterflies and slamming into trees... =(

Recipe of My Life

1. Pour one pint of "Reluctance to Get Up" into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add two cups of "Torture" (aka "School"). Mix well.
3. Add a dash of "Minion Friends" and "Daydreams." Blend at medium power.
4. In a separate bowl, add 4 cups of "No Life" ("Homework") to a quart of "Dead fingers" ("Piano"). Stir until smooth.
5. Mix the two concoctions together.
6. Add a pinch of "Higher Beings" ("Parents").
7. Bake in oven for 2 hours at 350 degrees.
8. Cut into small pieces, place in large bowl.
9. Serve with an enormous, healthy portion of "Hyperness."

Anyways, I haven't posted in a long time. XD Not much has happened though...

Um... I got rubber bands! For my braces. They used to hurt like hell, but they're okay now. Still annoying though, plus I can't eat things with them in. -.-

The weekend was pretty boring. Finished all my homework, refused to study for finals, and tried to finish glazing my panda box.

But anyways, I finally finished my panda box today! Haha, it hasn't been fired yet though, I hope it turns out okay! I like my other projects, but the colors sort of blended together. =P

Oh well. Anyways, my life is rather boring. Only 9 steps. XD

It's Dead Week! Yay!!!

Haha, all except for English. XD We don't have links due, but then Mrs. Foss got around to thinking (which is NEVER a good sign, as thinking = more work), and she was like, "Hey, I know. Why don't we just write an essay?!" Uh-huh... Joyful. Anyways, my day was pretty good.

Pink Bunny was preppy today, and I swear she enjoyed the attention she got because she was preppy. =P It's totally not her though, she should go back to those regular, nice T-shirts... Haha, she walked into Mock Trial and I was like, "What the hell happened to you???" Speaking of Mock Trial, we didn't do much today. XD We never do anymore...

Ceramics was cool. Sort of. We just continued glazing, and I totally screwed up my black and white striped and red ringed pinch vase. -.- Oh well. I'll fix it up on Wednesday. I just noticed though, I'm not going to have time to glaze my panda box before this semester ends... =(

We just wrote an essay in English. Not fun. I actually wrote a lot though (most of it being very far-fetched conclusions reached from my "analysis" of the poem). It wasn't THAT bad on the whole though...

Biology was just a lecture about how cnidarians eat and poop with the same hole. XD But really, we just basically had a lecture. We get to be blessed by the Nematocyst Gods next time! Yay! Haha, I talked to Mr. Pence about my DD (Didn't Do) for one of my homework assignments, and he looked at my report, and was like, "Oh come on, Erica! You have 102%!" Haha, but then he just gave me 100% on the assignment because we couldn't find it, and apparently I'm not a "slacker student." =P


Ew, we have finals next week! =( Well, here's my layout:

A: Mock Trial should be okay... It's just a run-through of the trial, and I should do fine on direct. I'm sort of worried about cross, because Luke's never been particularly good, but that was only because he kept forgetting his questions, and I don't think he ever really tried...

1/2: Ceramics is just that "Artist of the Week" matching thing, so I should be okay with that... It's open notes, thank God, or else I'd fail. We've had like 10 artists, and some of them are really similar...
As for math... I should be okay... hopefully. I think I might do some moderate review for it though, like Cramer's and all that good stuff in my notebook. XD

3/4: Now English is another story. THAT I'm going to fail. Ugh. I still haven't finished my literary terms. I'm not even halfway through! -.- And I don't even know what else we're going to get tested on... It's probably going to be like, "Give the definitions of *inserts 100 terms here,* write a 6 page essay, and a comprehensive piece of poetry, as well as a summary and analysis of each and every story we've read."
I have no idea what we're doing for PE. Probably the mile. Blech.

5/6: I should be fine for Bio. If I happen to fail it, well, I'll still have an A+ in the class. XD So no worries there.
French... hm... It shouldn't be THAT hard. Mme. Goldin's a really laid-back teacher, so... We don't have an oral part of the final, we just have to make a skit (which is due this Thursday). I don't really know what she's testing us on though... I hope it's not anything hard. I don't think I've had a day of French where I devoted my full attention to her the whole time... (Don' tell her I said that...)

All in all, I like my finals schedule! It's pretty much one hard and one easy every day. Plus, I have PE as my second final, so I won't be exhausted before my big final that will kill me. XD

Whale Watch Today!!!

It was pretty awesome! I really didn't want to get up this morning though, it was so early! XD Anyways, I got a ride from Robin Podany's mom, and some guys called Alex and Brett were there too. They were playing guitar in the car, it was sort of funny. =P
So, at Fisherman's Wharf, there was this little, ADORABLE, wharf dog, and I went to pet it, and it's like, the cutest thing in the world!!! Kevin got mad at me though, he was rambling about how the dog's dirty and would probably bite me, but he was really clean, just sort of old, and he's really gentle too!

We went on the Princess Monterey (that was the first boat; the second one was Pacific Explorer), and it's pretty big and roomy, with a heated cabin, snack bar, etc. We didn't even sit in the cabin though. XD Actually, Kevin (Y.), Toby, ad I barely sat at all, except for the last half hour or so, because we didn't see much besides some sea lions swimming. We didn't see anything for a while (besides seaweed, birds, and an occasional jellyfish), so we just spent the first hour o guessing which waves would be fun to ride, because every once in a while, a big one came that felt like a small drop on a roller coaster. =P Terry and Melinda were there too; so were Sasha, Bryan, Tommy, Kathy, and some other people.

We saw tons of sea lions! They were just lounging on the rocks and splashing in the water; they're so cute!!! We saw quite a few grey whales too (more like the spouts of air, but whatever), and they were really hard to get pictures of though. -.- Mostly I just got the spouts of air. And a tail here or there. XD But it was pretty cool! Then we had this whole pod of dolphins come up to the boat and start jumping and swimming alongside us, so that was cool. Then after we got back to the wharf, there was a sea otter swimming in the little inlet of the dock, it was soooooo cute!!! <3

It was funny on the ride though; Kevin kept mistaking seaweed for jellyfish, and waves for whales. XDD Then Toby and I were fighting to get pictures. =P Plus I kept taking a ton of pictures whenever I saw a spout or something (since I have a continuous setting on my camera), so I ended up with like, 1/2 of my pictures being of random water and air. XD

It was pretty awesome after the watch too; I was hanging out with Kevin, Melinda, and Terry, and we saw this dude with a ton of parakeets, parrots, etc. Melinda was remarking about how cute they were, so he just like grabbed her and plunked the bird on her wrist, and she was sort of cringing the whole time. It was really fun though! The birds were really nice and they were adorable, but the trainer dude sort of scared me... Melinda's mom didn't want to hold the bird, but he just sort of yanked her over, and was like, "No, you're holding her, and you're not wearing any damn gloves either!!!" Apparently the bird we got to hold had heart failure though, which might explain why she was so gentle. So cute though!

Then we ate at some place. XD It was at the end of the street, right by the dock.
So Kevin missed Mrs. Podany's call, so right after I finished eating, I had to sprint down the road and find the people. XD

All in all, it was a really fun day, I didn't get seasick (yay! XD) and I can't wait for the next field trip we have! =D

WOW... T.T

Hah. Anyways, I seriously haven't posted in a year! Haha! So yeah. Happy VERY belated New Year!!! I had a TON of fun at LA; we went to Universal Studios, Disneyland, Hollywood, and just shopping. It was pretty awesome.

So, a lot has happened, but not much significant enough to mention. Um... I had some very interesting conversations with Jimmy and his friend, then there's some other weird stuff.

Mock Trial is cool still, but my final is going to be a run of the trial, so if I screw up, I am SO dead...
Our ceramics final is going to be on the Artists of the Week, so I sort of have to look those over...
Math is awesome this week, since Turbeville's gone. XD I know that sounds mean, but... We get a ton of worksheets though... I just annoy Priscilla (Eric) all period so he never finishes his work anymore. Mwahaha!
We're reading Farewell to Manzanar in English now... It's interesting, but sort of bland too. And we need to make visual links, which are sort of bleh. People are sharing their poems though, I wish I could share mine, just to show the class my wonderful picture of a "homeless" person, who is really my sister.
PE is all good. Regular phys. ed. stuff.
Biology is hilarious, as always. XDD Our final is going to be like any other test, so I am totally not do it and still have an A+ in the class. XD
French final is going to be troublesome, as half the time I'm falling asleep and not listening to Mme. Goldin whatsoever. It's sort of boring... I mean, the class is cool, but it's sort of a by-the-book learning process, and I hate that...

All in all, my finals should be okay, excluding English, which I am totally going to fail, and my classes are pretty good.

By the way, I might not post as much anymore; I have my Chinese speech contest coming up, plus, I don't know... This blog has sort of lost its zest... It's still fun reading other people's blogs though! =P