Marching Band is a Health Hazard.

Yep. Anyways, it was like, 105 degrees today, so you'd think we'd get a break from marching on freaking PLASTIC turf. As in, freaking CRAZY HOT TURF. But nope. No way. Nada. We didn't learn as much as we normally do, but hey, who can blame us? We were still running around to our sets and spinning/doing work/playing the whole time (almost). We didn't even get as many water breaks as we usually do... And surprise, surprise, guess who fainted? Yep, yours truly.

I think I have really low heat tolerance... I totally threw up the first day of band camp when we were outside... Blech. But anyways, we reset one of the sets, and I got really dizzy, my stomach hurt like crap, and I felt like I was going to throw up (basically, I felt like sh*t), but Mr. J said that we'd get a water break after we ran it one more time, so I was like, "Okay, I can do this! Just one more time!" But then my vision got really blurry/blotchy, so I bent over a bit. And I think I went delusional. o.o Like, I could've swore that we started the set, but apparently not. But anyways, so I took a few steps (due to my delusional-ness) and then I just totally fell. Flat forward. I don't even know what happened. I think I landed on my face? I'm not sure, I just know I ended up on my stomach.
I was like, slightly aware of the fact that I was on the floor, but like, I couldn't move, and I wasn't exactly thinking, it was sort of like, "Oh. I'm on the ground. Okay." Like, my brain totally wasn't working; I don't think I saw anything wrong with being on the floor until the instructor came over... Then he (the instructor) was like, "Are you okay?" and I wanted to say "Yeah," but I couldn't get it out of my mouth (it would have been sort of stupid anyways, given that, hey, I'M ON THE GROUND). I don't know why, I just totally lost control of my body or something. Then he asked me if I could get up, and I sort of control and I got up and had to go sit out. But like, it was like a dream. From when I fell to when I sat down, it was just sort of like, my mind and body were detached... Like, I can see what's going on and sort of move myself, but not really... It was so weird.

Then we went back out after lunch again, and I started getting really dizzy near the end again, but it was better, and I didn't pass out again. This one dude, Josh, passed out (on purpose though). XD I don't know of anyone else that actually fainted... Tons of people got dizzy though; Clarie was dizzy after I fainted, and Lindsay, Jessica, and Colton all got sick near the end. And Mr. J STILL made them join in for the full run of the opener... I swear, I doubt he'd care if we died, other than the fact that he'd have a hole in the drill... Okay, exaggeration, but still. I mean, when a girl passes out on the field, aren't you supposed to like, at least ask if she's okay over the speaker or something? Oh well. I wasn't out for that long though, just a few seconds apparently, because lots of people just thought that I tripped. Maybe he just thought I tripped. Which is sort of retarded, because there's not really anything to trip over. But anyways, marching band is seriously a health hazard...

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Colorguard's pretty good with the work though; we all know what to do, it's just hard to do it so fast... The band has this part where they do a scatter drill and break off into whatever direction they want to go in and like "fly" around. It's SKYDIVING!!! I wish we got to do that... Kelly's thinking about doing more lifts though (like last year, only not so... awkward). So I'm excited for that, because lifts are actually pretty cool. XD

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We got out an hour earlier today though; I'm not sure why, probably because of the heat. But Brandon and I just sat/laid down outside and talked. =P And listened to music. It's been like, FOREVER since I've actually TALKED with him. He's still awesome. ;D Except he wouldn't sing for me. -.- Oh well. So that was pretty fun.

Then I came home and slept for like, 2 hours because I was so tired I couldn't barely get out of the car, and I couldn't get upstairs. Then I took a shower, and I did some homework... I have a crapload to do tomorrow, because I'm going to bed in like, two minutes.

Sarang Hae Yo, Zhi Dui Ni Shuo

zhan zai ji mo de wu tai shang
deng guang xia tuo zhe zi ji de yin zi
yin yue chong fu wo men gong tong de you shang
bu shi mei yi ci de yan chang
jiu ke yi dan wang ming tian mei you ni
in my heart we'll never be apart

chan liu shou shang de xiang wei ti xing wo
zai shu wei xiang ji li liu xia de cheng nuo
mei yi feng jian xun chuan chu de si nian dou dui ni shuo

(Chorus)
sa rang hae yo means I love you
dai biao zhe wo li bu kai ni
mei fen mei miao mei yi ge sheng yin
zhi you ni sa jiao hui rang wo wei xiao
sa rang hae yo zhi dui ni shuo
i will love you and forevermore
wo da ying baby you will see
mei yi ge wo dou shu yu ni

chan liu shou shang de xiang wei ti xing wo
zai shu wei xiang ji li liu xia de cheng nuo
mei yi feng jian xun chuan chu de si nian dou dui ni shuo

(Chorus x2)

Oh baby I will love you because
wo dou shu yu ni

First Day Back at School!

Anyways, we didn't do much today. My teachers actually all seem pretty fine, so I guess I don't really care about my schedule anymore. =P

A: Mock Trial
Mr. Barr was acting all strict like he always does on the first few days of school. OMG, I'm so excited! We might have a murder case this year! Yay! Of course, I'm still going to be a witness, but hey, it's freaking AWESOME!!!

1: Honors Precalc/Trig
Mr. Shack was picking on me today. =P He was like, "Oooh, it's Erica! Oh no!" and "I had a dream about school yesterday. Erica was in it. (PinkBunny goes, "That would be a nightmare.") Yeah, I woke up and was sweating bullets!"
But it's pretty cool; I'm thinking this class is probably going to be a challenge, but Mr. Shack is cool, and I should be okay...

2: Chemistry
Breton seems really chill! I like her. =) I don't like, know ANYONE in this class though! DX Oh well. I'll just be the kid in the corner who is quiet (OMG!) and does her work. We got our books today though; blech, we need to bring them back and forth... Ugh.

3: Adv. English 10
Addison's interesting. I think she's okay though, but I'm not really sure. She seems pretty laid-back. Schoolloop says our summer reading assignment test is tomorrow, but she didn't say, and she only said it'd be sometime this week... =( Uh-oh...

4: Honors Physics
Breton again! We got our textbooks for this class too; I know TONS of people here! (Boozer, Melanie, Jessica, Shahzeen, Erin, Alex...) I need to bring my chem and physics books on even days, and probably my French book too... Blech.

5: AP Euro
Lambert seems pretty cool too; he was a student teacher for Mr. Sloan! Haha, I was like, "WHOA, WTF?" Euro test is tomorrow too, but it's open-note! Yay! I hope my notes are okay...

6: AP French
Madame still isn't ready for school, but her daughter subbed today! =P We practiced conjugating verbs again; we epic fail, haha. Eh, give me some time and I'll find a way to re-learn all this crap...

*****

I forgot how much work Kumon is! Gah! Eh, well, Ross is working there now too! =P Except he's only doing reading. And there's a new tutor, Clarissa, who sits in front of me now; she's in my Honors Physics class, so I guess I have a lab buddy! Haha. So yup. I'm going to bed now. Blech, a full day of school tomorrow... AND guard practice... =(

Agh, School Tomorrow...

I'm sort of excited for school, but only for the first day, and because I can give people presents. =P But otherwise, I DO NOT WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL. Blech. I don't like my schedule, I barely have any classes with people I know (but I DO have all my odd day classes with PinkBunny, and half my classes with Alex), and I don't want summer to be over!!!
Oh well... *sighs* Get ready for another 180 days of torture!!! Sophomore year, here I come! Yay...

At least I'll have our carpool conversations to look forward too. Roflmao. Plus I get to see all my little frosh friends! (Half of whom are older than me. XD) And I think I need to "carpool" with Lucy and Jillian too. Only it's not really carpooling, it's more giving them a ride home after school, because their parents work and now neither of them have a ride. Which complicates things quite a bit, but hey, whatever. Our after-school convos can just be that much more awesome! I feel sorry for Ross... XD

Okay, now I need to go to bed or else I'll fall asleep at school tomorrow, and THAT will not be a good first impression. =P

Band Camp: ABCD, and Rifle Work

(I couldn't find a picture of the hand placements, so... XD)

So anyways, I always play ABCD with Ross, Peter, and John (and occasionally some other people; Tommy joined in today) during lunch and stuff. And it's hella fun, unless you mess up when it's Peter's turn, because he slaps like crazy hard, and it actually hurts. XD Ross sort of slaps, but not really, he could go harder. But he won't, because I'm a girl. Stupid chivalry, but it's cute. In a way. XP Then Tommy and John don't slap at all. They're like, okay, whatever. But the funny thing is, usually Ross messes up when its my turn, and I mess up when its his. It's actually sort of interesting. Then I had this time when I messed up like 4 times in a row and I was like, "Aw damn..." But its really fun!!! Haha, it like, makes my day.

*****

Guard didn't have instructors for a while (like, two days), so that was hella cool, but Jay came today!!! Yay! Except he's teaching us rifle, and I suck. XD So we learned a LOT of work today, I'm seriously afraid I'll screw up really bad when we're reviewing. Kyle's coming tomorrow though!!! (Jay is again too.) So it's pretty awesome, because I thought I'd never see them again. ;D Now we just need Jesse... But she's on vacation with Kelly. =P But anyways, our new rifle work is really fast, and sort of confusing, but at least I can do it at a slower tempo (excluding one of the tosses). So it's better than last year, when I was hella confused about the 24 counts coming off the front side line for like, a month. XD

Schedule Rant

A: Mock Trial, Barr
1: Precalc/Trig Honors, Shackelford
2: Chemistry, Breton
3: English 10 Adv, Addison
4: Physics Honors, Breton
5: Europeon History AP, Lambert
6: French AP, Goldin

So first of all, I'll just say that I'm happy to have Barr/Shack/Goldin again! I love them! ;D
But I didn't get Westley for English, OR Doherty for Euro, OR Coburn for chemistry, and I really wanted those teachers... (Coburn not so much). But what sucks is that apparently Addison is crazy and perverted, Lambert is boring, and Breton is strict and has high expectations.

Plus I'm stuck in Breton's class for 3 1/2 hours (block schedule) since I have chemistry and honors physics with her... On the same day, one after the other. I'm going to get my work sooo confused. OMG, then if she has a test in both of her classes... Oh damn...

But I heard Addison is rather biased (which is a good and bad thing), so if I can just get her to like me, I should be okay. XD Then Breton supposedly usually likes her students that have chemistry and honors physics with her, so... Not that many people have an opinion on Lambert though, so I don't know about him.

But still, I wish I had Westley and Doherty! I heard they were hella chill... =( I could've ranted wayyy more, but the anger sort of lets go after a few hours. XD

On Girls and Guys, and the Relationships in Between...

Anyways, I'm currently reading this (fictional) book about this girl who used to be fat, but then slimmed down and somehow dated the hottest guy in the school, broke up with him, and is now surrounded by cheerleader friends with whom she does not fit in. I figure that this girl is amazingly retarded. I mean, why would you want to be someone you obviously aren't? If you don't fit in with your friends, who the hell are you going to fit in with??? Besides, she's still wanting to re-date that hot dude, even when (HELLOOOO!!!) he freaking hit her, stalked her, and made her dump her original friends.

So anyways, I figure that there might actually be some of those girls (*gasp*) at CHS too, but I don't know. Whatever, they're losers. I love my friends though. I can totally be my own, crazy, hyper, out-of-control self, and they still love me. XD Yay!
And I thought, usually guys would be cooler and less vain, right? And that's usually the case, but every once in a while, along comes a guy who has this freaking huge ego *coughs* and is always adjusting his hair *coughs* and thinks he's all that *COUGHS*. It's rather annoying.

I sort of wish we were in elementary school again. Only in the sense that in elementary school, no one gave a sh*t about clothes, makeup, or whatever. You just had those friends that you hung out with and everything was awesome. Sure, people would tease you about liking so-and-so if you hung out with him all the time, but other than that, life was grand. But now, you see these little 3rd graders wearing tons of makeup, shopping at like, Nordstrom Rack, and wearing designer jeans/purses, and it's sort of like, "What the hell?" Even more so, what kind of weird parent would buy that stuff for their kids? How much money do you guys have?!?! Okay, done ranting. On this subject, at least. XD

*****

And now on to the relationships. I have a friend (not a really close one, but still a friend) with whom I was discussing boys with (along with like, 6 other people), and she just said, "Guys for me are like shiny new toys. They're fun for like a week, then they get boring." At that point, I was seriously just like, "Wait... She did not just say that..." I thought my sister was crazy, having a different guy for every year of high school, and yet this girl has had four boyfriends in freshman year alone.

I mean, I hate to judge, but it really seems that relationships these days really don't go anywhere, and I think that's mainly because of people's attitudes towards them... It's like, people these days date for the heck of it, just to see what it's like, what this guy/girl is like, whatever... There's these girls (and guys) who've had like, several boy/girlfriends, and have kissed all of them, and I just find it sort of weird. For me personally, I'd rather not have a boyfriend at all than to have one that I don't actually like. And I definitely wouldn't kiss someone just for the heck of it. (Thank God none of my close friends are like that...) Maybe it's just because I'm so into that fairytale love story? It's sort of weird; other people date to get to know them better, whereas I'd rather know the person better before I date them.
I might not be able to tell if I like a person (or if it's just a crush thing) before dating, but I would only date someone if I could somehow picture myself liking them, you know? Probably not, but whatever. Basically, I won't date someone who I can't think of liking, and even if I can think of myself liking them, I won't necessarily date them. I'm a rather complicated person. I guess I'm just too focused on having a guy that's "perfect." Not in every sense of the word, but in some senses... *sighs* Sometimes I really do get sick of waiting though, it's just sort of like, I'll see these happy couples and wish that I had a guy who loved me... And then at other times, I figure that if there was a guy who liked me that I know right now, then it would work out, right? But it hasn't happened yet, so sometimes I figure it probably won't happen at all... Oh well.
I'll find him someday.

Band Camp, Drill, PARTAYYYY!!!!

So anyways, band camp has been like... army boot camp. XD We've run quite a few miles (I lost count after four...), done a ton of random sprints/backwards running/push-ups/sit-ups/etc, carrying our pole across our backs... We're probably not going to have much time to run after school starts though... W00t!!! I survived the first week of band camp!!! Yay! Only one more to go, then school starts! I'm actually pretty psyched for school, which is slightly retarded, but whatever.

Drill was... interesting. We learned 25 sets, and I was being all happy because Zorro's opener was like 36 sets or something. Then when we finished, Mr. J was like, "That was only half, sorry." So the opener is... 50 sets?!?!?! What the F******CK?!?!?! *sighs* Oh well. Anyways, there was this time when we were doing a run-through, and the guard on side 1 totally forgot our sets, so we stood there for like, 4 sets all like, "Oh damn..." Then Ross almost ran into me because I was apparently in the way of his next dot. Woops. =P

OMG, Brandon joined marching band!!! Haha, I was so happy to see him, yay! I haven't actually talked to him in like, forever!!! But yeah, we seriously haven't changed since 3rd grade. =P Every single water break, we were running around stealing each other's hats and making fun of each other and stuff, it was pretty awesome. But anyways, he's on drum line (bass drum), and his first day of camp was drill. Sucks for him, since he doesn't even know how to march yet. XD He missed all those miles though...

Haha, I'm so freaking tan now!!! I have these epic sock, short, and tank top tans. XP But then I'm peeling along my collarbone, so I have this very awkward white splotch around my neck; it looks like I got burned or something. It's even more epic when I'm in my swimsuit; you can see every single one of my tans, it's soooo funny!!!

*****

The guard party was AWESOME!!! We had like, three different pizzas, strawberries, grapes, M&Ms, Twizzlers, brownies, cinnamon roll pizzas, frozen sorbet, Otter Pops... Plus a ton of lemonade and sodas. It was sooo good! I love our guard mom (Melanie's mom)!!! Except after Melanie graduates, senior year of guard is going to suck... No guard parties... *sighs* So anyways, we stayed in the pool/hot tub for like, four and a half hours until we were all wrinkly. XD Colton and I were playing around with Melanie's mini inner tube and her slide (yes, she has a water slide for her pool); it was sooo fun!
Then we went inside to her game room (it's this room separate from the main house with these pinball machines, a huge TV, a bathroom, tiny kitchen...) to watch some old guard shows, but I had to leave. =\ It was hella awesome though!!! CHS, YOU KNOW!

OH DAYUMMMMM!!!

Ugh... I'm so freaking tired and sore... We ran a mile today, and did a ton of sprints, grapevines, lunges, push-ups, sit-ups, etc. We skipped like 30 yards too. Yeah, skipped. But today was actually a pretty good day. Excepting the beginning, where we ran and totally killed ourselves, the rest wasn't that hard... We NEVER worked this hard last year... Plus, guard wasn't even with marching band during camp... Oh well, we'll build up endurance... XP
The band sounds really good though! Even though every time I hear them practice, I start freaking out because the music sounds so freaking fast and UGHHHH. But yeah, at least they're doing well... As for all of the coaches' talk about making the choreography suit our needs... Well, that's only a very, very, VERY last resort...

*****

This show better be worth all this work... We (guard) started learning work today, and it's so freaking fast, I'm like, "Holy sh*t, crap, noooo, f*ck, slow down! Aw, time to do it again??? Ugh..." It doesn't help that we have some rather complicated rifle work, including a very awkward left hand rifle toss (that I can barely get out of my hand, let alone catch...) and lots of wrist work. I practiced spinning rifle today; my right spins are absolutely horrible, and I can't even start to spin with my left... *sighs* But I need to keep going! Go, go, go!!!

*****

Anyways, I got my STAR test scores back. What can I say, EPIC FAIL. XD But it's so stupid, if you miss like, one problem, you get like, 20 points docked of your score... *sighs* Oh well, whatever, it doesn't really count for anything.

English-Language Arts: 494 (It's a wonder I passed Foss' class with the grade I got... 100%, hell yeah!!! I'm still really happy about that, =P)
Algebra II: 553 (God, it just keeps getting worse and worse...)
Biology: 458 (Damnnnn... But what can I say, I didn't learn much in Pence...)

My English and biology grades are the same as Courtney's!!! Yay! I can feel smart now! ;D I don't know about the sub-section scores though... Oh well, whatever. Now I need to go sleep so that I can go run another mile tomorrow! Yay!!! -.-

First Day of Band Camp!!!

So anyways... I'm seriously back to being the level of a freshman... I can't even do throwaways anymore... Of course, I never really could do them, because I'm so short, but still... My drop-spins are okay, double-times a bit worse but still good. Stretching's fine, but I need to do more of that... OMG, our practice flags are HOT PINK!!! Yay! Ahaha. But everyone needs to learn to spin rifle; I'm so scared. I can't spin rifle. I suck at it. Ugh. I'm going to need to practice like, everyday for as long as it take, because I WILL NOT be the worst. I refuse. Even though I'm the only "old" member who has never touched a rifle in her whole life. Well, I'm going to need to buy some gloves to protect my hands, and then I'll practice for a while every day, because I really want to be able to do this... Well, I'll survive, and I really hope that this season's better than my last season...

*****

Anyways, I got my braces off today!!! My teeth feel so weird and slippery... And my mouth feels so empty... But my orthodontist gave me a "goodie bag" with popcorn, peanuts, Jelly Belly jelly beans, and a Snickers! You know, all that stuff that I wasn't supposed to eat *cough* when I had braces. I'm getting my retainers next week. ;)

Band Camp in Less Than 5 Hours...

Agh... I'm pretty stressed... Last few hours before I get to go have a full 2 weeks of yelling, complaining, spinning, getting hit by flags, and running around (also known as band camp). I wish it was the beginning of summer again, where sure, I was totally screwed for my piano test, but I at least had Taiwan to look forward to. What do I have now? Band camp. And a new school year. Joy.

I knew Colorguard wouldn't be easy-peasy and all, but I never expected it to be as hard as it is for me... I really come home and practice like crazy until I can't see outside anymore, but you can't even tell... I really wish my efforts would pay off sometime... I spent all of last season being the worst spinner there, the worst tosser, the worst marcher, the worst, worst, worst. I don't want to just survive at band camp, I want to do it and be good at it. Agh... And I'm pretty sure the work is going to be harder this year too, given that the music is faster and everything... Which is amazingly scary for me, because I barely scraped through last year... I only had one show in the entire season that I didn't make a mistake in... And I guess I'm now officially become a sophomore, so Kelly and the others aren't going to be easy on me... They're always easier on the freshman/newbies, you can tell. But considering I'm a sophomore and still just as good (maybe even worse) than the newbies, I'M DEAD.

But there's a reason to go through this hell... After competition, guard parties, and when the coaches smile at you if you've done something well... *sighs* I guess I'll just have to toughen up.

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As for school... I hope it's not THAT much harder than freshman year... Sure, so everyone thinks I'm like, pro at academics or something, but in reality? Even while I don't exactly study my butt off or anything, I'm just as worried about my grades as anyone else. Like, I don't study because I know the material, but I don't walk into a test saying, "Psh, whatever, I'll get an A anyways." I walk in thinking, "Okay, I know I won't fail miserably, but I don't know the grade I'll get. What if there's some trick questions? Or material that I DON'T remember? What am I going to do then?" So I really hope I can get through this year as well as I did last year (not likely, given my APs and Honors...), and I'm really worried for next year...

Rewatching Hana Kimi!!! <3

Yeah, I finished it in two days... 15 hours of pure bliss... *sighs* Why do I love dramas so much? Because, given that I don't have my own drama/guy as of now, these dramas fill me with that warm, tingly feeling which makes me feel so loved. I cry with the characters, I'm happy when everything turns out fine and love prevails... Yeah, I think I'm addicted... And what else? They make my life better. When I'm sad and want to cry, I'll go watch a love drama, and everything seems better. The world seems like a better place, where true love does exist. Just because I haven't found it yet, doesn't mean that it's not there...

I really wish I had my drama... I guess it'll come in time... I just want to meet that one guy who will make everything better... =)

I love the theme songs too! Zhe Me Ban by S.H.E and My Only Angel by Tank... Zhe Me Ban is a really cute, slightly funny, song, whereas My Only Angel is a really sweet, romantic one. I love them both... I never really paid attention to the closing song though (it's never in any of the Mysoju videos; they always cut it off), so now I'm like, obsessed with it.

But on a less mushy-gushy note, I noticed that a ton of the characters in Hana Kimi are in the KO One/X-Family series too. Like Jiro/Xiu Yi (he plays the main in the series), Wu Zun/Quan (he's first on the fighter list), Danson Tang/Liang Si Nan (number two), Da Shu, Ri Ben Qiao (lesser fighters), Oscar (legendary protector), Dorm One/Tian Luo ("evil" guys). Anyways, I found that pretty interesting.

So yeah, I think I'm going to go watch another short drama that I can finish before tomorrow. Savoring the last day before band camp... =) I was thinking though, Ella really COULD pass for a pretty guy if she wanted too. Whereas other people, like me, for instance, wouldn't ever be able to. Ever if I chopped off my hair and wore guy clothes all the time, I think my face isn't as... defined? as guy's faces are supposed to be. I don't think I'd convince anyone... Oh well, I guess that's a good thing? =P

Back in America!!!

So yup! I'm back in America, in my average, boring life. I can call Davy at 2 am now! LOL. Taiwan was really fun again; I played badminton and archery, and went shopping at night markets and stuff. I got my friends stuff!!! =D But yeah, that's over... I'm so sad... My summer ends in a few days too. *sobs* *sighs* Oh well... At least I finished AP Euro, and there's no work for English... Courtney's officially a soccer referee!!! Yay! Robyn skipped out on test day for HAWAII. XP I find it funny, as she was the one who wanted to be a ref in the first place. =P

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Band camp starts in 2 days... I don't think I'm ready... Gah, I totally forgot how to spin and toss a flag, nooooo. DX I'm so inflexible now too, it SUCKS. I think I'm going to die... *sighs* Well, it'll be worth it! Guardies for life! =D