Happy Halloween!

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Stay safe Trick-or-Treating on the horrifyingly hazardous streets of San Ramon!!! =P

*****

So trick-or-treating was amazingly fun. Lots of candy and cute doggies. And cute kids. =P Clarie's and my pokeballs kept falling off their chains and rolling down the street. xD We're lucky they didn't fall into gutters.

There was this one rather creepy house with huge figurines of like witches and stuff in front, and it was bathed in rainbow light. It looked hella cool, but it was sort of scary, so I wanted to go, but not alone. And Clarie and Laura didn't go. So I ended up going alone, and this guy meets me at the front, and tells me I need to go around the house (on this porch thing) to get my candy. Oh, and he called Clarie and Laura weenies. So I walk around the house, turned a corner, and there's like a SAW dude right in front of me, holding a (fake) sword thing, and so I scamper past that and there's a mummy with a green light backdrop behind it. Then there was a very warm-looking kitchen with nice, friendly people and big candy bars. =P And then I had to go past all the creepy stuff to get out. xD

Then we took random pictures with people's decorations and stuff; it was rather amusing. We also found a glow-stick necklace thing that we gave to Ross later on. =P

So we trick-or-treated a bit more, and passed by these who guys who thought we were middle schoolers, and one of whom pretty much was absolutely floored when he heard that I was a junior. Why he would be surprised by that, I have NO idea.

Then Clarie, Laura, and I all went to Ross's house to bother him and take more pictures with Mr. Waddles (!), so that was fun. xD I'm sure Ross was regretting the time we took from his SAT II Chinese study session. But ah well.

Anyways, it was a hecka fun Halloween! Hope everyone else had a great night as well!

29/365

I don't get teenage girls. For the most part at least, but the small part I do get is probably just because I am one. But I don't get this whole world of shopping, makeup, diets, and materialistic things. I really don't.

I had a friend who went to another school who totally changed her style, and when I asked her why, she said that it was important to her new friends that she wore the stuff she does now. I just thought, "That's retarded." Seriously? Then there's the whole shopping issue. I'll be honest, I like shopping too, because there's the pleasure in finding something that you like and can afford. I don't get why people deny liking shopping, then insist that they never said that later on. I remember I used to HATE shopping. I also don't get why people would shop to "get with the times" and look fashionable to everyone. I don't get 5-inch heels or skinny jeans so tight they cut off your circulation. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be worrying about people seeing my buttcrack every time I sit down.

Makeup's something that I don't think I'll ever get though. Mascara is fine. Blush? Go ahead. Eyeliner? Uhm. That stuff is hella hard to get off, but sure. A little bit of eyeshadow never hurt anyone. But seriously? Why do you feel the need to slather a bunch of crap on your face? Do you think that it makes you look better? Because if that's true, it doesn't. You look like your face if peeling off. And if you're going to wear makeup, please just admit it's because you want to if that's the reason. It's sort of annoying if someone says it's for an occasion, then continues to wear it for a week. Does your event last for a week? I didn't think so.

Diets are just stupid. I'm sorry if you're on one, but they are. Unless you're seriously so overweight or something that you have health complications, who the hell cares if you want to eat three donuts for breakfast? Or if peanut soup has a lot of calories? I understand eating healthily and stuff, and I don't exactly consider that dieting. Dieting is when my friend asks me if taro has a lot of calories. It's when she doesn't want a donut because it's fatty. Just eat whatever the hell you want already, and stop complaining about calories and salt and carbs or whatnot.

Everyone loves material things, it's true. I love my computer, cell phone, iTouch, stuffed doggy. I love my Swarovski crystal collection and my collection of mismatched books full of incomplete series. But when you feel the need to say something like, "I'm glad I had a lot of boyfriends. They gave me a ton of stuff! Like I have this really pretty necklace I got, and that was probably the best part of THAT relationship," there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with you.

Anyways, I'm done with my rant now. xD

28/365

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CHS, You Know!!!

So the show today went pretty well. Guard's best run-through of the season, yay! I did okay too, except I dropped the first and last tosses. How wonderful. Out of all the ones we have, they have to be those two...

Anyways, guard got third, but we placed first for band/drum major/percussion! Get it band! =P

Oh, and they gave out buckets of candy instead of trophies. xD

*****

I feel asleep on the way there and back, and I guess Laura took some pictures. Yay. Armijo streets ARE pretty narrow, it sort of sucked. But it wasn't too bad. Then there was a "dance" before awards; it was sort of amusing. Cal guard started the congo line trend; it was awesome. Then we did the Thriller and Bad Romance dances and just sort of jumped around randomly the rest of the time. There was also this outside hallway thing that had about 15 bathrooms in a row, all labeled "Toilet." Who needs that many bathrooms?! xD

I also have some wonderful scratches and bruises from my rifle. It just loves me so much. Oh, and my pinky is all screwed up from my jamming it with my rifle twice... Blah.

*****

On the other hand, I feel a little bit better. I really should have taken that calc test next week though... I guess I WAS just too panicked... Well my calc grade is dropping like a stone. -sighs-

27/365

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This is pretty much how I feel right now...

26/365

I'm tired of this. ALL of this. I'm tired of feeling inferior to everyone. Tired of feeling retarded. Tired of hearing my parents talk endlessly about how I should work harder and be better. This is just lame. I'm going to go cry in my corner with ice cream and mull over my pitiful, pathetic existence.

25/365

I'm an AP student. Call it Advanced Placement if you want. I prefer Asian Pride, or even better, Advanced Procrastinator. Yep, that's me. I put (most) things off until last minute, especially studying. I REALLY need to work on my work ethic. Of course, with my current work ethic, I'll never get around to working on improving my work ethic, because my work ethic sucks, and therefore it will continue sucking because I'll never get around to making it not suck. If that made sense.

But besides just being a procrastinator, I'm a productive procrastinator. Which basically just means, I need to do something while procrastinating. Meaning I try to make procrastination look like I'm doing something worthwhile. Which, sometimes, I am. I tend to do my calc homework (even if the homework isn't due for another two weeks) rather than work on an essay due in two days or study for a huge bio test tomorrow. But sometimes I just do random little things that I could totally live without EVER doing. I actually just finished putting together/making my Halloween costume, when I really should have been cramming for bio, because my grade SUCKS. -sighs-

But I'm so excited for Halloween!!! My costume is actually pretty awesome this time around too. =] And now I should start bio. And stop "productively" procrastinating by writing a blog post. =P

24/365

Everyone tells me that everything happens for a reason. And that's true. Mistakes help you learn, make you stronger. You learn who to trust and who to let go. True friends stay by you, and those who stab you in the back aren't worth having. It's really hard to believe sometimes, but this little piece of knowledge makes life a little bit more manageable. We all have those moments when we feel like bursting with happiness, and we have those when we feel like curling up, sleeping, and never waking up. Life is made of the good, the bad, and the ugly. But if you take every moment, and learn something from it, even the worst of times can help you move on. It may be hard, and it may not seem fair, but it really is worth it in the long run. Life shows you what (and who) really matters. You learn to not be ignorant, and to stop people from taking advantage of you. You learn not to judge someone until you've looked into their eyes and found out the truth. Just trust the course that is planned for you, and trust that your decisions will take you someplace good. We only have one shot at this. And the truth of life is that everyone dies, but only a few actually live.

23/365

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So pretty...

Cal High Is a Attention-Seeking Hormonal Teenager

So we had a bomb threat today. Yeps. A bomb threat. Seriously, this is SAN RAMON. What's up with the 14 fights in one day and a (fake) bomb?! It was after school and all, but still. Chill people. xD At least practice got canceled. We (band and guard people) got to stand by the side of the road for like an hour; it was rather interesting. And Mr. J was all like, "Oh, it's just a bomb threat..." =P

But guard went to Melanie's afterward to practice, which was pretty fun. Get it guard! =D

*****

Today was pretty boring. Mock trial and yoga were the same old, same old. The new poses in yoga are sort of painful though. And this is coming from someone who thinks wall splits aren't THAT bad...

Calc was pretty boring too; we learned more about related rates! Yay! Except I just sat there and worked on homework (which, by the way, I did not finish).

The history DBQ sort of sucked... Way too much to write in a 50-minute time span. -sighs- I really don't think I got higher than a B, if that... =[

*****

So quarter grades are submitted. No straight A's for me. Blah. My bio grade is killing me too. It needs to go up, not down. You hear that, "Bio Grade"? UP. NOT DOWN. kthxbye.

22/365

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21/365

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Foothill Comp! (At Amador)

So Ross and I got there, and spent quite a while looking for people and wandering around aimlessly. It was sort of interesting. xD But hey, we got there eventually! (After some help from Melanie. =P) Guard didn't get to watch Wind Ensemble perform though; we were busy doing hair and makeup... Ah well.

The actual show went really well. Guard placed! Third in division, yeahhh!!! My personal show wasn't too good though... Dropped once, and skipped 4 counts in the work. The second wouldn't have been too bad except for the fact that I was right at the front of the guard, and instead of just skipping the work, I started the work after it, which entails sticking my rifle straight up in the air. When everyone else's equipment is flat and they're doing a jump-turn... -sighs- Ah well... We still placed! I feel like we might have done better if I didn't mess up though... I need to find out the second place score; if we were off by just a few points, I might shoot myself... (Edit: 1.5 points from second place... -sighs-)

Band didn't place though. =\ But they had an 89.4 overall score, which is still really good. I'm proud of you guys!

*****

Chipotle and Pinkberry after the comp were insanely awesome. Poor Ross was the only bandie (technically), and the only guy. Ah well. I'm hoping he had fun. xD Lots of random conversations and yummy food! I kept laughing at Pinkberry too, like Ellen that one time at YogurtLand. The guard just cracks me up. xP I love you guys!!! ♥

Ross and I had a nice time chasing Laura and Clarie around too. Except Clarie disappeared after I stole her jacket, and she started ignoring me afterward... =\ And Laura did too... So since they wouldn't talk to me, Ross and I just decided to leave (actually, I decided to leave, but...) and waiting outside Lucky's for my mom. Laura and Clarie eventually came back and put a pumpkin ($6!) next to me (I was sitting down) and later came out with M&Ms as Ross and I were leaving. So they threw the M&Ms into the car, and as we drove by them, Ross threw them back out, then it repeated. But we won. xP

*****

So now I'm back home, insanely tired, but happy. Oh, and did I mention that my mom found my phone? Guess where it was? By the printer. Yeah. Wow. How did I not find that? xD But yeah, today was pretty amazing. Yay!

Just Not My Week...

So many damn tests that I did poorly on, and I keep losing crap. I'll get my binder reminder back on Monday, but more importantly, I have no idea where my phone went. I'm pretty sure I left it in English, I just hope that no one felt the urge to take it... Then I had some problems with friends and family, which sort of sucked... -sighs- I want this week to be OVER.

On the upside, I had some good stuff happen too. Chem grade went up, and I have almost everything for my Halloween costume! =]

20/365

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Kitten Love ♥

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19/365

Apparently I look like a hamster when I eat apples and pears. I guess it's because I hold them in both hands and take small bites, but I just thought that was weird. Ah well. xD

18/365

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Rather, I wore purple on October 20, 2010.

17/365

Dear Mommy,

If' you're going to rag on my friends, don't expect me to just sit there and take it. They're my friends for a reason. I don't expect you to understand that YOU DON'T KNOW THEM. You're always talking about, "Oh I hear ______ did ________" or whatever, like, they're personal acquaintances of yours. Oh puh-lease. If you want to tell me that my best friends is using me for money, do you really just want me to sit there and agree with you? If you're going to make false assumptions about who I'm texting all the time, can you at LEAST ask me what's going on in my life? Don't pretend that you're omniscent when you really just twist everything I do to support your case.

Oh, and if you get mad at me for being a stupid little girl who doesn't know when she's getting used, please don't bring in SATs and piano and Colorguard. Why do you always have to slice open past wounds just because you want to make a case? What the hell do these have to do with what you started out talking about?

I'm SORRY if I don't have that much time to play piano now. I have other things to do too. Don't pretend to be all, "If you're too busy, you don't have to play piano anymore" and two seconds later say, "There's no point in learning piano if you don't practice. You're just using it as an excuse to tell people that you have a lot going on." I know I do that, and I know that I probably don't play piano often enough to use it as an "activity," but can you please, please, PLEASE just STOP?

Don't pretend like you know how hard my classes are. Don't pretend like you knew I didn't get a D+ on my chem test, when, at the time that I thought I did, you were mad at me for being so retarded and horrible at chem. I know you're worried because Jess didn't do so hot in chem, but can you PLEASE stop with the whole, "you're smart so you should get all of this, but you're also stupid so I understand why you didn't" charade? IT'S PISSING ME OFF.

As for SATs, I KNOW I need to study. I'm not a retard. Contrary to what you think, I actually studied for the PSAT. Not crazily or near as much as I'll do for the SAT, but what did you expect? You were getting hella mad at me for my grades, especially Bio, so I needed to pull my grades up too. And thanks, but the "You need to get over a 2200, but you probably aren't smart enough to do it" isn't helping either.

And please don't pretend like you know Colorguard. You don't know how much effort it takes to spin a rifle. Please don't tell me it's okay I can't toss a triple, because IT'S NOT. I know you don't think guard matters much, which is nice in a sense because you aren't always breathing down my neck about it, but you know what? Guard is one of the things I LOVE and do BECAUSE I LOVE TO DO IT. Piano? Sure, it's enjoyable, and I'd continue learning it, but it's not like I CHOSE to do it. All of my classes? Yeah right. So please don't rag on guard. And you know what's really annoying? When you think that it doesn't take that much energy. -scoffs- Yeah. No energy needed at all. That's why I come home from competitions and pass out.

So just... deal with it. I know who I'm getting involved with. You don't. I know what I need to work on. You just seem like you do. So please, just let me do my own thing and live my own life. I know you're just concerned and all, but it gets REALLY. F***ING. ANNOYING. Thanks. I love you too.

~ Erica

P.S. I don't believe that making your child want to cry herself to sleep is in the standard duties of a parent. And did you have to bring in the fact that I haven't been wearing my retainers lately too? Does that even really matter that much?

P.P.S. Daddy, you don't even know what I spin in Colorguard, what classes I'm taking, or what tests I'm taking at the centers you're driving me to. So I appreciate it even less when you start criticizing me, than when Mommy does. So my advice is that you either start getting involved in my life, or just leave me alone. I love you and all, but please don't pretend you know anything about my schedule, because you really don't. Hell, you thought I was taking an AP test in October...

16/365

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Rifle gloves came in today!!! It feels so weird spinning with them on... But they help protect your hands when the rifle comes smacking down into them! Although I still managed to bruise my hand and jam my index finger. Ah well. These are going to be my babies, I love them already. =D

15/365

This weather makes me want to go into my winter hibernate mode. IT'S SO FREAKING COLD!!!

Homecoming? Nahhh...

So Laura, Clarie, Ellen, and I decided to forgo homecoming and visit San Fran instead, which, by the way, was a rather amazing decision.

I had the PSAT in the morning, which could have been better, but ah well... =\ Then Laura and her mom came to pick us up, and Laura and I got dropped off at BART, where we got sort of confused but finally figured out how to buy tickets and where to get a Clipper card. We actually got a $12.30 ticket when we only needed $11.10, but details, details...

So we got off at Powell and walked around Westfield waiting for Clarie and Ellen to get here (since their mom drove them here). Went to Abercrombie&Fitch and stuff, and wandered around until we got to an Auntie Anne's. We each got 2 cinnamon sugar pretzels (buy 3, get 1 free, and hey, we were hungry) and wandered around some more until we got to this video game place and fail-played some games for a while.

Met up with Clarie, Ellen, and Marian, and were on our way to Chinatown (for Quickly's!) when we heard a drumline performing outside. We listened for a while, obsessed over how there were cute guys in the drumline, and despaired over how there aren't any cute guys in our drumline. Actually, that was mainly Laura. But whatever. xD We found out they were from Galileo, but they had no idea what winter drumline or colorguard was, so... Laura's mom told us later that they didn't even have an official marching band though, which would explain it.

So we headed to Chinatown via MUNI, and stopped by this little kiosk selling cute little hat things, but they were hecka expensive and the lady selling them was mean, so we just moved on.

Got Quickly's and I ate fried octopi for the first time. o.o It wasn't too bad actually; it was just weird eating something that actually still had the animal shape... And the texture was sort of weird. -shrugs- We wandered around a bit more, and went into this nice shop with a nice shopkeeper. Ellen got a cute shirt and Laura, Clarie, and I tried on some fedoras, which were cute, but, as always, rather expensive. We also saw this shirt that had this girl on it who looked EXACTLY like Ellen Kuo. Not even kidding.

We pretty much split up after that; Clarie, Laura, and I went off to search for a bathroom (which we eventually found in a Starbucks after like, half an hour), while Ellen and Marian shopped around. Laura and I bought Clipper cards too, for future use. I also happened to sneeze into the direction of a parking garage, and that echoed quite a bit; it was hilarious. Then we met back up, but split again since we (Laura, Clarie, and I) wanted to go to JapanTown (Pika Pika!) and Ellen/Marian wanted to go to some festival.

So it took a while to get there, and we had to walk through some rather... uhm... scruffy, shady areas with drunk, scary people, but we got there safely enough. Took pictures at Pika Pika, which was sort of a fail, since we didn't know how to use it and it has a stupid timer thing. But they turned out pretty nicely, so whatever. We got a strawberry and whipped cream crepe too, which was amazingly good but make all three of us sort of sick because of the vast amount of whipped cream they put in there. xD

So it was getting dark out, and Laura had to be on BART when it got dark, so we boarded another bus. Laura and I got off at Powell, but Clarie had to head over to her grandparents' so we separated there. Laura and I had some trouble finding our way back to Westfield, but it worked! And we got on BART and went back on our merry little way. We saw this guy playing cello at the station when we left too. We gave him a dollar, and then he played the wolf whistle on his cello, it was so unexpected by hilarious. xD I had Clarie text me periodically too, since I wanted to make sure she was okay. Traveling alone in San Fran at night would not be something I would want to do...

So Laura and I went to IHOP afterward and ate lots of yummy food. =P We also texted Ross and Laura gave him all this advice about how to ask out the girl he *might* like, which was rather amusing.

So yep. Homecoming? Whatever. I think San Fran was way more fun than jumping around screaming and watching people freak and do... other stuff... on the dance floor. But that's just me. And yeah, I know homecoming's fun too. I just think that I couldn't have had a better time at homecoming than I did at San Fran. =P

14/365

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So the halftime went pretty well; I messed up a bit, but it was AWESOME hearing everyone cheer for us when we started the Thriller dance. Definitely not as clean as it could have been, but considering that Mr. J told guard we had a three minute show one week before the game, it was pretty good. The game itself was fun too: 62-0! Go Grizzlies!

And guard's hair was AH-MAZINGGG!!! =D

*****

As for the parade... It was hot and tiring. I think everyone was covered in sweat by the end. But ah well, it's once a year. xP

13/365

My chocolate chip cookie is salty.

Oh Jeez, Physics Kids

I spent an hour trying to help my friend on this one problem about a boy and girl playing tug of war on ice, and he still doesn't get it... -sighs- And to think, these were the types of problems that my class LOVED because they took like, a minute compared to 3 hours for the impossible ones that even my sister's physics major friend couldn't solve...

12/365

Sometimes I really really wonder how I even have friends. And sometimes I really don't know why she changed her mind, or what he's thinking.

11/365

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Write the first five words you find ~

Deed, kiss, leave, fool, crush

Little Kid Day!!!

So this was actually rather amusing; since Clarie and I have been coming up with theme days for Monday, I thought that little kid day would be a good one, especially since then I could bring my stuffed animal to school. =P So we decided to do that, then in Mock Trial, I found out it was Little Kid Day for Homecoming week! I seriously had no idea. I was like, "HOLY SHIZ I'M PSYCHIC!" It was amazing.

Clarie and I didn't do anything for today though. I mean, we're twins already, we don't need to dress alike to know it. xD So no pictures for today. We might do the rest of Homecoming week though.

*****

So chem was bad today, since I legitly FAILED the last test. Like, not even kidding. I DID NOT pass that test. So bad. =\ We had a fire drill though, which was fun. Sort of. We just went to the field, sat around, and talked.

Bio was boring. We were supposed to have a lab today, but Mr. White forgot to get crickets, so... Yeah, we sat around and "studied" for our test. xD

English was sort of interesting. It's always sort of interesting. We discussed our "words of wisdom" (Eric's mom had the funniest responses, even if only because she was mad and didn't want to do it) and listened to a few "This I Believe" speeches/essays. We got our Crucible essays back too; I actually did pretty well on mine, and since our essay/writing score is 40% of our total grade, my grade jumped like 3%. It was pretty nice. =P So that sort of (but not quite) softened the blow my chem test grade dealt me.

Went to the AcaDec meeting after school; nothing too special, but seems rather hard. I feel intimidated. Ah well. I got fudge! =D And a hug from Ross, as David brought up that we have to keep conditioning him. I forgot that Ross is done with SATs now. Meh, whatever.

10/365

The worst part of hurting someone you love, besides knowing that you've hurt them, is knowing that the only way to stop hurting them will hurt them more.

And so she lays, the tears falling from her sorrow-filled eyes, unable to bear the jagged lightning streak of pain that flashes across her heart.

9/365

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8/365

There are two main reasons that I love showers so much. One is that I like hot water and showers are amazingly relaxing. The second is that the water, noise, and seclusion make it so that no one can tell you're crying your pathetic little heart out.

James Potter Series

For all of you Harry Potter fans (and all of you reading this have to be one, or else I disown you as a friend =P) that are currently undergoing HP withdrawal and freaking about what to do after the movies are over and done with, G. Norman Lippert has a GREAT solution.

So this guy has written (or rather, is starting to write) a whole series about James Potter (Harry's son, not his dad), and his writing style is pretty much exactly like J. K. Rowling's. Sometimes I forget that I'm not reading something by her. So he has three books right now, and I'm about halfway through the first (which I started yesterday and is about 405 pages long) and it's amazingggg!!! There are, however, quite a few glaring errors in this guy's novels; sometimes he gets the relations wrong, and some of the characters that he mentions died in the 7th book (specifically Nymphadora Tonks; I'm pretty sure he meant Andromeda). His foreshadowings are a bit transparent as well; you can usually tell exactly where the story is headed.

Regardless, I'm so freaking glad I discovered this, so I'm going to share the joy. This is going to be just the thing to get me through my sadness over HP ending. I'll be sad once this ends though. xD I wonder if the HP producers would be willing to take on this task and make JP (James Potter) movies... Hm... xD

Read the James Potter Series NOW.

7/365

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It's always so confusing...

...when people base their favorite subjects on whether or not they're doing well in the class. I was just talking to one of my friends who hates history, but since she's doing well this year, now she suddenly loves it. Like, I get it to a point, because if I wouldn't mind history if the class was easy, but it wouldn't mean that history was my favorite subject, even if that was the class I was doing the best in.

I mean, I loved physics as a subject last year, but absolutely hated the class and stressed SO much over it... And I've always disliked all history except US history. Loved bio as a class, but not so much as a subject (not to say that I disliked the subject, just that I didn't have any passion for it), which is holding true this year as well. Chem I loved both as a subject and class, and while it's absolutely screwing me over right now, I still like the subject. Math I've always loved even if I didn't get all the formulas and crap, if only because it's just so logical. I'm pretty sure that's WHY I do well in my math classes. English was always just... there. It depended on what we were doing; I loved poetry and persuasive essays, but not so much responses to literature.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should learn to be good at something you love, not love something you're good at. But I don't know, maybe I'm just weird. Just something interesting that came up in a conversation today. xP

*****

Oh yeah, funny story from Chinese school. So my teacher (who happens to be Mrs. Shuen - yes, the one from DVHS), was talking about different terms to say who won/lost something in the same phrase, and as a demo, she was like, "So if Erica and Ryan got in a fight, who would win?" And Michael just replies, "Erica. Definitely." And is seconded by Michelle, and Daniel I think. Then she switches to me and Michael, and apparently I would still win, which is ridiculous, considering Michael actually does martial arts. So yeah, just sort of interesting. xD

6/365

You know what pisses me off like no other? When people don't believe me when I said I got a bad score or have a bad grade. I'm not a superhuman. I don't automatically get 100% on every test I take.

"What do you have in ______?"
"Uhm... Pretty bad..."
"Oh, what, a 95%?"

Or, even better, when people just say "But you're Erica!" as a justification.

"How did you do on the test?"
"Not well."
"Psh, I'm sure you did fine, you're Erica!"
"Can you stop saying that? It gets really annoying."
"Oh, whatever, you know it's true."

Yeah, it's true. I AM Erica. However, me being Erica doesn't mean I don't struggle to understand concepts, or that I miraculously get everything the moment it's taught. I know I'm guilty of doing/saying this sometimes too. But seriously, it pisses me off beyond belief. It's nice to know that you think I'm smart and all, but I'm human too, just like every one of you. Do you think I'm some sort of one-in-a-trillion genius who gets everything without trying? Do you think I was born just knowing how to do derivatives or whatever? Do you think I didn't work my ass off to get where I am today? Maybe I learn at a faster rate than others, but it doesn't mean that I don't have to work to do well.

You don't know about my three-hour sessions when I was little, kneeling at the side of my parents' bed, sobbing because I couldn't remember my times tables. You don't know about the days when I was kicked into the garage because I hadn't done my "homework" right. You don't know about how much extra math crap I did because I thought I needed it. You don't know about the pain I experienced, the suppressed tears because I would be hit if I cried. You don't know about the expectations that weighed down on my shoulders once everyone started using "It's Erica!" as an excuse. You don't know about my suicide attempts when that weight finally broke me. You don't know about the countless nights I cried myself to sleep because I knew my parents were disappointed in me. You don't know about the times I repeatedly punched a wall because I was just THAT freaking mad at myself. You don't know.

So the next time you want to assume I'm this super-genius girl who, because she skipped a grade and gets decently good grades, doesn't need to work for them, keep that in mind. You don't know me, so don't act like you do.

5/365

It's sort of interesting to find out people's real opinions of other people, especially when a really nice person starts talking about someone. But yeah, it's rather interesting to see who people think is fake, hard to work with, annoying, etc. Sort of nice to know that I'm not the only person who thinks that the person is a b*tch either...

Although I felt sort of bad listening to them talk about one of my friends; tried to defend them, but what they said IS true... Just harsh...

And it makes me wonder if people talk about me behind my back. I'm sure they do, but I sort of want to know what they're saying. xD

4/365

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Yay Jhay!

So guard had a pretty cool rehearsal/sectional after school today! It was from 3-7 pm, which is ridiculous, considering it was 4 hours long and normal practices are only 3 hours. But we worked on the homecoming halftime routine (which, by the way, is "Bad Romance" and "Thriller"), and it's pretty awesome. =D We do parts of the "Bad Romance" and the "Thriller" dance, and the band does the "Thriller" one with us. I'm so excited!!! I wish our "Thriller" dance could be longer though... But it'll be amazinggg!!!

Jhay came and cleaned up basics (because God knows how sloppy our basics are right now), and my arms actually hurt a lot during practice for once this season! It was sort of interesting to hear some of the newbies complain about him or groan when he told us to reset; I mean, he hasn't even thrown a drumstick at anyone yet! xP

Jhay cleaned up rifle tosses too; apparently the only reason I can't get out a triple is because I'm not good at backhanding people. Yeah, inside joke. So we really got a lot of cleaning done, but my hands are KILLING me. The palms are like bright red. =\

*****

Mock Trial was standard, aka we didn't do much. We quizzed the remaining new witnesses about their statements though.

Yoga was boring, as always.

Math was pretty boring too; the assignment was long and annoying. And mine got doubled because I was out of my seat. Because Jung was sitting in it (or rather, on the desk). Ah well. Still finished it, so whatever.

History was pretty awesome. We watched a movie on the Tuskegee Airmen; it was so sad and infuriating... But it was a really good movie. And Morpheus (from "Matrix") was in it! =P

3/365

One way to keep yourself from sobbing out loud, and rather just crying quietly, is to eat a lollipop while you're crying. It keeps your mouth closed, and therefore you're less likely to make those pesky gasping noises that always give you away.

2/365

It is now my goal to condition a certain someone, so that he doesn't run away from hugs, or just stand like a stone pillar when he receives one. I will be working with one of my other friends, and this is going to work! Wish us luck! xD

1/365

So let's do this. One thing a day for a year, quotes, pictures, random little blurbs of text. I hope I don't forget. =]

Here's the first of many to come:

Gotta love my guardies!

Del Mar Competition - 10/2/10

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Club Can't Handle Us

So the halftime yesterday at the Cal High vs. Monte Vista game was AMAZINGGGG. Guard absolutely owned out there. Definitely way better than the first halftime routine. =D Pretty much everyone was in sync for almost the whole time, and it was just awesome. GET IT GUARD!

Laura, Ellen, Clarie, and I decided to go to Little Mad Fish and Yogurtland afterward, and I invited Ross along. Poor guy must have felt so out of place. xD But it's okay, we all love you Ross! (As evidenced by the fact that we had a nice half hour conversation about him later at the sleepover.)
So Little Mad Fish consisted of chopstick mustaches, drawing things with wasabi and that sweet potato fries sauce, and random quips about random things.
Yogurtland was amazing; about halfway through, after we (guard people at least) had a laughing fit, Ellen starts cracking up and can't stop, so everyone looks at her. Then I start cracking up because she's laughing so hard, and Clarie and Laura keep laughing after too, and Ross is just sitting there going, "Uhm..."
We got a ton of pennies as change too, so we went to the little fountain down a ways, and put our backs to the fountain and threw in pennies after making wishes. =]

Ross left a bit after that, and the rest of us went to Clarie's, where we got to wash off all our makeup (from the football game) and get ready for bed. We all ended up sleeping in Clarie's room (Ellen slept on the floor), and talked a bit about the competition and stuff, and Ross. xD It was pretty awesome.

Watch the Halftime Routine (10/1/10).

*****

So Laura, Ellen, Clarie, and I all woke up at 5 today (we were supposed to be up by 3 and at the band room by 4:30, 4:50 the latest). So it went something like...

Ellen: It's five. Wait. IT'S FIVE!?
Clarie: -jumps out of bed-
Laura: -bolts upright- WHAT?!
Me: WTF IT'S FIVE?!?! WHAT?!?!
Clarie/Ellen's mom: -runs down the hallway- Ta-ppy! Ta-ppy! (Clarie's puppy)

It was absolutely terrifying at the time, since we were afraid the band might leave us behind, but it's amazingly funny once you look back on it. We were out of bed, ready, and in the band room in 13 minutes (probably actually a bit less since we woke up a little after five). But it's okay, the band didn't leave us. And I don't think they would have, even if we were a bit later, because what would the guard do with 4/5 rifles missing? xD

The competition at Del Mar went okay. Band did really well, guard not so much. I screwed up SO much, which is really disappointing. -sighs- But if you think about it, we just finished the show on Thursday and put it together this morning, so... Could have been a lot worse.

Afterward, I got Jamba Juice (Strawberries Wild =P) and a hot dog and two of those long rainbow swirly lollipops. It was yummy. =D Laura, Ellen, Clarie, and I attacked Ross with a hug after (well really just Laura and I since Clarie and Ellen didn't make it there in time). It was rather amusing.

Then half the guard went on a "manhunt" for the drum major of Fremont, or, in other words, "the blond dude in white with the gorgeous face." Pretty funny. Meanwhile, Clarie, Mindy, and I hung out with some band geeks. xD

Courtney was wearing contacts today!!! =]

Later, we were trying to get Ross's attention for some weird reason, so we screamed "HEY ROSS!!!" about 7 times to no avail. Then Ellen (Ninja) screams "HEY SEXY!" and he turns around. It was amazingggg. xD Poor guy had no idea what he did.

I fell asleep on the bus ride back, so not much to say about that.

Laura, Clarie, and I attacked Ross with more hugs after when we got back to Cal, but he was all stiff and awkward. So David comes over and I was telling him about Ross's being huggable, but not... huggable. Then David says that I need to condition Ross, so for about 5-10 minutes afterward was David and me chasing Ross around the band room trying to give him hugs. xD I actually got hugs from him though! -gasps- I say he gave me like 2, he says 4. Whatever. =P It was pretty fun.

So the competition wasn't exactly the best, but competition day was amazing! xD