T2B16 - proactiveness

ok so today's lesson is looking at situations positively. so - I hate broccoli - proactiveness: broccoli is good for you health. a bowl a day keeps the doctor away. no, that doesn't work. I still hate it. oh well. green's good.
peace out.

T2B15

I have a friend at my house right now -  one of my mom's friends, kids actually - like one of those families where we have dinner with once a year. My friend loves dogs, so we played with Remmy - the downstair's neighbour's dog. He's black and kinda like one of those while poodles except a different colour. I had a taste of a dog biscuit today. YUCKKKKK tastes like liver. G2G now - dinner.

T2B14

NOOOOOOO I'm so depressed right now. My dad cancelled our skiing trip. He says its too expensive - maybe next year... That was the highlight I was looking forward to all winter. so thanx dad. Holy C*** so fr****** cold!!!!!!!!! I was wearing 4 layers of clothing - like 2 sweaters.And this is just the beginning of winter - 3 more months to go! What am I gonna do? This is just sad - numbing coldness and no snow. = disappointment

holy **** - christmas already!!!!!!!!!!

seriously? OMG it's already so close to christmas. My mom's is already starting to buy gifts. I wrapped like what..... 17 presents today. The only reason we had to stop was because we ran out of tape and glue doesn't work so well. OWWWWW my fingers hurt. :(

wait so winter break's on the 14th right? We we have to post over the holidays? I'm out of town for a few days. YAYYYYYYYYYY!!! Whistler!

Totally chewy - T2B13

ok so today, after an extracurricular class - it was like 10 pm at night. I bouth 5 packs of different gum. They're were so many flavours. This week - I'm crazy about that chew stuff.

Flavours:
1. berrylicious
2. tropicana
3. spearmint
4. sweetened mint
5. icymint
6. triple-layered - green apple and pineapple
7. triple layered trident - apple and banana

Gotta go now bai

T2B12

I don't go skiing often because my dad's usually out of town and my mom's afraid to drive up a mountain. Guess what guess what guess what guess what?!!!!!!!!! My dad said we could go to whistler for a few days with friends. It's gonna be expensive though. But its winter holidays - we could all use a break!!!!!! I'm super pysched right now so I'm just gonna go and thank my parents right now. HIPHIPHOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

T2B11

Hiyall!!!!!!!!! I just saw part of this country film on TV. Some lame movie about a rescue quest in the desert. My brother likes the rope swinging. These movies are so out of season.  They have barely any viewers. No one watches these anymore. (BTW - no offense if you like the old west). Anyway... My mom says I gotta clean my room. Dad says if I don't straighten things out, they'll use my room as storage space. I'm kinda like a garbage can - I like to keep everything - rarely throw things out. My parents tell me I could sell half the stuff in my room at a garage sale. How nice...

T2B10

Ok, so right now, I'm so out of topics. What should I write about today? I'm gonna just describe what everyone is doing right now. To be honest, not much. My brother's hitting me with a pillow, I yell at him, my dad comes in and glares at me, then my mom is trying to call and cook at the same time. I think they're making some dinner plans with old friends. Anyway... My dad does stocks, so he's working on that more than half the time I'm with him. He also has to write reports for his company. Dad doesn't like to be interrupted, so I just leave him alone.

sorry, short blog post - my mom's says its dinnertime. I hope they're both in a good mood cause I want to persuade them to take me skiing. BTW:  which place is better? Seymour or Grouse? Dad says Whistler's too far, so that's not even an option... ;..(

T2B9

Today, I so wish I were Jewish - it's the 1st day of Hannukah, if I'm not mistaken... I'm not mistaken am I? >.<
*sigh* 8 day of presents - what a waste. At least there's still Christmas spirit in the air, although no one seems to get enough of that. BTW - Lillian Cao's my secret santa. I"m writing it on here because I know or at least I think she doesn't follow my blog. I went around to a few stores and searched for a special gift. At first, I was planning on a stuffed animal. A cow, since it was her nickname and an animal with sentimental value, but then again, cows are out of season. Actually, they never were in season. I'm still looking around for a "the cow leaped over the mooooooon" poster. Lillian's a really nice person, she's extremely proud of her nickname. I want to get her a gift that means something. I'm gonna go gift shopping this weekend, see what I can find.

Birding-Watching at the Bird Sanctuary - T2B8

George C. Reifel's Migratory Bird Sanctuary - that where the Synergy 8 & 9 ventured out to today. The day plan was from the museum, to the gift shop, to the marshy trail. The museum was one large room will filled with what seemed like around 80 birds in glass shelves. That can be creepy when you have about 10 large owls glaring at you, and one turkey vulture checking you out. We were, however, introduced to many basic new knowledge of birds: B.C's stellar jay, the peligrim falcon, the hummingbird...etc. I wore the skin of either a muskrat or a possom on my arm. It scared the crap out of Kathy Xie. I also saw Hedwig, Harry Potter's snowy owl.

I bought 2 bags of bird seeds. They were really full, so I thought it was a pretty good deal. I got a lot of attention from the ducks. It's hilarious how they all dive into a scatter for the bird seeds. I tried throwing the seeds about 5 meters ahead of the ducks, they half flew, half quickly waddled over. I threw half a bag of bird seeds into one place in the water. about 15 ducks went after it, diving with their butts waving in the air.  Good times... The chickadees were my favourite part of the trail hike. They feed on sunflower seeds. You have to kind of stand still with your arms raised to get these birds coming after your seeds. At first, I didn't get any responses, but then, 5 chickadees landed on my hands in a row. Some people were lucky and spotted an eagle, hawk, or a heron. Most of us weren't that fortunate, but we had a good time as well. I want to go back someday.

Ice-Breakers - T2B7

Ice-Breakers: tasty mints or bye-bye tongue?

I mean, I know ice breakers are so full of flavour, mostly the sour type, but they also really scorch the tongue. I sucked on a few ice-breakers earlier, and now, my tongue's deep purple with a pink pain mark in the center. The rash stays with you for around 4 days before you can eat or drink anything without feeling the scratching pain. (esp. gum) now I can't enjoy my coconut pineapple gum - WAHHHH! That was one of my favourite flavour. That, berry, and green apple.

Anyway, I kinda messed up this morning. I forgot to check my agenda, and thought today was day 1. Lucky me, I knew most of my science test stuff, so i didn't freak about the test. Now, I'm all set for the english test on Tuesday. The day swaps saved me about 45 minutes of studying...! Yay!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas tree... T2B6

Today, daddy put up the christmas tree and all the colourful lights around the living room. He wanted to wire them outside, but I insisted. We didn't have enough to circle the front of the house, and it look much more festive along with the rest of the indoor decorations. The christmas tree I have at home is different than any other. It is covered in glittery butterflies that light up to different colours according to the rhythm of the christmas carol it plays. There are no bulb decorations, or reindeers, or Santa Claus. It's one of a kind - I've never seen it in any store here before. This christmas tree also has sentimental value. I got it in Panama when I was 8 years old. Daddy and I picked it out and designed it. It was a very special Christmas - the first one in a foreign country... I'll probably upload a picture sometime in the winter holidays - once I find my camera...

It's still November, but it's never too late for some Christmas spirit, is it?

Science Experiment Numero Deux - T2B5

Earlier today, I restarted my science fair project. Last week, my science fair project was a complete, utter failure. My beaker and test tubes were knocked and broken. Annihilator: my brother. I guess this was partially my fault as well. I should have known better than to place any fragile homework or glass experiment in any of his reach zones. Anyway, that's OK. It was an accident, but now, I'm behind by 27 days.

My topic: Does temperature affect the speed of change in the Ph value of juice? In many ways, redoing the experiment is a good thing. I now know how to avoid all the mistakes and mishaps in the first trial. I'm trying to look at situations in a positive way here. So... Thank you?

BTW: In English, we're starting to study The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, as a novel study. I just finished reading the first two chapters. It's so beautifully written that I forgot I was reading it. ^------^

Square-Dancing - T2B4

In PE we just finished our basketball and indoor track units. On Tuesday, our class will begin to learn square dancing. Oddly enough for a lot of people, I think it'll be fun. I mean, I know a lot of kids are still amateurs about dancing with someone of the opposite sex, but just watch, it'll be interesting, and for the most part - funny. I think that's its biggest selling point. This is not the first year I've squared danced in PE class. Last year, our student teacher put the whole class through it, along with a bunch of other folk dances - macedonia... That was one heck of a funny picture: when you see to 5 feet tall boys arm in arm, skipping in circles. I laughed for 20 minutes straight.

Mr. Olsen, about the self evaluation and CCRAP sheets, are they for term 1? I emailed them to you, but I got no reply. I don't know if you received it or not. I hope you didn't mark me as "not-handed-in" cause a did...  Peace out for now:)

Today's Highlight - Gr. 8 Indoor Track Meet - T2B3

Today, for the entire last two blocks, was the annual grade 8 indoor track meet. It's when all the grade 8s at Churchill are divided into teams and compete against each other in fun relay races. You've probably heard that all schools have a Sports day, usually around June. Well, what happened today was kind of like that, except all the participants are grade eights. There were different choices of races we could pick to sign up for. I was in the Shuttle race, Skittle race, Rugby Dribble Race, and a tug-of-war, but there were other selections as well: equipment transport, balloon pat, balloon pop... oh that one was fun to watch. (You have to sit on the balloon to pop it. One of my personal favourites was the circle relay, but I didn't get to do that since the sign-up slip was already filled. That's okay - all the races were fun. The purpose of the events were simply just spirit, teamwork, and fun. Overall, I thought I did pretty well - I screamed, cheered, danced, and ran around in circles (don't ask why). My cheeks were flushed deep pink and I was sore from smiling. I felt so warm that I walked home in the snow in my gym shorts. I BARELY FELT THE COLD!!! Of course, eventually, the temperature caught up to me, but that was later on - as soon as I got home.

What I though was really interesting was how the different teams decorated themselves to show team spirit. From the Yellow group, there was this girl in streamers and yellow ballet tutus, from the black group - ninjas. From the Red - face paint and long scarves, and from the green - long knee socks and bandannas!

Is God Left-Handed? - T2B2

Well, here we go - moving on the fast track. About the Brain project - my topic is left-handedness: origin, causes, and consequences. Today at the library, with some help from the librarian, I found 2 really interesting books based on this topic. There was also another religious book, but it didn't seem to cover much information. It had questions like: "Is God left-handed?" Questions like this is more on the humour side. Who knows if God even has a hand - besides, it can be an offensive generalization for other beliefs.

I really actually enjoy this project. It different for any other assignment I've ever did - it's not dead work and researching info like writing a report of JFK. These topics actually engage the students - it's interesting and fun. I found a couple of really cool questions I will probably include in my presentation. This project is entirely a whole new branch of creativity. That's amazing, considering all of the possible topics occur in what people call the "old coconut".
1. Do Left-Handers die younger?
2. Health vs. Left handers
3. Stereotypes....

New Term - No More White Winter? You're kidding... - T2B1

Wow, a regular Tuesday - but also the beginning of a new term. This is my very first blog post of the Second semester!!!!!!!! Last term, I missed a couple of blog posts, so for the next three months, a small goal would be to keep on posting this blog everyday. To me, the blog is not just a simple reflection of the day or moment. For the most part, Synergy kids usually don't find posting on an online journal difficult. It seems to be more about time management and the continuous trend to post everyday that's a challenge, practice, and assignment - so I'll be keeping that up...


HEY YOU! MOTHER NATURE! YUP THAT'S RIGHT! I'M TALKING TO YOU: WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE SNOW? ARE YOU SERIOUS? THAT'S IT? WHAT HAPPENED TO A WHITE WINTER?! WE ALL HAD HIGH HOPES OF A WHITE WINTER WITH NUMB FINGERS, WET GLOVES AND FROZEN FEET! WELL, YOU'RE HALF WAY THERE - WHEN I WALKED TO SCHOOL THIS MORNING, MY LEGS WERE SO COLD, IT WAS PAINFUL. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? IN THE SUMMER, LOW TEMPERATURES IN ANTARCTICA ARE AROUND 10 DEGREES CELSIUS. RIGHT NOW, WE ARE -4 DEGREES HERE IN VANCOUVER. PENGUINS COME HERE AND SAY: "WOW, IT'S COLD. LET'S LEAVE!" I DON'T REMEMBER BEING FREEZING LIKE THIS ANYTIME IN THE PAST FEW YEARS. MOTHER NATURE'S TRYING TO PACK THREE YEARS OF COLD TEMPERATURES INTO THIS WEEK. OH GOODY. WITHOUT THE SNOW, THE COLDNESS IS JUST NOT WORTH IT. ONE OF THESE DAYS, SOMEONE'S GONNA GET HYPOTHERMIA.

Daddy's Coming Home! - T1B66

Yay! My dad's coming home tomorrow. He's flying in from Hong Kong on the 23rd at noon. Remember how I blogged before about him in September? He came that time because of my brother's surgery. I was unhappy because he ignored me and didn't look me straight in the face for the entire visit. He was caught up with all the doctor's appointments for my brother. Well I communicated with him, and he said he would spend more time with me during this week, so I'm pretty much in a happy mode. I'm gonna try to score bonus points with him, see if he'll take me skiing or to see the new Harry Potter movie Part 1. I need to make more deposits in my EBA for dad.

I've heard rumours that lots of people say the new Harry Potter movie is horrible. That's probably just because the 6th movie was such a disappointment. I think the Deathly Hallows will be better. It's hard to make it worse than last time. *I think that was a compliment...* Advice: read the book before watching the movies - they drown most of the excitement away. I think that a drawback with the HP movies are that (a), they skip a lot of parts, and (b), all the scenes are dark and in the shadows. It gives you a dull gloomy feeling. I'm more of a funky colour kind of person. all smiles. I can't wait till tomorrow after school. Welcome home, dad!

Urgent Question - T1B65

Fews questions I'm gonna ask all at once. Anyone... feel free to answer :P  :
1. Are we supposed to reply the email about synergy self evaluations? Is it a broad generalization over all the courses or just Applied Skills?
2. Will we be getting a posting of our applied skills term grade?
3. Is there an Applied Skills finals exam?
4. How many percent of the term are blogs?
5. Why is snow white? (sorry - just suddenly randomly popped up.)

I'm clear for now.

If it's snowing down here in the mainland, the mountains must be blinding white! It'll be perfect for skiing and snowboard. (btw, we should have a Synergy camp or a Synergy winter Whistler.) I can't wait until next weekend to head up Seymour with my dad, who will be coming home soon. EEEEEEEEK!

The Tips of My Finger - T1B64

Yup, that's right. The tips of my fingers, I can't feel them. What's Mother Nature trying to do? Pack three years worth of cold temperatures in to these two days? This morning, I wore two sweaters and a jacket. After half a block, I lost all the nerves from wrist below, and felt this unpleasant prickling of needles on my arms and legs. Holy cows... It's so cold out there, it's painful. These weekend, I will drag my mom to take me shopping. I need to get: earmuffs, scarves, boots, and a desperate need for gloves. Where can I get them  for sale? Right now, I'm having a very hard time typing - many backspaces. My fingers are all numb. beybey - whoops byebye

For the Love of Socials - T1B63

I'm so happy, we're gonna have social studies again tomorrow. Our current - or to be unit right now is the fall of Rome, in relation to Hannibal, Brutus, and the death of Ceasar and stuff. We watched this really cool video clip of how Ceasar died. Wow - 23 stab wounds? He's got some heartless senates beside him. You're trying to kill the guy, not flip out his interior!... Sheesh history is brutal.

I love history - in general. It's interesting, sometimes clever, and it's about famous moments with famous people. This class is fun because it's like listening to stories - and they're easy to remember since they are usually logically structured and have meaning. The thing I don't get about famous ancient people in history is that they love to marry someone in their family. I know it strengthens power, but isn't it weird to be married to your mom's brother in law's daughter's cousin's father's grandfather's niece? Then usually what happens in the end is that one of them runs off to marry someone else leaving the other to die tragically by commiting suicide with a poisonous snake bite. I don't know, just saying. I learned last year that marrying someone from a different family gives you a healthier life and child. They say it's diversity and variety. Your child gets the advantages from both of you. Besides, families should already stick together and support. You don't need to be married to join forces better, do you?

The Da Vinci Code - T1B62

Grade 8's the first year I was introduced to adult-like books -  mostly encouraged by the Independent Reading Program. Right now, I'm really crazy about this mystery novel called the Da Vinci Code. It's so tense and full of action. With these kinds of books, I literally forget who I am when I'm reading it. It's kinda like those pensieve movies where you step into a memory or dream and watch the whole story infront of you. The first chapter really hooks you up. Check this out, this Lourve Museum curator is murdered, but before he dies, he knows he must find a way to pass on a mysterious hidden secret. Then Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon comes along and checks out a photo of the curator's specifically positioned dead body. He thinks it looks familiar to some kind of ancient symbol he's seen before. eh?eh? suspenseful, huh? Well, bye for now. I've got a whole book ahead of me. Peace.

The End of IRP - T1B61

I can't believe it... I passed my IRP with the full 10%. Hip Hip Hooray! It was a close call. Three cups of tea was an inspiring book with many yet-to-be lessons, but there were also many pages of really boring detail. That's definitely challenging language - I tell you. I spent the past few nights before November 18th (last book test date) reading, nodding off, then shaken awake, then nodding off to sleep again. After reading this novel, I learned one thing - I have so much more patience, and is so much better with mystery, humour, and action stories. The thing about Three cups of Tea is that it's hard to sit through. There are many Pakistani language, emotions, lessons, and dedication. It is an adventure and testament to the power of the humanitarian spirit. It shows manpower, and you've probably heard this many times, but it also is the best example of how one person can make a difference. I  mean: 1person=building 55 schools. That's incredible - not just an extraordinary outcome physically, but also a huge amount of energy and input at heart. This novel made me cry at points. Anyway, I was kind of nervous about all the details earlier. I mean, with all the weird city names and the many Pakstani villager's names, so I'm really proud I completed my Independent Reading Program with all the necessary credits. Well, that was the end of the IRP. We won't be doing it next term, so I'll miss you... Peace for now.

"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third, you join our family, and for you family, we are prepared to do anything - even die." - Haji Ali, nurmadhar, Korphe Village Chief, Karkoram Mountains, Pakistan...

Mould - T1B60

That's what happened to my science experiment yesterday. I forgot to check on it for 6 days and a 7mm layer of mould covered my juice beaker. I'm gonna start my experiment again. Remind me to keep it under 16-20 days, or else the cleaning process will be extremely unpleasant. peace out!

Winter Travel Dreams - T1B59

I was in China over the summer. Every day was composed of 3 things: sweat, ice, and coke. That was a truly wonderful experience at one extreme. I miss visiting China a lot. It was the most fun-filled travel tour I've been on, and trust me, I've been on a lot of them. Now that it's snowing here in Vancouver, I realize there are 2 places I really want to go to right now. 1. China: Beijing and Harbin. In the winter, the temperatures are at another extreme in China - beyond cold. But that doesn't matter. China becomes a palace of ice - with its amazing annual ice sculpture festivals. I really really really really really want to go to China over the winter holidays, but our family lives on a budget. I guess that would be kind of selfish.

Another place I'm dying to go to is Ottawa. Skating over the St. Lawrence river would be so cool! It's the world's largest outdoor ice rink. To be honest, I've never skated over a frozen river or pond. It seems much more exciting than an ice rink (which I hope we'll get to go Synergy Skating in December).

SNOW!!!SNOW!!!SNOW!!!SNOW!!!SNOW!!! - T1B58

YAYYYY! FINALLY A WHITE WINTER! WE'VE ALL WAITED LONG ENOUGH! EVERYONE LOVES WINTER - BUT THE BEST PART THAT BRINGS THE MOST SPIRIT IS FROM THE SNOW!!!! Last year's winter was pathetic. It looked like a giant slushie outside. It would snow for about five minutes, then rain for half a night. I'M LOOKING OUT HTE WINDOW RIGHT NOW AND ITS ALL SO PRETTY - EEEEEEEEEEEEK! ALL YEAR, THIS IS NATURE'S MOST BEAUTIFUL SCENERY -  AND I TRAVELED HALF-WAY AROUND THE WORLD THIS SUMMER.

IT'S SNOWING!!! I JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF SAYING THAT, MOSTLY BECAUSE IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, THERE HAVEN'T BEEN MANY OPPORTUNITIES WHERE WE COULD SAY THAT.  I'M SO GLAD WE HAVE SNOW. WITHOUT IT, WINTER SEEMS TO BE MISSING SOMETHING MAGICAL. IT'S WHAT THE SEASONAL SPIRIT'S ALL ABOUT. I LOVE IT!!!!!!

It used to be a tradition to go snowballing with friends in our elementary school. I hope we get a chance to have a school wide snow convention. It'll be amazing, mostly because we've never had one before.

\

Achooooo! - T1B57

Don't you just hate it when you suddenly wake up one morning with a sore throat? That's what happened to me.  It usually happens once in a while - randomly. Normally, the soreness goes away half an hour later, but today, my voice croaks, my throat hurts, and I have a bad case of coughs. I normally don't get sick - maybe once every 2 years. My dad says it's because I forgot to wear a sweater outside, but my science teacher told us the coldness does not cause people to get sick, unless you're hypothermia cold. I didn't know that before. It seems so funny now knowing that people have been assuming cold weather=weak body for centuries. Still "Achoooo" and *coughs* can be deadly. bye for now! gotta go for a drink of water - mom's orders.

Body Worlds - T1B56

Science World - a resourceful location most of us go to every year for research and educational field trips. I been to almost all the different sections in the main exhibits before, but this is the first time I went to see the annual Body Worlds Exhibit. It's a special additional program - and much more exciting and unique. This is because the exhibit is put together by real live dead bodies. Generous body donors who have decided to donate their bodies to these displays are plastinated after they're dead.

One word could not describe my experience there. Perhaps mind-numbing, shocking, horrifying, exciting, and disgusted all at the same time. 2 exhibits really knocked me flat. One of them was the room full of preserved fetus and baby. Those babies were all dead - but what was saddest was that there were so many displayed - like somewhat 15 in glass cases. They were described as "tragic losses"... T__T

Another exhibit I though was pretty cool was the glass case with the entire nervous system placed perfectly. Nerve tissues are really quite hard to rip out of the body. You have to admit, that was one heck of a masterpiece.

Remembrance Day - T1B55

November 11, today, we remember. We remember the soldier who bravely fought for our freedom. We remember the people who died for us. We remember our nation's warriors. We respect you, may you rest in peace. We remember.

Love at first sight - T1B54

I was oil painting earlier this morning. I was thinking about my first time painting this type of art. The first time I laid eyes on all the different colours, and the brand new white canvas still wrapped in plastic, it was love at first sight. I love oil painting, I always had. It is calm, relaxing, enjoyable, and helps express out some of life's greatest emotions. Sometimes, when I'm with friends, we chat - about life, school, and you know, all the other Girl talks. Other times, when I'm alone, it gives me some quite space and thinking time. There's hardly ever a downside, besides the fact that I always get the colours on my clothe (oil painting can't be washed off).  A lot of people don't like art. They say its because they aren't good at it, but that's not the case. Art is not about how accurate, actually, art is abstract, there's no right or wrong. It's not hard, you just spill your emotions on a piece of paper. How could anyone not like a hobby so calming and beautiful. It brings life pleasure and romance: think French artists.

T1B53

Friday, district closure. Kevin and I decided to work and try to finish up as much of our social studies project as possible at my house. We typed, drew a map of the school, measured, designed and watched a few random funny video clips on Youtube. I know these three words are too plain to use here, it was fun.
Generally speaking, whenever I'm with friends, no matter what I'm doing at the time, the place always turns into a party. Homework, projects, or even cleaning can be a blast. You start to realize that the main problem with these are that they can be boring sometimes. However, with friends, the emptiness and exhaustion is replaced with energetic conversations. It's at this kind of time, I'm most glad that I have great friends.

I watched on a TV show once, "if you're lucky in life, you'll find one or two really really close friends that help pull you through everything." Maybe I haven't found that person yet, but I sure do have some great ppl around me. :)

T1B52

I'm clear out of ideas to talk about right now, so I'll be giving a brief description of what's going on at home right now. Starting with my mom. She's watching TV - one of those chinese drama shows, in her room. She's got a bowl of sunflower seeds in her laps which my brother keeps staring at and asking for.  Mom ignores his tantrums. David (my brother) gets mad and switches the channel. My mom gets annoyed. She explains what being polite means, but David doesn't get it, so she moves to the large plasma screen in the living room. My brother starts watching Family Guy although I doubt he understands anything the character says. He's 4 and a half and English illiterate. Mom says for little children, just simply watching cartoons can help them improve English. I guess we'll just put him through this experiment and see what happens. It's probably the best method for him right now.

Judy's Randomness Questionnaire - Flies Fly Away - T1B51

So now that it's beginning to feel like winter, I've been thinking, what are some things that people like more about winter than summer besides snow, winter sports, and Christmas. No flies! They are summer's most annoying pesks. Many idioms, similes, and metaphors use flies to describe unwelcomed creatures.

If you were on vacation in the summer, and flies were a daily nuisance, why would they all suddenly disappearing when the evening wind picked up? What is it, and why? Where do they go?

To answer this, there is is a maximum wind speed above which they will not fly, but the reason also depends on temperature, humidity, and the sex and age of the fly, as well as species. Lucilia Cuprina is the major sheep-infesting fly. Its wind speed threshold is about 20 mph. It is also grounded if temperatures are hotter than 104 degress Farenheit and below about 54 degrees Farenheit. When they are stopped from flying because of these conditions, they crawl into small protected spaces until conditions improve.

Before I found this, I rarely ever noticed the behaviour of flies. Who knew they have a wind limit?

1/2 a 100!- T1B50

Here's a riddle from one of the Harry Potter books. Everyone should know it, since most people read this novel:

First think of the person who lives in disguise
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies
next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend
The middle of the middle and the end of the end
And finally give me the sound often heard
During the search of a hard to find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss.

I dug up this riddle from the book last night. It's unusual and really clever.

BTW, if you haven't guessed out the answer yet, it's "spider".
string "spy" and "uh" together, and say it fast.

Truly Cheesy - T1B49

Cheese is a very important part of meal in France. Today in French class, we watched a video that showed us cheese was not just a diary product mice love, but also an important delicacy and desert. French cheese stores are amazing. They're kind of old fashioned, but they store over 300 different types of rich, delicious, creamy cheese. One manager interviewed in the movie said that French cheese is unique because it uses a secret formula, which is raw milk. American cheese uses pasterized milk - in French, it is considered as "dead" milk. After hearing food described in this way, I'm not so sure I'll be eating much more of milk or cheese for a while. Anyway, raw milk makes the cheese "alive". It shows the true "essence" of cheese. Maybe that's true.  Pretty cool, eh? If you ever go to northern France, be sure to check it out. It will be the cheesiest once-in-a-lifetime story.

Just Another Idea - T1B48

Hey, I was thinking, since most of us Synergy kids are academically above average, all of us are probably really good readers, and really love reading. Personally, I, myself loved the Drop Everything and Read idea. Maybe we could continure this school-wide, or class-wide weekly. It encourages kids to hit the books literally.

Anyway, one thing I don't get about high school is the "colouring" part.  Joanna, Kathy, Jason, Mimi, Tony, Leslie, and I take Arts 9. We do a lot of pretty random and wacky kind of art, but we were never asked to colour in anything in particular. Right now, I'm colouring my French and Applied skills homework. It's kind of weird though, since we have colouring in nearly all my subjects except for art. Why?

Where to buy? ... - T1B47

Yesterday I went shopping around Canadian Tire, PJ's petstore, and Superstore to look for pH paper and all the other material I need for my science fair experiment. Guess my luck. If you guessed 0, ding-ding-ding, unfortunately, you're correct. I can't find it, and I need if for my project. Help? If you know where I can buy a small vile of pH paper, please tell me. I'm trying to avoid ordering online packaging. Really, is it too hard to walk/drive to a store? Just saying...

Get Go Confusion - T1B46

I'm still a little wonky with the Get-Go program. I mean, I'm good with the workbook and stuff, but all the online applications and programs and stuff, I'm still confused. Sorry, It's not that I'm bad with computer, it's just that learning a new computer software/program takes a bit of time for me. I'll catch on fast in about a week. The workbook's a piece of cake though... Also, sorry Mr. Olsen, I might have to bother you at lunch, or some other time this week to get caught up on this stuff.

Peace and love,
Judy Zhu

My 1st IRP test - T1B45

Today, I lunch, I took my first Independent Reading Program book test. I was kind of nervous at first. These book tests count for 10% of my English mark, and I'm not too sure what it'll turn out like. I didn't freak though - I started off with an easy book to see what the tests were gonna be like. I was actually really glad we had the provincial Drop Everything and Read thing. It gave me about 20 minutes to flip through the novel again before lunch. Turns out, that was entirely pointless. The book tests were easy, people finished fast, and the process was simple. Now that I did one of the tests, I really enjoyed it. It's not complicated, it's easy marks, and it's like a simple comprehension test. I love it.... Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sign up for the book test on the 29th, this coming Friday.

Yellow and Orange Side of the World - T1B44

Until this week, or today, Vancouver was still running high in summer mode. There was lots of sun and the weather was warm. Suddenly today when I went to French class, outside it was damp and cold. The sky was cloudy and a blast of icy cold wind hit me hard. It's mid-Autumn now. I'm sitting here in my room looking out the window at a tall tree infront of our house. For the past nine months I've lived in this house, it had alway been emerald green. Now's another scene. Leaves are drifting off the branches, and there are flakes of yellow-orange leaves every here and there. Somehow, that reminds me of an old person getting grey hair. The green and emerald season is truly gone now. Helloooooooo winter!

Judy's Randomness Questionnaires #3 - T1B43

Question: Why is "E" at the top of most eye charts today? (guess before looking at the answer. It actually has a very logical explanation.)

Answer:
Professor Hermann Snellen - dutch professor of ophthalmology. He placed the "E" at the top of the eye chart in 1862. However, the "E" wasn't his first choice. Snellen began with the "A", but quickly changed his option. Of all the letters in the alphabet, "E" was chosen based on mathematical calculations. The 3 horizontal limbs of the fifth letter are separated by equal amounts of white space. There was a one-to-one ratio between the height and width of the letter.

Also, as Louanne Gould, of Cambridge Instruments, says that the "E" if different from more open letters like "L" or "U". "E" forces the observer to distinguish the intenseness between the black and white. That is an important consitituent of good vision.

This piece of information is not exactly useful in many situations, but it's fun to know.

Independent Reading Program Addition - T1B42

After visiting the Writer's festival on Wednesday, I noticed a lot of people buying those books by the three authors and getting them signed. I was just wondering, since the descriptions of those books were so tempting and many people seemed interested, maybe we should request for a book test to be written for them. Just a thought, since last time I checked, they weren't on the Independent reading list.

Mouth and Foot Paintings (the 46th edition) - T1B41

I was flipping through some old files, papers, and documents when I came across a small purse-sized art calendar of 2010. It is reproduced from originals painted by the Mouth and Foot Painting artists. This means that they have malfunctions in their arms or hands that disables them from painting by holding the brush with their fingers. These artists aren't famous, but their masterpieces are really "wowing". I love art and painting myself, which creates another connection with this calendar. Just to let you guys know, if you're about to throw out some old calendars that have interesting monthly pictures, I'd like to collect them. Anything extraordinary would be fine - pictures, captions, paintings(especially) would be fine. Thanx.

Such precision!

Magic Castle - T1B40

Help people! When is the magic castle due, and do we have to color it? Oh, and we don't have to draw the inside, so we? I put a lot of emphasis in the surroundings of the castle! Just wondering... I want to confirm the due date, since the Synergy class pages are student updated...

xoxo to all you happy people( basically everyone)

Bye-bye Term 1 - T1B39

Today is the middle of the 1st term. Gosh, it felt like only a week ago, we all just met and stepped into Churchill for the first time, knowing that it'll be our homes for the next 5 years. My first blog was about moving in. Now we've done that, the moving van's driven off, and we're all settled in. At least I am. I have great friends, great teachers, and the best learning environment I could possibly hope for. I ensure that I will never find another school like Churchil. It's one of a kind. Anyway, I can't believe that the term's almost over! OMG! If time continues to fly like this, I'll be 80 before I know it, with grey hair (or not hair at all), no teeth (like grandpa), and alone... WAHHHH!

On a happier note, thank you to all my friends who've helped to make September and October so awesome. :)

The Writer's Festival - T1B38

It's the beginning of the school year, still barely pass mid-october, and our synergy class is already off to a rocking start.  As a part of English 8, our class had been to two field trips: The Vancouver Playhouse, and Granville Island. The trip to the Vancouver Playhouse was a blast. We went to see "The Fantasticks", but that's another story. Recently, our synergy class bused to Granville Island to attend the Writer's festival. We left at around 8:45 in the morning, and missed class for the entire day. But hey, it was so good that it was worth it. We listened to three authors briefly summarize their latest books and inspirations.

The first person was Richard Newsome. He's from Sydney, Australia, and wrote "The Billionaire's Curse". It is his focus and greatest accomplishment of the past 10 years. Newsome isn't incredibly famous, but his book has an exciting plot and an interesting trailer. The book is a mystery novel - it's about a boy inheriting about a billion dollars from his great-grandmother. The feeling of being a billionaire is exciting and overwhelming for about five minutes until he realizes that there's a murderer after him. I haven't read it yet, but I'm tempted to. Lifelong mystery quests are adventurous to read about.

The second author is probably amoung the most famous of Canadian authors. He wrote best-selling Airborn, the Silverwing Saga, and has just popped out a new novel: "My Halfbrother".  We gave a warm welcome and a chunk of our time to Kenneth Oppell. He's won the Gigi awards, and about 20 other awards. After getting to know him abit, he's really young for his accomplishments. He also writes almost a whole novel every year. Impressive! ( and experienced...)

The third and last author of the day was Sharon E. McKay. She is also now my new heroine. Sharon is a
war artist. She spent a year in Afghanistan dressed like a soldier to study the situations Afghan children face. Her accomplishment is brought out to the world with her latest book: Thunder over Kandahar. After two weeks of wearing a 30-pound protective vest, and carrying all her own food, you could tell she put a lot of her life into her books. Sharon's had adventures in Uganda as well. Her life is an example of loving devotion to strong kids in war. After listening to a very long long long interview with her, I had only three thoughts in mind. 1. She has so many great stories, and loves to tell them. 2. She lived such a meaningful life. Such energy! Such emotion! and Such journeys! 3. Sharon is one heck of an amazing woman full of love and life. I wish she was my grandmother, or one of them. "Boring" isn't in her vocabulary.

I know, I'm getting carried away here. And I've used too many of the same words.

T1B37

This image another view of  Chicken Little, based on my last blog. You'll have to read that and Judy's Randomness Questionnair #2 to understand what I'm babbling about now. 

1 image = 1000 000 words :)

RQ #2 - Falling Clouds - T1B36

"The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Hmmm, Chicken little is not completely crazy. He knows half of what he's talking about. Today is Judy's Randomness Questionnaire Column #2: Do Clouds fall from the sky?

Well, here's another way of phrasing this question: If water is heavier than air, how do clouds stay up in the sky? They don't. Who ever said that clouds don't fall. They are constantly dropping. They are downright sluggards. Cloud drops drop at around 0.3 centimeters per second. And since they are so tiny, they're only 0.01 centimeters in diameter, usually not noticable to the naked eye.

So Chicken little isn't so wacko after all. No need to run, duck, or panic. It's just the sky falling all the time. Thank god they don't have the same effect and velocity of a water balloon. Although that would be a lot of fun! You don't say. LOL

Action-packed Sunday - T1B35

Currently, only 3 members of my family live in this house. Today, our family, minus me, had a fascinating journey to Albertsford. My mom and my brother went to see the returning of the salmons, the apple orchard, and the bee farm. I stayed home to enjoy the peace, the quiet, and the freezing cold. The end.

hmmm, my day's going pretty good so far. No screaming 4-year-old for over eight hours. If ya didn't know we were related, you'd think his dad's Godzilla.

But I love him anyway, because we're family. It's not like we get to choose our family. Oh, that would be so cool! International family: mom, dad, me, and selena gomez, and rest of synergy class for family. :)

RQ #1 - Demanding Rooster: How & Why -T1B34

Ladies and Gentlepeople, welcome to Judy's Randomness Questionnaire Column #1:

A lot of people know about my endless urge of curiosity and totally random conversations. (Those of you who know me well.) So starting today, I will begin a Randomness Questionnaire Column. This might take some energy away from me during the day. I'll be all ears, sometime in the future. Hopefully in the very distant future. anyway........ Introducing....... WHY ROOSTERS CROW IN THE MORNING?

Well, it's actually a fairly simple concept. Roosters are demanding in the morning, kinda like the dialogue from Calvin & Hobbes in my last blog. The break of dawn it the time of day when the rooster is most energetic. They are actually very fluent in their possible bird language, which, btw, in English, would be translated into:" This my property, my land. I've got my mark/stain signature down here. Hey, prettyboy, she's my mate. Back off, birdy. "

Sorry, even in writing, I sound like all this is coming out in one breath. I went a bit high on the sugar today.

Funny Morning - T1B33

You know how many people are groggy and grumpy first thing in the morning? Well, this is a typical morning before-breakfast-dialogue:

"MOM! Where's my breakfast!"

"Coming dear..."

"What about lunch?"

"Baloney Sandwich!"

"oh, WELL THEN NO CRUSTS!"

"OK dear"

"DIAGONAL CUTS!"

"HMMM!"

"WITH A HINT OF CHEESE AND KETCHUP! BUT JUST A HINT! NOT A PINCH! AND PUT IT IN A PAPER BAG, NOT LUNCH BOX! DID YOU GET ALL THAT?"

"Honey, what do you think?"

"I DON'T KNOW. MAYBE YOU SHOULD TAKE NOTEST NEXT TIME. MIGHT HELP!"

"Here you go, your highness..." she gives you baloney sandwich cut into four squares, with no cheese, thick crusts, a lot of ketchup and in a spiderman lunchbox. You're all set for the day. :)

*Sorry, I got this from Calvin and Hobbes 2 years ago. Still funny now. Rude, totally missing reality by a mile, disrespectful, but funny. LOL

T1B32 - Still Fuming

I'm still cracking my nutters over Saturday. The police were no help. That was half a thousand dollars I'll never see again, or at least not the same half. Man, why do people have to be like this.. WAHHHH! Ya know, if nearly everything most people desired couldn't be bought by money, we wouldn't have this problem. Robberies happen so often that they aren't even on the news regularly anymore. *sigh*

Today evening= girl mood swings + generally bad mood + tradegy.  I can feel the love in this house. It's probably why I woke up with a cold blast of wind.

Hey, I just thought of a lie detector: if everyone in Churchill, or more specifically, Synergy, were all trustworthy like family, I should be able to leave a 20 dollar bill on a desk in the morning, and still find it there afterschool.  Of course, I don't have that kind of money to waste. But hey, a girl can dream... right?

*for a weird sort of reason, I feel much better/calmer after writing this blog. I guess letting your feelings or thoughts out to someone, or something does help...

Money Escapes Fast - T1B31

Today, I realized one portion of society that could definitely use some improving. That part is not, though vitally important, the horrible things we're doing to our environment, but trust, truth, and honesty. Seriously, think about it. Every species of life on Earth work together to survive. Members of a wild herd all trust each other and play an important role. Some warn others about danger, some hunt, and when facing enemies, each animals works hard to protect the younger members as priority. Sure, their minds function much more simply, but they are also less stressed, greedy, and more straightforward.

To illustrate my point, I was robbed on Saturday. Man, these days, Superstore is a heck of a dangerous place. Ya take your eye for your purse for two minutes, and all your credit cards and five hundred bucks dissappear. Tip #1, go to the bank right afterwards, and delete your credit card accounts. Tip #2: It was a good lesson. Too bad I had to learn in the hard way.

This is sad - humans are the dominating animal species of the world, but there can be very little trust built between people. I lost 3 pairs of roller blades, a bunch of elbow pads, a helmet, and a pair of socks the same way a year ago. People are so desperate these days. You can't play tag without dragging around a hockey bag. :(

Locking Locker Locks - T1B30

You know how every student was given two locks on the first day of school? One was meant to be for your school locker, and the other was for a gym locker. Well, I only used one before. I opened the other one, my gym lock, for the first time today. To be honest, I wish I never did.  Two locks that look exactly alike with very similiar combinations just means trouble. I wasn't exactly too swift with my one lock. I ended up trying to bang my locker door open. It was 10 minutes before I  figured things out. Then, I'd hold both locks in my hand, and forgot which lock has which combo, meaning I'm back to the beginning of the cycle.  In the future, these two puppies are staying far, far, far away from each other.

frustration....

Man, saying the above paragraph all in one breath.... I'm outta breath...

Funny Interview - T1B29

Remember that Paris Hilton was imprisoned about a month or so ago? Well, I found this really funny interview from that week. It was basically David Letterman insulting her. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liJbE71DK20

I felt sorry for Hilton, but her lame excuse - when the police found her in her car with drugs, she claimed that she mistakened them for gum - was ridiculous.


Quick Question: is perfume poisonous to drink? Letterman better be careful with what he puts in his mouth.

Sorry, and no offense to any Paris Hilton fans...

Old & New Thanksgiving - T1B28

In elementary school, every year, our teachers did a project or a celebration for all the holidays. Each person would make some kind of commitment to Thanksgiving, Mothers Day, Valentine... etc. How come in High School, these kinds of celebrations are ignored. I used to sometimes learn more about the origin of an international holiday. During the long weekend, I thanked a few people, just to participate. I'll be doing more thanking in the coming week. Peace out people! Thanx, and have a great weekend. :)

I'm all Thanksgiving today.

Thanksgiving - T1B27

Hey, it's Thanksgiving. I just remembered. Isn't Thanksgiving a We Day? Wasn't there supposed to be an event, ex: vow of silence, no shoe... etc? It's either that or the annual We Day ceremony at GM Place with the Keilburgers, I think. Anyway, when are you guys going? I heard only 30 people were picked to go on the trip. Did anyone in Synergy make it in? I went to last year's We Day. There were so many famous charitable people like Jane Goodall, Jason Mraz, and Hedley. Those of you who went to last year's We Day probably remember the big Beach Ball passing. If you're going to We Day, plz tell us all about it afterwards.

signed: eager listener.:)

T1B26

I'm freaking out! Science fair proposal is due soon! Hey, quick question for now: When is the views for the folded paper toys due? Will we get time on October 12th? I left mine at school over the 4-day weekend. Mr. Olsen, you said we'd get classtime to finish working on it, right? Plz say yes and back me up on this one. :) BTW, I'm still not too sure about whether to continue on with the science fair. Who started to work on it again after the proposal?

A Reunion - T1B25

The past weekend was a kind of reunion for the Chinese camp I was talking about over the summer. Peaks are, you get a possibly last chance to see some people you travelled with. The bad side? Well, ya have to perform. At the reunion, people were nervous at first, then since so many people didn't prepare or want to perform, it became more of a game. Some sang the alphabet or ring-around-the-rose, others sand "heads and shoulders knees and toes, knees, and toes, knees, and toes...blah blah blah. I randomly rapped a song I wrote for a talent show that little Kevin and I performed last year. People and the reunion loved it, but it was kinda embarassing since I lost my breath and choked somewhere in the middle. hahahahhaha. :)

China-Sick - T1B24

I don't know why, but I kinda miss it there. Life seemed a lot simpler. Then again, it was probably because there was no homework but anyway...Over the summer for around two weeks, I went back to China with a few friends from chinese school. It was somewhat a tour of parts of China: Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin - a camp. Together as a team and a family, we went to see the world expo, and I have a one-word description of the temperatures there: H-O-T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm serious, it's like the heavens are trying to fry us to stew. Some of the necessities required were: water, ice, umbrella, ice, coke, ice, ice cream, and more ice. You never get enough of frozen stuff in China. I gulped down a bottle of water in 15 seconds after climbing parts of the Great wall. I also bought a few bottles of water just to pour over my head afterwards. Although I have to admit, that was a terrible idea, since there wasn't an available bathroom for the next hour and a half.

I want to go to China again. It's part of who I am and where I'm from. I can't believe I have to pay to go home. Actually, I can... :(

Google Sites! - T1B23

Wow! Google Sites is awesome! It's like creating your own very professional looking website without all the complicated HTML codes and stuff... I finally got this program kind of figured out. :) Before this year I didn't know all the different services Google provided. All I explored before were: Web, Images, Video, Maps, and News. The best part of all this is that it's for FREE! As well as no downloading or having to worry about viruses. It's amazing how one gmail account connects you with all different sorts of softwares. No doubt this is a tech class! I've learned more about the Internet this school year than I have in the past 2 years. Hey, I'm not exactly a wiz at technology, but I'm so glad I'm learning something. Thanx, Mr. Olsen, Joanna Li, and Kevin Dhir, for helping me with my many questions.

Waking Up On Cloudy Days... - T1B22

For the past week, the hardest part of the day was waking up and dragging my self out of bed. It was always so darn cloudy outside, as if even the sun wouldn't wake up and share his warmth and light. On sunny days, the rays of light coming through the window BAM! flash you awake. Plus, it's not freezing cold, and the streets don't look like it's still 3:00 in the morning... Today, when my mom woke me up at around 7:30, I fell asleep four times after that. Shame on me! lol

BTW: Who's already thought of an idea for the science fair yet? I'm cracking the old noodle here, and the noodle ain't responding... Drats!

Unbelievable! - T1B21

OMG I am so OLD! I am now officially 13 and a week old. I want to be 9 again. WAAAHHH!

This morning I was brushing my hair when my mom started to talk about grey hair and stress. Immediately, I saw a lot of silver lightings on my hair. I plucked a few innocent pieces of hair out. My mom slapped me, and told me it was bad luck, and that I was crazy. Not of to a good morning... Now I regret it, because my head still hurts, and I feel kinda bald. Call me a wacko!

One of my best friends sent me a picture she found online for my B-day.

Pro-D Applied Skills Question - T1B20

Urgent question that must be asked:)  - does the robot artwork have to be labeled?
                                                            - Can the robot artwork be coloured abit with felt?

Just checking. I'm taking my chances here, people, cause I already did it... so please tell me the answer to both questions are "ok"...

Last Watercolour Class - T1B19

After nearly a year's worth of lessons, I'm finally finished with my preliminary water colour skills. Today was my last class. I'm working on oil painting right now. You, from this, I realized the differences between these two types of paintings are that oil painting requires layers to look good. The thicker, the more layers the better. But with watercolour, going over and over one spot ruins the painting. Oil painting is one step up from watercolour. Working with water is like doing the stretching and warm up before the real dancing. I'm ready and looking forwards to it!

It's Saturday Again - TT1B18

This is the last week of the first month of school. It's a purposeful Saturday, with a lot of meaning. It's weird, cause I'm bored. Whoops, sorry. I'm not supposed to use the "B" word. :) I was talking to a few kids from PW - Prince of Wales Secondary, earlier this morning. PW has a mini school that's kind of hard to get into. But the students there say that the mini's a wasted of time. They go on a big field trip or a plane trip to somewhere nearly every month, and small trips every week. I mean I know field trips are always good. They're provide great learning experiences, but every week? isn't that a bit too much? Let's not talk about time first, but think about what great expenses all these travels would mean. It's like having more than vacation's worth of travel in the school year. Definitely exciting, but too much... Although, they do go to a lot of places I've always dreamed of going to: Paris, Tokyo... *sigh* Quebec...

T1B17

New Thought: The workload's really starting to build up. I'm starting to get scared. Maybe I'm thinking too much. It's fun, but the years beginning to get busier. You could feel the pressure, with the science fair and all.. *sigh* Other than that, just another typical day...

Day 2 Drawing Portraits - T1B16

Art was different than the classes we had before. Today, we drew portraits of ourselves. This is a new experience. I done a lot of different styles of sketching and painting, but this is the first time I drew myself infront of a mirror. The results? Well I guess you could say that you could tell it was me, but the proportions on my face were distorted. My eyes were drawn too big. Kathy, Joanna, and I laughed and helped fix each other's portraits. It was more exciting than any other art class. The mirrors we used were also extraordinary. They were bendy! Really... By gently wobbling and twisting them in a certain order, Joanna found a way to make her look like she was dancing like an Egyptian... lol.

Collaborative Day - T1B15

I totally forgot about Collaborative Day. I woke up at 7:30, and got to school at around 8:15am. On the way, I found it was a little strange. There weren't many kids walking to school. The streets were much quieter, and fewer cars. Then, I remember school started at 10:17. I felt so stupid, walking around an empty school. Now, I know to write clearer reminders in my agenda. I went home, read for a little while. What was funny was that I lost track of time, and was late for second period. This is almost embarassing to talk about... :D

Science Test - T1B14

Today's highlight was the Science Safety Test. It was easier than I though. Earlier this morning I was freaking out over it. It's all about signs and what they mean. Looks like I over studied. I hope I do well. Ms Smedley seems really strict though... What I do like about this class is that this is the first science unit I've ever had where the teacher starts the year off with safety lessons. Other teachers just warn students. Learning about safety and precautions help us make this school year more enjoyable for everyone.

My House - T1B13

My favourite homework today was the "My House" drawing for Applied Skills. I love art in general.  That homework was like a break for me. I did it in between studying for Science Safety Test.  I added some dark colours. Colour means the world to me. ;p I do have one question about the cirriculum though. Since synergy kids don't have applied skills rotation. do we get to do business, economy, and stuff like that?

Off to the Mall - T1B12

Today, a few friends and I went to the mall - Richmond Centre. It was fun. The End.

Daddy's Gone - T1B11

Dad's gone. Like every time, he comes for a fews days every few months. His flight is tonight at 10:15 pm.   This time, his flight is off to Hong Kong. He's a engineer office manager. Their project contructing a harbour in Mexico is over. The team's new job is a bridge, I think. Then again, he doesn't talk about this much. I do wish he would stay a few more days longer - at least until the 22nd. It's such a coincidence. He about to leave the weekend before I turn 13. *tears* :)

New P.U. P.E - T1B10

Today's a Day 2. This means I have PE third period. It's not exactly a bad time - I have it a lot better than those who have PE 1st period, thankfully. Can you imagine being tired and sweaty for an entire day? It must be so uncomfortable. Anyway, in elementary school, PE was a piece of cake. It usually just meant tag, games, California kickball, baseball, free time, and break. Most people took it really easy - not sweating it at all. Or at least I didn't. Then, high school came, or should I say, we came to high school. KA-POW! PE suddenly became something we had to push ourselves through, hard. It can be exhausting and challenging, but it's fun. I like the change. We push ourselves past our limits. It's good experience. Every student also gets a great workout. Although I do feel kind of sorry for Ms. Smedley, our Synergy 8 Science teacher.

CountDown - T1B9

Today is September 16th. It's less than a week away from my birthday. I should be happy, right? But in China, many people think it's just one year closer to being buried. I'm reallly excited and all, but it is kind of sad. I mean, being already twelve, no nearly thirteen means childhood is nearly over. I have a teacher who once said to me: life is divided into 3 parts - sweet, sour, and bitter. The first 16 years of someone's life is almost always the sweetest. I'm almost there. I really wish I had knowned to value this time a few years ago. I wish I tried to enjoy it more. :)

Volunteer - T1B8

For this month, I volunteer at my chinese school every Friday for around 4 hours. For the first few class of a new term, the school needs a lot of help with handing out textbooks, ordering notebooks, writing receipts for new registers, and counting money. And since I haven't been too busy lately, I've been helping out a lot. The school's principal is more of a family friend than a teacher. And however nerdy it sounds, many a times, it is a great advantage. :)

Daddy's home! - T1B7

On the 14th of September, my dad came back from Ensenada, Mexico and San Diego (I'm not sure which). Though I haven't got to see him much yet. His purpose is to be at my brother's surgery. It's actually kind of sad. He didn't really have any time to talk to be yet. Oh well, it's nice to have him back. :) That was the last time he went to Mexico. In a few days, he's off for Hong Kong business trip. That's probably where I'm going next summer.

Just out of curiosity, who's already come up with an idea for the science fair?

Who knows a good movie coming out this Sunday? Im not sure what to watch. Any suggestions?

Surgery - T1B6

Today, My mom and dad brought my brother back from the hospital with 4 or 5 stitches around his eyes. It was a minor surgery. Apparently, he was born with thick eyelids, and corners that didn't open wide enough. This is really weird, since both sides of my family have pretty big eyes. Not necessarily good (on my mom's side), but big... The surgeon cut slits next to the teary part of the eyes. It looks really creepy, looks like a lot of blood poured out the eyes, which is basically what happened, so I didn't want to look close enough to count the stitches. If this were Halloween, with a bit of make-up, he'd win the most realistic costume. :)

A David-ment - T1B5

My brother, David, is four and a half, and he always has his way to get what he wants. I mean, I know he's four, but a kid's got to learn his lesson! He can always get away with barging into my room and taking my stuff. Whenever he knows he's busted, or in trouble, he comes up with ridiculous and funny excuses. He just doesn't think that cause he's four. Then in his defense, he gives my mom a hug, and in return, he gets a David-ment, something that is supposed to be a punishment, but ends up as a reward and a finger-wag. That is one sly kid. I've got to learn some of that for when I get in trouble. Although whenever I get those ideas, my mom reminds me I'm twelve...

Missing Class Heads Up - T1B4

There's another question I have about missing lessons. In elementary school,  whenever we went on a field trip, our class left the school the entire day. In high school, you have different teachers and lessons - every hour and fifteen minutes, a switch. However if we know one particular trip will interrupt with the classes afterwards, what do we do? Missing the trip would be a failure in participation but missing class would be the same. I'm asking this question because there's an English class field trip coming up. Hey, btw, does anyone here understand Shakespearian? 

Another quick question: Mr. Olsen, do we need a binder or a notebook for Applied Skills?

Random and Totally Useless Knowledge... T1B3

I was surfing the Internet this morning. I find that one of the best forms of entertainment is just looking up random info online. A lot of people put ridiculous lies in websites. Most of you have probably heard of the site on the British Columbian Tree Octopus. Although I must say, that website was extremely professional, detailed, and a fine work of effort. It would be an A+ if it were for creative writing. :D

Hey, if anyone ever needs help dealing with someone who drives them crazy, I know the perfect way to shut them up. Use random facts. They'll think too hard about what you just said and how it made sense than to continue talking. It's a good way to learn more knowledge, and make them forget what they were gonna say.  For example, did you know that it's possible to lead a cow upstairs, but not downstairs? Or that the volume of the Earth's moon has the same volume as the Pacific Ocean? A snail can sleep for 3 years, and no word in the English language rhymes with "month". If ya don't believe me, test it out. Hey, these are totally useless, but completely amazing facts! :)

A Run-Through of All My Classes - T1B2

Before I start writing, I'm not too sure how to indent a paragraph. The tab key doesn't function here.

Anyway, by the end of Day 2, I've been to all the classes I will be attending for the rest of the school year. After listening to all the teacher's expectations, a big difference and transformation from elementary school is that a lot more responsibility is needed. With over 2000 students, no teacher is able to mom me, or chase me down for a note. I think that's really awesome! It's a practice of managing one's own work and time wisely. I'm looking forwards to the workload that's piling up.

I was on Youtube earlier. Check out this Youtube video on Paris Hilton's interview with David Letterman. He makes fun of her experience at jail...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liJbE71DK20

What on Earth was she thinking when she explained to the police that she thought her cocaine drugs were gum. Probably wasn't thinking at all...

Moving Into a New Home - T1B1

You know how when you're just getting to know a new neighborhood, or adjusting to the environment of a fancy 5-Star hotel, the place is like a maze that fills you with fascination and excitement. Or at least, that was how I felt when I first moved into my house in January. Sure, it might of just meant a "new neighbor" to every other family living down 63rd Avenue, but it was a big deal for me. I loved it. Despite the fact that at first, I was often confused, it meant a change, a challenge, and new opportunities. That is high school. The first few days, we get used to the school, find our way around, and manage our time. It's just like getting used to a new home. Along with that, we meet over 300 new friends in the year ahead, and more after that. Together, we work as a team to make our next 5 years together at Churchill the best we can, because it's all we've got. For my friends and I, it's just our second day, we're only getting started, but we already love it here. And so for the other 2000 students at churchill, welcome the new graduates of 2015, 'cause we're moving in to our new home!