It's that time of year again: the end. If I had to describe this year in just one word, I'd probably pick "dramatic". So many unexpected things happened - some good, some bad - and I'm still trying to figure things out, but I won't get into that.
2009 sounds like a good time to start anew, this year, instead of coming up with a long list (since I already have one here) of resolutions, I'm just going to state the two that I feel I've been trying to achieve during all of 2008 and put them here.

1. Smile more - apparently my mouth is in a perma-frown according to everyone I know (especially my mother). I guess I'll just have to do whatever it takes to be a little more fake. ;)

2. Become less shy - this has been a huge problem since... when I was about 8. Before that, I was probably the most outgoing kid in my class.

So 2009, here I come! And you'd better not ruin my plans.

And since this is an end-of-the-year post, I feel obliged to be cheesy and leave you with two quotes. Just remember, even though:

“Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

...

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." - Hal Borland

Dear Ministry Of Health,

First of all, let me just say that you've been good the past few years (because I haven't had to go to the doctor's much). You provide Canadians with health care, and for that, I thank you.

However, renewing a health card shouldn't take any longer than ten minutes in the capable hands of your staff, right? Apparently not, since I had to wait an hour and a half OUTSIDE in the cold this morning because your stupid services didn't hire enough people to take care of this city. Not to mention that the competent people you did hire were utterly rude. That security lady told me to go stand somewhere else every damn time I finally found a new place to stand(because she told me to). Right, like the people that are here to renew their health cards are going to plot a mass murder.

I don't mind standing since there were a lot of people, but DON'T tell me to go sit somewhere else IF THERE AREN'T SEATS LEFT. About that too, get a room that's bigger than my bedroom, fill it with chairs so that the citizens can wait in THERE instead of freezing their asses off outside.

My feet are completely numb now thanks to you, and I'm pretty sure I got a cold. In any case, please mail me my new card soon in case I have an "emergency".

Because loud and crazy ones are the worst. It all started with my dad inviting one of his university buddies (whom he hasn't talked to in about 20 years) over to our family Christmas dinner.

Dad: ZOMG I went to university with you, we should totally hang out again.

Friend: Hokay! And I'll bring my kids along! My son just came back from Australia, he's studying dentistry so he can talk to your daughter alllll about university! And my other kid's just cute.

Dad: Sweet, even more people to share their university experiences with my daughter! She'll be so thrilled!1!!one
(Of course they didn't use hip words such as "hokay" and "ZOMG")

This wouldn't have happened if they still lived far away, but hey, they just happened to have moved into our area! Why is it that people insist on moving close to their friends? Don't they know that absence makes the heart grow fonder?

So for most of the night, I had to listen to how university "was a blast because, LIKE, we get smashed, LIKE, every single day. And dentistry? Psshh, such a joke blah blah..." while the other kid, who is the exact definition of a tyrant, ordered and punched us around. That little girl is going to grow up to be such a manipulative brat (not that she isn't one already, but she'll have plenty time to master the craft of manipulation). You'd think that any person with common sense would know NOT TO HIT THEIR HOST. But err, no, her parents obviously didn't teach her that.

Sure, honey, you can totally punch the older kids and tug them around like they're your slaves.

I don't give a crap that she's only 8; this might be old-fashioned, but when I was eight, I sat quietly and did what I was TOLD. Sure, I goofed around in my parent's house, but never at anyone else's because that's just plain RUDE.

Oy, and we got invited to their New Year's party...

I didn't ask for anything this Christmas, so I wasn't really expecting anything. But as usual, the great people around me continue to surprise me by getting me stuff. Good stuff. REALLY good stuff.

*Note: these lists are not in order of awesomeness, but in order of what-Regina-can-remember-off-the-top-of-her-head*

Stuff I've gotten:

1. Money - always good.

2. Chocolate - I don't really like chocolate, but they make great nomz when friends come over. We always have way too much chocolate in the house.

3. An apron - I actually don't know which one of my aunts gave this to me... but THANK YOU.

4. Awesomeness in a nutshell - no, they're not photos. (Oh, and I didn't get a real piano - I already have one of those - but a friend made these on 3DS for me and I just think they're awesome)

5. A pair of boots - so prettyful, unfortunately I can't take photos right now since my batteries are dead and need to be recharged.

6. A vase - I'm pretty sure this is from the same person who gave me the apron (since they were in the same bag), this was quite possibly the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my life. Whoever it was obviously didn't know that I usually hate anything pink.

7. A crapload of makeup.

8. More chocolate - Ehh... :\

9. More money - :D :D

Stuff I haven't gotten yet but know I will soon

1. Jason Mraz CD - ME WANTS SOON.

2. A purple sweater vest - yes, I am cool. And a dork, but we don't need to go into that.

So how were your Christmases and what did y'all get?!

That's the view from an upstairs window, it looks like it's going to be a white Christmas here, though that's hardly shocking considering where I live.

I don't really know what to say since everyone else's Christmas posts pretty much covered everything already. Be grateful for your family and friends, enjoy your holiday... that kind of stuff. So I guess I'm just going to go on a wild spiel that's not headed in any direction whatsoever.

For the past few years, whenever people asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I would always shrug and mumble "I don't know". Because, really. I didn't know what I could possibly want that I didn't have already. Sometimes I'd say "peace on earth and equal rights for unicorns," (they ARE real dammit!) just to make things more interesting. Of course that always made me seem crazier than I actually am. Come on, world peace?

Sure, that can happen, if one day humans beings miraculously stopped being greedy and power-hungry... and that's where the magic of Christmas comes in. *spirit fingers* Christmas is the only time of year when differences are forgotten and human compassion is recognized. For example, the Christmas Truce of 1914 - oh, wait, that was completely strategic for both sides so they could better their defences and spy on the other side without getting killed. Err...how did this post get so depressing all of a sudden?

But in all seriousness, due to my usual happiness fail, I'll just shut up now and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. Merry Christmas, happy Hannukah, and happy whatever-else-is-celebrated-at-this-time-of-year. This is going to sound so corny, but whatever you do, be safe!

Now I'm off to panic because my turkey is still a huge solid lump of ice that doesn't seem to want to defrost at all.

Not for presents though. Christmas shopping for food (or nomz as some like to call it) and cutlery for around 30 people.

See, this year is a bit different because it's the first year that the family Christmas get-together will be at my parents' house. In reality, my parents don't technically "celebrate" Christmas (heck, we don't even exchange presents, because you know, that's the true meaning of Christmas nowadays). However, my mom and I spent about 5 hours buying food and utensils yesterday to prepare for the event. As much as I love to spend time with my mom, 5 hours in a grocery store was not how I wanted to spend my day.

...and those 5 hours could have easily been cut down to 3, if she didn't stroll through every single aisle, look at every single item in the aisles, and ask me "What does this do?" every five seconds.

Of course, what's an American Christmas dinner without the turkey and roast beef? (Or is that Thanksgiving?) This will be our my first time trying to make those two things, so I guess I should apologize to my aunts and uncles in advance.

Anyways, I hope everyone's having a good holiday so far. As much as I am being a bitch about this, I honestly think I will get some good laughs out of this whole experience.

So, what are your plans for the holiday season? :)

...compiled by her oh-so-amazing friends. The age has been purposefully left blank because it is still unknown when I will be able to finish these tasks. It was originally supposed to be 17, but I doubt that's going to happen.

Don't let anything shock you; I've had a pretty deprived childhood.

1. Eat herring
2. Watch a bit of The Brady Bunch
3. Eat a pancake December 29, 2008
4. Go camping
5. Play tennis or squash
6. Rake leaves
7. Eat a cabbage roll
8. Go fishing
9. Watch LOTRs
10. Go go-carting
11. Go bowling December 6, 2008
12. Play DDR
13. Watch an assortment of classic Disney movies or other movies deemed necessary by friends (within reason of course)
14. Archery
15. Go Christmas carolling
16. Watch 1 episode of Star Wars*
17. Watch The Fiddler On The Roof

*I am totally being forced to do this.

It took less than 4 minutes for George Stinney to to die after his execution had begun on June 16th, 1944. He was a fourteen-year-old boy, and the youngest to be executed in the United States in the 20th century.

His crime? Being black in a society dominated by white men.

George Stinney was accused of murdering two white girls, Betty June Binnicker and Mary Thames in South Carolina with no real evidence at all. He was interrogated by several white officers for several hours before the deputy announced that he confessed to the murders.

The trial took place on April 24 at the Clarendon County Courthouse. Closing arguments ended at 4:30pm, and the jury deliberated for 10 minutes before returning with a guilty verdict and no recommendation for mercy. There was also no appeal since Stinney's family had no money for a continuation.

There is hardly any evidence to support this verdict; Stinney died an utterly unjust and atrocious death.

Words are not enough to express how I feel right now... it's a mixture of depression, rage, sadness, and every other negative emotion all combined in one big fiery ball.

It took George Stinney less than 4 minutes to die, but how long is it going to take to achieve equality in the world we live in?

This song sums up the current situation perfectly.

Don't those two words look similar? Okay, I get it, I should be locked up. But this post is actually related to ovations.
Today the band dorks (including myself of course) walked over to a middle school to perform for them at 8:30 in the morning.

Pros:
1. Performing = awesome.
2. Performing for kids = crazy.
3. Kids performing for kids = crazy awesome.
4. Hanging out with fellow band dorks.
5. Ovations even though we sucked.
6. Missing the first two classes.

Cons:
1. Performing for kids that you tutor at Kumon = not so awesome...grade 7 boys are the worst.
2. Walking to the school on slippery ice the entire way there and back = horrifying.
3. Having to wear dress clothes all day while people stare at you like you're a tool.
4. Missing the first two classes - especially math.

So all in all I'd say it was a pretty good day.

How would you compare a person to a moth? It's like comparing a pencil to a toaster, or... or... Twilight to Harry Potter, it just can't be done!

Of course, my English teacher thinks it's perfectly normal to make us compare the moth in Virgina Woolf's Death Of A Moth to another tragic hero. Then again, she also thinks we, the students in the enhanced class, are a bunch of robots who never run out of energy and can complete a poetry annotation, a formal essay, and an oral presentation all at the same time. News flash: We need to sleep and eat like regular people! In fact, we ARE regular people (well, most of us...)! "Enhanced" is just another term for "Those kids have weird brains and need to be isolated for the wellbeing of others!"

So here's my to-do list for tonight
1. Finish annotating my poem.
2. Finish at least one paragraph in my essay (that's right, I don't plan them, but I probably should...)
3. Start annotating a review for the poem I picked.
4. Make notes on stem cell research.

...and if that doesn't work out:
5. Move to a foreign country.

...and if THAT doesn't work:
6. Slam my head against the wall and hope I get a concussion.

I think I'm going to go listen to some Mozart... Symphony No. 25 it is!

So, the eagerly anticipated movie adaptation of Twilight was released on Friday. Being the little fan girl excited spectator that I am, I obviously preordered tickets so that I can get a crappy seat at the front of the theatre.

I was also totally ready for the first excited shrieks of the night when Jacob Black came on screen. No, really, I was ready for the excitement of the Twilight moms and teenage girls (and guys). But what I was not ready for was the hideous wig that was Jacob's hair.

Next we meet Bella's "friends": Mike, Eric, Jessica, and Angela. I thought they were pretty believable, well, more believable than Bella was; I know she's supposed to be quiet and reserved, but seriously, she could have been a statue and no one would have noticed...except for maybe Edward Cullen. He's even more silent than she is.

Speaking of Edward Cullen (cue maniacal screaming from all the fan girls), Robert Pattinson did a good job portraying a teenage vamp torn between love and tradition... perhaps a little too good. Honestly, Edward, would it kill you to smile once in a while? For someone that's been around for a hundred years (and I'm sure the fan girls out there will know how old he actually is), you'd think that he had already moved on past the I'm-an-angsty-and-misunderstood-teenager-who-still-hasn't-discovered-the-meaning-of-life stage.

So why does everyone think Edward Cullen is perfect? He's protective to the point of keeping tabs on Bella's friends' thoughts just to know where she was, he has more mood swings than a girl that's PMSing, and he doesn't even make an effort to get to know any of the kids at school. Too bad Carlisle's vampire venom didn't work for Asperger's.

Another thing that is not perfect about Edward: people = potential next meal. He couldn't even make out with Bella without flinging himself towards her wall (and leaving a huge dent) to stop himself from killing her. Note to self : if a guy likes me (key word: IF), make sure he is not a blood sucking vampire. Werewolves are okay; they're warm, cuddly, and totally not dangerous if you don't get them mad.

And did I mention that he thinks it's completely safe to climb - no - FLOAT to the top of the highest tree in Forks, Washington while Bella's hanging onto his back for dear life? Also, leaping floating all over the forest = not cool. Lastly, when Edward sparkled (or pixelated), his skin, instead of looking like diamonds, looked like someone cranked up the saturation just a tad too much.

I must give props to Edward for this line though: "Yeah, I had an adrenaline rush. It's very common, you can google it."

Half of the movie was just Bella and Edward gazing intently into each others eyes and Edward looking constipated while trying to restrain himself from biting her neck. So I guess it's pretty sad that the only good part that I'll remember from the movie is the vampire baseball scene. The director was probably trying to show their awesome powers and speed and such, but for something so insignificant, it lasted way too long. However, it was a good break from the mental battle that was going on in Edward's head.

Here is when the vampires become stupid (Carlisle is a doctor and Edward has a PhD, but they obviously lack common sense): after finding out that James is planning on tracking down Bella (does her blood really smell that good?), they decide to split up because, hey, it's just too unfair for James to take on all five of them at the same time, right? Let's give the poor guy a break, all he's looking for is a meal.

What's a good movie without commentators? This girl who looked about 10 was sitting beside me and being annoying the entire time. When James started tracking Bella, I heard her say, "He looks so HOT when he's thirsty!" Yes, he is so extremely good-looking with his flaring horse-like nostrils and nasty, unwashed hair. And James: if you can't smell my sarcasm, then you don't deserve to be called a tracker at all.

With that being said, the movie wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. There were some redeeming characters, such as Jacob and Billy, who provided comic relief throughout the entire movie, and I also loved the Cullens' sick cars. But other than that, the whole thing was pretty much just another bad adaptation. But hey, let's give Catherine Hardwicke a break, all she wanted was to be a few bucks richer.

After making two trips to the testing centre, I finally got my G1!

Watch out, Regina's on the road.

Yet again, my host has cancelled my hosting without warning, and now I don't have a proper domain to post stuff on. Oh well, blogspot account will have to do for now!

Why do I always go for the bad hosts? I supposed I've been wanting to start coding a site from scratch for a while now, but this is not how I imagined things would work out!

Shiying is all those clichés that basically say "best friend". You know, "peanut butter to my jelly", "ma' ho' ", "etc. Since she blogged about me on her blog, I thought I'd do the same. To the left is a picture of me and her (psst, I'm the less crazy-looking one).

1. Grab a pillow and a metal spoon. The pillow is for crying or pounding into, and the spoon is for you to throw/ attempt to bend/ break, etc. Metal spoons are the best because you can get it back to its original form after you bend it. But if not, anything other than porcelain will do.


2. Sleep. Really, it's good for you, especially if you've exerted too much force on that spoon.


3. Open up a word document, mash keys until a light bulb appears on top of the annoying paper clip's head, OR until you've filled a whole page with 12 font gibberish, OR until your fingers go numb.

There's a store that recently opened in a mall close to my home that is utterly unique and just amazing. It's called Teaopia, and obviously you can tell what the specialize in just by looking at the name. It's great because none of the teas are sold in little packets; they're all loose-leaf. One thing I love about that place is their free tea samples, varying from traditional green teas to their own fruit teas. Mmm, pina colada goodness... But really, most of these teas come in affordable price packages, and they're just SO good!

Wow, long time no blog. Seriously, I haven't really done much this August, so I don't really know what my excuse is for abandoning this blog for so long. The Olympics have basically taken over my life, but if someone mentions to me how great Michael Phelps is one more time, I will go insane - well, more insane than before. I'm slightly distracted right now, so I doubt writing in paragraphs will help. Instead, here's a list of what I did in August:

1. Watched the Olympics. Opening ceremonies = fantastic. I feel slightly gypped that lots of the fireworks were computer animated, but the rest of the ceremonies completely made up for that.

2. Went shopping. A lot. Call me weird, but I don't go shopping to buy clothes. Well, I do, but I just like walking around the mall and looking at all the different clothes stores have to offer. That's not to say I didn't buy anything at all, but I'm really picky with what I buy.

3. Almost exploded with the amount of Michael Phelps I see on the Internet + TV. We know he's a great swimmer - obviously, he proved it with his 8 gold medals - but can we not make the whole world revolve around him and his 12000-calorie diet?

4. Read the entire Twilight saga. I kind of gave in after seeing the Flair application on Facebook get flooded with Twilight related buttons. The books left me angry with Stephenie Meyer and sad with my own life. Honestly Steph, the concept of vampires and everything is original, but maybe try to write it a little better? Also, why did you have to ruin my life by creating the perfect FICTIONAL guy? If there's an Edward Cullen for Bella Swan, there should be one for all of us.

5. Saw the Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants. It wasn't as bad as I expected, in fact, it was actually really funny at times. In short: Tibby > Carmen > Bridget > Lena, story-wise.

6. Went on lots and lots of walks.

7. Realized that I did not want school to start. Seeing friends? Yay. Homework and the pressure of Grade 11? Nay.

What have you done this August? I sincerely hope it was more interesting than what I did.

Summer has its ups and downs, and I can't believe it goes by so fast... not that I'm complaining, I actually want to go back to school this fall. The main reason is that I don't see many of my friends during the summer because they all get taken by camps, cottages, family, and other tourist destinations, while I'm stuck at home. Speaking of friends, my mom seems to have made a new one this summer:

Yep, my mother's best friend at the moment is this can of bug spray. As much as I hate killing bugs (because a. they are scary and b. squishing = innards everywhere), the buzzing and biting of human flesh (mostly mine) is just intolerable. If I get just one little bite from a mosquito on my leg, it'll swell up to twice its size in the next 10 minutes. How pleasant.

Mom killed about 6 flies today while mumbling under her breath about terminating all insects... or something along those lines.

...in my fridge. After being told by my mom that these were called "fu shou gua", Buddha fist melons (?), I immediately thought that they could potentially be turned into characters, if faces were drawn on them. After little prompting from my friend Shiying, I decided, "Why the hell not? And I'll even put them in the fridge so they can greet my parents when they open it." I've named the two melons grandpa Joe and grandma Barb. Grandpa Joe is, of course, the one that has fangs.

Well, here's me with my new glasses. I don't particularly like them, but hey, at least I'm not blind anymore. :D

My parents told me not to wear them all the time, because they believe that my eyes "will get better". Riiiight.

This past weekend I was at my friend Christine's cottage. Like the title says, it was a weekend of many firsts.

It was my first time at her cottage, for one, and my first time in Lake Huron.

It was my first time canoing.

It was my first time watching The Devil Wears Prada, and my first time getting a French manicure.

Oh, how I wish I could live right by the lake when I grow up. It's honestly a magical place... except for all the bugs. :P

This is already the beginning of summer. To think, two months of school-free, relaxing - damnit, who am I kidding? I actually miss going to school and seeing my friends everyday. Plus, I don't have any plans for this summer, it's not like I'm going on an exotic vacation with my family or something. On the last day of school, I concluded that I have "PSD", which stands for post-school depression. Ha, yes, I did make it up, and no, it will never be in the medical dictionary. Anyway, to combat this made-up disorder, I am going to make a list of the most cheerful songs I can find on my iTunes. (You might not find them cheerful at all, but that just goes to show my taste in music.) You might know some of them, but all of them will definitely make you feel good:

Not "A List", just "a list". A numerical list actually describing my week.

0 ounces of happiness left in me. I don't know why, but I feel so empty right now. Denial seems to be my best friend these days. Constant studying isn't helping, and I keep getting distracted anyway.

Yesterday, Marlies, her sister Tori, and I went to the Koolhaus only to see the most amazing band on the face of this planet. We got there 30 minutes early, and already, the line was wrapped more than halfway around the building. The fangirls (and guys, though there were way more girls) all waited impatiently, buzzing with anticipation to see what would probably be the most amazing concert of the year, well at least for me. It was the one and only: OneRepublic concert, with Crash Parallel and The Midway State.

Rating: 4.5

Counting cards is pretty dangerous, especially when a surveillance team is constantly watching every table. 21, a movie inspired from the popular book "Bringing Down The House" by Ben Mezrich, is about how getting caught by the law is not worth the risk. MIT Blackjack Team, a group of 5 students that have learned how the beat the Vegas blackjack system, head down to earn some money under the direction of Professor Micky Rosa.

After watching Canadian Bacon last semester in Civics class, I have decided that there are clearly many misconceptions about Canadian culture, and that it is my duty to educate others (you readers) about them! So, here are the most frequent ones I have heard:

1. Canadian children ride polar bears to school: This is completely false. Canadian children have several ways of transporting themselves to school:
a. Biking
b. Rollerblading
c. Getting a ride with parents/friends
d. Walking
e. Moose carriage
f. Taking the public transit or the school bus

We think that polar bears are cute, but like the rest of the world, believe them to be deadly and would not get near them.

2. Canadians keep polar bears as pets: Psshhh, try beavers dogs and cats instead. We may be a bit nuts, but we're not completely insane!

3. Canada is frozen all year round: As cold as Canadian winters are, it would be impossible for cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal to be frozen all year round.

4. Canadians all live in igloos: We live in solidly built houses, thank you very much. I assure you, mine is quite good-looking as well. ;)

5. Canadians don't have plumbing: Err, what? A friend told me this, and she so did not help me in pummeling this myth into the ground in Chicago. She walked into a public bathroom and started saying "OH MY GOD! They have plumbing here! Come here guys, look at all these pipes!"

6. Canadians don't get the same movies as Americans: Actually, the same movies are released at the exact same time. Oh, and our censorship is less severe.

7. Everyone in Quebec speaks French fluently: This depends largely on what area of Quebec you live in. I have relatives that live in Montreal, and they've never had to speak French once.

So I hope that cleared up some things, and just for the record, our cops aren't the Mounties, and they don't usually ride horses. ;)

Dear Home Depot,

I’d just like to say thank you for confusing me out of my mind on Saturday. Who knew that when I walked in to find a simple door hinge and dowel, I’d be lectured by “Dwight” (who is always eager to help by the way) for about half an hour? All my group needed were some simple tools to build our mini catapult, and we certainly didn’t need to be laughed at for the fact that we hadn’t done the math before we came to get materials. It’s obviously not our fault if our teacher told us to draw the graphs and make calculations AFTER we had built our catapult. Well, thanks to “Dwight”, we now know about the elasticity of our hands and how it’s different from the strength of a 2″ by 4″ (?) Thank you so much for wasting 30 minutes of my time; I clearly had lots of it this weekend since I had to do 3 projects. Also, maybe tell “Dwight” to be less “helpful” and to stop targeting high school kids that would just like to do their projects in peace.

Another thing that I’d like to point out: It took me ten minutes to find hinges, and another five to find bungee chords. As much as I love this place, I do not like walking around for 10 minutes trying to locate a small object in your 500+ aisles. I get enough exercise, kthxbi. (Okay, that was a lie, I totally don’t get enough exercise, but that’s not the point)

A very annoyed and tired,

Regina

Yay for finishing the catapult in only 6 hours! The good news is, it's consistent and very powerful every time.

The good news is, spring looks like it's finally here! I took a few pictures just now of stuff in my backyard, along with a picture of my sink:


What's the weather like where you live?

I hate being sick. I felt completely fine yesterday, and then right before I went to bed, I suddenly got a massive headache. And *BAM*, I had a fever. I didn’t go to school today, we’ll see if I’ll be good for tomorrow. I missed quite a lot today though: a science presentation (which I will have to do tomorrow), a film in English class (Finding Forrester), and a math quiz. Tomorrow will be quite annoying since I have to explain to each of my teachers why I wasn’t there. So today I basically just stayed home and slept…

Well, not really, I made a new layout for Douteux.net.

Yep, I've got a fever.
I'm supposed to do a presentation for Science today, but screw that. I'm feeling way too nauseous to do anything today.
Oh, and my dad brought home a rubix cube. WTF was he thinking?

"Here you go Regina, so you can waste the rest of your life trying to figure out how to solve this damn cube."

Right. Thanks dad.

Guess I better to get medication, and then sleep...
Yes, sleep, even though I just woke up.

I hate grade 10 science. In general I had a very bad and busy week… so be prepared for this rant.

I am totally pissed off and angry at science because:

1. We have four units and only one is exciting to me: Chemistry. The others (which I will get to) are either a) impossible for me to understand, or b) a snooze.

2. We’re getting marked on our weather predictions. How the hell do you give a mark to a prediction?
“You predicted wrong! It’s supposed to rain tomorrow!“
“But… how do YOU know your prediction is right?”
“You have to look at all the information given to you!”
“… I did.”
“Well, you’re still wrong!”

3. I can’t get the hang of weather because it is, as our teacher continuously reminds us, UNPREDICTABLE.

4. I feel that he doesn’t explain everything clearly enough; I’m kind of dim so I need time to figure things out to fully understand them.

5. When will we ever say to someone “Because of the polar air mass coming from the north and the low pressure system, tomorrow will be quite cold” ? Can’t we just say “Watch the weather network” ? Meteorologists are paid to tell us what’s going to happen tomorrow, we really don’t need to figure things out by ourselves! Sure it makes us seem smarter, but again, weather is unpredictable, and the weatherman probably knows more about his profession than us.

6. Physics is “magic”. Which means that our teacher isn’t too keen on the topic himself, which means I’ll have to do a lot more learning by myself.

7. Weather

8. Weather

9. Weather

10. Can you guess?

I don't do anything on Easter, but one good part is all the chocolate eggs that we buy.
mmm... chocolate.
I'm actually a little bit nauseous right now because of all the chocolate and coffee I had today, but I'll live.
Went shopping again today with mom and bought a pair of pants and a pair of capris from Aeropostale. WOOT for sales!

This post will be all over the place if I just talk about what’s on my mind in paragraphs, so I’ll list them. Lazy me, I know.

1. School starts tomorrow - *clings to bedpost* NOO! Don’t make me go! I had such a good week just staying home and doing, well, NOTHING. I never realized how amazing sleep and relaxation was until this March break surprisingly, mainly because I used to be a dork and do all my homework on the very first day of the break. This leads to another problem however - I still need to do all my homework. Aye aye aye, there’s no way I’ll be done for tomorrow. *Prepares self for an all-nighter*

2. Bought the cutest dress ever - Well, that basically summed it up. The dress is from Costa Blanca, and it actually fits me!

3. Hilary vs. Obama - Who will win? The suspense is killing me. Personally, I think Hilary will, solely due to the fact that she has had more experience. But who knows? Also, I was thinking (shocking) about this today: Are all people named Hilary hilarious ?

4. Snark - is the most amazing thing ever. Interacting and posting on Snark is so much fun, and lately it’s all I’ve doing on the internet. I am officially addicted.

Didn’t I tell you this was going to be a really random post? I hear my parents calling me to make dinner, so off I go! *skips down the yellow brick road*

Yesterday, I went shopping for a birthday present and a dress for a friend/acquaintance. Though me, Marlies, and Shiying didn't get much done, it was still pretty amusing. I have drawn this graph to demonstrate how much time we actually spent present hunting:

As you can see, the more I like the person, the longer I will spend looking for a gift because, obviously, humans just have a tendency to please those around them. But If I don't like the person at all, I wouldn't have gotten invited to their party, and therefore, no time would be spent on present-hunting. That's good, since I wouldn't know what to get them anyway, maybe a stink bomb if I really didn't like them.
In the end, we got her L from Lolita Lempicka. The bottle is gorgeous and adorable!

Unfortunately, none of us bought dresses. I tried lots of them on, but I'm so indecisive! I think it's mainly because I didn't know what style I wanted. Any suggestions?
Also, the mall we went to is pretty sketchy, we saw two teenage boys speed walking - almost on the verge of running - out of a store. Hm... what did they have behind their backs?
To tell you the truth, shopping with two friends that don't know each other that well is kind of awkward. It's like I have to make all the decision, and I HATE making decisions.

This was the view from my window yesterday, we got 15 cm of snow by the afternoon, and then another 15 in the evening. But, our family ran into a problem, forcing us to make our way to the grocery store. Yes, we had run out of food. I think yesterday’s snowstorm was probably the worst yet this winter, at one point, you couldn’t even see the car in front of you while driving at 30 km/hour.

Mother Nature is a beast, a huge, relentless animal that’s hellbent on making my life miserable. We’ve already had like, 4 snowstorms this season, please stop this madness! I don’t think I’ve ever shoveled this much precipitation my entire life.

But thank goodness the weather’s going to be all nice the following week, ’cause I’ve got plans, and I intend to carry out those plans. What movies do you suggest?

We finally came home after 3 hours in the snow, with the food of course, and decided to always stock up on veggies in the winter.

The students in the class are all sitting there at their desks staring at the clock, as if in a trance. The second hand moves clockwise, tick, tick, tick. Their eyes concentrate on that thin little needle that’s traveling round and round. With each passing minute, the anxious students rise a little out of their seats, anticipating the ringing of the bell that signifies the beginning of spring break; the beginning of a week of freedom, and, of course, no homework. *BRINGGGG!*

I’m at home now, enjoying my first hour of complete freedom. Relaxation. Finally. I was going to go on a big rant on freedom, but then decided not to. I’m going to be lazy today and do nothing!
Not much happened since I last posted other than a few tests, but those aren’t a big deal. I know for sure that I bombed my chemistry test, but I’m glad it’s over. :) Also, frequent blogging will be another exciting part of spring break, hooray!

And what great timing: after my last post about the insignificance of sweet sixteens, I got invited to one. It's Michelle's sweet sixteen, and it's at a fancy club called Kai Lounge. She's hiring limos and going full out, so I'm basically guilted into going.

First of all, happy birthday to everyone who was born on this day, you'd better enjoy this birthday because it won't come for another four years! *chuckle*

Speaking of birthdays, I don't know why, but I don't seem to get excited anymore. When I was a little kid, I would always used to be like "wow! I'll be turning (insert number less than 10), but now my opinion has changed to something along the lines of: "wait, it's my birthday? Damn, another year wasted." But even though I don’t appreciate my birthday that much anymore, presents will always be welcomed. :P

I’m going to turn 16 this year, and I’m debating whether I should have a party or not. Sweet sixteen parties are expected common here; a month ago, this girl I know rented like, half a restaurant to have a party, and it was very formal too, I mean like formal dresses and tuxes for guys. The dresses are for the girls, not the guys, in case it wasn’t clear.

But the thing is, I don’t see a point in celebrating turning 16, what’s so good about it? You get your driver’s license so that you have more freedom (and can cause more accidents on the roads)? You get to screw up hang out more with your friends now that you have more “freedom”? That’s pretty much it; what else happens when you’re 16?

Even though I don’t feel it’s that exciting, I’m still considering maybe a small dinner with a few close friends or something, but definitely not some place too formal; I’ll save that ‘til when I’m like 25.

I think everyone’s in too much of a rush to grow up, and so they think that a formal party will make them seem more mature. But me, I’d just like to stay this age; where the most important thing you’re worried about is that pimple that just won’t go away. Rent, bills, and houses… don’t want to think about those, ever.

Maybe I’m too idealist and am living inside this bubble, but for me, this bubble’s enough. I know I’m going to encounter more serious problems and am going to have to grow up eventually, but don’t you wish life could just stay as simple as it was when you were a child?

Science lab reports will actually be the death of me. They're the bane of my existence, and the bad thing is, I'll be doin' em for the rest of my high school life.
Human shallowness will never cease to amaze a simpleton like me. Maybe I'm just too innocent and always only see the good in people.
Today, I distributed 3 copies of my science lab reports to people that wanted to "compare" answers. Well, they'll probably check to see if they got the same answers, but seriously, I don't talk to two of those people EVER except in science. I hate being used, but at the same time I can't NOT help people. It's just - not in my character!
I did find some mistakes in my labs after I gave them to those people... if they DO copy everything, well, sucks to be them.

My site douteux.net has a new layout! Finally, I kind of like this one, but I find the colour combination kind of weird. I'm sort of disappointed in some of my hostees who haven't set up their site yet even though they've gotten about a month already to do so. I'm probably going to email them about it soon, one month is definitely enough time to make a layout, and if you don't have time, then you shouldn't own a site in the first place.

School's interesting right now; still can't figure out who my friends are though. Sometimes they ignore me, and other times it's like everything's okay, and we don't have to worry. I just wish everyday could be like that, where we don't have to worry about anything at all, we can just laugh at jokes and talk all day long. But life's not like that is it?

Balance. That’s what I need in my life right now, to balance my homework, my job, piano, and my other extracurricular activities. I’m so glad this week’s finally over, I’ve got good news, for once. Our Senior Wind Ensemble went to the Golden Horseshoe Competition on Thursday, it was actually a lot of fun. I won’t say much about the bus ride other than the fact that it sort of involved fire, someone’s jeans, and someone else’s Uggs getting thrown out the bus window. I had a nice chat with my old music teacher, who was the MC at our competition; it was nice to talk to her again. Even though we didn’t practice much at all and screwed up 1/3 of our performance, we still managed to get a Silver medal with an invitation to the nationals in May! Hooray for talented piccolo and clarinet players!
Speaking of balance, in science we are currently practicing how to balance equations for chemistry; I think I’m actually getting the hang of it, chemistry’s pretty easy for me. But I have one question though, when you combine NaHCO3 with HCl in a beaker and produce NaCl + CO2 + H2O, does the CO2 (carbon dioxide) escape from the beaker, or does it stay inside because it’s heavier than air? I’m slightly confused because the activity is called “finding the missing mass”, but it doesn’t make sense to me because I would think that since the carbon dioxide is heavier than air it wouldn’t rise and escape from the beaker anyway.

I did the Cayley math contest (by Waterloo) today during first period. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, but that's because I remembered how to do specific questions from last year. I was actually surprised when one of my friends, Sam, forgot how to find the circumference of a circle... weren't we taught that every single goddamn year in math since grade 5? I say goddamn because we always seem to be learning the same thing, and I wish the teachers would just MOVE ON. I know that I made three stupid mistakes, and then I left the last question blank, so I should be able to calculate my mark. Waterloo actually gives you 2 marks for not putting down any answer! Anyway, so my test result is
150
-20
+02
___
132

Well, that's terrible, but since it doesn't count for anything, I'm not worried. My excuse for a music teacher marked me absent today; my mom received a call from the school saying that I "skipped" first period, when I had SPECIFICALLY told her I was at the math contest... *shakes head*

Anyway, I need to study for a science nomenclature quiz and an English short stories quiz.

I wish everyday could be Family Day.

Anyone technical here who help me pass my Grade 10 piano technical requirements section? You’ll be loved forever if you can :P
So I went online to check out my mark for my Grade 10 piano exam: 73. DAMN! I looked at the mark printout, and saw that I needed one more mark to be able to go onto ARCT.
One measly percent… which the examiner did not want to give me. I guess I should have told her that I had a fever of 38 degrees Celsius that day.
Well, the good news is, I don’t have to redo my entire exam. The bad news is, I have to redo my technical stuff, and for some reason, my fingers just CAN’T play all those formulas and scales and arpeggios. Stupid fingers.
Family Day’s tomorrow, which means I get a day off from school. It should be nice to sleep in for a change ;)

February is quite the busy month. Here’s a list of dates and stuff that I have to do the following week:

Feb.14 - Valentine’s Day, okay, I don’t really do much on that day and it IS my least favourite holiday. But still, all sorts of PDIs will be around in the hallways and near lockers…how will I survive? *drops onto knees and looks up at the sky while raising my hands to my head*

Feb.15 - Flag Day! It’s time to celebrate the birth of Canada’s flag, you know, the one with the cute maple leaf on it.

Feb.18 - Family Day. I love this new holiday since we don’t have to go to school on Monday.

Feb.19 - Waterloo mathematics contest. Yes, I’m a nerd, movin’ on…

Feb.21 - The Golden Horseshoe school band competition. I hate my life.

Also, course selection deadlines are next week, and I haven’t picked my courses yet. I have six that I am definitely taking: English, math, biology, chemistry, physics, French, but I need two more courses. I want to take world history as well, but I need an easy course so that my brain doesn’t explode next year.