Happy Spring Break

Solo and Ensemble Festival occurred yesterday and although I did not get to doing as much as I thought I was, I was pleasantly surprised that we had received a command performance on my duet with Josh (also the only thing I signed up for). We only sight read our piece (Mendelssohn's Concert Piece no. 1 in F minor) once and met up the Tuesday before Solo and Ensemble to play with our accompaniment...and with each other. It was pretty awesome to receive such an honor on little preparation. The whole day was filled with beautiful musicians and pieces and although I had to leave early, I got to hear pretty great stuff. Right after, my family and I headed for a quick visit with family in Vegas. I just got back right now. Staying in a car for so long with lots of people is unpleasant but I slept almost the entire round trip.

Spring break has started and I will cherish it. Doing nothing was what I had in mind and it is going to be exactly what I am doing. Although I have homework, it is still really nice not to be staying for that reason but to stay up and do what I like...playing the guitar and singing. Hah, I encourage all to take a shot at it. You will be surprised.

Shockingly, I am going to prom this year and dragged a few friends to come along with. I bought my dress in Vegas. It wasn't hard. Actually the first dress I saw that was indigo I grabbed, tried on, then bought (which brings me to a total of trying only one dress out for prom). I didn't even look any further because I hate shopping. I like the color of the dress and it is a better alternative then going as animals in zebra/tiger print. Hah, sorry... it was a funny idea at the time. Dressing up as wild animals and then going (and acting as animals as well for the full effect). Prom is at the California Science Center this year (next year it's the AV grounds?) and will be happening on April 4, a Saturday. I figured that saying prom is stupid without ever going to one isn't entirely justified...so I thought why not go to one and then say it's stupid. Yes? Hah, not really but we are getting in tuned with some of our fellow IB juniors and who knows...we might crack a smile.

Sadly I am not going on the band trip this year to DC since it was a tough decision between going with family to the Philippines this December or that. I picked the Philippines. Sorry, I won't dwell on it further. It hurts.

I feel so happy that I got some of my awesome friends hooked on Kina Grannis. She's so talented, pretty, and bubbly. Thanks for listening to her and if you guys are remotely interested I could teach you some of her songs to play on the guitar. So far I know Message From Your Heart, Valentine, and Together. I am working on The Goldfish Song and Strong Enough, but I am almost done!

Meh...I'll put up a better post with images later! My guitar is calling.

Are You My Type?

As a supplementary reading assignment in our English class we were allowed to pick a book from a given list. Although I would have loved to read all of them given time and a copy of each book (and also since I like Mr. House's taste in literature) I chose to do The Drunkard's Walk or How Randomness Rules our Lives by Leonard Mlodinow. I am only on page 63 as of now but I have to got to say it is a pretty interesting book. It involves lots of mathematical concepts (especially probability) and goes into many of the common fallacies humans fall to. Don't be afraid to take a piece of paper out and go through the many calculations the author walks you through. I should probably finish the book before recommending it but I haven't got bored yet.

So this week is going to be another week from hell (the other weeks of hell are usually during portfolio time or before a big test(s)). I have the Multicultural Assembly this Friday (freaking out right now), my huge psych experiment due Thursday, and Science Olympiad on Saturday (it's not a big deal though). Lots to do and practice. I'm up for it though. These types of weeks are usually followed by a nice grace period. Well...hopefully. I got clapped on today. That hurt. It's coming along as well as it can. I am still excited to perform and have all the band kids watch since they all come at the same time and tend to sit in the front.

My title comes from the free shirt I got for donating blood last Wednesday. It's an amazing thing to give something as essential as blood (it seems so effortless just lying there) and I would recommend doing it if you of course are healthy, weigh enough, and are okay with needles. I honestly passed out twice the next day (eh I'm a short Filipino girl who was prone to anemia), but it's not scary/painful (I landed safely on my tile floor in my bathroom). Definitely drink lots of non-alcoholic fluids and get some iron into your system as soon as possible (before and after). I also got my "It's my first time!" pin and free food. Josh and I potentially saved 6 lives that day. It's awesome. We were both happy to know that we didn't clot and have no bruises whatsoever. Sorry to those that didn't go through so easily. Hey, it's an amazing thing to do before you die (because we are all going to die someday...kidding). Don't pass out like me though. I'm such a baby.

So a good friend of mine introduced me to Kina Grannis on YouTube. She's a lovely singer and I can't help but be inspired by her thoughtful lyrics. I learned one of her originals "Valentine" by ear. I couldn't stop listening to it although the lyrics are of the cutsie/aww nature. Hey, I'm super emotional and sensitive. Right Josh? If any of you want to hear it, I could go find some guts and sing it to you. I don't have a special rendition but you can hear me butcher it. I got Julia to like it so it must be good.

A shout out to Clark: Hey man, Happy Birthday. I think I've said it through the computer about three times now. Hope you have a good one though. Run free yes? (kidding).

I should be doing homework right now since it is a Sunday evening. I'll just do some math I think. I'll put in some reading tonight too. Perhaps some biology as well. (Not that this is relevant to your life.) Wish everyone a happy, safe week.

What is Real?

We are well into second semester and we got a lot done these past few weeks. No more killer portfolios and the SAT is done for now. Ha, I'll try not to go into a lot of school stuff because you can basically read Josh's blog and know how school is going. That goes for band news and related paraphernalia as well. District Honor band rehearsals started today and I do very much enjoy our guest conductor Dr. Carnahan. He's actually making me like the pieces we are playing when I initially was not fond of them. Awesome stuff. Our concert is tomorrow.

IB Theory of Knowledge is now installed into our schedules and I must say that class does spark some tension within me. It's an interesting class and I already do like Dr. Reti. He asks pretty deep questions and really makes us kids think. He bakes cakes and runs marathons. Pretty neat I would say.

Tinikling has been running along quite nicely. I love dancing as you probably already know. I think I am obsessed. It is probably unhealthy but it's impossible to hide my enthusiasm.

I am thinking of donating blood soon in this blood drive. I'll post up more specific information soon once I dig up some. I have not done this before and I want a button that says it's my first time. Oh and of course to save at least three lives. It's a noble cause and I am thoroughly excited to do it. I hope I don't have some sort of vulnerability to faint spells since my dad warned me that my mom is prone to that (she also lacks iron). I've had huge bloody noses in the past and I am pretty used to losing a lot of blood. The most that happens is a possible headache. Hopefully I get to do this.

I just woke from a nap right after dance practice. I think I was hypoglycemic. Ha, that scared my parents and myself since it is a bit odd to see me sleeping randomly on the couch when I normally don't. I don't even remember trying to sleep, but I am pretty sure I had a huge headache and could not stand it so I crashed. So they made me eat right away when I woke up (I think my mom shook me awake) and I felt a whole lot better. I totally forgot to eat after band and before practice. I didn't even eat at band even though we had a lunch period. It was awful of me. I'll try to remember to eat. It's sad because I get so caught up with everything else that I learned how to suppress hunger. I've skipped dinner accidentally numerous times and only realize it around ten or eleven. Hah. I will be more conscious.

Anyways I'll leave it at that. Hope you guys have a good Friday and weekend. Stay sober.

Filipino Love

Just recently I joined the Tinikling team at Quartz Hill. I got to say that dancing is becoming one of my favorite things to do. The Tinikling dance involves bamboo sticks where it is performed with dancers (people who jump over the deathly sticks) and clappers (people whose hands get clapped on when a dancer fails to jump over a stick and of course clap the sticks). Although it is pretty dangerous, it's terrifically fun and part of my culture! I'm supposed to dance like a bird in rice terraces or something but I know that a bird is much more graceful than I am. Anyhow, I was first afraid to dance with guy (on top of those moving sticks) but I think I got used to it and pretty glad I did. It's wonderful dancing with the significant other. I am also getting tuned in to my culture and am very proud of it. I have even started using Tagalog around the house. Although I have to think of what to say, I understand my parents and the various soap operas on TV. The Tinikling performance will be seen at the Multicultural Assembly on February 27th. That should be a good show because besides us there is so much more interesting culture out there.

I made Distict Honor Band I think. I am pretty excited since I miss my friends on behalf that I have been brainwashed to love Tinikling as of right now and the people in as well. (Kidding). I hope we get good music.

Finals are finally over. Again, I'm pretty happy about grades. As of now, my first semester is pretty solid and hopefully I can do better next semester because I'm afraid of the new grading system. IB isn't that bad actually.

Although I love my cat, Julius, I do miss my dogs terribly. Hah. Here's a picture of my beloved partner. I talk to this cutie when I have no one else to talk to. (which is often.)
I will be getting to Tinikling practice soon. I should get ready. Hah, I'm so lame for loving this so much. Happy Day!

Oh and thanks so much to Julia for the Angels and Airwaves CDs. It's amazing.

Here's Your Lifeline

Happy new year to all. Let's make this year great guys. Hopefully.

I've been having this new thing for making duct tape wallets. I thoroughly enjoy it. I kind of suck at making them but I made one for Josh and pretty surprised he hasn't thrown it back at me telling me to remake it. So far so good. Darn it. I forgot to take a picture of it so I can post it up. Sorry. I'll make another one soon then I'll post it. I don't have many colors yet. (just gray, black, red, and chrome) I want to go and fetch me some other colors soon. I love making these nifty little wallets.

Winter break is coming to a close and honestly I would not mind going back to school considering my unhealthy habits of staying up late, doing nothing, and watching you tube videos.

Solo and Ensemble Festival is coming soon and I'm pretty excited for the little gigs I was invited to do. I'm going to try to do a solo again but I'm really scare of the piece I am considering. You aficionados out there would probably laugh at my attempt to try to do such a song but I sort of fell in love with it when I first heard it. It's by a French composer. I'll have the guts to actually tell you the song later. (hah) We are considering a Klezmer trio and as far as the duets go it's all Mendelssohn baby. I'll elaborate more on specific stuff and details once I know more. I'll probably post a recording of everything soon too.

Julia and my brother sort have introduced me to Angels and Airwaves. I like the lead singer's voice a lot (Tom Delonge) and so far I like the songs Secret Crowds and Lifeline. I also liked my first Jack's Mannequin song ( Dark Blue). I've played around with singing them and making up chords. Music makes me happy if you didn't already know.

Hope you guys have a good day. I wish I was a more exciting person. I will attempt to be soon. Sorry for the short post.

Had a Nice Christmas? Good.

We seriously had been having numerous "parties" at my place. It's been about everyday this week. It's fun now that I have Ryan and his friends come over all the time. They are pretty cool kids(almost 4 or 5 years older than me). We went to Walmart about midnight last night and knowing how quiet I am, they decided to stop the car really fast in the middle of the road and yes they heard me scream. They were laughing that one off for a while. It was unpleasant, but somewhat fun. No, it was unpleasant. I thought we crashed or something. Wouldn't you get scared?! Yes you would.

Oh and I sat down at Walmart and this one really frightening dude sat by me. It was freaky. It was like "uhhh Sheena get up now before he does something...". I slowly got up, smiled at the bum, then ran. Hah. It wasn't obvious at all. They were still laughing at me. Apparently I'm funny or something. I don't think so. It's cool though. I still hang out with them even though whatever I do is funny. It's probably because I'm the youngest. We got home to my place around 2am. They are such a bad influence. It's because they are Filipino that my dad didn't even care. Kidding. Their parents are friends with mine. Problem solved.

On Christmas night, I went with some different Filipino peers (you wouldn't guess who. I was even surprised.) and we went to watch Yes Man with Jim Carrey. Hah I have nothing much to say but well Carrey is still hyper. Calm down. How old are we?
The point of the movie was to open yourself up to opportunities by just simply saying yes to things you wouldn't normally say yes to. Then things you wouldn't even imagine happen to you (good things apparently). You know... all that sappy stuff.

I don't think I like being bored all the time now. At first I was amazed at how much time I had but now it's such a drag. Wish I can join those T of R folk in their practices or visit them or something. I'm so left out. Hah.

I think I want to go to Disneyland soon. I will probably go with some of Ryan's friends. I might get killed and they would laugh. Kidding. It would be fun though. Wouldn't it?

On my IB form for testing it said I was Hispanic. Cruz? Hmmm. I should have left it. I was even more Hispanic than Josh.

I am reading Clockwork Orange right now. Josh suggested it. Hah ( hope you are enjoying WWZ). I love these kind of dystopian society books. Hope you guys really enjoyed Christmas. It's a wonderful day. I am looking forward to New Year's. Let's party okay?

Lucky

I think it snowed sometime the other day. Hope everyone enjoyed that. I sure did. I will probably upload some pictures soon. It was fun to be a real kid after a while. Snow causes me to become somewhat masochistic but it is all worth it I believe.

I'm pretty excited to attend the Bandfest on the 30th of this month. To hear my friends contribute their wonderful sound to it will be thoroughly rewarding. Can't wait! (plus I'll be hanging out with some college kids. How cool is that. :P) I have my twenty dollars ready.
We had our last day with Mr. Cassady last Wednesday and that really did make me sad. He's such a wonderful teacher and I can't believe we are done with that class. It went by too fast. Although that's bad news, we are done with our first semester of IB! That is pretty exciting and frankly it wasn't that bad. My grades are pretty solid but now that there is news that we are changing the grading scale to some wierd 13-point one I might have to work harder next semester. Yikes.

I get so bored easily but luckily I have my new red electric guitar to play around with. It was supposed to be my Christmas present but hah I don't even know how I got my hands on it. Anyways I don't even play guitar but it's all in good fun.

My parents are more social than I am. I can't even remember how many parties I've been forced to go to with my parents. It's all fine with me as long as they feed me and give me some place to sleep until the party ends. That's what I usually do. Perhaps I even read or do homework given a sufficient amount of light. Speaking of reading, I finished and did my oral commentary on World War Z (a book about Zombie pandemic about to eradicate humanity). I liked the book and it is sort of scary once you look up pictures about it and what not. I recommend you read it if you are looking for something scary? or just plain fun. You know who wins in this war? CUBA haha good ole Fidel Castro. It's quite funny to see how countries react to the Zombie War. If you like history you might even like this one too.
So the title of this post is from the song Lucky by Jason Mraz featuring Colbie Caillat. (Pris knows what I'm talking about. :) ) I'm trying to learn the female harmony part to it. It's quite fun to try to sing a harmony rather than the melody.We are all kind of lucky in our own way I think. Maybe. I'm pretty grateful for everything.
Well I'm off to go register for the SAT for January. Hopefully I will be taking it on January 24, 2009 over at AVC. I need to study up for it. Enjoy winter break.