L'istesso lists.

I've been really lazy with what I've been writing lately. I guess Pokémon does that to a man. It's ironic that even though I was so worried about this past quarter's grades, I actually got the best grades this quarter that I've gotten all year. I doubt that I'll be this lucky next quarter, though. As far as I know, I got two A's, which were the band classes, and five A-'s. I still have a feeling my mom is going to be quite unhappy with my report card, though.

Well, as of now, the Crests have been assigned as follows (A lot of these are ironic):

Courage: Schwanka (He had the Confidence band)
Friendship: Tony (He kind of reminds me of Matt...)
Love: Brian (He's such the romantic)
Sincerity: Me (Personally, I think I can be incredibly sincere, or I can be a huge cynical jerk)
Knowledge: Ryan (He passed Calculus 2. 'Nuff said)
Reliability: Will (He's always there for us. I think this one fits the best, even if he gets in trouble a lot)
Hope: Daniel (He always hopes for better days)

This is how I see things, but it might change later.

Platinum progress tracker: I finally got Pokérus and a Macho Brace, which effectively quadruples the training process! I'm also giving all of my Pokémon musical-type nicknames now. For the team that I have in mind, the names shall be:

"Allegro" - Really fast
"Con moto" - With motion
"Cut Time" - Well, it cuts things.
"Serenade" - Like the song "Serenade of Water" from Ocarina of Time.
"Nocturne" - A song that is inspired by the night.
"Toccata" - As in "Toccata and Fugue."

Yay for being a huge band nerd! And there were an awful lot of lists today...

Digimon are the champions.

I'm like the worst enemy of anyone who works hard. I pretty much do nothing and I scrape by with barebottom grades. Luckily for me, an A- is exactly the same as an A+ on a transcript. I think the only thing I learned from Mr. Johnson last year was that the smartest grade that anyone can get is an A-, and I've followed that advice to the letter.

I did some more childhood reliving today, too. I watched more Digimon, and I watched the 11th Pokémon movie: "Giratina and the Sky Warrior." Still, nothing has surpassed "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" as my favorite one yet. I also thought of the idea to assign each of the Magnificent Seven a Crest from Digimon. They are: Courage, Friendship, Love, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, and Hope (I exclude Light because, well, it'd be hard to assign that to someone). We need to get together and decide this...

Platinum progress tracker: Same old, same old. I hatched some more eggs and leveled up a bit. Sigh, this process takes so long. I hope I don't change my mind again...

Somewhere between time and space, a legend is born.

I pretty much spent the whole day reliving my childhood. I watched Pokémon episodes, played some more Platinum, and watched "The Rise of Darkrai." I'm even watching Digimon right now! I also watched the Halloween special of Boy Meets World to get ideas for a horror movie. I don't think it's serious enough, though. It's one of the funnier episodes, ironically. I have feeling that I know what I'm going to be spending my Spring Break on.

I also ate a McGangbang today. I think it'll be my lunch of choice from now on, since it's so cheap and filling.

Platinum progress tracker: I'm working on my battling team now, which, unfortunately, requires a lot of baby-making.

Music update: I downloaded a lot of Pokémon music today, mainly background music from the show. I also recommend that everyone listen to "Oracion" from The Rise of Darkrai. I've always loved the song, but hearing it in the movie makes it even more awesome!

"You should see a doctor, because you're dead."

My little cousin would make a great action hero.

Oh no! I didn't get to write anything yesterday. I was at my grandpa's house until like 12:30 in the morning. I had to play with my three year-old half-black cousin (He is surprisingly good at Burnout), and I ended up having some intelligent conversation with him. I thought it was funny, but kind of mean, when he was building a Lego house, and my uncle walks by...My cousin yells, "Uncle Henry, I'm building your house!" and my uncle smiles and says, "Yeah, that's nice!" Oh, did I mention that my uncle lives in the garage? My other cousins, my sister, and I have already laid out the foundations for a summer roadtrip to Disneyland. We haven't gone together in so long....Disneyland's no fun without friends!

How did my left hand score higher than my right hand?

Platinum progress tracker: Well, I spent some time grinding up my Pokémon all the way to level 50, and I didn't even need a food processor! I even defeated the Elite Four with very little trouble, albeit I DID get a little, or a lot of, luck. But it's about time that I get some! I also got some more luck when I caught Uxie and Azelf, two of the three Pokémon fairy-thingies. I'm just one more Pokémon away from seeing the entirety of the Sinnoh Dex. Then, cool stuff happens!

Ease on down the road...like greased lightning.

I actually don't feel like talking that much today (I know, it's crazy). I also don't have much to talk about, either.

Hmm...I can't remember much that happened at school today. It all happened so quickly, I blinked and missed it all. I vaguely remember playing Pokémon, though, when do I do anything else? At the ωe meeting, we had a balloon car construction face-off. It was a challenge that would decide the fate of the planet! A climactic clash of countries! Communism vs. who cares what else! Too bad Team China (Ryan, Austin, and myself) barely made it a foot from the starting line. I guess Ryan and I didn't have as much success as we had in eighth grade. Back then, our's had bottlecap wheels and was just a piece of cardboard. However, there was no way from stopping that beast from propelling itself to the finish line! Well, except for those darn lab tables jutting out from the wall (Who the heck put those there?)

I also watched the news when I got home today. I saw coverage of the service being held for those four officers who were killed on Saturday. They were gunned down by some psychopath rapist (Ironically with the last name Nixon) with an AK-47, in Oakland. In my opinion, those men are the quintessence of law enforcement: putting the safety of others before their own. I think this is the first time I've ever been sad for complete strangers. I'm beginning to believe that my sentimentality is actually an infirmity of mine. Sigh, I need to learn how to be a man!

Platinum progress tracker: Finally obtained all eight badges, and now, I trek through the perilous catacombs of Victory Road.

Music update: Being in the musical mood after watching The Wiz, I downloaded "A Brand New Day." I also found "We Go Together" from Grease, and "Here in Camelot" from Camelot, John F. Kennedy's favorite musical. I also learned that Micheal Jackson played the lion in the movie THE WIZ. That's...interesting.

Nazi's are scary.

Oh wow. If you rearrange the letters in "scary," you get "crasy!"

I always seem to lose track of time after I return home from a strenuous day at school. But! At least I didn't fall asleep or anything. Ever since I've been sleeping early, I've taken more naps. In fact, I think ever since I got my bed, I haven't taken a nap. Oh wait. I think yesterday I fell asleep with my face buried in my Pokémon blankets while waiting for my computer to turn on.

I had a neat highlight today. My dad put my old light above my bed, just like old times (High light, get it?). Now, I can actually see when I'm reading in bed. I like doing English homework in bed. It makes the homework feel easier. Something I haven't done in years is stay in bed all day and just play video games. Sigh, I miss the golden days of yore...

Today, we did drills during badminton. My coach ended up telling me that I have a better backhand than my forearm. I also realized that I just played against single girls, er, girls singles. Well, two of them were just drills, but I actually played one match against Dyana today, which turned out to last three games! I can't even remember the score for our game, but it was close....I'm not used to the singles' lines, and I hate the stupid basketball thingy for getting in the way of the badminton lines. Hmm...I also think Dyana paid Austin to distract me with delicious Filipino Starburst, and it worked!

Platinum progress tracker: Alright. So today, I slowed my gears and spent some time training a new Pokémon and dumping another. I needed a Ground-type and a Gliscor is a pretty good Pokémon, regardless.

Vaughn Clause: People have pointed out to me that I assume a Nazi stance while playing badminton....If I do, then it's only because I take after my leader, the Führer of Steel.

We could not touch, let alone hug or hold hands, but we cared not.

This is the first time that a Pokémon game has touched me and made me feel a bit sad. I think it's neat that Platinum has more of a storyline and better dialogue, too. It makes you feel like actually reading everyone's textboxes! It also makes me wish that I didn't have max message speed and a trigger-happy thumb. Rotom is slowly becoming one of my favorite Pokémon.

Sigh, I wasted a lot of time today. Darn you Giratina and your 3% capture rate! It kept running out of viable attacks and defaulted to suicide by Struggle.


Let's see...tomorrow, I have a Bio test that I'm gonna fail, plus, a math test. I'm quite uncertain about my knowledge of what I'm learning this chapter.

Platinum progress tracker: I hope no one cries "CHEATER!" when I tell them that I used a cheat code to get Rotom's Secret Key...I only did it because it's not available this side of the Pacific, yet, and I'm not sure if it'll come stateside. So, I pandered to my impatience.

Side note: Yay for five minute blogs!

It means no worries, for the rest of your days.

I have very little time here tonight, so I'll make this quick. Though, I kind of say that everytime. I completely forgot to practice saxophone, again. I don't know what possessed me to think that I would actually have time to practice tonight. I need to read Sparknotes for my English quiz tomorrow. Plus, I'm still pretty tired from that extra hour of playing badminton. I also want to progress a bit more in Platinum. I just got my 7th Gym Badge last night from Candice in Snowpoint City, and now I must infiltrate the Team Galactic HQ.

Life is like a hurricane here in Duckburg.

I don't really have much to talk about today, seeing as how school sucks the life force out of everything it touches. Case in point, today was a tad on the uneventful side. Or, I have a bad case of amnesia.

I've forgotten how nice it is to have a room of my own. It's so convenient having a bed AND my computer in the same room! I have a place to rest my feet, and, I can use blankets and be on the computer at the same time. I hope this newfound efficiency will increase my homework productivity (not sure how the math works in that, but yeah).

I hate March Madness. This month has just been so filled with stress for me. So much work and drama plus being sick is no fun. I wonder how much grammatical sense that last sentence made....Anyway, this is the last week of the quarter, and I think I'm pulling B's or lower in several of my classes. I also have four tests on Wednesday, all of which can make or break my GPA. Sigh...thinking about it makes my stomach feel queasy.

Badminton was fun, and at a point really awkward....But, I found out today that I do, in fact, not scare girls.

Platinum progress tracker: Well, I got my Scizor today, so I'm happy. I still need to traverse the vast expanse of route 216 and its colossal snowpack. Also, I think I've figured out my team for battling with friends. Though, it's subject to change at any moment, which it probably will. But, at least I have a solid idea of which Pokémon I want to use. Just need that Rotom event to come stateside...

Yup, someone drew this.

"I don't have any friends, and I don't want any."

I feel almost as anti-social as Lucario right now. Almost.

Sigh, I don't really feel like writing anything today, but I don't want to ruin my perfect post streak. I don't know why I feel so mentally exhausted, though. Maybe that's a side effect of playing too much Pokémon. I wish I didn't have to go to school tomorrow. I just don't feel like interacting with mankind at the moment.

Today wasn't nearly as exciting, and I use the term loosely, as yesterday. Today, I just stayed home, played Platinum, spent quality time with my sister, and did homework. My sister ended up giving me me well over 100 songs, most of them Disney. I'm not gonna bother listing them all, or any, for that matter.

Platinum progress tracker: Well, I changed my mind once again (I think indecisiveness is a natural foible of mine...). I dumped Gallade for a Lucario, which I told myself a million times that I would not do since I had used Lucario on every single previous playthrough of this generation. But, fate reunited me and the Aura Pokémon once again. I named it Auron, like always, as a portmanteau of "aura" and "Aaron." Sir Aaron is cool, and "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" might be my favorite Pokémon movie so far. I still need to watch "The Rise of Darkrai" and its sequel. But I digress. I beat Byron and got my 6th Gym Badge. It's neat how the Gym Leader of my favorite type, Steel, has a similar name as me. Too bad he's such a pushover. Then again...so am I.

Steel Pokémon are just harder, better, faster, stronger.

It towed continents with ropes.

Wow, today was actually a VERY eventful day for me. I went to lessons, went to Toys 'R' Us, had my room rearranged, and then went to a dinner party. Plus, I played A LOT of Pokémon. It's really late, so I can't write as much as I want to write.

I have a problem. My oboe recital is on April 26th, but that's also when Spring State is. So, I can either leave early from Spring State and go to my recital. Or, I can just completely skip out on my recital, missing out on good experience. I kind of want to just skip out on the recital and inevitable nervousness, but I also kind of want to perform, too. Then again, the song choices are SO hard. They're many times harder than any school pieces, from both Symphonic and Jazz Band. I need to make a decision soon...

After my lessons, I went to Toys 'R' Us, since it was the last day to get the special Regigigas. Coincidentally, I saw Roger there, and he was doing the same thing as me. I think we were the only people there doing it and the oldest two people, too. I felt REALLY tall the entire time was there, but I could tell that I haven't changed since I was a kid. Like years past, I still go straight to the electronics section, staring at Pokémon cards along the way.

When I got home, my parents completely rearranged my room. Now, it pretty much looks like it did during my freshmen year (There's a picture in yesterday's post). I feel like I have an actual room now, even if I AM missing a wall or two...and a door.

Then, my mom dragged me to a dinner party, and the funny is that she didn't even go. So it was just my dad and I...and my grandpa...and his lady friend....We celebrating one of my relative's 90th birthday. I'm not quite sure what my relation to him is, but then again, I'm not sure of my relation to most of my relatives. At the end, there were people doing karaoke. That's right Filipinos, everything you can do, we can do too.

Pokémon progress tracker: I should probably be a little embarassed that this is usually my biggest section...but I'm not! I can't even remember where I started last night. Everything's such a blur. I think I just beat Crasher Wake and got the Fen Badge. This morning, I tried to train up a Togepi to get a Togetic to replace my Staravia, but in the end, I decided it wasn't worth the effort. But, I did eventually decide to catch a Houndour and it evolved to Houndoom, which I still need to nickname. I also have a Staraptor and Empoleon now. Did I also mention that I have a Gallade now? Well...yeah...I do. So, I basically have my Eilte Four team ready and rarin' to go. I've had Pokémon Platinum for five days, and I've played for over eighteen hours...I wonder if this is healthy...

Music update: This is really pretty.

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return.

I think my blog is getting kind of boring. I've just been talking about Pokémon and music, more or less. Well, that's pretty much life right now, other than badminton, I guess. I need to find some heart-pumping material to discuss.

On an interesting note, my parents bought a mattress for me. I think this will be the first time in years that I've had my own bed. You know, my freshmen year was such a blur, I can't even remember what I slept on. But, I'm pretty sure that I had a bed back then. Oh yeah! I have pictures to prove it!

Pokémon progress tracker: Uhh...I can't remember where I started playing last night. I THINK I left Solaceon Town and reached Veilstone City, otherwise known as the shopping and gambling capital of Sinnoh (I made that up). Then, during school, I managed to beat Marlena (Was that her name...?) in her Gym, which was an actual gym, too. It had punching bags, strangely enough. I love ironies. I also evolved my Ralts all the way to a Gallade, which replaced my Kadabra. I've already decided to name it "Scimitar." I was thinking of "Excalibur" or "Lancelot" but I want to save those for a cooler Pokémon. I need to train him up to around Level 30, so it'll be on par with the rest of my party. Then, I'll take on Crasher Wake in Pastoria City for my 5th badge. As for the sixth slot in my party, I can't decide what kind of Pokémon I want. I'm thinking of using a Fire-type, but maybe some sort of Ground-type...

Wow, writing all that made me feel like a true Pokémon trainer! But, in real life, I'm just a REALLY big nerd...and I don't care.

Music update: Mentioning Rock Lee yesterday made me want to listen to some Naruto music. Even though I already have some, I decided to download some music from the new Shippuuden series. I remember getting goosebumps when I first heard "Heaven-Shaking Event" in one of the episodes. Too bad I stopped watching Naruto and anime in general. I should really try to get back into it....The last series I finished was Fate/Stay Night. The other series I've ever finished watching was Fullmetal Alchemist. I remember I cried right before going to a basketball game because I was watching that one episode....Argh, I want that State Alchemist's pocket watch so bad!!

To protect and maintains one's own ninja way!

For some reason, I've been having difficulty thinking of cool blog titles. Perhaps this is because I'm expending all my powers of nomenclature upon thinking of nicknames for my Pokémon. I spent a good amount of today coming up with a clever name for my Rotom, but unfortunately, I could only come with "Wattson." Well, it's still better than "Ohm iGod," which is one of the more retarded things I've ever come up with in my entire life.

Platinum progress tracker: Last night, I was only able to ride down Cycling Road. I could barely stay awake while in bed, my DS kept hitting me in the face (Yes, I don't know how that happens either). But while I was at school today, I actually made some substantial progress in my quest to be the very best. I played during lunch, Spanish, and badminton. I arrived at Hearthome City, which, if I recall correctly, is the largest city in the game. If it is, then that would explain the enormous amount of lag I get while running/biking. Anyway, I beat the 3rd Gym leader, after getting owned the first time. When I got home, I spent my time traveling to Solaceon Town and caught a Scyther just outside the pseudo-Western town. Now I'm charged with the task of naming this Beautiful Green Beast (That's a song from Naruto. Rock Lee, well, rocks).Music update: I downloaded some video game remixes off of OCRemix.org. One's called "Just Go," based off a song from Tales of Phantasia, and the other is "Magnet Missiles," a remix of the Magnet Man stage from MegaMan 3. They're...interesting songs....When I listen to songs that I'm thinking of downloading, I think of how it could be used in a possible film project and what scene it could be applied to.

Sadly, I played a terrible game against Encinal today. I'm not sure why, but I was kind of nervous while I was playing. I remember that my legs were buckling at one point. Sigh, I kept missing the birdie, but, I know could have gotten them. If I lose against De Anza tomorrow, I think I'll have to cry a bit.

Oh yeah, the vagrant kitty has been sleeping in my room for a couple of hours now. I opened my round, blue chair, hoping that it'd hop in. Then, when I came out of the shower, I found it snoozing in it. For some reason, I always yell when I see it in the house, and it responds by meowing at me. Watching it sleep makes me wonder what animals dream about....Do they dream about eating? about flying? about love?

Mischievious plasma spirits are cool!

Today, my Spanish teacher taught us a bad word: "chinga." After my virgin ears were ruined, I returned to playing Platinum.

Platinum progress tracker: Yesterday, I started the game and named my character "Fugue." I chose Piplup as my starter because I always choose the Water starter...except Totodile, he sucked. I named my Piplup "Adelie" after the song "Adelieland" from Happy Feet, which I played last year in Marching Band. I also got a Starly, which I would later name "Astra." When I got to Oreburgh City, I traded this random girl a random Machop in exhange for "Kazza" the Abra. After much difficulty, I got it to evolve into a Kadabra, but it wouldn't obey me. But, after I beat the 2nd Gym in Eterna City, I got it to follow my every order. After getting my 2nd badge, I was able to enter the Old Château. There, I caught myself a Rotom with little trouble. Last time I went in there, it was the dead of night...and I was freaking out.

Music update: Mr. Sanders played songs from the "Lieutenant Kijé Suite" by Sergei Prokofiev. After class, I felt the need to ask him who the composer of the song was. I also feel the need to ask him for his entire library of songs.

Fun fact: "Rotom" spelled backwards is "motoR." Gasp! It's almost witchcraft!

Oh yeah. Check out the banner at the bottom screen. The line is from August Rush, and I thought it kind of fits in with the theme that my blog has. MS Paint is just too cool for school.

MEOW.

Alrighty, let's make this quick. I downloaded Pokémon Platinum today, and I want to play it as much as possible. Although...that's not the smartest thing to do considering how poorly I'm doing in my classes. Ah well. I deserve a break after doing all that homework yesterday. I really like the new interface of Platinum. Everything has a darker tone, usually black or gold. Pokémon have different sprite animations when entering battles, which is sweet! I can't stop thinking about the game's awesomeness!

Today, I got beat down by two Chinese kids from Alameda, 5-21, 5-21. Well, at least I found out that I can beat two girls in a 1 vs. 2 match.

I spent a good part of the night watching some "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" videos. I was reminded of the show because its "Irish Drinking Song" game, and today is St. Patrick's Day, too. This is part of one of my favorite episodes, from one of my favorite shows (lots of "of's"):

So honey don't you fret.

'Cause you ain't seen nothin' yet.

I wish I had more coffee at my house, but unfortunately, I have access to none. But! I do drink coffee flavored hot chocolate occasionally, while completely ignoring the "Expires June 2008" warning on the bottom of the canister. It's odd how drinking it makes me thirstier. I need something to keep me from completely stressing out about the end of the quarter next week. I'm doing SO badly in all my classes, I'm just waiting for me to have a mental breakdown of some sort. I kind of just feel like giving up this quarter and just do better next time, but I know that's a dumb idea. Coincidentally, I am typing this post while in a fetal position. Quite appropriate, I should think. Hmm...I think I'll depress myself by describing my failure in each class (the ones that matter)

English: Did terrible on all the quizzes. Over 100 pages behind in the reading. Five chapters behind in study guide.
Math: Missing several assignments. Performance on each test is questionable.
History: Borderline A- at the moment, but coupled with the C I got on today's test can't be good.
Biology: I'm asleep everyday, and I completely BS the tests. I also turned in some lackluster notes today.
Spanish: The only reason I'm getting an A is because my teacher is...special...

Music update: On a happier note, I found two cool songs today. I finally found "Soul Man" from the Blues Brothers movie, which I've been wanting since FOREVER. I also found "Somebody's Watching Me," also known as the song from those Geico commercials with the creepy, gawking pile of money.

Too late for second guessing. Too late to go back to sleep.

I'm not really sure what I accomplished today...but I know that I didn't have time to do everything I had planned. Heck, I just plumb forgot about bunch of things, like practicing saxophone. I even had to push things to tomorrow, too. Sigh, and I'm still behind in just about all of my classes. Being sick is no fun, and it makes me so tired that I have to naps. I got like eleven hours of sleep, but I still ended up taking a three hour nap today. Sigh, sleep is such a waste of time, I wish I never had to sleep, or never felt the need to sleep.

I watched some videos of a Let's Play for Super Mario Galaxy today, and by "some" I mean over thirty. It looks like an awesome game, but probably not the best game to play while I'm sick. The game has a lot of vertigo-inducing qualities to it. The game has a nice orchestrated soundtrack as well (which I downloaded last year). It has one of my favorite songs of all time on it: "Gusty Garden Galaxy." Being in the process of this would be my dream job. It combines my three obsessions: music, video games, and video game music.

I also wasted time today on building my Pokémon team, which is pretty pointless considering the new game is coming out next week. Ah well, I can always transfer these Pokémon into the new game.

Super Awesome Test.

Wow, my eyes really badly right now, and I'm listening to more British music. But enough complaining, I know you guys want to hear about interesting stuff, like SAT's! I took the test today and I actually thought it was kind of fun. I forgot most of my geometry, though, but I knew most of the grammar! I love being a Grammar Nazi, even though I'm known to make a lot of grammar mistakes when I'm speaking and typing. I really wish that I wasn't sick today; it made taking the test rather difficult. I felt like the room was spinning and I couldn't focus on which bubble I was filling in. Constantly wiping my nose with tissue didn't help either, though, I'm glad that I brought a fresh box there.

For some reason, my class got out an hour earlier than others, which is awesome. Afterward, we all traipsed on down to 99 Ranch and had noodles. (I need to make a mental note to myself to pay Will back...)

I've been playing Pokémon a lot lately. I wanna get ready for the release of Platinum next week! I've promised myself that I wouldn't use cheat codes when I get Platinum. We'll see how long that resolution lasts...

Music Update: I've actually haven't been anything from the last couple of days, so I'll put them here now. I downloaded "Defying Gravity," which I talked about on...Thursday, I think. And, I found two songs that I've been looking for forever (That's a lot of for's). They're "Colonel Bogey's March" and "Sailor's Hornpipe." I never knew their names, but I know ANYBODY can recognize their melodies. If you've seen any cartoon involving an army marching, or a sailor sailing, you'll recognize these tunes.

The Circle of Life.

I don't really have much to talk about, or, I can't think of anything in particular. To summarize my day: In the morning, I felt tired, sick, and reluctant to do any work. I had a Math re-test, but I think I did just as poorly as the first time. In History, I knew all of the Communist questions, but when I took Communist quizzes online, they said I was a moderate Bush-lover! By lunchtime, I was feeling a little better, and, I finally officially joined ωe!

In Band, we did listening lessons on "Chorale and Alleluia" and "Shadows of Eternity." For "Chorale and Alleluia," I pictured a king informing his subjects that the country has to go to war. After many years of fighting, peace returns to the kingdom, which is followed by reconstruction and rebirth.

For "Shadows of Eternity," I imagined a funeral being held inside a large monastery, and everyone is crying. Then, there's a flashback to the day of the man's death. He gets into his car, and the angel of death follows him. The middle of the song is in a 6/8 time signature and has a march-like feel to it. I think this symbolizes the man's march towards death. Most marches have a destination in mind, and death is a destination shared by all life. Then, the song returns to the same feel as the beginning, and the scene switches back to the funeral, where everyone is lighting candles. Guided by light of the candles, the man's spirit finds its way to the monastery, just in time to see his friends and family for the last time. To me, the song is all about the cycle of life. When life ends in one place, life begins to flourish in another. It's interesting how both pieces were in a slow-fast-slow format, which made for similar themes.

In Bio, I faked another test, and I'm hoping for anything in the 40% range. In Spanish, we spent the whole period writing five sentences. Exciting. Anyway, I think I'll end this off now. My sinuses are burning, my nose hurts when I touch it, and I need to rest my brain for SAT's tomorrow.

It's Time To Try Defying Gravity.

Oh my gosh, I finally found out where that came from today! At the District Music Festival, the high school Honor Choir sang "Defying Gravity" from Wicked. I was listening, and I thought to myself, "Wow, these lyrics sound familiar!" The song made me think of flying on a magic carpet and doing loop-de-loops. Other highlights of the night: A elementary school singer doing choreographed sign language while singing; A red balloon that seemed to be piloted by some other worldly creature and suspiciously hovering above the Middle School String Orchestra. As Jordan said, "It's looking for the chosen one."; Spine-tingling tone from all the bands, even ours...those darn saxophones...

The oboe sitting next to me says she's jealous of our school, which I found amazing. She likes our Marching Band, our sousaphones, and our Theory classes, all of which Hercules High School doesn't have. Well, I'm still jealous of their string orchestra. It sounds so cool!

Oi...my head hurts so much right now. I don't feel like doing anything...I actually slept through an entire period of AP Bio today, but it still didn't make me feel any better. We got whooped in badminton, 5-21, 5-21. Daniel and I need to work a lot more in the teamwork department.

Vaughn Clause: I think people taking advantage of my deep voice made me get sicker. I think I got sick around the same time, last year. Well...actually, last year, I got sick right before Disneyland, so I guess that was in April. Maybe this is a yearly thing...but I still want to know when I'll feel better.

When you leave, my colors fade to gray.

I think this is the first time I've gotten sick in a while (six months, if I recall correctly). Both times, I've gotten bad cases of coughing and sore throats. I'm tempted to say I have SARS, but I risk getting put under quarantine. I also don't how I would play in band with a mask over my mouth. Actually, a lot of people told me today that my sick voice sounds cool, sexy, God-like, and movie-trailer-announcer-like. I have a James Earl Jones, pedal tone-type thing goin' on. Ruth even told me that I should be sick more often. I also scared the crap out of myself when I tried imitating my grandpa. I sounded exactly like him!

Last night, I spent an extra hour and a half re-editing my video. Hopefully, it'll win at least one award... Personally, I'm pulling for Best Soundtrack, since that was my area of expertise, my domain. It's still pretty sad that the bloopers were longer than the actual film. I'm also debating whether it was a good idea to make it high-quality. It's a five-minute video, but it's over 100 MB in size. Ah well. You have to admit, it looked pretty.

Tomorrow, I'm going against Berkeley, which is more or less an automatic lose, shuttlecock suicide. Hopefully no one sees me ducking like the little girly-man that I am. Also, tomorrow's the District Honor Band performance. Woo! I haven't been in an Honor Band since eighth grade, so this should be exciting.

Vaughn Clause: Oh geez, I can't remember what I wanted to say...Was it the nail polish I put on my reed today? Oh! I wanted to tell you guys that I'm getting better at 32nd note runs. Though, I wonder what made me think that anyone would care about that...

Pigeons and a Boy.

I love this song so much. It's so simple, yet, it makes me imagine how nice it would be to live in a small, countryside town. How amazing it would be to rise with the sun; to breathe in crisp, clean air that has travel from the ocean to the mountains. I always imagine that The Netherlands fits this description. Someday, I'll go there and see if I'm right or not. Even if I'm wrong, I'll still get to see the cool windmills there! I love windmills!
I decided to start my blog early today to avoid another fiasco like last night. With this out of the way, I can reserve the rest of the night to fine-tuning my video. Hopefully my editing can compensate for the lack of scenes and substance.

Music update: Watching the delinquent pigeon fly around the gym today made me think of this song from Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and THAT made me want to download even more Joe Hisaishi music! Even though "Pazu's Fanfare," also known as "Pigeons and a Boy," is really short, it just has a certain charm that makes me feel warm on the inside.

I'm a really bad actor.

Sorry guys. I have to make a VERY short blog today. I've been busy editing a video all night. Haven't done a lick of homework. Hopefully I can edit better than I can act.

I'm late! I'm late! I'm so very late!

The clock prepares to strike midnight, and yet I find myself burning the midnight oil once again.

Today was a very interesting day, but unfortunately due to time constraints, I can only talk about a few things. A highlight of my day was when some crazy war veteran hobo came up to my friends and I and started conversing with us about culture. I cranked my Super Mario Galaxy and Final Fantasy music up to block out the drivel, though in retrospect, that probably wasn't very smart to do. He could've killed me, and I wouldn't have even known what hit me! He also called me a terrorist, which is hilarious considering my Muslim friend, Mohid, was standing right next to me. Yay for stereotype reversal!

Here's some rudimentary math for you guys:

Large mocha cappuccino + Full Throttle coffee energy drink = Epileptic fits

I even predicted it in the morning while walking to Starbucks. I asked "How far off the walls do you think I'll be bouncing by the end of the day?" Well, by midday, I lost control of my hands (they felt numb at a point) and got a bad stomachache. I started coughing, too, but that was probably more of a consequence of sharing mouth contact with Mohid. Here's an artist's interpretation of what I look like when I drink coffee:

She claims that I look like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, but not the candy. The resemblance is uncanny!

His carefree days, with us, are limited.

In short, our pal is doomed.

Argh, there's too much noise pollution in this room and I can't really concentrate very well. But I'll try my best to make coherent sentences.

Today, I managed to make my way to the school, and I rode with Mr. Anderson to Sacramento. I was listening to some Beethoven until I gently drifted off to sleep. Then, we walked around the city for awhile, and then we arrived at the convention center.

The day went by in a confusing whirl of...confusion. I congregated with the Radical Party and listened to some people yell. It was cool. I remember the leaders from the last convention; they took their shirts off for us. Some interesting things happened at some blocks. We talked about taxing MMORPGs, having sex with Jesus, and thizzing, to name a few things. The entire Radical Party almost got in trouble because we marched into the Moderate party's room, causing a ruckus.

I also think I spent over $20 already today. I hope I can learn to conserve money, completely going against the radical way.

P.S.

Virgin Mobile, baby!

Okay, I think I have a bit of a problem. I'm supposed to be going to a JSA convention tomorrow, but I have no idea how or when I'm supposed to get there. Everyone who has answers isn't online! I guess that's what I get for napping for two hours and then getting a haircut. Sigh, I think I'll just call someone. Hopefully I don't wake anyone up, unless it's Schwanka, then it's okay.

I did something today that should make a lot of people happy. After more than a year of being phoneless (which sounds like "homeless"), I finally put more money into my Virgin Mobile phone! Now, finding me should be easier. That also means losing is harder too, I guess. Hopefully, I'll be able to feeling the vibrations, because I never used to pick up my phone before. My phone number changed, too. So if you had it before, you should ask me for my new number, and if you didn't have before, you should still ask me for my new number. I still think it's kind of sad that I have the exact same cell phone as Nez. I wonder what he'll say when I show him it...I'm trying to think of a catchy greeting banner for my phone, but I can't think of anything. It's also kind of disheartening that I can't add any pictures, music, or any other forms of multimedia on my phone.

I also got an odd haircut today. Hopefully I don't look like a complete weirdo. Then again, Asian guys usually have strange haircuts, so I guess I won't be alone at JSA, in that regard.

Music update: I'm in the process of downloading all of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. I am praying that it's a good recording with good quality. If it's not, then I just wasted twenty minutes...and I may have to cry a bit. I already have his 6th Symphony, and soon I'll go after his 5th Symphony, which I really like. I wonder when I'll ever get the time to listen to the entire 9th Symphony. By my calculations, it's over an hour long.

And in the end, it's not the years in your life. It's the life in your years.

So I've apparently been challenged by another blog to describe my life in musical form. Well, I made a playlist of ten songs off the top of my head and it's in my sidebar. I really encourage everyone to listen to all of them. In my opinion, the songs get better as you make your way down the list. I personally think they're all awesome songs, but then again, my taste in music is quite...unique. Here's how my songs got categorized:

Past:
Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World ~ Yasunori Mitsuda
Seeing Dreams Through The Window of The Stars ~ Yoko Shimomura
Pyroxene of the Heart ~ Motoi Sakuraba

Present:
The Magnificent Seven Theme ~ Erich Kunzel
The Mediocrity Sought Out By Everyone ~ Motoi Sakuraba
Go The Distance ~ Roger Bart

Future:
The Land of Hope and Glory ~ Sir Edward Elgar
Someone's Evening. Someone's Daybreak ~ Motoi Sakuraba
Into The Light ~ Jay Bocook
Shape of Life ~ Motoi Sakuraba

It seems that all my songs of the past have to do with dreaming and stuff. That's probably because the past lives on in our minds, and therefore in our dreams. To me, these three songs sound like they're trying to tell a story that I happened a long time ago. Perhaps trying to recall one's childhood, or the face of a friend long forgotten. Maybe the songs are expressing the memories one had with a loved one, until that loved one was suddenly struck down with a terminal illness. Music can mourn, yet, it can celebrate life, as well.

As for the present, I think of my six best friends, without whom I'd be lost. We have exciting adventures, funny stories to tell, and there is never a dull moment around those guys. Of course, there is always that nagging feeling of failure that hangs over my head everyday. Such mediocrity that is caused by my own sloth. But, I have faith that I have the can-do and the know-how to be successful. However, I know the path to success is a long one, but, I know that every mile...will be worth my while. You know, I would go most anywhere to find where I belong.

And of course when I think of the future, I think of graduating from the safe microcosm known as Pinole Valley High School. Sure, there'll be fanfare, applause, cheers, and much pomp and circumstance, but I know that it'll impossible for me to conceal my anxiety, fear, and anguish. But life flows on, and I'm obligated to swim with it, or drown trying. Regardless of how my life meanders, and where and when it stops, I have to be happy with it in the end. Whether it becomes a lake, flows into the ocean, or evaporates into a cloud, I will have to proud of who I Am, and what I've become.

(Spray paint art is cool.)

Music notes on paper are always constant. Human emotions are constantly variable.

~Dedicated to Austin Long

The Mediocrity Sought Out By Everyone.

Ahh...it's such a nice song. It's also my profile song on MySpace!

I think I need to step up my game in life. I have to learn to be a fearless leader and be more involved in making a difference! I want to get rid of the mediocrity that has been plaguing me since, well, the start of this year. I guess Dyana's meeting today galvanized and enticed me to want to escape the labyrinth of disorganization I've created for myself. Though, I haven't been doing a very good job today.

All that I've done today was go to my oboe lessons, practice saxophone, tuba, and oboe. I practiced for about an hour and a half, and for some reason my mouth felt like it was going to fall off. Hopefully my saxophone solo sounds slightly better now (I kind of don't hate it now!). I still don't have good tone on tuba, but I'm kind of getting the bassline for the Legend of Zelda Overworld theme. For oboe, I practiced "Into The Light" and the "Rondeau Allegro" from Mozart's Oboe Quartet in F. I'm thinking of doing the "Rondeau Allegro" for Senior Recitals next year. It should be fun once I get those thirty-second note runs down.

I like where my oboe teacher lives. It's on a hill in El Cerrito, and you can see the Golden Gate Bridge through the window. I've also seen deer in her backyard! I was walking up the stone steps, with the wind in my hair, when I heard the sound of animals blend with the gentle murmur of the breeze. There were birds chirping, and I heard a cicada in the wild for the first time. It was just one and it sounded like a chainsaw that was tearing through the tree it was on. There was also a weird "Nyap nyap" sound coming from some strange woodland creature, as if mocking my mediocrity.

My teacher warned me of the El Cerrito oboes that I'll meet tomorrow. They are apparently senior girls, but they don't take lessons from her. To quote my teacher, the oboes' playing will "rattle any fillings" that I have in my teeth. They even turned down the offer to get free lessons! To put it laconically, my teacher says their playing is egregious. I guess they possess some of that mediocrity sought out by everyone.

Glossary:

Galvanize - to stimulate
Entice - to lure
Labyrinth - a maze
Laconically - briefly
Egregious - outstandingly bad

ωe Are the Change!

Does perseverance and willpower really hold the power to change fate?

We listened to a couple of guest speakers at our school today. They were from the O Ambassadors, but they talked more about themselves than about the program. They told their life stories, and they both came from very rough backgrounds. I guess the whole point of the assembly is to inspire us to go out and change the world! Well, it just made me feel bad that I don't ever do anything. Although today, I coincidentally joined the new ωe Club at my school. Hopefully, I'll feel like less of a planet-killing, impoverished-people-hater by being in the club. Plus, we get really cool T-shirts, which is a good thing, since I'm kind of running out of clothes to wear...and now I feel guilty when I think of those kids in Africa.


On a happier note, I won against Kennedy today! Well, at least I won the game that really counted. The score was 21-14, 17-21, 21-17. We split, but that just meant we were pretty evenly matched. It was a fun game, though, since we were so equally matched in skill. The funniest part was when one of the guys kept shouting in Tagalog, which was basically during the whole match. I'm excited for the first real practice after school tomorrow though!

Music Update: Listening to Für Elise in Mr. Sanders' class today made me want to download some Beethoven, which I did. I wonder when my infatuation with classical music will end...

P.S.: Happy Square Root Day, everyone! There won't be another one until April 4, 2016!

Take a melody. Simple as can be.

Give it some words, and, sweet harmony.

Lately, all that I've been thinking about is about arranging my song for Senior Conductor's Concert next year. I have an idea of what I want to do, but putting notes to paper is infinitely more difficult than it sounds. At this moment, I'm planning on making a medley of four different songs: one representing each year of high school. They're songs that I've stumbled upon during my time in high school, and I feel like they've influenced my life in a way. I really wish I knew more music theory to make this dream of mine into a reality. Well, since I'm going to be missing a lot of school tomorrow, I guess I can skip out on doing some homework tonight. I'm gonna go mess around with Finale 2009 for a while.

Side note: I really hope that I can beat Kennedy tomorrow. If I don't, then I might be in for another 1-11 streak, like my freshmen year. That's one win and eleven losses, by the way. I just need to find a way to motivate myself to do well!

Calm melody at the end of memories.

Well, I spent a good couple of hours watching the rest of Eternal Sonata today (Yes, I'm treating it more like an anime than a video game). The ending made me tear up a bit, but that's what makes it so amazing! Although, it IS a bit (and by a bit, I mean very) confusing. I also LOVE the song "Shape of Life" at the end. Listening to it makes me want to play piano...or at least find sheet music for it so that I can try to play it on oboe.

My group finally started its project for film club. It was...interesting, but I won't spoil anything. I'll save the surprises for Wednesday. But unfortunately, I think I might be the one who has to edit the darn thing. Maybe I'll the job onto someone else...

Sigh, I don't want to go to school tomorrow. I don't want to admit to myself that I did zero homework this weekend. Ah heck. I did zero homework this weekend. But, I'll do some English tonight, I guess. I have to finish math and Biology tomorrow. Why must all good things come to such an abrupt end?