Running :O

          So, I just ripped a corn's cob apart :P It looks fuzzy inside....weird. Anyways, I wanted today's post to be dedicated to RUNNING.
          I LOVE RUNNING. Yeah, I know....I should've joined the track team.-bounces fingers off forehead- In my defense, by the time I knew that the team had started, I was debating on whether I should join or not. As you guys probably know, I normally do sprints and jumps. However,  I also enjoy running long distances....well not too long.....yet. xDD And this dragged on and on and on and finally it was pretty much atleast mid-season, so I'm like, Screw it, going to join next year. Oh and you know what else I realize I say alot now? "Screw it." -___- I see ignorance in this saying D:< .
          To engage in running, I decided to go running with my cousins :D We went to my school's track to run, which I like better. Because I've grown up in this community, it's kind of awkward when I'm still a teen and I'm running because normally you see adults do it to become more fit.
          So, I prefer a track. Also, I get to know the definite distance that I run. So, take my school's track for example, each lap is 400m, so if I run twice around it's 800m, 3 times = 1200m, etc, etc.
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          HAHAHAH, sooo completely off topic but I just had dinner and we had a hilarious conversation! So, I was saying how we are eating chicken and eggs today, almost like a parent and their children. THEN my brother asks me if I know where eggs come from and I'm like, YEAH. They come from chickens. Then he asks, Then where do chickens come from? And so I'm like, They come from chickens too! If a chicken decides to breed a chicken, then they give it warmth, if not, then they don't and then it becomes a egg!
          And......my brother calls me a retard ._. So I'm like, WHAT!?!?!?. Then he explains how there are different species that breed eggs and chickens. So, I'm thinking, Then wouldn't the chickens that only breed eggs become EXTINCT!?!?. :P And then he tells me that chickens are the babies and eggs are just something that female chickens naturally produce. I'm shmart! (x
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          So, back on topic: we went running! I decided to run a mile which is about equivalent to 1.5 - 1.6 kilometres, since I use the metric system...because you know....., I'm Canadian :P Okay, so I decided to run 4 laps around the 400m track = 1600m.
          It said that I only ran 0.8 miles on my ipod tracker -.- , which is obbvvviously incorrect. But I  did finish in 7.26 minutes (: My goal was to be under 10 minutes.
          My plan is to actually run every Sunday, for now. Then hopefully I can move to weekends, then also Fridays and eventually running everyday or almost everyday :D .
          I hate it when I see people already occupying the track-.-. I know that I can't help it if people in the community use the track too, but I feel more comfortable when I'm alone when I run. That's why i try to go later in the day but when it's not exactly dark yet because I'm horrendously afraid of the dark(shh!) and I want to be alone. Anyways, after my run, my body felt really tight (thanks to no gym classes for the past 2 months) but the worst part, was my arms. Normally, my legs start to numb first, because you know, you're running with them? OBVIII .
          However, this week my cousins aren't coming over :/ , which means that I'll have to run myself. I hope that I don't just, "Screw it." and not run. So, CMON MELANIE! QUIT BEING SO LAZY AND EXERCISE! Oh and btw, for those who think that I'm doing this to get skinny, I'm not. I just want to be more toned and fit.
          You know that sometimes when I run up the stairs, I get tired and am somewhat out of breath? That's how you know you're out of shape, which is me. Plus, I want to include exercises into my lifestyle. In the near future I hope to instead of just running long distances, I want to incorporate stair climbing, since they're bleachers there, and sprinting.
          For now though, I'm trying to be more productive with my school work, since I'm kind of slacking without a routine D:< and I'm trying to keep up with my French. I have alot of events coming up in May and they're fairly close to one another. Things like, West Side Story theatre trip, My previous school's Badminton Banquet, (possibly) White Pine Awards trip, A Band Performance, Athletic Banquet and my previous school's Barbeque Festival event! Hopefully next week will be better than this one :/ ! Take care.

Bloomed -> Blooming~
-Melanie


       

The Hunger Games(1st Book and Movie) & Romeo and Juliet Thoughts

          Helloooo to ANOTHER Saturday :D I'm happy about this because my schedule is starting to become a little more consistent. I'll try to post one post on Saturdays and sometimes I'll post one on the weekdays, depending on if anything exciting happened and homework. I am currently eating dinner right now, which is horrible because i'm not at the dinner table xDD Anyways, Reviews: I mentioned about reviewing on some White Pine books but ended up not doing so. But do have 2 books and 1 movie review:
          Okay, first up: The Hunger Games. I REALLY LOVED THE BOOK. I pretty much couldn't stop reading throughout the actual games part. Suzanne Collins did a really nice job of portraying the scenes. This is a Adventure-Action with a little bit of Romance, kind of book. I'm actually surprised I enjoyed it considering that I like reading realistic-fiction.
          The characters, other than Katniss, weren't really developed. I mean, if you look at Peeta, for example, they describe him as the bread-boy and that's pretty much it. I don't exactly have a favourite character either. I know that alot of people love Rue or Peeta (because of the movie -_____-, Josh Hutcherson) or Primrose, etc.
          However, what I LOVE about this book is that it involves a constant fear of danger. It really shows survival: Katniss with her traps, her bow and arrows, shortages of water, artificially created fire walls and mysterious animals.
          As for the movie, I LOVED IT :3 I thought that the set-up of how the creators of the games put artificially made things into the game, was really cool. It looked like a virtual dome. Also, I think that they choice great actors to play the roles of participants in the games like Rue, Thresh, Fox-Face, the Careers, etc. I think that the reason why I loved it the most though was because I read the 1st book before seeing it, so it almost put the imagery inside my head into a real motion video -Aws in amazement- xDD
           Hwoever, I thought that Katniss' outfits were better described in the book because it was soo lame in the movie -_____- Computer generated fire... . Also, before I went to see the movie, people kept mentioning how the camera was shaky. That part didn't really bother me. The part that bothered me, was the closeness of the camera. I don't know if it was just because the movie theatre's screen was large (first time going to that theatre) or if it was the camera man. But yeah, the faces of the actors looked HUGEEE. Also, I thought that the shooting of the setting of the games was very limited .
          Next, Romeo and Juliet, "the star-crossed-lovers". I actually really enjoyed the book, even though I thought that the characters were sooo incredibly stupid xDDD I think that the reason why I enjoyed it is probably because of the Shakespearean language. I learned how to depict the idea that was portrayed in some vague writing. IT WAS AWESOME.
          I just wanted to say that Romeo is horrendously incoherent and emotional. This guy has serious mood-swings O.O Plus, he acts on his emotions, which is even worse. Like when he drinks the potion he buys from the Apothecary. With the other characters, I really liked Friar Laurence. Partly because I had to do a media project on him :3 But he is also a very honest, trustworthy and supportive priest. Plus, we is very knowledgeable (well, maybe the marriage between Romeo and Juliet, may have not been the smartest decision ;) ). As for Mercutio, I think that he is very bias with his loud opinions. As for Capulet and Montague, I DETEST THEIR PARENTING SKILLS. -.- If you've read the book, you'll know how irresponsible and careless they are. -_______-
          I think that I'll probably turn out reading more Shakespearean novels in the coming Summer. Reading Romeo and Juliet got me interested in other Shakespearean novels like, Hamlet, The Tempest, Othello(mainly from Brave New World, though xDD) and Macbeth (which I already read a little of,in the modern version of it last year)
          I hope that you will read or look forward to reading, in class (hahahaha, you young not-in-grade-9-yet students xDD), both of these books. Oh yeah, about the camera and the USB cable, I'm not very photogenic and can be very negative and self-cautious, sooo no pictures......yet :P

Bloomed -> Blooming~
-Melanie
           

Mini Rant #3 :Names + The Day's Happenings

          Helloooo. A late post on a Tuesday evening sounds good, no? xD I thought that since I didn't have much homework and didn't want to use up so many GBs this month (remember what happened last time?:P), by watching youtube videos, I thought that I might as well type up a post.
          Okay, so this is going to be a short rant but I still feel the need to mention it. That's just how horribly, senseless people can be. -shakes my head-
          So, as you guys know, I've had Careers class for half a semester, which translates to about 2 1/2 months. Actually, today we just switched to Civics, which will end at the end of June (I'll talk more about this at the end). Okay, so I know I should TOTALLY rant on the Careers' teacher because her voice is soo soft that it LITERALLY makes you tired enough to sleep, especially if you sit in the front, which was where I sat in her class -_____- . So, pretty much she talks for like 10 minutes and everyone pretty much zones out. That's why it's soo exciting when we go to the computer lab, which was like 3/4 of the class, because then we do our work and we don't have to listen to her talk. Also, Kayla and I think that she has mood-swings.
          Okay, so this is not ACTUALLY suppose to be about the teacher, even though she wasn't the best, but it does involve her. So, you know how teachers try to learn your names within....maybe the first 2 weeks? Yeah, well pretty much all teachers accomplish this. BUT, WHO THE HELL DOESN'T KNOW THE TEACHER'S NAME? -__________- Now you know why I wrote this. -shakes my head- .
          This student in my class, I'm not exactly close with her but we were in a couple of classes and she didn't seem too bad. However, why the heck wouldn't you know a teacher's name? It obviously mentions their name and room number on the timetable -.- Plus, it was 2 months into the course and you would've heard her name in the first sentence of her welcome-to-the-first-day-of-Careers-speech -____- .
          I, personally, am a fast-learner with names, since I hear them thrown around within a classroom and what-not, so that may be why I'm so sensitive to this kind of stuff. But seriously, still shaking my head...
       
          Now for today's update: EXCITING! Today, I had a better than average day, as you can probably tell by my fishes over to the left ----->  . So, basically, since many of you guys may not know how I depict my mood with the fish, I will explain briefly. Pretty much, I use the colours and the number of fish to show my mood. From that, I'm pretty sure you get the gest of it xDD
          In Science class today, we started Ecology. This part wasn't really exciting since we just wrote notes, like we always do, and then did questions. It's actually one of the units that I have some background knowledge on, which is great because my Science teacher the year before, taught us very limited things, making me feel extremely clueless with vocabulary and what-not -.-
          As I mentioned above, I HAD CIVICS CLASS TODAY! I was actually nervous in Science because I've heard others in my class say how in Civics, they get tests and what-not. I thought that I would actually prefer Careers over Civics, since you don't do anything in Careers but Civics is actually not bad. He got us to think about Democracy, Autocracy and Consensus. I'm excited to see what's in the curriculum. Plus, the teacher is VERY laid-back but he attempts to make jokes that are VERY lame xDDD
          Alright, English class. I love the teacher but I dread this course -.- But today was surprisingly a good day because I'm pretty sure I either got perfect or 1 mark off on a quiz we had to do based on 2 chapters in Brave New World.
          The ones who know me, may be going like, well don't you always do good on tests? Capital N to the No. From the previous 2 quizzes, I got 75%s even though I studied -.- So, pretty much to study for the quiz we had today, I tried to combine the 2 studying techniques to get a prefect solution.
          Okay, so the first time around, I read the 2 chapters, wrote notes on sticky notes(that didn't exactly help) and then read the chapter again right before the quiz. The second time, I read the 2 chapters once, took notes and read the notes right before the quiz. This time around, I decided to read it once, write notes, read it again, add on to the notes, and then look at the notes right before the quiz. Looks like I'm sticking to this technique for the tests :D
          Today, in band, we had another testing. I actually think that I did AMAZING! My last testing, after the one that I bombed (which I still remember xD), was okay but not my best so I wanted to do REALLY well on this one. Therefore, I practiced for an hour and a half on the weekend and half an hour yesterday. IT WAS AWESOME!
           Oh and what I forgot to mention on Saturday's post was my joy for: A USB CABLE! I found a different USB Cable that came with this touch-screen Mp3 player thing that I never use anymore, now that I have my Touch-screen Ipod Shuffle (: .But since I can upload photos from the camera, I may start taking photos of things, but then again, I ain't the most photogenic :3
          OH YEAH, And tomorrow, I'm going to a Wedding, which should be an exciting event, but I have no clue who the bride and groom are, other than that the bride's father is my dad's friend. So, yeah, that's what's going on with the Melon to the Knee <---LOLOL Try to guess what I'm trying to do there xDD Type it in the comment section! It will probably crack me up :P

Bloomed -> Blooming~
-Melanie
          

Is it queer that I keep having problems with the same friend?

          Okay. This time I actually don't have an excuse as to why I was gone. If you're a blogger, you'll know what I mean. You feel good after typing up a new blog post BUT that slowly fades as day after day passes by....then you feel sad. That's why during the March Break, I managed to write 3 posts in 1 day because I was in the bloggin'-mood xP
          Instead of following the "overdue" scheduled posts, I think I may shorten it a bit so I can get more recent events posted up here. So, instead of every 2 badminton game updates, I'm just going to write about the season as a whole, since it is over DDD; Also, the book reviews...yeah...haha.....you know how after you read a book, it is sooo fresh in your mind but then a few weeks after, you start to only know the basic plot of the book? Well, that is pretty much what I remember from most of the White Pine books that I read xDD .
          Okay, just to test how well you know me, Guess which friend I am about to talk about? Go on, go comment, see if you get it right because if you have read my second rant, you know who it is.
          Yup, it's Kayla. I don't know if it's just like a natural thing to get into arguments with new friends BEFORE you're actually use to them, which may take a few years, but anyways, these arguments are always happening. I have thought about it only being my problem and my fault but really? Yes, I know that I have a part in it but Kayla, you do too! (Kayla doesn't read my blogs btw, she says she doesn't READ blogs -.-)
          Let me ask you a question: Do you think that because of how we're raised, it makes us, psychologically and instinctively, glamourize the world ? Like how there are always good, nice and friendly people? Because I'm starting to realize that some people are quite selfish. Yes, obviously there are criminals in the world but I don't exactly BELIEVE why people just can't be nice? -sigh-
          So, Kayla and I have , after the English play incident, continued to be friends. We actually had a virtual confrontation and I regretted the moment she sent her response back to me. Anyways, that's not what I wanted to talk about today, it's 2 other minor incidents : Bullying and English - Chapter questions.
          Okay,soo I'm not sure if you guys knew (I only knew because I heard about it on the announcements the day before) but on Wednesday, it was PINK DAY! By wearing pink on that day, it shows your support towards stopping bullying, so I thought, why not? And soo, I wore a pink sweater :D Since most people didn't wear pink, I asked Kayla why she didn't and she said, she didn't know, which was understandable. BUT, then she added, And I think it's pointless, By wearing pink, you don't ACTUALLY stop bullying. I wouldn't say that I got too mad but I get where she's coming from, saying that wearing pink isn't taking any action towards solving the problem. But even something AS SIMPLE as wearing pink on 1 DAY......and she couldn't do it. She even used,"Besides, I don't even have pink clothing", as her defence. BUT HA! I remember that she had a magenta cardigan >:( LIAR. Then, we both got annoyed and she said, You know? You can try to persuade me... . But then I responded with, I would but you wouldn'd be persuaded by me. And she said, Well, you could try? . Hmmm....well let me think about that....WHEN HAS THAT EVER WORKED!?!? And then silence. I just sat at my desk for the 5 remaining minutes of class before lunch and scribbled into my agenda.
          Hey, sorry for the already long post, but I figured that since I didn't write a post in around a week now, might as well write a longer one :P
          Next, English class. Okay, so we just finished Act 3 in Romeo and Juliet and so we were just taking up the questions. My teacher made us split into groups, gave each group 1 or more questions and we would write our answers on a piece of chart paper. They did this for Act 2 but I wasn't there due to a Badminton game.
          So, once again my unluckiness scores us a question that I wasn't confident about answering. Anywho, I had 4 other friends to help me out (Kayla, Terri and Hannah were there btw). When we were trying to share our answers, turns out that I had misread the question and therefore, answered it wrong :$ . The good thing, was that I was famiilar with the Act and besides, my friends must have some answers. But sadly, Kayla didn't even DO the questions (shame) and my other friends were just kind of sharing what they knew, off the tops of their heads. Since we had to share these, it took us a while to discuss and finally agree on what to write on the paper.
          Next, we had to decide on a speaker. According to Kayla,they all "talked" for Act 2, so it's only fair if I talk for Act 3.
          W-T-F? DUDE, I wasn't even HERE when you guys did the questions, so it's not MY fault. PLUS, you didn't even complete the questions, you didn't have to speak ALONE AND I already said in the beginning that I didn't want to be a speaker. So, you know what ended up happening?
          I HAD to be the speaker because my "friends" said, "I'm not talking." WELL I DON'T WANT TO EITHER :@ . But I just said some stuff and that was that.
          So, you may be thinking that I am being bias towards Kayla because I'm the writer and you don't get to hear her side of the story, which is why I don't know if she is ACTUALLY selfish OR it's just what I percieve. Like, I don't have these problems with Hannah or Terri, soo......:/
          If you have any comments on Kayla or what I should do, I'd like to see them (: And I hope you enjoyed this post.

Bloomed -> Blooming~
-Melanie         

Late post >.< .......

          I know this was promised to come on Monday but I actually DO have an explanation (/excuse) this time. Okay so, we have to read Romeo and Juliet for English class. On Monday, we finished Act 1 (There are 5 acts in this play). Now she assigns us this mini-project. Basically, we're going to read the next 4 Acts aloud. Some people will get major or minor roles. Everyone EVENTUALLY has to get a major role. But that's not all DDDDD; . The people who are playing the major role, on top of reading the lines, have to create a media project. In 2 days. So, as usual, no one volunteers to go and so we do a random draw. And guess what? I WAS PICKED FOR ONE OF THE MAJOR ROLES. -FACE PALM- .
          What was funny was that right before I got chosen, I thought that they were already done selecting and was all happy, but I guess not. -__________- . I OFFICIALLY HAVE THE WORST LUCK EVER. Anyways, so on Monday, I decide to interpret the scene that I am in. I'm Friar Laurence, btw. After doing that, I couldn't think of what to build or create for my media project. Oh and for the media project, she specifically said to illustrate a potential theme or characterization. So, I was pretty sure on creating something to represent Friar Laurence but what...? As you know, I lack creativity (WHY!?!?)  and so I couldn't think of any potential items. I go on to do some other work and decide that I'll do it tomorrow (Tuesday).
          Anyways, Tuesday comes and I remember: I have Badminton practice at lunch, a Badminton Game afterschool and I have to go out for dinner for my Mom's birthday. -sigh- At this point, I'm desperate for ideas because firstly, I estimated that my Badminton game would end at around 5:30pm, secondly, I had to leave to go to my Mom's workplace at 6:00pm and lastly, I thought that I would end up at home by 9 pm. Leaving me 3 hours, as I sleep at midnight, to do my project. I planned on making a poisonous flower, meaning I'll need to build, tape, construct and paint it. Let's just say, I WASN'T EVEN CLOSE TO MY ESTIMATED TIMES.
          I came home after the badminton game at about a quarter after 4, as it was a home game. I started to work just shortly after until 6pm. At this point, I'll got my structures created but not all of them put together. I wanted to paint before I left so it could dry but sadly, that did not happen.
          Also, I ended up at home after dinner at 10 pm -.- . This is because my parents recognized people at the restaurant that we were at and they kept talking and talking and talking -____- . Also, we tried to go to a gas station a little farther from our house to get some gas for our car because supposedly gas prices were to go up by 4 cents today, which doesn't seem like too much but apparently it is o.o . When we arrived, there was a LINE. People and what they go through to pay for gas: Money and Time. Smh.....
          Anyways, so I ended up working until a quarter after 1 am. It wasn't too bad, 4- 5 hours? I was actually fairly content with my creation. So, Today I presented. I was proud of my tone and what-not for my lines but my presentation for my media project SUCKED. Because I spent soooo much time on creating the flower, I just wrote down some points that I wanted to include when I was explaining it on a cue card. So, I basically just read it and add some points that I remembered. I think compared to the 2 other people that also presented their media projects today, mine was ACTUALLY CREATED NICELY. Anyways, I think overall, I did well, considering that I went first ;P
         I know I promised you guys a Badminton update on Monday but I think I'll be doing that sometime next week.....I dunno. I'm thinking that you guys may want the book reviews for Friday, which I'm trying to confirm as of now. Question: Why is it that whenever I promise you guys that I'll post a post on a certain day,  it hardly ever happens? -________- Anyways, I have a book review post, a badminton post and possibly a rant + the Hunger Games review. Hahaa, some Hunger Games fans will be disappointed when they find out that I only read the first book and not all 3 :D I'm kind of late but, I'M WATCHING IT THIS WEEKEND!

Bloomed -> Blooming~
-Melanie