First Car Ideas

Recently I have gotten really interested in Mazda miatas, specifically the first generation ones. The reason for this is I was thinking about what kind of car I want to get for my first one and as I was doing this, I saw my neighbor's modded Miata. They have perfect 50/50 weight distribution and are extremely fun cars to drive around from what I have heard. If I ever do get one, I am not sure what type of car I would mod it into. I love drift cars, but the Miata has a very short wheelbase, which is not advantageous for a drift car. This is why I'm leaning towards grip tuning it instead. This basically means I want to mod it to take around a track the fastest way possible in a typical race fashion, while still maintaining the street aesthetic of the car. Here's a pic depicting the idea I have for customizing the exterior.

or something like this..

One of My Favorite Teachers I've Had

Throughout a student’s educational life, he or she has to deal with many things; friends, sports, extracurricular activities, and of course, teachers. Teachers can be the bane of your existence, they can make your day 10 times better, or they are just plain average. One of my favorite teachers I’ve had so far is my eighth grade English and History teacher, Mr. Hanks.

                Mr. Hanks is admired by most, if not all, of the students who attend his class. He’s a great teacher, a fun loving guy, and most of all, a good friend to have. Whenever he teaches history class, he will put emotion and emphasis in the lessons. He constantly moves around the room and sways his arms as he teaches you what you need to know for the next test. Every week, usually after a test or quiz, we play a game of “volleyball,” which is where a beach ball is thrown into the middle of the classroom and our job is to pass it around before it hits the ground. My class currently has the all-time record of around 300.

                If the class is behaving, he’ll take us to lunch every other Wednesday to either Subway or Wendy’s. If we are a responsible class for the whole week, he’ll take us to Hoagie’s which is a delicious philly cheesesteak restaurant down the street from the school. Whenever he takes us to Hoagie’s, usually once a month, we do not have to go to the next period, which is study hall in homeroom.

                Like I said, Mr. Hanks is an awesome teacher, but he can get angry like every other teacher. If the class is told to quiet down but keeps talking after being told several times, he gets mad and give us extra homework. This only happened in the beginning of the school year; towards the end we listened to him more.

                Mr. Hanks still works at my old school (Hueneme Christian) and loves what he does. I am not sure how long he plans to keep working there, but for the sake of other students, I hope he keeps his job as a teacher. I personally believe that it is his calling.

Between Two Worlds by Zainab Salbi

Between Two Worlds - Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam is a non-fiction book written by Zainab Salbi depicting her life growing up under the rule of worldly known terrorist leader Saddam Hussein. When she was young, she lived in a wealthy Baghdad family that was socially famous throughout their country. Saddam added Zainab's family to his list of close friends as he built up his political strength, and eventually forced Zainab's father to become his personal pilot. It was at this point that Zainab and her family's fear of Saddam really began to rise. Threats of murder, deportation, and imprisonment turned their family from peppy, fun, and exciting to angry and scared. Her parents argued to the point they divorced and split. To save her daughter, Zainab's mother arranged her to be married to an Iraqi immigrant in the U.S. who ended up abusing her. She got out of that marriage and formed her charity, Women's International.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It really opened my eyes to the personal experiences Saddam Hussein's rule had on people. I have never really looked into Saddam's influence on the world or the people he immediately ruled over, but this booked educated me on that. His main way to control people was through fear and threats of death or torture through imprisonment or deportation, which Zainab's family almost face. It is also very inspirational how Zainab used her experiences to create an organization, Women's International, to help women who have been in her situation. I highly recommend this book to read.

Poetry - Keep on Keeping on by Michael Sage

Keep on Keeping on
by Michael Sage

We’ve all had times, when the going gets tough
The smooth ride suddenly, feels bumpy and rough
The good times are gone, it’s all rather gruff
You let out a sigh and exclaim – “I’ve had enough”

We are all entitled at times, to gripe and to moan
What’s happened to my life, you say with a groan?
My backpack seems weighed down, by a very big stone
How do I move away, from this miserable zone?

When a curved ball hits you, through a trick or a con
Remember the good days, when the sun always shone
Go forward with the belief, that you already have won
The best advice I can give, is to keep on - keeping on

This poem is a lyrical ballad about perseverance that contains many examples of assonance and a few examples of figurative speech. The assonance that can be seen in this poem takes place at the end of each and every line, with the repetition of vowel sounds being used. For example, the ending word on line one is tough, which sounds the same as the last word on line two, which is rough. Figurative speech is used, for example, when the poet states, "my backpack seems weighed down, by a very big stone". This statement means that the person in mention is going though hard times and is struggling to get through them.

Antigone

The story of Antigone can be symbolized in many different ways using the two main characters, Antigone and Creon. Their relationship with each other can be symbolized as the fight between male vs. female, family ties vs. civic duty, man vs. nature, etc. In my opinion, the story most symbolizes the struggle between family ties and civic duty. Antigone is faced with a decision that can either end her life (which it ends up doing) or letting her see another day. Creon's decree that made it illegal to give Polyneices, who is Antigone's brother, a proper burial because he believes he was a traitor infuriates Antigone. Even after being begged by her sister, Ismene, not to risk her life, she ends up making the decision to bury Polyneices, which ultimately ends up her death. Personally, I think that the smarter decision would have been to leave Polyneices' body alone and not try to bury him for several reasons. One, burying Polyneices would give Antigone satisfaction, yes, but it was inevitable that she would be captured and end up dying. Plus, if she dies, her sister Ismene would be left all alone, for Antigone is the only surviving family she has left. Also, in the end, Polyneices' body wasn't even properly buried! Antigone was caught before she was even able to start the process of putting him six feet deep. It would be a much smarter decision in the long run to follow the law in order to stay alive and carry on their family name instead of dying and leaving her sister alone in the world.

Religion in Night

Religion is one of the three most prominent themes in the book Night by Elie Wiesel. It is the main reason the concentration camps were created, for people believing in the Jewish religion were the ones persecuted. They were perceived as inferior because of their faith, and for that reason they were placed on the road to extermination by the Nazi Germans. Throughout the book, Elie, as well as his fellow Jews, severely question their own faiths, and they wonder how any just and loving God can let such terrible atrocities occur at all. Night depicts how a person’s faith is truly tested through times of hardship, and how easily terrible events can either destroy one’s faith or, on the contrary, strengthen it.

            When the story begins, Elie is a young boy seeking to further his religious studies and solidify his Jewish faith even more. Every night he studies the Talmud and goes to the temple in his town, Sighet, to pray. He wishes to begin studying Kabbalah, but his father does not let him. While at the town synagogue, a man by the name of Moishe the Beadle begins to secretly teach Elie all about Kabbalah, for he is an expert on the subject. One day, the Hungarian police come to Elie’s town and expel all of the foreign Jews from there. Moishe is actually a foreigner, so he and many others are packed onto a train car and taken away. When he returns, he is frightful. “Moishe was not the same. The joy in his eyes was gone. He no longer sang. He no longer mentioned either God or Kabbalah. He spoke only of what he had seen.” (1.29-31). At this point, he no longer speaks of God, which can lead one to the assumption that after witnessing the mass murder of Jewish people he has lost his faith in God.

            As we progress further into the story of Night, Eliezer has entered the concentration camp with his father. On his first night there, he witnesses atrocities beyond belief. He sees Nazi soldiers tossing human babies that are still alive into fire pits and into the air to be shot at, as if for target practice. He sees dead people of all ages being taken into the crematorium to be burned to ashes, and watches as the smoke rises from the chimney. These moments shake Elie’s faith to the core, much similar to how Moishe’s experiences at the camp shook his. “Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes.” (3.68-75)

             Though Elie has lost all faith towards the book’s end, he still prays for strength to keep himself from abandoning his father. “‘Oh God, Master of the Universe, give me the strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahu’s son has done.’" (6.65-66). His faith is a key in his will to stay alive.

            All of the hardships and trials Elie faced in the camps played parts to the deterioration of his faith. The atrocities the Nazis committed against his people tested his beliefs, and for a while, I believed that his faith was completely gone and that he had become an atheist. Yet, we see that he stayed with his faith through his trials, for it gave him comfort and willpower.

Cholo Goth

So recently I found out about this really cool band called "PRAYERS". It's a two man synth pop band with one guy making the beats and the main guy on the vocals. If you didn't see what the guys looked like, you'd think it was just a normal synth pop band, but after looking into the image of the group, my interest in them rose a ton. Their persona can be described in the phrase "cholo goth". Both of the members are illegal immigrants from Mexico who came to the U.S. and ended up joining gangs. As they grew up, they were interested in things of gothic culture, like the music, clothes, etc, but they were constantly bullied because of this. The vocalist says in a documentary Noisey did on the duo, "I didn't fit in with the cholos because I'm goth, and I didn't fit in with goths because I'm a cholo." They're a pretty interesting band. Here are links to the documentary on them and my favorite song they made.

Noisey  documentary on PRAYERS
https://youtu.be/HQjtFc8sNtI

PRAYERS - From Dog To God
https://youtu.be/qVvabsXFT7w

I Got My Permit!

During the month of April, I finally finished my drivers Ed course and took my permit test, which I passed! I could've had my permit way back in August or September if I had started my drivers Ed course right when I turned fifteen and a half, but I didn't end up buying the online course until January of this year. Then after I got it, I lagged about completing it and taking my permit test until three months later in April. On the test, I missed four out of the seven questions we are allowed to miss. I was pretty nervous while I was taking it because I forgot my book to study at home and had to study off of practice tests I found on the Internet using my iPhone. Also, another reason I was nervous was because I was taking my test all the way out in Granada Hills, which is really far away from my home in Oxnard. I would feel really bad if I had failed and had to go all the way back home and have to drive out to Granada Hills later on. I was super relieved when I got to the end of the test and found that I passed it! Now I just have to do my first drivers training lesson and I'll be able to get on the road!

Link Crew

I decided to become a part of Link Crew for my Junior year of high school (which is next year). Link crew is made up of juniors and seniors who do volunteer work during the summer and help with orientation of the incoming freshman. Originally, I was going to join ASB before I found out about Link Crew, because that was the first extracurricular activity at school other than sports I could think of. Unfortunately, I don't have any space in my junior year schedule to be in the ASB class, so I decided to try out for Link Crew, which there isn't a class period for. Thankfully I got in! I had a few close calls with getting kicked out for almost being late (Mr. Melhorn, the founder and supervisor of Link Crew, is REAAALLY strict about being on time), so from now on I'm gonna be super early to all the activities we do. I'm really looking forward to being involved with Link Crew over the summer!

Finals Week

The week of finals has finally come around. It seems like just the other day the first semester had ended and we were entering the second phase of the school year. Now, in just a week and a half, school is going to be out and summer is going to begin. Before I can start relaxing though, I have to study hard and do well on my finals.

My English and biology finals I'm not too worried about. The only final that I'm actually kind of scared of taking is my math final, so I'm probably going to study for that one most. Fortunately, I don't have to take the ap euro final since I took the AP exam, and I don't have a final for track. Wish me luck!

A nice poem by Emily Dickinson

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

- Emily Dickinson

I really like this poem by Emily Dickinson because the emotion she is expressing in it is how I feel myself. I feel like if someone is in pain in some way and I can help relief that pain, I should do it. Helping others is something we should all try to do as much as possible, whether it's a family member or someone you don't know, but you can tell is going through a rough time. 

:-)

It's been 7 months already?

I've been growing dreads for seven months now! That's crazy. Time flew by so fast, it seems like just a few months ago I started them up aha. Looking back at old pictures, my hair looked so weird hahahaha like the sides weren't even twisted because my hair was too short and there was a huge contrast between where I shaved my head and where the twists started. Now my hairs gotten alot longer and it looks really good in my opinion, so I'm happy :-)

Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies was a good read. I liked the fact how it could be interpreted in different ways depending on the mindset of the reader. A little kid may read it and think it is just a simple adventure novel of a group of boys struggling to survive on an island by themselves as they wait for their rescue. An older and more educated person though, may read it and interpret it as a microcosm of the conflict going on between countries around the world. Several readers have written articles on how Lord of the Flies effectively displays the potential for humans to act out evil doings, which I personally believe it does. I'll put a link to one of those articles below. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book.

“We may stay here till we die.”(1.125)

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/CriticalEssayDetailsPage/CriticalEssayDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SUIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Critical-Essay&dviSelectedPage=&limiter=&u=mesa&currPage=&source=&disableHighlighting=&displayGroups=&sortBy=&zid=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ2111200112

Pit and the Pendulum

The Pit and the Pendulum was a short, sweet, and frightening literary work. As I read and listened to the story, I could feel myself the narrator's fear of his own death. Edgar Allen Poe effectively used the fear of the unknown to captivate the reader. The use of unknown aspects, such as how the killer in a story looks, is what makes horror stories even more scary, because the reader imagines themselves what the killer may look like, which will be their own terrifying thought. For example, In The Pit and the Pendulum, the narrator is stuck in a pitch black area with no idea what surrounds him except for an extremely deep pit, which he almost fell into. His fear of not knowing what surrounds him makes him frantic and terrified.  Towards the end of the story, Poe makes it even more intense by having the narrator faced with the decision to jump into the pit or be sliced in half by the pendulum. This was a great thriller type short story and I recommend you read it.

THIS KINDA SUCKS

So two of my favorite rap artist collectives, Goth Money Records and Water Boyz, are having a show together in L.A. on Friday night and I don't have a ride :'/

This really sucks because I REAAAAALLY wanted to go! I've never heard of them having a show together before so this concert is gonna be rare. Plus I was gonna go with my friend Siyon, who is the only person I know who listens to both of the groups music other than me. I hope they have another one together soon, that'd be great :/
In the end though, me not being able to go to the concert world out in a sense, because I was invited to my friends birthday party on the same night haha

Here are songs from some of the goth money guys

BLACK KRAY $$$ NAH NAH $$ PROD BY WOADIE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJaj1TRncLc

MFK Marcy Mane - Cellphone Broke (Official Video) directed by MFK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQE3HKd7Azs

I'm starting to get good at skating again...

The other day I was riding my skateboard to the store down the street to get an Arizona because I was really thirsty and craving fruit juice. On my way, I saw some kid on my block practicing tricks on his board. He looked like he was around 10 years old and he was already doing tre flips and landing kick flips nine times out of ten times he attempted them, which made me wanna do some tricks myself. I hadn't done any tricks in a while so after I got my juice from the store I went back to my place and started trying to land stuff. After an hour and a half, I landed a heelflip and a varial heelflip for the first time since last summer! I was super happy lol. It felt pretty good. I'm gonna try to keep practicing tricks more often now. Skating is really fun and I forgot how great it felt to land a trick.

This is a heelflip by the way.

GTA 5 Heists

After two years of empty promises by Rockstar Games, they finally released heists on GTA 5. Honestly, I got bored of playing that game a long time ago because I already reached level 200- something and I had all the cars, clothes, etc that I wanted, but now that heists are out, I actually have a reason to play that game with my friends again.. We've completed two of five or six (I'm not sure how many) heists already, and they were pretty good to be honest! In my crew of friends, Justin, Louis, Jailen, and I, we kinda already know who's best at doing what when choosing the roles of each person. I'm usually the driver, because I really like cars and I'm the best at driving out of everyone, Louis is the demolitions guy, since he LOVES to blow us up when we're in free roam, and Justin and Jailen are the guys who run around shooting people, especially Jailen. He's really good at shooting games, like it's ridiculous. Overall I really like what Rockstar did with heists. Here's a link to the release trailer for GTA 5 Heists.

http://youtu.be/9xeTeXxeDIk

Getting Out of My Shell

So last year I became friends with a group of people who are really outgoing and fun to be around! Before I met them, I was kinda introverted in a sense. I liked talking to new people, but most of the time I didn't know how to initiate conversation (especially when it was some girl I thought was cute hahahaha). I also never liked doing stuff that would gain me some attention, such as dancing at parties and stuff like that.

Now that I've hung out with them a lot this past year, I've become more talkative and up to do stuff like dance at parties (even when no one else is lol) and also start a conversation with someone who I think seems like an interesting person. They've also introduced me to A LOT of new people from my school and different schools, like now I have a bunch more friends who before I probably wouldn't have met. It's funny because whenever my siblings or parents take me somewhere to hang out with my friends, they ask me how I know the person and they get surprised that I know them since they go to different schools aha. So for this I thank you guys (Jonathan, Juwan, Leo, Icy Isaac, Cezar, Angel, Nathan, Isaias, Erick, Eli, and Kurt). Y'all are great :')

Spring Break Plans

Spring Break is finally coming up! I've been waiting for this since Christmas Break ended haha. Hopefully I have a lot of fun this years break. My main goal is to just get out of the house and go do stuff with my friends instead of staying home all day playing video games by myself. That's still kinda fun, but after like 30 minutes to an hour of playing I get suuuuuper bored unless I'm playing online with my friends. Back to spring break though. I honestly have no idea what I did during last years break lol. Probably skateboarded a lot outside my house, I don't know. I actually really wanna get better again at skating so Ill try to do a lot of that this break. Another thing I need to do is start studying for my AP exam coming up in May... yeah I should probably do that too lol. Next week should be interesting.

The Time Traders by Andre Norton

The Time Traders is a book about a man named Ross Murdock who has committed a crime and because of this is faced with two choices: spend the rest of his life in prison, or participate in a top-secret government project, codenamed OPERATION RETROGRADE. Of course, he chose the latter, and what ensues is probably one of the most interesting stories I've ever read. The story takes place during the time of the Cold War, and the U.S. is fighting the Russians, otherwise known as the Reds, in one of the strangest battles of it. The ability to time travel has already been engineered, and the Reds have used that ability to enter an unknown era of the past. After finding lost technology in that era, the Reds have utilized it to create powerful new weapons to use against their enemies. The goal of Operation Retrograde is to find and travel to the era the Reds are in in order to tap the source of the Red's secret weapons. Murdock and his teammates travel across time on a dangerous journey, frantically searching for the Reds and their secret weapon source.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Time Traders. I'm into science fiction books, so this kept me interested all the way through. I think it may be up in my top five list of books to be honest! It was very well written and kept me on the edge of my seat as I read it. I also really liked how it wasn't written as if the reader is viewing the story as a spectator, but instead from the POV of Murdock. That made it a lot cooler in my opinion. I recommend this book for anyone who's into sci-fi.

Making Music with My Friends

I just realized that I have alot of friends that are interested in making music and I have some that actually do. Their music is pretty good too. My best friend Justin makes beats that go HARD, and my other friend Juwan raps and does a bit of singing which is really cool because he takes it seriously and he's good at it. This one guy I know at school though is trying to be a rapper but he's trying to hard to be thug. He keeps saying he was bullied when he was younger but my friends knew him when they were in elementary and they said he was never even bullied; in fact, he was the one doing the bullying lol. My friend Siyon really wants to make rap/turn up type songs with me, Juwan, Justin, and my friend Jonathan. I'm down to do it but I never have time :/ we might make music this weekend though since we have four days off. It sounds like a lot of fun lol

My First Year Doing High School Sports

This year I'm doing track, and I'm kinda excited and scared at the same time because this will be my first year ever doing a high school sport! I don't like long distance running so the event I am more than likely going to choose to do is sprints. I feel confident that I can do well in that section of track. Also I have a friend who's done track for the school before and he said he'll help me out if I need anything during the season which is a really cool thing for him to do for me. Wish me luck!

First Semester Finals

So first semester finals are here and a lot of people I know are freaking out lol. The only finals I'm worried about are the ones for math and biology. Those will be the hardest in my opinion, but I've studied and I'm determined to end the first semester with at least a B in those classes. I still feel this way about studying though lol

Dale, Mikee, Skyler

I've known Skyler since like fourth grade, Dale since last year, and Mikee I  just met this year lol. These guys are super chill and true friends. We've helped each other out alot this year, with school work and just advice with regular teenager boy stuff. I really respect these guys and wish them the best in whatever they do. They're my homies

Almost 5 Months with Dreads

When it hits the 20th of January, I'll have been growing dreads for five months. It went by faster than I expected to be honest lol. I think it's because in the beginning I was in the mirror alot looking at them. Now I don't really do that anymore because it won't make them grow longer the more I look at them lol. I'm really enjoying the dreads though. When they get really long they'll probably look like this, which would be awesome because this guys dreads look pretty sweet in my opinion!

My 16th Birthday!

As I type this its a day away from my 16th birthday! I'm excited and kinda sad lol. Happy because as I get older, there's more stuff I can do like drive (I still haven't gotten my permit yet though...) but I'm sad because I feel like the years are going by quicker lol. 

For my birthday I'm gonna have a party at my house with like ten of my friends, which should be alot of fun. Some of them don't know each other so that should be interesting haha. I'm not even sure what I might get as gifts, but I assume it'll mostly be money or clothes lol. But yeah, I'm pretty excited to turn sixteen overall :)

My First Concert Ever

On December 13, 2014, I went to the first concert I've ever been to in my life, and it was sooooo much fun. It was a Yung Lean & Sad Boys + Gravity Boys concert. I went with my friend Siyon who's from Germany and has been to one of Lean's concerts before, when he barely had any fans. It was probably the most fun I've had in a long time to be honest. Siyon and I got in line early so we got to be really close to the front during the show, which made it even cooler lol I had an awesome time and I wish I could relive that night. I'll come back and edit this later to put in the photos and vids I took at the concert. For now I'll leave some links to YouTube videos of the concert other people took lol


Yung Lean - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1TuVc9k2AQ
Bladee and ECCO2K - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWSLCQjF_FI

Lil B The BasedGod

The man, no wait, the legend pictured above is the one and only Lil B, other wise known as the Based God. He is one of the most positive and rawest rappers alive. Just look at how happy he is in this photo! Lil B has influenced everyone in the rap game from 2Pac to Lil Wayne. The most versatile rapper ever to bless the rap game, Lil B can go from heavily thuggin' in a song such as Lil B - Bill Bellamy, to showin' love to everyone and everything in the universe in songs such as Lil B - I Love You and Lil B - No Black Person Is Ugly. Supporters of Lil B and the Based God are known as Task Force. The first step to becoming part of Task Force you must first become based. 

“Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. When I was younger, based was a negative term that meant like dopehead, or basehead. People used to make fun of me. They was like, ‘You’re based.’ They’d use it as a negative. And what I did was turn that negative into a positive. I started embracing it like, ‘Yeah, I’m based.’ I made it mine. I embedded it in my head. Based is positive.” ~Lil. B, BASED GOD

The purpose of the Task Force is to protect Lil B and the Based God daily, spread the word and scripture of the Based God, and to keep the fake based out of Based World. A member of Task Force myself since 2012, I have been helping teach many others of Lil B's musical stylings since I opened my eyes to his beautiful positive ways. Lil B doesn't sell merchandise, so in order to show I'm based, I rock a pink bandana on my head, a sign of a fellow based comrade. Aside from making music, Lil B has given lectures at universities such as MIT and NYU. Lil B is also a pioneer in dance, being the creator of the cooking dance, a Based World staple. 



To show gratitude to the Based God for his many blessings, the customary way of showing thanks is to say, "THANK YOU BASEDGOD!" Don't be fooled though, just because someone says, "thank you based god" does not mean they are based and support Lil B. My best friend and fellow Based World citizen, Justin, has witnessed this firsthand. A girl at his school said "thank you basedgod," but when he asked her if she knows who Lil B the Based God is, she said, "who's that?" *sigh* It is our duty as Task Force members to weed out these fake based people and either teach them about the Based God or ban them from Based World.

To end this sermon of the man, the myth, the legend, Lil B the BasedGod, I shall gift you with links to the songs mentioned above.

Thank You Based God.

Lil B - Bill Bellamy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOqrbTlr6SA

Lil B - I Love You https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6-V7J5S-0
Lil B - No Black Person Is Ugly - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83p69JhDnwU

Lil B NYU lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsjvFrZv1Fk

Christmas Break 2014

This years Christmas Break was kinda bad but pretty fun for me. The weekend after we got out of school my friend had a birthday party at which I had a really great time. I really don't dance but everyone was hype and having a ton of fun so you know I had to join in lol
 

Unfortunately, the birthday boy was sick and because of that gave me a cold. I was sick until around Christmas time, then I got better. (YAY!) I didn't get anything for Christmas, but the weekend after I went to the Collection and bought myself a couple t-shirts. One of them was worth $30 and I got it for $8, and the other was an In-N-Out shirt which I've been wanting for the LOOOOONGEST time, so I was stoked I got it lol. In-N-Out is high up on my list of good burger places.
 

The worst part of my break came on the Monday of the second week we had off... I got the flu AND strep throat, which is weird according to the doctors that treated me. They said it's usually one or the other, never both (I guess I'm special... ;-) 

but yea that sucked alot lol.

I felt super dizzy to the point where I had to lay down at all times and couldn't use the tv, my phone, or any electronic device with a screen because that would make me even more dizzy. I also had headaches and I was constantly  thirsty. like no amount of water could satisfy me. that made it worse because it made me have to pee a bunch, and moving made me even more dizzy. I spent New Years Eve in the E.R. getting treated  because that was the night my sickness peaked :/

After many antibiotics and painkillers, the sickness went away completely by Tuesday and I returned to school on Thursday. I hate missing school because I had to catch up on missed work, but I had to for the wellness of others (basically I saved the school)

So yea, that was my break. Not the best one I've had, but it was ok... :)

JDM: Drifting

So I'm really into cars and I have been since I was little. I used to collect Hot Wheels and I still have my collection in my old bedroom on the wall lol. I never really realized it until freshman year, but the specific type of cars that really get me excited are JDM models. JDM stands for Japanese Domestic Market. Basically I'm really into cars like Nissan, Subaru, Lancer, Toyota, etc. When I say this I don't mean like Nissan Altimas or Toyota Priuses lol. I mean like Nissan Silvias, GTR's, Toyota Supra's... the list goes on and on. One of my goals in life is to build a race car with my friends and learn how to race on a track properly.
My favorite type of driving style is drifting, which originated in Japan in the 80s or 90s I think. A lot of people get drifting confused with powersliding, but they are not the same thing. 

THIS is drifting
 

THIS is powersliding 

THe difference is this
"The key difference between a power slide and a drift is that a power slide is initiated with brute force and kinetic energy, where as a drift is initiated with varying techniques involving the shift of weight in the car and the shift of power between the wheels. " - http://www.giantbomb.com/drifting/3015-74/

One day I WILL learn to drift lol. It just looks really awesome to me and I'd love to be able to do it myself. The car I wanna get for drifting would be a nissan s13 (picture below)