An Update

So this AIM conversation prompted me to update this blog:

xVienVu:

so whats up with no blogspot updates?

I don't know what it is, but there's something about Vien Vu that just makes you feel terribly bad if you've been on a temporary hiatus from blogging.  Don't ask me what it is, it just is.

So Sadies has come and gone.  I even made a pretty bomb-ass YouTube video to ask my date to Sadies:

HAHAHA.  It's cute right?  Better have been.  Took me forever to edit and re-edit it. :]

After Sadies, the excitement level in my life had sort of experienced a slump and then a stagnant period.  Nothing much was going on, except for the whole "school" thing and all the unpleasantries that follow it.

Speaking of unpleasantries, you happened to surprise me a great deal.  But at least now I know what kind of person you truly are, without all the fake politeness.  You really should have just made it upfront and obvious, instead of beating around the bush; I felt the same way.  :]

Winter Break was, AWESOME.  For the most part, I just stayed home and did a lot, and I mean a LOT, of Biology homework.  I felt super productive and it scared me for a moment.  I was procrastinating much less than Samantha was!  :]

I visited my Grandma in Hacienda Heights the Saturday before we came back home from Winter Break.  Her home is so cute, even though it is in a retirement home.  She always has all these little knick-knacks from her past, serving as memorabilia to remind her every day of the kind of person she used to be and what hobbies she's created for herself as her life progressed.  Gosh, I really forget how she's aging.  Every single year.  I know it sounds silly, but ever since I was in the second grade and my mom told me she was 72, I've been thinking she's 72 ever since.  She does age very well though, if I do say so myself.  I hope I'm so lucky.

Biology Exam #7 was extended.  I swear by my life that you will never see an entire classroom of 37 juniors and seniors jumping up and down in an old rickity portable, screaming at the tip-tops of their lungs for any other occasion.  It just doesn't happen.

**Remind me that I'll never meet another group of friends quite as amazing and lovable and this.

In March, I've consumed myself in MTV's America's Best Dance Crew.  I have every single JabbaWockeez and Kaba Modern dance uploaded onto my iPod.  Come and find me and watch them with me and we can squeal like little girls about how awesome they are.  Makes me sad that Kaba Modern was in the Bottom 2 though, for this week's Episode 6.  :[  They'll make their way to the Top!  I know it!  :D

JABBAMODERN<3

F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.S.  What could I possibly say about this amazingly heart-pumping event?  I'll start off by saying that F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.S. 2008 was the fucking shit.  I have never seen so much heart and spirit and enthusiasm from ALL FOUR of the classes.  The attendance was awesome, the screaming was awesome, the creativity was awesome.  There's no doubt that every single player put into the games everything they got out of it.  I just was to thank the Junior class for being so cooperative and pumped with adrenaline.  We owned in Tug-of-War, Line Basketball, and Jenny Vo, girl, you are a mo'fuckin' savage at Over, Under, Through.  :]  Great job, errybody; it was a sexy night.  

Congratulations to the Class of 2008 for winning first place!  To bad we won't be able to show y'all up next year. [;

Other than that, the weekend after F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C.S. was fun.  Snuck out, stayed out late a couple of times, came back home undetected.  Haha.  Good shit, good times.  We should all do it again!  :D

I hate school.  I'm starting to get questionable grades now, and to be frank, I really couldn't care less.  My eyes are shot, my head feels like it's going to screw off and roll away from me, I can't even stay awake in my classes anymore, I keep getting distracted when I start my homework; I just cannot focus anymore.  Junior year has tested and tried my patience so much that I surrender.  I give up, I tell you.  Summer's just too close, and I can hear it calling my name...

A Review of New Years Resolutions

So, let's see which resolutions I've kept up with and which ones I've completely thrown out the window (italicized/bold elements are ones that I have already broken): 

1. Stop binging.
2. Wake up early and run during the weekends. This includes breaks. (I have a reason for this!  The weather is all whack and cold!!)
   
3. Improve in pole vaulting.
4. Get through Junior year without having a major break down. Keep my composure.
   
5. Don't bite the hand that feeds me.
6. Be happier with my own life; it's not that terrible.
7. Become at peace with myself. Only then would I be able to proceed to #16.
   
8. Start my personal statement in the summer. NO STRESS WHEN NOVEMBER ROLLS AROUND.
9. Keep my promises. No matter how small.
10. Find a hobby. Find a passion.
    
11. Party responsibly.
12. When I get my license, don't be reckless with my driving. No car accidents as a senior.
13. Procrastinate less. Strive to keep up the grades. Don't give up.
14. No more soda. Only water.
15. Stop comparing myself to my sister. I don't have to go to the places she's been. I don't have to do the things that she's done. I don't have to follow in her footsteps.
16. Get myself a boyfriend.

Boy, do I suck. :]  Haha.  So, so far, I've only been able to keep 11.5 out of 16?  That's like a 71.875%!  That's a solid C!  Oh, has finals weeks gotten me obsessed with percentages.  Haha.

In other news!  I started to use a new web-browser.  I used Firefox for a year or two but now I'm trying out Apple's Safari browser.  It's so cool!  It looks just like iTunes.  Hehe.  It's almost like I own a Mac, almost.  :]

A Medly of Thoughts

Finals. Holy fucking shit, FINALS.
Yes, that just about sums up my entire feelings towards the matter. I seriously do not have the patience to deal with all of this shit right now. But I do have a positive outlook on this; I like to think that when this entire thing is over, I know that Junior year is that much closer to being over. One semester down, and one horrifically and significantly more difficult semester to go...

My dad made resolutions this year to stop drinking, of course this excludes occasions when he goes out to eat and drink with friends or business people. But he has done a very good job of not drinking when he comes home from work, contrary to his previous habits. He usually just washed his dinner down with some Jim Beam and lie down on the couch to watch some T.V., but he'd be snoring by the time it's 8:30PM. I must say, that my father's become happier and more playful. Let me explain:
Oh, stop looking so surprised, your dad does it all the time. (My mother is actually laughing.)

I've been thinking of college lately, more seriously I mean. It all started when I got my SAT scores back. I was so happy when I calculated my score, but to my dismay, my parents suggest I take it over. So I suppose I should be unhappy with it. But since then, I've been researching all my "dream" schools to see which ones my scores match up with. Even more so, I've ventured into the Career Center looking at catalogs for college; like FAFSA, Cal Grants, UCs, etc. They're actually quite interesting and I can tell that they'll be helpful. I just wish I knew that the same material was there two years ago, when I was a freshman. In any case, I'll comment on anything interesting I may read.

I really don't have very many friends. People view me as some sort of bubbling pot of laughter and enthusiasm. More often than not, people with these personality traits are more likely to have an entire entourage of carbon-copies, thus forming cliques. But this is hardly the category I fall into. Now, this is not to say that I'm not happy underneath. Yes, there are some parts of my life which I wish to refine, but I cannot honestly say that my life, in its entirety, is miserable. I have a fun family and a few very close friends. But I am granted with the misfortune of having all of my best friends attend different high schools. One of my best friends from eighth grade moved to Tracy, and thus eroding any sort of bestfriendship we may have been able to create; my other best friend attends a private Catholic school, or Bellarmine; and my best friend of all, Isabella, goes to Independence. This only leaves me with Samantha, the only one of my best friends from middle school who goes to my high school. I love Samantha, but she's found her own niche that I would hate to take her away from everyday. So what do I do? I wander. I wander around campus during breaks and lunches, hopping around from group to group. Thankfully, people don't raise an eyebrow when I suddenly pop into conversation. Thankfully, people think that I have such an effervescent personality that they just assume that it's my nature to be so awkwardly friendly.

My boss recently called me yesterday. This pleased me a lot, a LOT. He told me that if I come back for the third year, there would be a raise involved and, as always, I will be able to reap the benefits. I was actually not really thinking about going back to work again this summer just so I could focus on writing my Personal Statement and finish it before school started; working on creating instructional folders for my teachers whom I want to write my recommendations; searching for scholarship money. But I suppose an offer for a $2k paycheck for working only seven weeks can really force a girl to re-work some of her plans.

And for those of you who might have been a bit disturbed by the previous picture...
Don't worry, my mom got him back. :]

A Piece of Comic Genius

HAHAHA. I just read this on Vien Vu's Blogspot.

Guide on how to keep a girl
1. When she asks how she looks, shrug and say "could be better." This will keep her on her toes, and girls love that.

2. Never hold her hand. This can be interpreted as a sign of weakness. If she grabs your hand, squeeze hers really hard until she cries (this will impress her by showing her what a strong man you are).

3. Once a month, sneak up on her from behind and knock her over. Girls are like dogs; they love to be roughed up.

4. Call her in the middle of the night to ask if she's sleeping. If
she is, say "you better be." Repeat this 4 or 5 times until morning. This will show her you care.

5. When she is upset about something, suggest to her that it might be her fault. This will pave the way for her own personal improvement, and every girl needs some improvement.

6. Recognize the small things, as they usually mean the most. Then when she's sleeping, steal all her small things and break them, because jewelry is for wussies.

7. If you're talking to another girl, make sure she's looking. When she is, stare into her eyes, mouth the words "F__ you" and grab the other girl's ass. Girls love competition.

8. Tell her you're taking her out to dinner. Drive for miles so she thinks it's going to be really special. Then take her to a burning tire yard. When she starts to get upset, tell her you were just kidding and now you're really going to take her to dinner. Then drive her home. When she starts crying and asks why you would do something like that, lean over and whisper very quietly into her ear "...because I can."

9. Introduce her to your friends as "some chick." Women love those special nicknames.

10. Play with her hair. Play with it HARD.

11. Warm her up when she's cold...and not by giving her your jacket, because then you might get cold. Rather, look her in the eye and say "if you don't stop bitching about the cold right now, you're going to be bitching about a black eye." The best way to get warm is with fear.

12. Take her to a party. When you get there, she'll have to go to the bathroom (they always do). Leave immediately. Come back right when the party is dying and yell at her the whole way home for ditching you all night.

13. Spit often. I hear girls like guys that spit.

14. If you care about her, never ever tell her. This will only give her self-confidence, then you can never turn her into the object she deep down desires to be.

15. Every time you're in her house, steal one of her shoes, earrings or anything else that comes in pairs. Only take one of the pair. This way, she'll go crazy for you.

16. Take her out to dinner. Right when she's about to order, interrupt and say she doesn’t want anything. Then she can be hungry and watch you eat. Girls love a guy that speaks for her.

17. Look her in the eyes and smile. Then punch her in the face. Girls love a surprising guy.

18. Give her one of your t-shirts, and make sure it has your smell on it (but not a sexy cologne smell...a bad smell. You know what I'm talking about).

19. When it's raining, keep asking her if she's crying. She'll say, “ No it’s just the rain”. After ten minutes, scream at her to stop crying. Girls like a tough man.

20. Titty twisters and plenty of them.

21. If you're listening to music, and she asks to hear it, tell her
no. This way she'll think you're mysterious.

22. Remember her birthday, but don't get her anything. Teach her that material objects aren't important. The only thing that's important is that she keeps you happy, and your happiness is the greatest present she can ever get.

23. If she's mad at you for not calling her when you say you will, promise her that you will call her at a certain time of the day. This will make sure that she waits by the phone. Tell her when you call that you're going to tell her a special surprise. Now she'll be really excited. Don't call.

**EDIT: I'm sorry I just HAD to add this as well. What the fuck.

An Achievement

Yesterday, I passed my driving test! I got my liiiiiiiicense. Super happy about that. :] I really can't wait until I get my car and drive to Isabella's house and to Independence and pick her up and go to places to eat. She makes the money, I'm the one who drives. We'd make a smashing team. ;]

Today is my sister's 23rd birthday! Happy birthday to her! Man, you are getting older than I would like to believe. Stop it! >:[

Right now I should be reading another essay out of the Norton Reader and annotating the fuck out of it and then writing up an Analysis Sheet, but EHHH. I like to call this time, Break-Time. :] HAHA.

On that note, Crowther's class is getting extremely irritating and tedious. That Crowther-Fear that many students have/had during their Junior year? Totally understandable. Don't let that friendly, pun-filled exterior he has fool you; he's a tough cookie. In terms of his workload, many of us who are lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you see it...) to have him as their English 3 AP teacher would say that since entering his class, we have become more analytical of our lives. Already-analytical girls are now entering entirely different levels of insanity when dealing with boys. His students are not only dreading the work that is assigned, but also thinking about whether or not the author is in his or her right mind, blabbering on about lakes and Amontillado and N-words and dumpster diving, lacing it with literary devices and verbose vernacular to make the reader feel utterly stupid. In short, sophomores, don't take his class if you plan on sleeping. I wish somebody told me that.

I'm done crafting lengthy sentences. I want sleep. I want food. It's 3:15AM. Why do I stay up this late? Homework over Christmas Break = INSTANT DEATH.

Lately, I have been day-dreaming about Senior year. Thinking about how fast time moves, I really want 2008 to zip by like nothing even happened. I want it to be 2009 already, because by this time next year, I'll be done with SATs, done with college apps, done with stress, DONE WITH HIGH SCHOOL. The remaining 6 months? Just idle weeks of doing nothing in classes and maintaining a C-average. Coasting. That's what I want to do. Just crap out and let Senioritis wash over me (even though I've had Senioritis since sophomore year...). I want to graduate high school, so badly, and finally arrive at that state of limbo, where I'm out of high school, but not yet in college. Just existing, playing, partying, living. Wouldn't that be nice?

A Word of Encouragement

Today, I'm going to take my driving test at 10:40AM at Santa Clara. It's about 4AM when Allyssa told me,

made to sm_le: but i know you will pass it. you're audrey! okay, in the morning. after eating a large, healthy breakfast, say .. "I'M AUDREY. AKA KOH KOH. AKA POTASSIUM HYDROXIDE. AKA LADY SPENCH. AND I GOT A 1910 ON MY SATS. IF I CAN DO THAT, I CAN DO ANYTHING. I WILL PASS THIS TEST 'CAUSE I'M THE SHIT AND ALLYSSA HAS FAITH IN ME."

HAHAHAHA. I'm so confident now. :] Thanks, Allyssa. <3

A Fresh Start

So it's the first few days of 2008 and I must say, I'm impressed. Impressed that another year has passed me, yet again, that time moved it along so fast, once again. I mean to be cheesy when I say this, time really does move by quickly.

Usually, when I have that realization that, "Oh my, it's been a year" sort of feeling, I think about what the previous year has been like, and how it treated me. Sorry, perhaps this blog should have been written yesterday, but I think, that since 2007 is gone now, I feel a bit more nostalgic. =)

I will compile a bulleted list, to rule out the notion that these are in order of importance, of things that I am most grateful for, things that have affected me the most, or things that were hugely significant.

• My daddy bought me a puppy. This came as quite a surprise, since my last dog was Peter, who I owned in 3rd grade. I named this little guy Duke, but his Korean name stuck, Dolee. I can't even begin to try and make English form of his name more understandable to those who aren't Korean. Haha. He was born on July 31, 2006 and my daddy brought him home from a Korean breeder on January 5, 2007. He's a Yorkshire Terrier. It was one of the happiest days of my life He was so freaking tiny. But in March, he slipped out of the backyard and ran away. We waited for a couple of months but we gave up after awhile. But, in May, we got him back. Thankfully we've turned into better pet owners since then. :]
• This is Gummy Bear. I originally named him Bear, but my sister stuck on the Gummy. Again, his Korean name stuck more than the English one which I gave him and he is now called "Gomme". My dad bought this little cute doggy in April when he was pretty bummed about losing Duke. He was so fat when he was younger and whiney. But now, if I get a recent snapshot of him, you'd see that he is much more slender and handsome. Oh, and I don't know why my dad decided to take a picture of him stuck him in a tree.
• Forgive me for this sudden depressing note, but I must say that in 2007, I have noticed that there were so many deaths. A death is hardly something that one can step over, obviously, and having to know of so many that I have had to "get over," it's a bit overwhelming. I pray for them and think of them every day, wondering how my life would be different, wondering whether or not I would somehow have more memories. But alas, "whatifs" never solve anything. So to those who've left us in this life, I miss you. <3
• Boys. Wow. No boyfriend this year. I haven't completely struck it rich in the Guy Department, but I like to think that a lot of boys have made me feel very happy. :] HAHHAA.
  
• My sister graduated from John Muir college at UCSD. Whoo-wee, what a ride. HAHA. It's just insane watching her reach this stage in her life. I can't say how much she's grown as a person, because she's my sister and I'll always see her as that (plus she never tells me anything), but I do think she grew up a lot in the Fashion Department. Haha. I became a lot closer to her once she hit college, though, and moved out of the house. And I think I've matured a lot, starting from 7th grade, from her going to college. She just toted around this aura, that made me want to stop being so childish, if that makes any sense. But I'm proud of her graduating in 4 years, something a lot of people can't say that they've achieved.
  
• I worked at Math Enrichment as a teachers' aide again this past summer and I enjoyed it so much. I got the opportunity to work with my favorite girls in the entire world: Samantha Luu and Isabella Ruiyantoro. :] I've been best friends with these girls since our 8th grade year and I have so happy that they are still in my life today. Our job gave us so many benefits: a field trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (picture), a 10 year-old's birthday party at a mansion, "free" food at work, MONEY, beautiful friendships with little kids, and many, many memories to keep in our hearts. <3>
• And Summer 2007 was so kickass. It was so kickass that the word "summer" deserved a capital "S". Seriously, this past summer was the best I've ever had. Why? Because of the new people I've had the greatest pleasure to meet! This summer I met Marc Dela Cruz, Kevin Tomita, Josh Cabrera, and Johnny Chen, all graduates of Independence High School's Class of 2007. Honest to goodness truth: my summer's fate has seriously changed the moment I met these guys. They took me and the girls out on wild and wacky adventures to the park, to In-N-Out, to the mall, to a concert, and to just random areas of the city. This all began with Gabriella Ruiyantoro's surprise 18th birthday party on June 22, 2007. This was a dinner at BJ's that Isabella invited me and Samantha to go to and I'm so glad we went. After the dinner, we all went to Kevin's house and had fun "bonding time." :] That day set the tone for the rest of our summer. <3
• After summer passed, Junior year came with its overlooming dark cloud. Its overhang casted a shadow on all of my happiness and merriments. Haha. Sparing you the drama, in a nutshell, Junior year is simply the more stressing, frustrating, and trying year I've had. Period. The hours of sleep sprinkled into each week is unbearable. Cramming for AP Biology tests the night before aren't fun. Staying up until 3, nay, 5AM studying and reviewing in study groups at other people's houses for Crowther's Colonialism or Romanticism test the next day, only to catch yourself nearly falling asleep during the test. Having a group project every week, sometimes from more than one subject. To have math homework everyday (And mightI mention that ALL math assignments are the same? You're always trying to find the value of "x"). Trying not to fall asleep in class in a battle everybody in your classes faces. I've recently realized that, although we come together and bitch and moan about AP classes and help each other out on Crowther essays at 4AM, we're all competing against one other. Whether it be in grades, SAT scores, who slept the least, who screwed up more on that huge test you just took, or simply whose life just SUCKS more; this is the year when the only thing on everybody's mind is college and everybody, at the same time, is trying so desperately to outdo everybody else (or at least ONE person), just to have the better resume. Junior year is a 9-month-long war, and school is the battlefield. Miss a beat and you'll send your entire game plan to the shits.
  
• This was also the first year that I've ever been to a concert. I've seen Mandy Moore live at Caesar Chavez Park in the summertime. This one kind of sucked because I didn't get to get any good pictures of her because I was so busy taking so many pictures of the people before her, that I ran out of battery. :[ Oh well. Mandy is all in my mind, it's okay. After that, I saw Arcade Fire. This was actually a really spontaneous event because my sister got free tickets from a friend who works at Apple. It was at Shoreline Ampitheater and I was really excited to go. :] They are really good live, REALLY good. Best free concert ever. Haha. Immediately after, like, "the-next-day" after, I went to Justin Timberlake's FutureSexLoveShow tour in San Jose. <33>:] HAHA. He's so BIG AND MUSCULAR. You would think that he's fat, but trust me, he's NOT. Nicole got to hug the guy, lucky bitch. :]
  
• To top it all off, New Year's Eve was a really fun night. I wake up and Isabella texts me and tells me that she wants to go do something. SHE TOTALLY READ MY MIND. :] Haha. So we called each other and sat there trying to figure out what to do. Watch Fireworks? Go to a party? Ehh. But we finally agreed with Samantha on the phone, that we were all going to Isabella's house and have a movie day with lotsa junk food and ring in the new year with some old friends. :] I get there around 6:45PMish, 7PMish and Isabella and I just HELLA katchup. It was a good talk; I loved it. Later Samantha came around at 8PMish and we were about to get cracking on our movies when I get a call from Johnny telling me to open the door (to not even my house, btw...). Haha. So it ended up, that it was us four and Isabella's litto brother, Christopher, having a little party at her house. This night consisted of recording ourselves singing songs and having sentiments. HAHA. It was a fun night, guys. Loved it. <3
  
  Well, I think 2007 surprised me a lot. It took me out of my comfort zone and put me into different situations, and I love that. I met a lot of new people who I can't imagine my life without now, and I think that's pretty fucking amazing. All this lovin' in only six months' time? There's gotta be a catch. :] 2007 was an amazing year, you bet your sweet ass it was.