All's Well That Ends Well

Well, this is one is my last post. So, it's all or nothing!

Let's see...Looking back I do feel I grew as a writer. I'm more willing to express myself in my writing and participating in class. For instance, in my blogs there are topic that are a bit more personal to me--but I also known that I've gotten lazy after handing in the first half of the blog. Nevertheless, I know that I can type an essay about topics that interest me. It's good to see that I have a lot to say and express--hence being an emotional writer. Ah, speaking of emotional writer--I found out the different types of writers there are in the world. I can still recall feeling a bit bewildered to be the only Emotional writer in the class.

Well, this year I certainly learned a lot--starting with the fact that passive tenses makes your writing weak. I should always try to stay fresh and on top of the subject--this is especially true if you want to capture your reader's attention. This was a problem for me at first because I've always been so used to typing in the past tense. Luckily with the New York Times Op-Ed I was able to streangthen my writing.

Another thing I learn was English grammer is different from the English dialect. "Everyone bring their own beer" no longer makes sense in my mind. When I asked my brother about the question his face was so confused. These are things that I'll pay more attention when I write my fanfiction from now on. In addition, I also have to learn not to be too wordy. Sometimes short and simple sentences are more affective than overwording.

All in all, this semester has been fun and Mrs. Sprouls is awesome!

Presentations

Like I said, I cannot imagine sitting through 20 power points, so I was really grateful for the videos. Now that I've taken my chance to voice my opinion I favor to do presentations to not use powerpoint. Although my stagefright has lessen from the performing in front of the class I do feel better. Mostly because I was really gateful to all those who were willing to participate in my presentation. Oh God, I cannot imagine how it'll work out if no one voleentered.

My favorite presentation would have to be Olivia's presentation about GMO. I have to say it was the video that got to me. I love the Fallout references in the video. Plus, I have to say that the topic itself was interesting. However, I'm still very curious--what is Malov's topic?

The Pressure Is On!

When all eyes are place on you, what is there to do?! ( O w O ; )

Well, for one thing--practice makes perfect. Try to be organize on what you plan to present to your classmates. The more things are organize then the chance for you to mes up lessens. You can always use flashcards or power points to help you remember what to say. It's because hat added pressure makes a person forget what to say. I should know--because in my theater class I messed up on my lines.

Another way to calm yourself when presenting is to make your presentation fun. You'll be so caught up that it feels natural. The more formal, the more awkward things will be--and you'll be begging that your classmates won't have any questions that you cannot answer. The more natural and fun you have with your presentation the more your audience will enjoy. Think about it, who wants to sit through 2 hours of slide shows and narrations? Challenge yourself to think of something witty, and you might earn some creativity points!

Can You Classify These Books?

At first I was thinking about seperating books with happy, sad, and ambigous endings. However, then I relized that would've been major spoilors to the readers. Thus, I'll seperate everything by the level of reading difficulty. A whole collection starting from the top left, the easiest to the bottom right, the hardest. The sections at the beginning will contain mostly fiction books.

The first catagory would be "Children Wonderland" books starting with pictures and ABC's to stories like "The Hungry Caterpillar" and Mother Goose Rhymes.

There will be a section to the right called "Storytime Chamber" this section would be for chidren from first to third grade, the books will include pictures, but with more words.

Next would be a section for fourth graders to six graders, "Novel Express" since six graders have to leave Elementary school to Middle school--Novel Express. There will still be pictures, but the books contain more words and the books will be middle thick.

Then it's "Learning Seekers" this section will contain books like the Harry Potter and the Series of Unfortunate Events. These books will be for those who are in middle school. There starts to be a blance between fiction and non-fiction books.

After that will be "Liturature Knowledge" where some books are quite thick and mature. The book here have more non-fictions books and the vocabulary in the books are bit of a challenge. Yet, using the context clue words, it should make the passage understandable.

Last bit not least would be the "Einstein's Domain", a section filled with terms and vocabulary for the scholars. Lengthy, thick, and tiny printed words on paper. Books here are mostly based on facts and history than fictions and fantasy.

Eating Animals

What I like about Eating Animals, there was a part at the beginning of the book where Foer puts definitions of a word that has two meanings. For example, "bullshit" the first definition was cow's poop, and the second was the more well-known answer--a cursed word. The only part in the book I didn't like so well was the section about animal waste is more polluted than a normal human's entropy.

Let's Go Make A Difference!

My goals for the upcoming multi-draft are quite simple. First, I hope to get the message out people on how much my mother suffers at work. Also, it's not just my mother--all casino dealers had to deal with. For example, the second-hand smoke dealers have to inhale and all the smelly drunk gamblers that kept maxing out their credits. There's just so much anger I have about this topic, so much that I'm sure that I'll be able to fire up some juicy paragraphs!

My second goal is to make sure to cite my sources, last time I forgot to hand in a Work Cited worksheet. This one would be quite a challenge, I think I'll have to start out using casinos in general. Then start to move on getting more specific. I probably might interview a few of my mom's co-workers since they're all casino dealers. So aside from citing something I've never cited before, this is quite interesting!

Let's Make Rainbow Ice!

Today, I'm gonna teach you a very unique and yummy snack! I tasted this beverage snack when I first went to a Vietnamese resturant. This delectable beverage will be sure to fill your tummy...because there's a lot of beans in it. ( ^ ^ ; )a

Anyway, let's make some Rainbow Ice ( also known as Che Ba Mau)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup skinless split mung beans, soaked for 3 hours and drained
  
• 1/2 cup of red azuki beans, soaked for 4 hours and drained
  
• 3/4 cup of sugar
  
• 1-1/2 cups of coconut milk
  
• 1/4 cup of green grass jelly
  
• 1/4 cup of tapioca pearls
  
• 1 can of logan, drained
  
• 1 tablespoon of chopped peanuts
  
• Shaved ice (amounts differ on how much you want)
  

First, boil 2 cups of water over a pot (medium heat), add the mung beans and 1/4 cup of sugar. Stir and let the water be absorb, which should take about 20 minutes. Let it cool and then put it in the refrigerator.

Next, Boil two cups of water in medium heat, once boiled turn the fire to low heat. Add the azuki beans and cook them for three hours (yeah, it's that long). Let the beans cool off and be refrigerated.

Then, boil the coconut milk and 1-1/2 cup of water together in low heat. Add the rest of the remaining sugar and the tapioca into the pot. Cook until the tapioca pearls are complete transparent. Once again, let it cool and be refrigerated.

Last step! Get yourself a cup, layer two tablespoon of shaved ice in between everything. So it'll be: ice, coconut tapioca, ice, azuki beans, ice, tapioca, ice, mung beans, then green grass jelly, chopped peanuts, and top it off with...you guessed it--more ice.

And there you go a snack with approxiamently 1000 calories...The good news is that it show be able to keep you full pretty much for two meals. Well, enjoy your Rainbow Ice.

How Safe Is Your House?

In the Health section of ABCNews.com, a story under the name, "Creepy! Philly Family Tries to Sell House Where Couple Was Slashed to Death" by Susan Donaldson James writes an article about selling houses that has been related to crime scenes. Even though part of a reporter's job is to be unbiased and fair--there will always be some kind of persuasion to an article. The article talks about how people are easily frighten with houses that has a related history with a crime scene. For example, the house that was previously owned by a late professor of Temple University was finally sold since 1986. According to the article, the new owner of OJ Simpson's house requested the house to be bulldozed. In addition, when James introduces to the readers that people hired "house healers" to get rid of the "negative energy" shows how superstitious humans are. As some people may find a haunted house amusing and something to brag about--there are others that are too frighten to take a nap on the sofa. How superstitious can a human be?

-->> Spooky House Article <<--

Gobble All of Them Down!

Well, before watching Food Inc. and Super sized Me, I actually never mind eating as long as it tastes good. In fact, I'm always up to try eating new things because life is so short; might as well try every food before you leave this world. I love to eat--all except bugs, I can never bring myself eating a water cockroach. I can eat silk worms but never in my life a water cockroach--no matter how my mother says," It's delicious, you don't no what you're missing." No thank you mother, I am perfectly fine with eating shrimps. Honestly, when freshly cooked food is serve in front of me--the question, "Where did this food came from?" is the least thing in my mind.

From snacks such as rice krispies treats to meals like beef tendon noodles. It all usually depends on my current situation, for example, if I was hungry in the morning as soon as I got up, then I'll probably be able to eat three bowls of fruity cheerios. Occasionally my grandmother would make something warm for me, like oatmeal with some cinnamon sprinkles. So, I prefer my meals warm when the weather gets colder, and vise versa when the season is warmer. I usually make sure that I have a large breakfast because it's the most important meal of the day--so I make sure that I'm full and ready to start the day.

However, the situation would be different if I was hungry at lunch time, and I'm in school. Since I commute everyday I don't want to spend money on a whole week of fast food. So, I usually bring a piece of bun along with a few snacks like a cookie or energy bars. If I am still hungry usually one milkshake from Jonny Rockets can make me full for the rest of the day. Those milkshakes can be very filling...

Last but not least, if I was hungry near dinner time--I'll usually try to drink water or chew some gum. No way I'm spoiling my dinner, besides my grandmother took her time to make the food. So, at dinner I'm always the first person to go after the meat. However, since everything--and I do mean, everything, my grandmother makes tastes so good. Luckily since I love to eat everything, I consume both meat and vegetables throughout the whole meal.

Meals are important and everyone should have three meals a day. I think as long as you eat enough to make yourself full and keep your body moving after each meal. When I mean full, I don't meant stuff so many food into your stomach till you're bloated. Digest your food slowly, take your time to chew; this will give time for your stomach to digest. Most importantly, no midnight snacks or any food after 6 PM since a person is less active as the day ends. All in all, I may not always question where my food came from, but right now I'm getting a bit nauseous around meat.

Let's eat!

So many foods, so little time--when's the best time to eat? Anytime.

Ha ha, my favorite meal of the day would have to be dinner! I basically love all my grandmother's homemade cooking. Nothing can go wrong when it comes your grandmother's cooking.

First and foremost, I love to spend my time my family members. This is also the main reason why I like to eat dinner, it's a time where everyone just sits down, takes a break from their busy schedule, and enjoys the food cooked by our loving grandmother. Due to the fact since my mother works two jobs, it's rare that we all get to sit at the family table and eat. I guess it's because of these rare moments I treasure eating dinner with my family every chance we got. Thus, approximately every 5:30 PM we all sit together in our family table at our cozy home.

Everyone takes a break from their busy work and help out with either the cooking or setting up the table. Usually my grandmother would cook a dish of fish, vegetables, and if we're lucky--soup! My brother and I would help set the table up by putting newspapers on the table as a sheet. Then, I will grab four small bowls, one for each of us and fills the space with white rice. At the same time my brother would bring the prepared dishes to the family table. When my mother comes downstairs to eat, everything would be fully prepared.

Eating with my mother, grandmother, and little brother is the best since I don't have to worry about manners. To me, eating should be relaxing and fun--you shouldn't have to worry about how much you eat, or how your posture makes people want to stop eating. My family members and I usually jokes around saying that one eats like a pig, hogging all the food--while another blames the food for tasting so good. Everyone laughs and talks about what they're doing for the day, and I think it's these everyday moments that I cherish the most.

Food Inc.

Food Inc. is a documentary directed to all consumers in general. I believe purpose of this documentary was not to disgust the viewers to never eat meat or corn ever again. No, far from that! This documentary was created because people don't realized the power they have influence they have in the food industry. Wither you're buying fast food or greens from the organic aisle--what a consumer decides to buy affacts tomorrow's food industry.

Food Inc.'s documentary started with a professional fast food journalist, telling the true horror of the food on our market shelves. It seems people never thought of how those cans, meat products, or any type of food in general--how they got there?

The documentary shows the history of the first "factory" created by the McDonald Brothers. After getting rid of all the skaters and shows, they decide to only hire one person to do one task repeatly, over and over again. That way, not only they saved money, there are more foods being produced.

More product means more demands, and the only way to mass produce more chickens for your nuggets, and cows for your juicy burgers. The documentary continues with interviews with a chicken farmer from one of the major factories. Although she may not have a pitch black chicken farm, it still gives a general feeling of what an actual chicken farm is like. The poor lady who is suffering with allergies are force to pick up dead chickens to a pile of dirt. Even she thinks it's important to tell people out there the tragedies of this artifical selected chickens.

The mass production of animals need for food, also means the need to increase animal food. The documentary shows how corns have influnce the cycle of food. Until now, I never knew that corn was in so many common things around us like frutose corn syrup found in many of the cereals in stores. The freaky thing is, it's not only in food, but also in batteries and charcoal.

Futhermore, it's because corn is so easily produced they're being used to feed cows and chickens. At that moment of the documentary, my eyes twitched when I heard that cows don't eat corn. It's not like having a computer programs where you can just adjust its settings as you please. The helpless cow is now being fatten, ship to a meat factory, and be slice and dice for food. What's worse, if these corns were filled with E coli, guess who will be the one them in the end?

That's what happen to Barbara Kowalcyk's son, who was interviewed in this documentary. This woman wanted nothing more but an apology from the food company, and their word to stop producing these food that harms people. Instead of the sincere apology she and her family deserves, she has to take this matter to court.

Those who dare to say anything ill about the food industry or the product they sell will face lawsuit. The documentary shows how even a famous televison hostess like Opera gets a courtorder for saying that she'll not eat a burger after seeing such disturbing events. According to Kowalcyk's the food companies are protected by a different law. In addition, it's because members of Congress, even the president himself, are very close to the food companies. This not only made bills to change the food industry hard to pass, but also many of those laws are abolished.

The documentary turns to the point of view to farmers that do feed grass to their cows. Gary Hirshberg, made an interesting point that he hopes that his food business stays the same. This is because he wants to continue respecting his animals and customers. He questions himself,if he gets caught up in the heat of high demands how would he handle it?

To sum this up, this documentary is not for changing a person's diet. It's understandable with the econemy that not everyone can buy groceries for dinner. Just like the poor family members that regularly buys take out, not everyone can afford a "balance diet". However, whatever we as consumers buy will affect what the food industry puts on those shelves.

Immigration

Ms. Donna Poisi's blog about different news or articles about how immigrants' lives been affected the United States. One of her post talks about how the large amount of immigrates have dominate small business in New York. In her post about she gave the percentage of immigrants making the wages in small industries, such as restaurants, clothing, laundry, and constructions. In her post, it also mentions the unsafe conditions and poor wages immigrants endure for work. Surprisingly, the percentage of immigrants only makes up 36% of New York's population.

The amount of immigrants trying to make a decent living has always been an issue in America history. Ever since it's known as "The Land Where Dreams Come True" myriad amounts of people starts to come. Since America has a policy to give jobs to foreigners before hiring American citizens, this often leads to unemployment. Hey, who wants to hire someone for $7 an hour, while I can pay $4 an hour to someone that's just grateful finding a job? From reading "Working In The Shadows" it makes me wonder, what are the percent of illegal immigrants working?

--->Link to Donna Poisi's Blog<---

A Job In Summer

Sign me up as the delivery girl!

This question was quite easy to come up with an answer, and the reason? Well, my body tends to be really sensitive to temperature. So, I cannot imagine myself working outside under the blazing sun, bending my back, and cutting lettuces. While waiting for my next break which is only 27 minutes, then the cycle repeats. The same reason why I don't think I can last working at the Chicken Plant. Since Winter has never been my favorite season of the year--working inside an igloo will lead me to having hypothermia. So, with those two options gone--I'll bike around and be a delivery girl.

Thank you, Mother

My mother is a casino dealer in Atlantic City--full-time in Caesars and part-time in Borgota, she has to work two jobs because she's a single mom trying to care for a family of four. In addition, did I mention that she's planning to pay for my college all by herself?

My mother is truly amazing, the definition of Mother itself. Since my mother works at a casino she has to endure all the crap those gamblers throw at her! All the yelling and shouting when they lose, "Go back to your country!" or "You're trying to kill me! What the f*ck is with you woman!?"

In addition to those harsh words, my mother also have to inhaled second-hand smoke practically everyday, and since the law for forbidding gamblers to smoke while gambling has been canceled, she has to live through hell and beyond just to get a piece of chip for tips. And that also depends on the mood of the gambler--if they feel like it they'll tip you, if not you've just got to hold you tongue and thank them for playing! What's worse it that, it's not like she can keep the tips--she has to share it with all her fellow co-workers, then of course there is the payment cut...Oh god!

It takes at least 5 to 10 minutes to walk to a cafeteria with no food and flooded with other dealers that are wounded and resentful. It's cruel, just too cruel--she stand there all day, only have 25 minutes to take a break, eat, go to the bathroom, or even have a short conversation with me on the phone. It pains me to think what would happen if I missed her calls--how can she continue working without a voice of support? A family?

However, no matter how angry or painful my mother was, she never seem to show it. She continues to be smiling and gentle--her embraces are warm and welcoming. However, even though she doesn't tell me her pain, I can feel it--I can feel it mother. It's because as soon as you return home and have a bite to eat, you immediately amble to your room, change into your pajamas, and drift off to get your six hours of sleep. You won't wake up until dinner starts, and only rarely you actually sit at the dinner table with us, usually we have to pack you a lunch box to go.

Even though her days are repetitive, she still stand strong and benevolent. In the back of her mind, I can hear her--"I'm doing this for my kids, for their future--so they don't end up like me." So no matter what happens, nor heat, nor rain, nor snow, my mother separates her work and private life. She may be a broken punching bag to others that visits the devil's den, but back home--back to her sanctuary, she's an angel that is even warmer than any sun.

Thank you, Mother

Russian Sushi

In a Japanese animation television series, Durarara!! there is a large Russian man named Simon Brezhnev that is trying to make a living in a sushi restaurant in Ikebukuro, Japan. Throughout the series Simon can be seen passing out flyers to people, or in some rare episodes he actually makes the sushi. Even though Simon is very knowledgeable with the Japanese language, which is funny because only thing you hear him say is,"Eat Russian sushi," or "Sushi good for you."

Yes, the sushi restaurant makes Russian sushi not Japanese--some of the fish they served are pretty weird to Japanese people's point of view. Anyway, due to Simon's tall height, dark skin, and heavy Russian accent he tends to scare potential customers away; people even toss the pamphlets as soon as Simon hands them one. The good news is that Simon isn't treated differently since he's the only other staff in the restaurant, Russia Sushi, aside the current owner--the only thing that seemed harsh for him was that people ignored him whenever he tried to hand someone one of his restaurant's ads. Then again, don't people normally do that anyway?

Who Are You?

On September 20th, our class discuss about a paper written by Leslie Marmon Silko about the police border patrols. In her paper there are certain things that made me grimace: the scene with the German shepherd and the report about the Argentina officers.

No questions ask, that's animal cruelty right that! You don't drag helpless dogs just to get them to do your bidding! How would you like to have a collar on your neck and let people drag you around--squeezing the air out of your lungs? Yeah, it's not nice--so don't do it! You can tell from the German shepherd's lack of enthusiasm to their commands that these officers are just plain awful. Animals asked for nothing more from us than love and affection but it seems this poor dog is far from her wish.

The second thing I read that was disturbing me was the descriptions about the Argentina police and military officers. It seems that humans cannot be trusted with too much of anything, because if we do have something valuable--we tend to abuse its power. For example, if we have too much money who wouldn't have the urge to get more? Well, in this paper--it seems that if we have too much power, we want to express how much power we have over other people. This is what came across my mind when I read how the officers would abducted helpless citizens when there is no more suspects to play with.

It's a scary thought, but it true~

Anyway, moving on! Another topic we covered in class the other day was cultural heritage, when you asked someone, about their heritage how anyone replied,"I'm American?" Huh. Now that I think about it, I haven't got that answer from anyone. Weird? Nope! In fact, not at all--it's because from what I learn in my history class, America is one big melting pot. People from different cultures blend together and we all become one big family that makes up tomorrow's future.

While most people answer with their family's background heritage, there are those that take pride of their culture. For those who have more than one cultural background, I found out that they either know very little of their culture since they've been in America so long. For instance,I remembered a fellow classmate of mine who's Irish but all she knows about her culture is Irish Potatoes. There are even those who can no longer speak their own country's language because they've been used to speaking English for so long and have no one to hold a decent conversation with since they've been here all their life.

Likewise, not everyone who came to America is "Americanize", there are some people that still hold true to their culture despite the fact that they live here. The who take pride in their culture pays no mind over what other people say or the stares that they might receive from other people. For example, the Gods people worship--not everyone is going to pray to Jesus just because they are here in America. Plus the food, how foods are prepared or cooked varies because of the many different cultures here in America--it's no surprise to people that I eat rice every night for dinner, right? Foods that are acceptable and common to one culture might be different than others. Am I the only one that finds fish heads are appetizing? ( ^ ^ ; )a    

What Kind of A Learner Are You?

What is your style of learning? If I recall correctly, I've done a quiz like this in Middle School, however back then I only know that there are three types of learning skills: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. This was the first time we did one specifically for literature.

Actually what surprised me the most was that I'm a pretty balanced learner. It seems the majority of my classmates have at least one trait that stood out than the rest, however I have three types of learning styles instead of just one. So according to the quiz I am a independent, creative, and emotional learner. I was really surprised that I was the only Emotional learner...Lucky me. ( = w = ' )a

The funny thing was that the results didn't really surprised me, aside the fact that I have a more balance learning style instead of a dominate one. To tell you the truth, until now--I never thought that "emotional" is a learning style! So, let's what my results say about my learning style:

-Independent: As much as I love to help other people, I have to make sure that I am getting my own assigments done. I guess that's where the independent part comes in since I tend to work in my own pace. I don't want to slow my fellow peers down or be a burden--thus, I tend to work alone. In addiation to that, I feel that the only way a person can shine is to do the work by yourself. If you do group work, there will be someone doing more work than the other, but the grade will be shared for both of the teammates.

-Creative: Think outside the box!!! That's always been my motto when it comes to writing, give it your all and create something that's out of the ordinary or make people think, "Huh, I never thought of that." So I guess being creative was something I was expecting. There's so much that you can do, but we set limits on ourselves--make sure to obey the rules. Although I'm not going to rob a bank but that doesn't mean that I cannot write or draw an awesome comic about it ( o w < )b Imagination is neverending~

-Emotional: Ha ha, I don't know if I should be embarrassed or happy that I'm honest with myself. Yes, I often based my decisions on what others will think--in a good way people!!!! O( > w < )O Is that so bad? For example, if you go shopping at Shop Rite, is it so wrong to call home asking your little brother if he's in the mood for some pudding cake so my mom doesn't have to make a two way trip to buy some later? I think being an emotional thinker actually helps me write better, the things I write actually have a tone and human feelings. Thus, I'm proud that I'm an emotional learner.

Well everyone, that's me! Miki, the independent, creative, emotional learner!!!

High School V.S. College

Yes! I have survived my first week of college, and just as I predicted it--time is flying by with a blink of an eye. Even though I still think it'd too early to type a compare and contrast entry about the difference between high school and college, I think I should keep a look out for anything that I typed today might have changed in the future.

So, let's reminiscence life in Absegami high school for a bit--starting from the beginning of the day. Well, no doubt about it, college starts at a later time than high school. For me, I remember waking up 6:30 AM, taking 10 minute quick nap on the bus. College on the other hand starts at 8:30 AM--so waking up at 7:30 AM getting dressed, taking my time eating breakfast, and driving my Honda to campus. Another awesome thing about college is that they sell warm breakfast here, unlike Absegami we only had a choice between cereal in a plastic square bowl or a cold bagel with cream cheese...Needless to say the food here is far more superb--however at the same time, more unhealthy. ( _ _ ||| )

Moving along to our classes, walking from class to class stayed the same--except now we can use the elevator without feeling guilty. Back at my high school only those with disabilities and staff members can use the elevators. For Freshmen, we were told that we need a special hall pass to use those-which was nothing more but a joke to fool newcomers. So cruel! However, in Stockton not only everyone is very nice, I've not been mislead by anyone--I think it's probably since this place is so big, people tend to get lose themselves.The class size are a bit bigger than what I'm used to, even the desk that we sit are different--it's not a full flat surface anymore, it's half of that! That means ladies, you gotta put those giant purses on the floor--ha ha!! Ah, I'm kidding--I'm not that mean, but the desk's surface are small, so it's safe to say, they're only meant for taking notes. Not all the desks in my classes are like that, some are long like a display table or some with computers on them, no matter what you have--just make it work and don't let them disrupt you taking notes.

Now for the amount of class assignments in general...Well, the teachers doesn't check homework, with the exception of my W1 and Chinese class. I don't think I've been given any assignments other than taking notes in class and paying attention. There is honestly very little to no homework in college, so maybe taking six classes isn't so bad after all. In addition to the few amount of class, the grading system are a bit more lenient than high school. In Gami, an A+ was 98-100, here I believe it drop back to 94 -100? Also, the amount of classes are very little too--most of my friends only have four classes, while I have six, ha ha what fun~There may be very few homework but I think that's what is so hard about college, you have nothing to use as a review. Likewise, I think the amount of reading skyrocketed for me--I have things to read in my Biology class, W1 class, and my acting class.... ( = w = ' ) Whew~

Next thing on the list, clubs--this is the only that really shocked me, 8PM to 10 PM!!! I guess that I have to make sure to get all my work done on club days because by the time I get back home and finish all my homework it's already 1AM. Unlike high school, clubs and after school activities are usually from 2:30 to 3:30...if I recall correctly. Anyway, because this new club time, one of my friend was unable to attend the first Anime Club meeting since it was so late. Also, on a side not--I think making friends might be a bit hard this year since everyone is so eager to run out of the classroom as soon as the lesson is finished. I think I might need to grab someone's arm and say, "Hey I'm Miki! Let's be friends!"

How Do You Read?

Let's see, reading habits...It depends what am I reading and what's the purpose of reading it? For me, reading a novel is different from reading from reading a manga, Japaneses comic books. Shoeless Joe for instance, it's assigned to me to finish reading before school starts. I take my time reading novels to let everything I read sinks in, I try to get at least five pages per day. Usually when I read a novel, I would like to sit on my living room sofa in the afternoon--right after a nice yummy lunch, a nice cup of tea or plain glass of water near my reach whenever I feel thirsty while reading. It helps me concentrate better if the room I'm reading is in silence, however I tend to get suck into the book once I start reading so noises don't tend to be an issue. The only exception is my mp3 player, I cannot concentrate when my favorite songs are whispering in my ears, my lips just immediately mouth he lyrics out.

As for mangas, it once again depend on the location, because nowadays people can read mangas online. Thus, it really depends if I have a hard copy in my hands or if I'm reading it from my computer screen. "Whenever and wherever" that's the idea of reading mangas--time and place doesn't matter as long as I can find somewhere to sit. Likewise, I don't have to find a place to sit-- leaning on the wall will do just fine, either way I'll just dive into a world filled with wonders and magic. Now as for reading it from a computer, although it saves me money I much rather have the manga in my two hands than using the mouse to scroll down the page and click the arrow button just to wait again for the page to load--and repeat. Somehow, it's the touch of a book that makes all the magic happen...

Hmm, aside from novels and mangas-- I also read a lot of blogs, aside the fact that we have to do blog for school assignments, I read blogs my friends posted about their life. Reading a blog is the same as reading manga online without the pictures. The only difference is that I'm always sitting in front of a computer, wither it's at school or in my bedroom. I quickly glance at it, choose to type a comment or not, re-read what they type because I want to make sure to stay in topic and sometimes I type too much I tend to forget what they typed, and finally I post what I want to say. Mostly when I read blogs I think if there's anything interesting or amusing that I should type-- I know that bloggers love to get comments, so I often take a minute to see how what I've read reflects with my life, and I reply with a comment based on that!   

Stockton Cafeteria

Since this was the first time I ever went into the Stockton Cafeteria it took me a while to make up my mind about what to eat, plus I only brought about $5.00 so that limited my choice even more. The good news was that I can go without drinking water for two days, so drinks was not a priority for me. On the other hand, a lot of shop clerks kept beckoning me to come closer, don't be shy--order up! So that was fun, in the end it was Primo's Pizza that won my hungry tummy.


For some odd reason, I had the urge to eat a slice of spinach pizza. I ate it once when I was sightseeing Canada, in a place called CiCi's Pizza Buffet. Anyway, the pizza cost $1.99 and it took up quite a space on my plastic plate. The man who I assume was the chef told me he gave me an extra big slice since I had to wait for my order to cook in the oven, so it was worth the wait.


After the meal, I glanced around my surrounding and it felt like I was in a newly built section of the Hamilton Mall's cafeteria. It felt like I was in a mall more than in a cafeteria. The seats were very comfortable and it has a nice sense of style. Next time, I'm going to get my friends and we can all hang out there. I'm aiming for a juicy burger the next time I eat there! ( > w <  )O