My Book

  When I was in Grade 8, I was writing a book. I had a few chapters done before I went back to China for the summer. So the whole thing was momentarily forgotten.
  Last week in school, Jennica was telling me about how she wanted to write a book, and it reminded me of mine. So I promised her I would send her mine so she can read a bit.
  On Friday, there was no school, so I was just doing science fair. Later when I was watching TV, there were a lot of commercial and  I got really bored. So I took out my ipad, and started to read my own story.
  OMG! It was such a strange feeling. You know you wrote it yourself, and you can't help but criticize, but at the same time you are totally admiring your own work. Its like I can't believe I wrote that! And also I sometimes think, I should change this, I should change that.
  It was a great experience, reading the first few chapters of my own book. I love the first chapter the most. That is why that is the one I sent to Jennica. I hope she gets some inspiration, because I sure got my muse back!
  After reading my own book, I have decided that I really should continue writing it. I just need to finish my science fair first. I am actually almost done. It is just I still want to collect more data, I think the more the better.

Story

This is a story my cousin sent me.

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

---A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - family,
children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions –
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued,
there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled
'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
There’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

~~~True, so true...

Vision Protractor Pics

Maus

 We are reading Maus for English. It is a comic book about the holocaust, it portrays Jews as mice, and Germans as cats, Americans as dogs, French as frogs, Canadians as moose, Polish as pigs, and so no. It is such a great book. It is so awesome. It taught me so much about the Holocaust. Things that I would never have come cross, or know if not for this book.
  I just finished reading Maus 2. It is as interesting as the first book, if not more. Vladek is such a complicated and interesting character. I think he is very smart and fit for survival, it is one of the reasons he came out of the war. I can not begin to imagine what it was like, so I am just going to say this: genocides are totally scary.
  One of the main reasons I like Maus is because it allows you to stay detached from such a serious and heavy subject... It really shows you the story in such a graphic and detailed way. When I was reading the second book, one of the things I always wanted to say was the fact that Art was really frustrated towards his father in the end. I thought he could have cut him some slack, imagine all the things Vladek has been through. It is a miracle he can still manage himself so well...
  Maus is a great comic book, and I even introduced it to my aunt. She said she will read it when she has time.

Make You Own Board Game

  We have this do it project for English. Basically we can do anything (almost) we want, as long as it is about Maus or the Holocaust. Me and Jessie are doing a game board. Jessie wants to make it like Life. The only problem is I have never played life before, and so I am not familiar with the game. However I did do some research about the game and got the gist of it. The boards actually look really complicated, but I think we can handle it if we work hard.
  The interesting thing I found was this website that taught you how to make your own personalized game boards. They have files with game board tiles and all that. It is really awesome. Here is the link:
http://www.microsoft.com/canada/home/memories-and-crafts/articles/all-a-board-create-a-personalized-board-game.aspx
  I never knew there were stuff that helped you make your own game boards. Even though I checked, and this type of game board isn't really the type me and Jessie want to make, it might still come in handy sometime. One day, when I get bored of all those fun board games that already exist (which I NEVER will, because I play them like only a few times a year), I can make my own super fun personalized board game!
  Speaking of NEVER getting tired of board games, I am so sad... I don't have a board game at home, and it sucks. I love playing board games, we used to have a Monopoly and Scrabble, but they all got lost when we moved. Now there are no board games, but most importantly, I have no one to pay them with. Great, that is even sadder. No one to play board games with... No board games to play with... That must explain why I love board games so much...
  Night.

Gallagher Girl

  The Gallagher Series is so awesome!

  To be honest, at first I thought it was very like Harry Potter. In this book the girls are also attending a school in a big awesome mysterious castle. Castles as schools are really interesting. Plus this book is all about girls, all the main characters are girls, girls are so epic in this book. All of these people are spies and geniuses, the whole environment is in a completely different world. The author makes you feel as if you are really reading something quite international and big and secret. It makes you feel really interested.
  I really like the main character in this book. Her name is Cammie, they all call her Cammie the Chameleon. I think that she is a very strong female character, sometimes female characters in books tend to stray off character. But I think Cammie was a very successful and independent character.
  Cammie is officially my favourite female character!
  I can't wait for the fifth book to come out! Spies--- no wait--- female spies are so awesome!!!

This one is the 5th book. It is coming out sometimes soon this year, at least I hope!

I can't wait to read this book!

I love the covers of these book too.

This book makes book make me really want to say this:

GIRLS ROCK!!! ^^

My Mom In China

  Here is my blog...
  My mom went back to China for Chinese New Year. She wants to know what I have to doing these past days. I really don't want to talk on the phone all the time. I mean I don't like talking. Dude. It is so annoying to talk to your parents on the phone. They always ask you what you are doing. There are a lot of things you do everyday, and you really don't want to name them all. I don't any ways...
  So I made a pack with my mom so that she will read my blog, and I don't have to recall everything I do on the phone. What a wonderful thing, blogs are!!!
  So I must write my blog everyday!
  I think I like typing so much better than talking on the phone. This is great.
^^ LOL

Chinese New Year

  Yesterday was the first day of Chinese New Year. Chinese celebrate many days of the new year, but here in Canada there is no break or anything so we only celebrated the most important 2 days. I didn't really feel in the Chinese New Year spirit this year because my mom and brother went back to China to spend it with my grandparents. This leaves me here alone, and you are supposed to spend Chinese New Year with your family. I am with my "family", but not my immediate one... I think this is the first Chinese New Year that I spent without my mom... I miss her... Plus on the first day of the Chinese New Year, I got a cold. I felt so bad yesterday, my head was foggy, and I/ had a running nose that was literally running like tap water. Today I feel a little better, I am starting to loose the running nose, but getting the coughs instead. Days are passing really fast for me. When you don't feel well, time seems to swim around, and it feels all slushy and wet...
  I shouldn't stare at the computer too long. Must drink more water. Must sleep more.
  What a Chinese New Year to remember... I hope it isn't like this next year! Just saying...

Eye want colour

  I have been thinking about what to name my science fair project, when this came into my mind. I am doing something about peripheral vision, and colour wavelength. Since the peripheral vision is something that involves the eye. Then I would name my project Eye Want Colour. Or something like that. I want to name it something interesting, not just the old boring science names... I still have to work on so many things. See ya...

Kids Blog Their Parents

I got up late at around 10am. celinna was still sleeping. Obviously she stayed up late last night. My little son woke up late too. He was very excited yesterday evening because his friend Jason came to visit us with his parents. After I had dressed him up, we went to the kitchen. I prepared two toasts for him with cheese and a fried egg, which little Justin loves very much. It should be a simple breakfast as I didn't want to have a brunch. So at around 1 pm we had lunch together with Celinna. In the afternoon, while Celinna was practicing piano, I played toy car racing with Justin, read books to him and built a big castle with the foam blocks. After dinner, we watched Treehouse and played more games. At around 9:30pm we got ready to go to bed.

Matched

  Matched is a book I read yesterday. The best thing about the book is how it was able to completely invent another world, yet make it connected to our world. So basically you were in the completely different yet familiar environment. Everything that happens makes sense too, it wasn't some supernatural world where there were vampires and werewolves. It was a world with a different kind of society. I feel like in the book, the characters have freedom, but yet they don't at the same time. They are living in the ideal utopia, but yet there are lies and deception. The people in the book love and trust their Society so much, that they do not think for themselves. They may sound like robots, but surprisingly they are not. The author was able to provide you with the perfect balance of fiction and reality. Some things exist in our society, yet some did not. It made the whole thing a lot more interesting because the story is supposed to be happening long after the time in which we live in. It was the same world, but different in so many ways. The author also limited songs, poems, paintings, and other stuff in the book, which only made it more interesting.
  Also, a lot of things that happen in the book is totally normal in real life. But in the book they make it sound like it is a law, and it was not allowed or something. Sometimes a event happens in the book, and you could go "well, that would never happen in real life because..." I think the author was able to write the most realistic version of how people would react in a Society such as the book. It is really good and it all just fits, it makes sense, it feels real on a lot of different levels.
  Here is the covers~!!!

  The second book is Crossed, and I am still reading it.

  I hope it is as good as the first book. I feel like I don't really love this book, I do understand it. Really weird feeling it is...

  Good Reading!

  And I just remembered:

I love to draw+

I love to write+

I love to read=

Dooldes!!!

Singing All Day Long

  On Monday, which was only yesterday. We had an assembly. Last year, assemblies were very non-important to me. I never really remembered when they were. But this year, because I am in the intermediate choir, we have to perform for most of the assemblies. It always starts out nervous, becomes more relaxing and fun, and then gets really boring.
  We had 5 assemblies, one for each grade, and for each one we had to sing 2 songs (including O Canada). After repeating it after a while it gets pretty boring. The thing about Monday was after we performed, we had to go back to class for a little while, and then go back to perform again. That totally messed up my day, I mostly didn't attend any classes until later on in the day.
  I was really busy at lunch time because I had to go to the textiles room to work on my tank top because I missed my class (because of the assembly and choir and all that). I only ate three bites of my lunch, when I had to go back to the auditorium to perform again. The last performance for the grade 12s was really good. The seniors sang a piece without having to prepare for it, the seniors are all really good. I had lots of fun on Monday, but I hope it is on a day 1 next time, I always miss my Day 2 classes, and I hope I won't need to do  a lot of catching up.

Tiger's Voyage

  Tiger's Voyage is the third book of the Tiger's Curse series. I don't like the author's style of writing, her characters seem kind of strange and doesn't really follow common sense. But the books do get better and better, plus the author probably really loves poetry. There is a lot of poetry (mainly Shakespeare) and prophecies going on, awesome! The story is exciting as always, but this time the Chinese myths were brought into the story as well. Usually the book is mainly about Indian myths and stories, even though the book is still based on a Indian story, I am glad they added some Chinese ones in too. As a Chinese I know a lot of the stories, but I usually never hear of it in English. It feels good to be newly introduced to something that you already know except in a different language.
  That reminded me, today we were studying in the library for socials today, and Mimi found this book. Mimi is researching on Mao, and she asked me "What is Heaven Peace Gate in Chinese?". If you think about it, it is really weird name, but in Chinese it is the 天安门, which is in Beijing. English is so different from Chinese, sometimes the translations really make no sense.
  Back to the book, I wonder if the author knows Indian, because she uses a lot of Indian words.Sometimes she doesn't explain them, and I am just like 'what did that mean???' She also used some Chinese words, but at least I knew what they meant.

Gosh I Don't Know Where To Start

  I feel like I have a lot of stuff I want to write about. From time to time I would get these great ideas for blogs, and then I would go “I'll do it tomorrow..." But when it is tomorrow, I usually forget what I was thinking about, and all is lost. Today is one of those days I forget. I don't remember, I feel like there is something at the back of my brain, but I just can't remember it. Oh Yeah! I remembered, okay, going to write about it on a new blog. Tomorrow is Wednesday, day of doom! No, just the science re-test for reproduction because we all did so horrible, and the Pre-IB test. I heard that it was only on Math and English, which is good to know, but I don't think my source is very reliable. Honestly, I know that you can't really study for something like this. It is either you know it, or you don't. And plus, I wouldn't know where to begin, so much stuff any ways. I wonder how long is it going to be, it is in the gym right? I think at least--at least half of the Grade 9s applied, which is a lot of people. How are they going to fit us all in the cafeteria? I don't think there is enough room. I am a little nervous, but more excited. Can't wait to see what is it going to be like, have I ever mentioned I like taking tests. I find that they usually help me learn new stuff. Oh and I also have to blog about Choir, got to remember that!

Kids Blog Their Parents

  Today I got up in the morning to make Celinna Breakfast. She was in a hurry and didn't finish her breakfast. I tried to go back to sleep, but I stayed away. Justin soon got up, so I made toast and we ate it with little carrots. It was pretty late, so we ate a brunch. Later I took Justin to the library, we got a lot of books about Dora and Franklin. We also went to the market to buy some vegetables. When we got home, Justin ate some crackers and watched TV. Around 4:00 I started making dinner, Celinna should be home soon. I made lots of dishes for dinner, and my sister (Celinna's auntie) came over for dinner. Justin watched TV while he ate dinner, I was really mad at him. That night, he would not brush his teeth before we went to bed. Later on my sister got him to bed, and I talked with Celinna about her day.

Kids Blog Their Cousin 2

I woke up today, as usual washed up and whatnot. Then I went to eat breakfast. My class starts at 12pm today, so before that I just walked around and then at around 11:30am I met with my friend Aina, we went to class together. It is our Geography of Global Tourism class. The class was interesting, but the prof talk way too slow. Afterwards, we met with Annika, and went to the mall. At the mall Aina did her facials while Annika and I drank some tea at a café. We managed to catch our bus on time to get back to the campus to have our evening class. The class was pretty interesting; it is about cultural values in the travel industry. At night, the three of us ate dinner together. It was fun. Then they went home and I went back to the dorm as well.


(P.S. My cousin so awesome, in Hawaii!!!)

Kids Blog Their Cousin

So what I did..

I woke up, got up, brushed my teeth and washed up. Then I went to have breakfast. The cafeteria had
so many different choices to the point that I was just standing there drooling and staring at the choices,
finally, I got back to my senses and grabbed a tray to get some food. I got omelette, which was made on
the spot in front of me, I could also choose what to put inside. I forgot to tell them not to put any olives,
but overall it was a very delicious omelette. I also got myself some drinks, an orange passion fruit juice.
It was tasty. After I ate my breakfast I went back to the dorm, got dressed and went to Hanauma Bay to
snorkel. Hanauma Bay is a famous snorkel destination in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is also a natural preserve,
therefore, everyone is required to pay to get in and also to watch a mandatory video that teaches
you rules and regulations while snorkelling so that one will not harm any marine lives. It was not the
hottest day, I snorkelled for about an hour and got out, although the water was warm. It is interesting
that the water is actually much warmer than the air, therefore, most of the people stay in the water
rather than outside on the beach. I didn’t want to get out as well. The view under the sea is amazing and
just breathe taking. I have never seen anything so beautiful and lively. I felt like I was swimming in an
aquarium surrounded by colourful fish, corals and other marine life. It is an experience one can never
miss.

My Pre-IB Biography

Dear Sir or Madame

My name is Yi Zhou (Celinna) Ju. To me, learning is not just something I do in school. It is an on-going process of growing and experiencing new things. I am learning every day just by doing the most mundane things. I am also learning through the changes and challenges. Every mistake I make is a lesson, and every accomplishment a reward. I hope by attending pre-IB, I can quench my constant thirst for knowledge, and complete another chapter of my life.

To me, learning in school not only enhances my understanding of science, nature, literature, language, history and society, but also sharpens my personal skills. My education in Canada provided me with much room to creativity and imagination. My two year education in China taught me self-discipline, and diligence. I love experiencing insights. The feeling of sudden understanding fascinates me. Simple shapes and lines can create mathematical questions with endless answers. In order to enrich my life, I participated in Debate Club and Recycling Club. I avail these extra-curricular activities to practice leadership skills and extend my awareness. These skills help me perform better, and are essential to a meaningful life.

To me, learning is beyond campus. At home, I love to sew and knit. I like to D.I.Y because the feeling of making something with your own hands is irreplaceable. I enjoy building and fixing things. When my family gets new furniture, or something is broken, I am always the first to be called on. In my spare time, I love reading and writing. Literature is alive and weaves the fabric of my world. Throughout the years, I made a hobby of keeping track of time by writing journals and diaries. I also appreciate assorted music and movies. In addition, I take art lessons after school to improve my sketching and designing skills. I believe that small details in life can add up, and everything I learn will prove to be useful one day.

 I have traveled between different cultures, and experienced different types of education. I can quickly adapt to new environments, and easily socialize with others. I take great responsibilities for my own actions, and always try to find new ways to learn. I am an optimistic person, and do not believe in giving up because every failure takes me one step closer to success. I know that I am far from flawless, but I try to learn from my mistakes and embrace the challenges life offers.

High school is a stepping stone towards university, and I want to make the best out of it. I understand that there will be more hard work and trying times, but I am ready to accept the challenge. I believe I can benefit from the resources the Pre-IB program provides in all aspects. I wish to thrive in order to contribute more to the society in return. In this dynamic modern world, I am convinced that Pre-IB can provide me with the opportunity to prove that everybody can make a difference.

Back To China

  Today my mom went back to China. She is going back to spend Chinese New Year with my grandparents in China, leaving me here all alone... I am staying with my auntie for a while, and I miss them already. So sad I can't go back for Chinese New Year. My aunts and uncles in China always lit fireworks every New Year, and there would be a lot of delicious food. The most important thing is that the whole family will be together, and the adults will be playing mah-jong. My dad won't even let me watch them play, said it was bad influence or something, makes no sense to me... Well, I guess this year they will be spending it with one less person. Apparently this year there was no 30th of the Chinese new year. I don't know what it is called in English, but in Chinese it is 大年三十. This only happens every 20 years according to my parents, so cool. It will be my first, and it just remind my of how alone I will be.
  My cousin Sammi is off in Hawaii for and exchange program at her school. It is like 28 degrees there, so lucky! And I noticed it is snowing right now, it came a month late, but I am glad it is finally here. Come to think of it my cousin is alone in Hawaii too, we will just have to comfort each other on the phone then.

Cutie Bird

I Got My Camera Back!

  Ever since winter break started, I didn't have my camera. Apparently there was something wrong with it, and there were no sounds. So the people at Future Shop send it off to repair in the factories. I just got it back today. Apparently there was nothing wrong with it, it was just that the music when shooting videos wasn't on. Well, that was a waste of time, but at least I can record sound now. I mean the people at future shop should be able to know about simple things such as how to turn the music on, but I guess with all the stuff they have it must be hard to remember.
  My camera is as scratched and pink as ever. It works perfectly fine now, and I can finally take pictures again. We don't have a family camera, so my camera is all we've got. Without it, I wasn't able to record a lot of stuff I have been doing lately. My mom got some of our pictures during the summer printed out, and it was such an experience looking at them. All the memories pictures can hold, what a marvellous thing we invented!

Pre-IB Application

  Ever since I got back to school, everyone has been talking about the Pre-IB applications. The 500 word biography, and the due date. The application is due at 4:00 today, which has already passed. I hope that everyone who wanted to apply got their's handed in on time. I handed mine in yesterday--Wednesday. So basically on Saturday and Sunday, I wrote my biography. I literally wrote around 5 different versions. 500 is really not a lot considering all the stuff you have to put in, and I really don't know what to write sometimes because I just feel like that I am not doing enough. I mean I think being in China for 2 years has kinda put a dent in my community service department. It's not like helping teachers, and cleaning classrooms in China count. Some people have really impressive biographies, and once you read them, you kind of feel that you may never be able to write something as good as that. But I try. Writing is something I enjoy doing, and honestly I don't mind. But sometimes when you are writing about yourself, you don't know where to start. People are such complicated beings, and we have so many sides and angles. I think I did a great job on my biograph though, the finally copy is awesome. I guess my hours of hard work paid off. And believe it or not, I think that writing that Pre-IB application actually increased my writing skills on some levels.
  Oh, and I was going to hand it in on Monday. My mom photo copied all the documents and I even got a picture taken. But I had to find Ms.Salter because of the stupid mistake on my report card... That is another story I think I will save for tomorrow.

Busy and Behind on Posts

  This week has been crazy, and tomorrow is Friday. I was going to say "finally Friday", but that is not true. For me this whole week started from last Friday has been like going to war. I have been so busy, that times passes way too fast. On Tuesday I couldn't remember what day it was, there was so much stuff going on that I couldn't remember the date. On Wednesday, I thought I whole week had gone by. A day didn't feel like a day any more, it felt like a week. Time passed really fast, and without even knowing it it was Thursday. Usually I would wait and wait for Thursday to come because it was when my favourite TV show aired. But this week, I am still kind of surprised because time passes so fast. When you are busy, and you have something to do, time barely feels like it is passing. Time is flying, and that reminded me of how fast time passes by.
  Why I was so busy this week? Because of the Pre-IB applications, tests, essays, science fair, projects, books, on and on. But today, I feel like its a break. Tomorrow I have a math test and that is it for this week. I get to have a nice 2 day break, and I am still surprised because the days passed so quickly... Unbelievable, and quite the experience!

TED Talks

  My cousin Sammi sent me this one. Sammi is in Hawaii right now as an exchange student. So awesome. Hawaii is like 28 degrees, and totally sunny and totally blue. WoW.

TED talks is really good. They have so many good inspiring videos...

Squeezing Words From Your Brain is Really Hard

  Today is Saturday, and I got up really late because I stayed up really late yesterday. So I went to the library with my mom and brother, when I realized that I didn't bring my library card. A few books that I had on hold arrived so I wanted to pick them up. There is a book called The Tiger's Voyage, I read the first couple of chapters online. I want to finish it because I read the first two books of the series already. Sadly I couldn't get ti because stupid me forgot my library card. But we ended up getting bakeries instead, comfort food. I love eating baked stuff, anything that is baked!
  When I got home I know I had to start on the 500 word biography. I already brain stormed some ideas this week, but I still didn't know what to write. So basically wrote some random stuff, and it was so bland and normal to the point where I gave up on it. My mom read it and she had no comments what so ever because it was so okayish. Then I went on Facebook and I saw that Yunyi had posted some examples of other people's biographies. WoW. They were so good! And after reading them, I had a little more inspiration, so on the bases of the previous one, I started writing another biography. By then it was already really late, and I finally knew the direction of what to write. I think eating is my muse... Anyway, I stayed up till 2 to finish writing it, and I am pretty satisfied with it. I think I will read it again tomorrow, now I am going to sleep.

Kids Do Crazy Stuff on FRIDAYS!

  So the end of the week came so fast. I think I still haven't gotten used to school yet. Today is Friday, so I am just going to stay at home and relax. There is a lot of stuff going on. There is a 500 word biography for the IB application to write, lots of HW, a socials test to study for on Monday, and Science Fair to keep you up at night. I am kinda confused, I need to measure colour. Not just colour, but colour on paper. Like paint or something... Do I measure it in nanometres? Or measure it like they measure the colour of paint? I am so confused... And then the IB biography, I feel like it is going to take me a while. I mean I would probably write a version, and then change it and change it and change it again. The socials test on Monday seems quite far away for me right now, so I think I am going to leave it till Sunday.
  I was just reading Maus the comic for English. I wonder where the author got the idea of writing people as mice and review the world war 2. I don't really like reading comics, I read very few of them. That is why I am so slow at it... I always read books with words, maybe I should try to read more comics to experience new stuff. After learning about it in English last year, I realized there was nothing stupid or easy about reading comics. That was why I started reading Death Note, but I kinda went back to reading books after a while...

Half- Blood

  On Wednesday there was the Bulldog Classics in the afternoon, and a lot of people went. I didn't go, and it was last block in French class. There was only 10 people who showed up, so Ms. Todd gave us a free block. Lillian was there too, and we started talking about books. It was a very heated conversation including countless popular books these days. Like most of the times I meet people who read books that I know and loves to read, I suggest book that I like to them. And of course Lillian told me to read this book called Half-Blood from a series called Covenant. She said it was really like VA (Vampire Academy), which I read. So I decided to check this book out. As she described, it was totally awesome. What a great book. Even though it does copy a lot of ideas from VA, it is much better in some ways. The story line is different, but the environment is quite the same. Very good book, and I really love the cover of the book. Sometimes there are many good books with not very good covers, and I tend to like covers with no people on them. That is just me though.

  The second book called Pure also has a beautiful cover.

  You know, if I ever write a book, I think I want my cover to be like this style.

  And there is also this side book or something that I didn't read yet. I am planning to read it soon. It is called Daimon, I just saw the cover on Google Images and why am I not surprised, it is just as magnificent as the other 2.

 I can't wait to read Pure. There are so many books coming out in 2012! Come to think of it, if you like reading, there is always good coming out for you!

The Vampire Diaries Is Back!

  The return of The Vampire Diaries was the reason I didn't write a blog yesterday. I was too hyper to sleep last night... I started watching TVD in grade 7 in China. I heard of it because I originally read the books The Vampire Diaries, at the time I really liked the books so I decided to watch the TV show. Once I started I never seem to have stopped. These days the Vampire Diaries books aren't really good though... The story is strange and kind of messed up. In fact I heard the publishers of the book kicked the author off from writing the book. I think they hired someone else to continue the series for the author because the author wasn't writing the book they wanted her to. Or something like that... I didn't know they could do that.
  The TV show always takes a break whenever we take breaks, so it was gone for the whole winter break. It just came back yesterday, and even if I was busy, I just couldn't let myself miss it.

Life in a Day

  First of all I have to say: I always don't get the emails! I didn't know that you have to watch this video until Thursday this week. I asked Vivian for the link, and she said they got the email around winter break. I totally didn't get it, and I also didn't get the buskerfest job thing. I got the spread sheet, just not the one that asks you which job yo want to do.


LIFE IN A DAY
  When the documentary first started, I saw that it said the whole movie was filmed in the same day--July.24.2010. At first I didn't get it, but when the movie started, I couldn't believe it! And it also mentioned "with the help of Youtube", so I am guessing that some clips came from Youtube? Or maybe Youtube helped pass on the message of filming stuff on that day. The video made no sense at the beginning, but it started to get more and more interesting.
  The scene I remembered the most is a cow getting slaughtered. The clip jumped out of nowhere, I mean suddenly this guy in white cloak was explaining how it was like a gun? There was this cute cow in a metal box like thing, and suddenly there was a thing like a glue gun. Before I could even register what was happening there was already two red holes on the cow's head. And at first I thought it was still alive because it was still moving, I thought they were doing some experiment or something. But as it slowly sank to the ground, it got dragged out. The next thing made my dinner unappealing, the cow's head was cut open and it was red inside and red everywhere. I didn't want to look, but I couldn't look away---these things are happening everyday. Every piece of meat you eat, it all cost a life. If you didn't know about it, you won't think about it. But once you know, you can never really forget...
  The Korean guy who spent more than 9 years travelling the world on his bike gave me a strong impression too. There are people out there, everywhere, travelling the world by themselves, finding answers. I can tell he really loves his country, I mean being away from home is really hard sometimes, and there are so many people who cannot be with their family. Even though I am Canadian and have a Canadian passport and all that, but somehow inside my heart I will always be a Chinese. I mean I think it runs in my blood, and my dad always reminds me...
  There was this Love Parade or something. All these people were stuck because of a tunnel...? I don't get what was wrong with the tunnel, but it was pretty scary. All those people stuck in there with no exit. There was so much fear and panic, and it made accidents inevitable. People hate being helpless, but they never really understand what really goes on to the others there who experience it. I wonder how it must have been for those people stuck there...
  And the lanterns in the end... It made me want to cry, I don't know why, but flying lanterns just gets to me. I would love to see something lie that, it would be such an experience. I still can't believe all those things happened in one day. Now that I really think about it, it really is happening every single day. All the people of the world have 1 life in which they live in, and the world consists of all these lives of all these people... So much more is happening, and we will probably never really explore every single corner of the world.
  There were a bunch of other stuff that gave me a strong impression, but I just can't seem to remember them at the moment. I had dinner (which I had no appetite), and then played piano... My memory is really no good these days, and I just can't remember the details and other stuff even though I only watched it a few hours ago.

Ceramics

  So I made these ceramics during summer break, so I am going to post the pics I took of them.

  The vase is my favourite, I was totally thinking of Tigger when I made it.
  The yellow one---whatever you may think---is a happy face. My mom thought it was a frog, and my brother thought it was a pig. But no, it is a happy face!
  And the cup is the first one I made, I call it the Moon Cup. ^^ Ceramics is really fun, too bad I'm not taking it in school.

My Vision Protractor

  Today I started on my Science Fair. I realize it is already pretty late to start, but apparently some people have not start it yet.
  So my project is about peripheral vision and I needed to make a vision protractor. So I made a vision protractor. I had to get some card-board that was 1x2 foot. I was going to find some card-board paper but then I realized that all the stores were closed today because it was New Year. I totally don't get that, but I wanted to find something harder than that. So I found this huge card board box that was big enough for the vision protractor. After I cut it out though, I realized that the colour of the card board wasn't the best colour to write on, it just happens that my cousin was in Metrotown (which is open) so I asked her to bring me some white boards.
  My vision protractor is so awesome after I was finally done. You know it is really hard to make a huge protractor. You have to use a ruler to extend the line and then there are just so many lines.
  After I finally finished I tried it on my cousin Sammi. It was so much fun, but I always seem to miss some of the little pop stickle sticks that I made.
  I really need to finish my science project!