l.o.v.e

HAPPY SUPER TUESDAY
for the non-Californians out there,
today is super tuesday,
BIG PRELIMINARY caucuses for the presidential candiates.

My mom went to vote and she voted for Hilary Clinton. We had a mock super tuesday at our school. I voted Barack Obama. I am not just bandwagoning with the rest of the young folk. I have heard his speeches and I've watched him and I liked him a lot especially in the youtube democratic debates. I have a lot of respect for Hilary Clinton also but I just prefer Obama. I don't care for much Republican candiates but I would love if anyone won but ROMINEY. I dislike Rominey a lot, not just for his Mormon factor. He seems to like to personally attack in the debates (no surprise of course) but he just seems to have a very slick greasy factor to me.

So my weekend. I was going to show pictures of Acadeca but MIN has not sent me the pictures yet :(. Acadeca is always fun but we always lose because our team never takes it seriously. We always just go to play and we always end up bullshitting the multiple choice but rocking the speeches and the interview. I totally rocked the interview. I had three really nice ladies that were pretty impressed by my resume. haha. I didn't think I was that great with activities but they asked me a lot of questions about my CRC college classes, student mentoring, etc. I actually do a lot of extracurriculars so I am glad that I looked so intelligent and well rounded. It surprised me that they actually were impressed by me. It was astounding. I guess since I am surrounded by such HIGH LEVEL students who do like a sport, juggle at least three or four aps and are in clubs and still get A's that I under-appreciate myself. Well for the speech I have no idea how I did. I got the worst three old people. They did not give much facial expression and since I was talking about Darfur genocide I dont think they appreciated it very much since they came across as very conservative (especially the two old guys) and I was just like crappp.. inside my head. I made my speech in like 10 minutes that morning anyway. Oh well. The Superquiz was okay. I was mostly talking to Harjot and Min the whole time. Everyone else was trying to compete with Mr. Mowrer and getting the most right answers during the Superquiz. Afterwards most of our team went to go eat PHO! It was really windy and confusing because we initially were supposed to go to Pho King 2, but then people changed it to Viet Ho (??) on Florin, then we call and they are at Viet Hoa in Laguna. It was crazy. Well our whole group took up like half of the restaurant. The pho was so-so. My mom isn't even Vietnamese and she makes better pho. Dom dropped me, Maggie, Michelle and Faith home and he drove really fast over a bump and it was really fun and we were like WHEEEE!!! But in the dangerous weather we were in, I don't think that would be recommended.

On Sunday, I went to run errands with my mom and we were by Jamba Juice by our old house. So I was like, I wonder how our old house looks like. My mom was like "lets go check it out". It was fun to remember little things about the neighborhood. I remember we would always pass by this one house where this Asian guy would always be washing/waxing his car even if it was SPRINKLING. So we are driving around the neighborhood and we get to the house and... MY HEART BROKE. The new owners had totally torn down the trees in our front yard. Our old house had this kind of "forest" as we called it. Our house was formed in an "L" shape with the front door facing the street and the garage facing the neighbor's house. Where the garage was, there was a lot of bushes lined up and this really big green patch (full of sharp vines? something strange like that) and a big tree. There was a little path which was aligned to the garage side and you could walk in (this was behind the bushes) and come to this little overhang formed by the roof and the big tree. It was our (my siblings and I) clubhouse. Well they TORE EVERYTHING DOWN and had just this big mound of dirt. And they re-did the fence and put iron bars on the windows and put a stupid white iron door (i don't know what it is call but it is the door in front of the big thick door). They even planted this ugly crop of sugarcane or something. They made the house look so Asian.

I was really sad that everything had changed. I can still remember the layout of the house and what it looked exactly. I forget that houses can change even when you have left them. Things change even when you are gone, like you were never there. That is sad.



I found a youtube video that was fanmade of the "tell me" song to the fan background. I am too lazy to find the youtube video but here is the ripped version of the song. :]


Okay so I posted a couple pics from Triumir's line just because ONE, that guy in the first picture is hot (SEXY!) and two, I liked the hat. Check out their line because it is pretty cool. I love to look at streetwear brands but you know what I have a big problem with? THEY DONT HAVE LINES FOR GIRLS. Gawd, I should just open my own damn brand because there is a lack of streetwear for girls that is actually cute and cool.


Did you hear about Kanye West's new tour coming up? It looks cool.

I would love to afford to go to that.

Today I had course selection for my senior classes. That is INSANE?!?!?!?!?!? SENIOR CLASSES. That is my future right there. Well I had a real headache trying to determine which classes I have. For one, I seem to be the only one to want to try and take it easy. Everyone else is going crazy and taking like FIVE APS. Seriously, I know I am going to slack a bit being senior year. Plus think about SENIOR PROJECT AND SENIOR APPLICATIONS. I am not about to kill myself. However, I am taking a couple APs. I was really debating on whether or not I can handle AP Calculus because I would have to double up in math in order to take it but I really think it would benefit me and not be such a burden to take it in college. Then the thing about AP ENGLISH LITERATURE! Half the people I know are regular English and half are doing AP. I think I am going to do AP because I LOVE ENGLISH but the thing that sucks is no grade changes after AP test so I don't know if I can get a B in the class. I will see after AP Language & Composition. So here is my potential schedule: physics, ap english, ap gov/honors political science (goes together), ap cal, pre-cal, ap psych, econ, etc. I hope I just get really easy electives to fill it up. Sigh... why am I surrounded by overachievers?



I am really sick of this AP ENVIRONMENT. I am surrounded with kids who are like SUPER GENIUSES. I am super competitive and it really makes me sick to my stomach if I don't take an AP that someone else is taking. I was getting really anxious if I should take SPANISH AP 4 but HELLO I HATE SPANISH!!! So I forced myself not to take it. It really kills me to think some kid would be chosen over me because they took SPANISH AP and I didn't. I know some people are thinking I am just going crazy but yeah that is how i feel. I mean I think some of my friends are going to have strokes by age 20 because of all the stress they put themselves through and their LIFE PLANS. WE ARE ONLY 16/17 guys!!! Sigh but I go through the same thing as everyone else. Stupid college admins people who make us worry like shit over this stuff.

That makes me happy. Animals are so cute.

----CK.

simply love.

I just realized the "love" theme going on in our titles for February. I did not intend to do that and I wonder if Pachia did (haha). But I guess I will continue it as a title theme. I found a new "inspirations" blog. I notice a lot of blogs like to have inspiration posts and have inspiration boards. I want that. I am inspired by this person's photography of breakfast. BREAKFAST IS SIMPLY LOVE.

Credits: Simply Breakfast

I wish I got up early enough to enjoy a nice homemade breakfast. I will write later about my weekend since I am currently in first period (Intermediate Web Design) and should not even be on here.

--CHRISTINA

love so sweet

the ladder of love

The tale of a 70-year-old Chinese man who hand-carved over 6,000 stairs up a mountain for his 80-year-old wife has moved millions of people in 2006, Wednesday morning the man passed away in the cave, which has been the couple's home for the last 50 years.

The story began half a century ago when 20-year-old Liu Guojiang fell in love with widowed mother Xu Chaoqing.

In a twist worthy of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, friends and relatives criticized the relationship because of the age difference and the fact that Xu already had children.

Desperate to escape market gossip and the scorn of their communities, the pair eloped to live in a cave in Jiangjin County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Their story came atop a list of China's top ten love stories organized by the Chinese Women Weekly, which collected tales from around the country since July.

At the beginning, life was harsh and Xu felt that she had tied Liu down and repeatedly asked him, "Are you regretful?"

Liu always replied, "As long as we are industrious, life will improve."

Liu and his wife were not present at the award ceremony due to their age, but their son, Liu Mingsheng, came with a kerosene lamp that his father had made from an ink bottle.

"My parents have lived in seclusion for more than 50 years because of their love for each other. They had no electricity and my father made kerosene lamps to lighten our lives," he said.

"My mother seldom goes down the mountain, but my father cut the 6,000-plus stairs for her convenience," Liu said. "It's a ladder of love."

source: asianoffbeat

isn't this just what everyone dreams of?

♥ pachia!

love, love, love. it's february!

i have this habit of writing random little "letters" to myself throughout the week when there is nothing to do. and recently i stumbled upon some writing that actually caught my eye.

"I'm sad but I'm happy... and I'm happy but I'm sad. But the weird thing is, I think this is the most content I've been with myself in my whole entire life. I've simply come to accept reality and embrace everything thrown at me whether it is good or bad. I'm happy. Happy to know that my life is beautiful, and sad to know that it is only temporary."

that was actually all i wrote, minus the first sentence which wasn't really necessary to quote. but really i lied. i make it sound as if i wrote this a long time ago when really i only wrote it a week ago. it was in the morning while i waiting for school to start (to be exact). i found it yesterday with a bunch of my other notes for photography class. but still, it surprised me. i had forgotten all about it. i forget about a lot of stuff these days, i have such a bad memory. but yeah. i don't want to sound weird or anything, but i kinda just amazed myself for a moment when i read what i had written.

anyways, my aunt had a baby boy two days ago. his name is derren vang and he's 21 inches and 8 pounds! what a fattie :) he's so adorable though. and he has a whole head full of hair. we went to visit him in the hospital and he looks and sounds just like his older sisters. yay, i can't wait to see him again this weekend.
my brother's birthday was last sunday. and today he got his xbox360! how freaking lucky is that? i only ask for a simple crummy phone so i can atleast still have something to use-- anything to use, but oh well. i'm starting my volunteering hours tomorrow, tutoring kids, to prepare for my summer tutor job. so that will be something to look forward to.

so far, the great gatsby is very intruiging. but i kinda think mr. cosgrove's "to me it is the most gorgeous and beautifully written book ever" speech might've already won me over before i even began reading the book. so, i'm not sure. but i think it's beautifully written as well. i've read a lot farther than most people have, but i've refrained myself from actually finishing it. our junior projects have been assigned, and i signed up to do Anne Lamott, which is someone Mr. Cosgrove actually knows, but i'm not sure if i'm actually going to keep her. basically we have to do an annotated bibliography on a writer/author, and i just kinda chose someone for the sake of choosing someone. i'll figure it out soon enough. yay for a new month. (is it weird that i keep mentioning my literature teacher? oh my...)

OH MY GOODNESS! JUNIOR PROM IS FOURTEEN DAYS AWAY :D i will get my dress altered this weekend. and buy some cute gloves as well! even if i'm not going to san francisco with kristina or courtney, errythang'll be just as good.

eleven days until tommy's birthday (what will i ever get him!?!) and twelve more days until valentines day (what will i ever get him?!?).

♥ pachia!

love me after 12 am

"Reality has become so intolerable,

she said, so bleak, that all I can paint now
are the colors of my dreams."

--Reading Lolita in Tehran

For AP English Comp & Lit, I am reading Reading Lolita in Tehran for my non-fiction outside reading. I am not much of a non-fiction fan but the books we read in AP ENG are pretty much all non-fiction. However, this book is very inspiring and interesting to me. It is writing about the time when Iran was under the Islamic Republic and there were a lot of religious codes to be followed (still happens today). Women were forced to be covered up and to hide their hair. Everyone lived in this totalitarian society. To me, coming from a democratic society and government, this is very astounding. Everyone is dictated on how they are to live day by day, especially women. Women have the worst because they aren't even allowed to be seen with other men if they are not relatives or their husbands. People are able to be stoned in this society. However this book is not much to criticize the soceity (thought you can kind of sense the author's attitude toward this society) but it tells the real story of a woman (college professor) who takes a couple of her female students and they talk bout books. This may seem nothing out of the ordinary but of course it is a totalitarian religious society and many books are banned from being read (especially WESTERN books) like Jane Austen.


FAVORITE QUOTES FROM BOOK (i keep marking pages because i think some of the text is just amazing and inspirational:

" Before the revolution, she could in a sense take pride in her isolation. At the time, she had worn the scarf as a testament to her faith. her decision was a voluntary act. When the revolution [when Islamic Republic took over] forced the scarf on others, her action became meaningless. "

"Throughout, from start to finish, I observe that they have no clear image of themselves; they can only see and shape themselves through other people's eyes--- ironically, the very people they despise. I have underlined love yourself, self-confidence."

For the first time in my life, I am actually reading a book slowly. I usually go through a book in like three or four hours but I've learned to look for more in reading than just finishing and being satisfied. I want to decode the meaning and the theme the author is trying to come across. Yeah, AP ENG is just making me much more of a big nerd. I am only like on page 40, so yeah READ THE BOOK IT IS GOOD!

More music:
To talk about "LOVE ME AFTER 12 AM" by m-flo featuring alex. OMG I LOVE ALEX from CLAZZIQUAI more and more every day. I notice he has been coming out on a lot of Korean variety shows now. Too bad he shines more than m-flo in the song. This is a very cute song. I love any song featured by Alex. The ALEX & JISUN combination last year on their little single was fantastic. I am not sure if it was last year, it made me 2006. But yeah, they made an awesome duet.

So yeah I know why Feist deserves a Grammy haha. She's different but likable. She's like the happy boppy feeling when you eat a lollipop. Haha I am trying to find the right description.

New ANDY. SOLO ANDY. Yeah this is very Shinhwa style but it sounds better because it is just ANDY! I am impressed, that he actually can hold his own to Minwoo. I really like this song because it is so catchy.

and about my day.
So I am thinking of trying for spring musical at school and I went to the workshop with Michelle today. OMG I felt so out of place. I felt like such a nerdy little ASIAN GIRL because Michelle and I and Trisha (well she is in theater so MINUS HER) were the only Asians in there. I NEVER FEEL THAT NERDY. I never really care about that kind of stuff but it kind of ticked me off when everyone was like are you guys twins when they came up to Michelle and I. I was like NOOOO!! I felt that cliquey aura and could feel the stereotypes being labeled on my head. BUT maybe it was just my imagination. Yes I am not much of a theater type or part of that crowd BUT I LOVE MUSICALS and I do like to sing. I was horribly intimidated by the choir singers and the theatrical people in that workshop though. I have no idea how I am going to go through with this but I WILL BE BRAAAAAAAVVVEEEE. I should have just gone out for tech crew. GAWWWWD. I hate singing high notes though and most of the girls' parts were pretty high. I can sing in harmony with others but by myself I WOULD CRACK. I don't want to audition. AUGH. WELL I WILL STICK TO IT AND BE BRAVE AND BE DARING! I WANT TO HAVE FUN and do all those high school things you wish you could have done but never was brave enough to do. YES

Tomorrow I have ACADEMIC DECATHLON. GAWD I really am a nerd but no worries, our team always is the biggest (and coolest) looking group and we always like get like 10th place. HAHA. Our teacher (MOWRER!) is so chill about it and he doesn't really care about winning. We do kind of but not really. I spent more time thinking about what I was going to wear than what my three minute speech should be about. I really love doing the interview part because I love talking to older people and sounding smart and not feeling stupid because I sound smart. When you talk smart to people your own age, they kind of think you are obnoxious or a nerd. Yeah so you just try to dumb yourself down. Sad to say it is true. But of course I never really can do that all the way. I am just too dominant of a speaker to dumb myself down. BUT WHY SHOULD YOU ACT STUPID ANYWAYS?

"IMITATION IS SUICIDE"
-EMERSON

Don't follow others, live the life you want.

---EMPRESS
CK
[ RULER OF FREE WORLD ]