Why computer, why?

Oh great, out of the three computers in our house, I just found out that one of them broke down. Whenever I try opening it, it just restarts and restarts. I only found today that the harddrive isn't working, so my mom wants to buy a new computer. That's good news, since our computer was here for a long time, and by long, I mean LOOOOOOONG. Also, I'm going to start bugging her about the new laptop she promised me when I entered high school. Then I won't be fighting for time on the computer. I have money saved up on my bank account, so it's only a matter of time before I come home with my laptop. Five people sharing a computer is actually harder then it sounds. My mom has to use hers for homework for her school, and my dad has to use his for work. In between that, my sister and I have to do our homework on the computers, that is, if we can find a time when my brother isn't playing on video games on the computer. (Impossible?) At least we have a long weekend to figure this out.
I hope your computer(s) is doing way better,
Dapple Grey

Field Trip: Writer's Festival

Hey Readers!
I had my first full-day field trip today, to Granville Island for the Writer's Festival. I still can't believe the freedom we have on theses fieldtrips. Normally, on a field trip, my teacher would say: "Listen up! Partner up, and stay in the line! Follow me!", so imagine how weird it was when Ms. Greskiw said "We meet back here in about an hour! Go wherever you want, but be back in time!" The Writer's Festival was really cool, actually. We met the author of "the Billionaire's curse" and Kenneth Oppel, author of the silverwing series, and so much other books (20 in total, that's a book a year!) Anyways, he got us hooked on his latest book, which is about a family who take in a chimpanzee and teaches it sign language. At the end, I got their autograph! It was so exciting! We had lunch at this little restaurant that's kind of tucked in a corner, so it's not very noticeable. Anyways, we found Ms. Greskiw there, so we had a nice conversation and lunch. The soup there was unbelievably good, and they had awesome service! We had gelato icecream there, and was so full and happy by the time we got back to listen to the next presentation.
   This one however was different from the other, waaay different. The author's most recent books were on war, and so her presentation was more serious and well, it made you feel sad. She actually went to Afghanistan and experienced what being in a war was like. She told us many stories, but made sure that the presentation didn't end on a bad note. Anyways, right after that, we went right back to school.
Getting tired...but you should totally go check out the Writer's Festival at Granville Island, it's really worth watching!
Dapple Grey

Apple Barn

During the long weekend, our family went to a apple barn in Abbotsford. It only just opened for picking, so there was almost no one there. There were so many apples, and man, they were huge! When I say huge, I mean HUGE! They were so red, and some were green too, for people who like both sweet and sour apples. We picked a lot of apples, in fact, there was so many apples that we had trouble carrying them to the car. Then, in the car, we had a big lunch of....what else? apples. Who knew that just one apple could get you stuffed? Anyways, just across the street was the Main Apple Barn. Thanksgiving Festivals were held there. So much activities and so much fun!There was a big jumping pillow (huge trampoline) that you could jump on, you bounce so high, and it's just so fun! Also, if you fall, it's hard to get up, which makes it more fun! There was also a petting zoo where you can pet bunnies (so soft!), Goats, Sheep, and Llamas, yes llamas, but who knew they could be so fluffy? (By the way, they didn't spit). There's too much to explain: You could have hay rides, slide down slides, have fun in the pumpkin patch, shoot pumpkins from afar, have a pony ride, and there's also this big market where they sell all kinds of natural foods (mostly with apples), and a factory where you can watch them make apple cider! I was so exhausted from that day, but I got to admit, it was a ton of fun!

Thursday, Oct. 14

Yup, I'm slowly catching up. So, today I had my weekly riding lessons. This one was especially interesting, because I had Stable Management instead of riding. So today, I learned how to put on horse boots and polo wraps. (For the horse, of course.) It was really fun, because I have never tried it before, and my teacher says that I have to start using horse boots for my lesson. Horse boots are easy to put on, but you have to be really really careful in putting them on so they won't rub on the horse's back tendon. Polo wraps, on the other hand are more annoying. They are like cottony toilet paper. You wrap it around the horse's feet and roll it around and around and around.....you get the point. But you have to wrap it carefully to have the exact length of wrap at the end. Otherwise, you have to start all over again. My instructor demonstrated, and man, it is waaaaaay harder than it looks. Even she can't get it right sometimes!
Lucky for me, I don't plan on playing polo anytime soon.
Yaaawn! I'm getting sleepy...goodbye before I droop off!

Assembly

Today after lunch we had an assembly. There was a guest speaker who came in to talk about homophobia and bullying. So the message is....Stop homophobia, stop bullying! It's an eye for an eye (I think that's how it goes), treat others like what you want to be treated. When you call someone gay, it may seem as a joke to you, but it might really hurt someone else. Anyways, the guest speaker made this assembly really interesting, it was so funny and entertaining, but I also learned alot and I really felt sympathetic for him, after hearing all about him being bullied at school. This talk also made me grateful that our school has many counselors and people that we could talk to. At times, we may feel lonely, or desperately needing someone to talk to, like the guest speaker when he was at school, so the counselors are hear to listen and help. My favourite parts of the assembly was when he told stories. You really understand what's going on, and I just love his voice imitations!
Remember, tomorrow is Purple Day! Wear Purple!

Two very interesting art classes

My mom signed me up for art lessons at Grandview Island, and I have to admit, it was really interesting. It was titled "Drawing and Painting Techniques", and we meet every Sunday. Our teacher is very interesting, he really digs deeply into the arts, and it is probably one of the best classes I've ever attended.He's a teacher at the Emily Carr University, so he always tells us all about it.
 Last class, we learned the difference between lines and mass. Then we experimented with charcoal, and eraser. Charcoal adds to your painting, and so does the eraser, (black and white lines) while the paper towel is the eraser, smudging away unwanted lines. Anyways, the lesson this week was particularly interesting. When I entered the classroom this week, the teacher told us to gather around his table, and there was a white piece of paper on it. He told us to describe it. Someone said "white and blank", another person said "manufactured", and another said "you kill trees to get it". But he said that we still had to dig more deeply. Then he said that the paper was the culprit of our global warming problems, and how much trees we kill for paper, and how much bleach we deep into the waters just to have that paper white for drawing. He also told us that in Emily Carr, you have to do more of this, including writing a 1000 essay describing a piece of brick!
Then we got into drawing. He walked around and told us that he was impressed with our drawing styles. He told us that our drawing styles are as unique as our signatures. That we were Alphas, and that our styles represent our generation, and how we make our mark on the world. He also said that when you get older, you become a Beta, and when you get to the age where you turn around and reflect on yourself, you become an Omega. I found that really interesting.
One story he told us was really interesting, he said he read it in a book. Picasso had many colour periods. He had a pink period, where he only experimented and painted in pink. He also had a blue, green, grey, black. When he was younger, he had a long blue period. He only painted in blue, and that red was better, but still, he painted in blue. Why? My teacher told us that Picasso used to be a broke student! Red paint was more expensive, and blue paint was the cheapest, so he could only afford blue.

I know, this is getting long, so I'll stop now. I can't wait for the next art class! I'll be back!

Dapple Grey

I'm Back!

Yes! I'm back, and I promise I won't leave you in the dark, ever again. I really do. I was just so busy managing my google site:
https://sites.google.com/site/classasproject/.

I'm sorry, it's just, well, time flies! But don't worry, I'll make sure you catch up with everything, and by everything, I do mean EVERYTHING.
Today was just another typical. Except I came to school with a cold. I caught it during the weekends, and man, it is so annoying! My nose is so stuffed up, I can barely smell.
Anyways, I'll work backwards, so I'll talk about Thanksgiving. We had our dinner on Monday, with the family. We ate at a restaurant, my uncle owns it, so our families all pitch in to help. We had a big turkey, potatoes and corn. The turkey was good, but I loved the potatoes the best! I could eat it all day. It was whole potatoes, so it was pretty big. I smeared melted butter on it and yum! Also, we had soup with potatoes and smoked salmon and it was just....so good. (I apologize if I'm making you hungry) We talked, and had such a good time that I didn't notice how late it was getting. As soon as I got home, I just drooped off and slept.

Off to dinner for now, I'm feeling so hungry from all this food talk. I'll get back to you soon! No worries....

Dapple Grey