La Traviatta (at least I think that's how you spell it)

I don't know, I just LOVED today, every bit of it. Today just felt very different from the other days. I don't know, maybe I was just in a very good mood. I did have French first thing, and I finally had my part for the skit memorized, which went pretty smoothly. I say we did pretty good, actually. We were only supposed to memorize the first four lines, but our group memorized the whole thing, which probably made it better.
In English, we went down to the band room to watch a opera performance, La Traviatta (the fallen woman). I was really excited, since I haven't seen a real live performance of opera before. And wow, they were really good. They're voice was really projected and really loud, even though the guy said that it wasn't even half their full singing volume. Since we learned the story before we heard them sing, we could follow along, and tell what was happening. It was all in Italian, and there were so many trills and beautiful melodies! They also in a little acting, and the whole thing was just so...dramatic.
Dapple Grey

Voting Day

During morning, we had a substitute for band, and it was so awesome! We did have to do boring things at the beginning, like scales and scale studies, and then listening to this CD, and playing back. Eventually, we moved into our pieces, and played Fire Dance, which isn't really my favourite, but is a candidate for the concert pieces. I really hope we don't have to play Fire Dance, because it's just so...annoying to play. As a reward for having to practice it, we got to play Phantom of the Opera. Oh, I love playing it! It's one of my favourite pieces! The substitute lead us through it, and even though we went a little bit into lunch, it was just so much fun! We haven't played it as a band for at least two months.
Today was vote day, as you can see from the title. I guess most of us didn't know who to pick. Some people did enie-meenie-minie-mo, and others just left it all blank. It was all "secret", and I don't know, it felt so grown-up. Also, we spent a lot of the class saying how we should have a re-election for Student Council, and how unfair it was, since some people didn't even get to vote. I say we should do it again, since a LOT of students didn't vote, and most of them just checked off random people.
Dapple Grey

Spring Strings

Tonight I went to see this strings concert at the Chan Centre (UBC). It's called "Spring Strings", and it includes VSB string students. I had a friend who was performing that night, and she's from Byng, so she gave my family tickets to watch her perform. It was pretty amazing, and I'm quite glad that I didn't fall asleep. Orchestras always make me want to go to sleep. It's just that it's so peacefully quiet, and it just lulls you into sleep. Band tends to be louder and more dramatic I guess, which is enough to keep you awake. Anyhoo, the performing schools tonight were Lord Byng Secondary, Queen Mary elem, Queen Elizabeth elem, Lord Kitchener elem, and L'ecole Bilingue elem. It was really cool! The Chan Centre was pretty small, but still, it was nicely decorated. This big chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I remember coming here last year, and being able to sit in one of those boxes on the upper levels. I enjoyed watching the grade 4s play (they were really small, and but amazing!), and then later on the senior orchestra. You could tell that they all worked pretty hard, and it was just amazing. There was this one Waltz that just sounded so beautiful....
After the concert, I actually found an old friend who now goes to Queen Mary. I totally didn't expect to see anyone I knew. Cool!
Dapple Grey

Political Parties Presentation

Okay, back to school! Gosh, I was pretty tired today, after my busy weekend. I was just yawning and yawning. But I did enjoy Science, since we have Smedley back. I like having her back in charge, she's understands us more, and she's always in good at controlling us. We watched this cute little animated science episode on soil erosion. Then I found out that we have to do yet ANOTHER foldable. Sigh. What's with science and foldables? I made so many of them already. Anyways, in band we did more scale studies and then some practices including the dreadful Flight of the Bumblebee. We're also starting to practice pieces that we might do for the concert. I have a feeling we're going to be playing one of our fast, hard songs since Mr. Hurst probably wants to show off a bit. But doesn't every teacher? We also played this duet piece, that Mr. Hurst assigned to us. We're supposed be in a quartet (4 players), with a maximum of two players per instrument. So far, it's Cynthia, Kathy C, and I, and we're still looking for a fourth player. No more flutes, though. The other quartet that we know of is Alex, Andy, and Chris. Hmmm, pure synergy. Half the girls, and half the guys. We're both still looking for another player.
Socials brought us the political parties presentation, which was pretty fun to listen to. It was funny, how people were really preparing for it, but it turns out that it was really quick, and a lot of people got cut off short. I was on the NDP team, and I guess we did pretty well. Nobody got cut off. But we were missing one team member.
Dapple Grey

Birthday Party

Yup, I'm having my birthday party a week after my birthday. Well, actually, I wouldn't say it was entirely for my birthday, it was more for every one of my friends who had their birthday in April. HAPPY BIRTHDAY APRILERS! We went to metro, and since the movie theatre hadn't opened yet, we went to fool around in piggy bank place. We didn't really get much just walked around. Then Jessie wanted to shop for clothes, so we went to Costa Blanca, which was pretty close, and since it was they're easter event, we got to scratch cards to get discounts. I only got a 33% discount, but Jessie got a 50%! Wow, so lucky! Well, I found this really nice blue blouse, and since Jessie didn't get anything, she let me use her discount. After that, we went to watch Rio, which was really, really cute and amusing. Sigh, I just love those little animated movies. Since we were all hungry, we had lunch at he food court, and then headed off to shop some more. Eventually, I found another blouse. Yes, I love my blouses. Anyways, I had to haul this gigantic teddy bear around, since it was one of my birthday presents. I decided to name it just "teddy". But it's not as boring as it sounds. It's name is actually pronounced "ted-day". There's a cute story behind that. My siblings and I just love Mr. Bean. There was this episode with his teddy bears, where when he was about to go to bed, he spots his teddy bear taking us place under the covers on his bed. Then he goes and says, (and this is our all-time favourite Mr. Bean line): "Oh, Ted-day" in his Mr. Bean voice. So, whenever I see my bear, it makes me laugh a little. My other presents include a monkey stuffy, and a cute, pink wallet.
Dapple Grey

A Busy Day

Ok, today I just tried to finish all my homework because I probably don't have any time to finish the rest of it during the weekend. I did have a piano lesson, and my teacher had a this cool electrical piano that you could record songs on. I played around on it, and eventually had to record one of my songs for my piano teacher to hear. What I'm really scared about is my history exam. It's on May 14, which is like two weeks away. Oh no!
Afterwards, I came home, caught a bit of the hockey game, and then had to leave for tutor just right when we went overtime. Darn! There was so much suspense, and I didn't get to watch it! When I came back, I checked the score, and Chicago had already won. Disappointed. But I hope we do better next time! Don't give up faith in the Canucks! (Especially Luongo!)
Dapple Grey

Tour

I was really tired this morning, because I had to wake up at 5 to go to this tour thingy with my grandparents. They like travelling around and visiting places, and they always have they always go to this chinese tour program. Since I have a holiday, they decided to bring me along. The tour bus left at exactly 6:15, and I was just really excited. Our first stop was at Oakridge, and then this hotel in Richmond, to pick up more tourists. There were 23 of us, and our mini tour bus was filled. Our tour bus was small-ish, but really, really comfortable. It would have been nice if there was a washroom in the tour bus, but oh well. It was so comfy that I fell asleep multiple times, so many naps that I can't count. We had to sit in the back, where it was kind of bumpy, but it just rocked me into sleep. Well, I didn't sleep the WHOLE way. I did wake up a couple of times to check the view outside. The windows were big enough so that you can see a lot of the outside.
Here's a picture:

Sorry for the bad  picture quality, I took it from my cell phone. Anyways, I was still awake when we got to the border. The tour guide pointed out the border marker, it was pretty funny, since half of the bus was in the states, and the other half was still in Canada. Some people started sniffing the air as a joke to see if the air in the states was any different. We all had to get off the bus, and walk through this checking room and show our passports and stuff. I was tired after that, so I just slept. Our first visiting place was Wilbey Island. I'm not sure if we were on the island, but we probably weren't. You can see the pacific ocean. Wow, it's just so big! It seems like it'll stretch for miles and miles....Here's a picture of what the view looked like:

Our next destination was to Tulip Town, for the tulip festival. I've never seen so many tulips in my life. Well, maybe when I visited here when I was six, but I don't remember much then. There were just masses of tulips,  rows, and rows of them. According to the guide, there were 66 different kinds of tulips. Wow! Here are some pictures of them:

There were also these cool decorations around:

And I found this pretty cool, a mini statue of liberty:

After this, we were really hungry, so we had a buffet for lunch. It was okay, not the best, but we were in a hurry, and it was pretty cheap. Next, we headed for the outlets. Since we didn't have much time, because we were trying to get back before there was much traffic, we barely found anything. Well, eventually, we got a pair of shoes for my grandma, but I didn't see anything I wanted. I'm sure I would have if I stayed longer, but I didn't go on this tour to go shopping. After the outlets, we were supposed to go to this place where they sell really nice fish, but since this tourist was really, really late (like 30 minutes!) for when we were supposed to meet after the outlets, we got stuck in traffic and the place was already closed when we got there. Oh well, we got a chance to go to this supermarket that had really, really good deals, and everything was really cheap. Then we headed back home, which took really, really quick. I got home at 9, and had a little dinner, and then went straight to bed. 

Dapple Grey

Munchkin Reunion

Oops. Yesterday, I locked my bedroom door, then I forgot about it, and went to sleep. This morning, since no one could come in my room to wake me up, I had more time to sleep! Actually, I didn't sleep THAT late. It was pretty early, but still, everyone was already up. My brother's friend came over, and they were just running all house and then finally, went outside to play soccer. Well, he's staying for a sleep over as well, so at least my brother won't be bothering me while I'm trying to do my work.
The munchkin reunion's at 4:30. I guess that you're wondering what munchkins are. Well, in grade 6, we had a split class, so the grade 7s thought that we were short. Well there was a group of us that were really, really short. Somehow, we got the name "munchkin." Ever since we've graduated, only about 4 of us keep in touch. 2 of us, are in synergy. The other 2 went off to Hamber. So we're kind of having a play date today. It'll be so much fun! 5 hours of catching up and playing! I'll probably get home later, but then I'll have to go to sleep right away, because tomorrow morning I have to wake up really early, since I'm going on a tour. It's going to take the whole day, and I'll have to wake up at 5. So, you see, I won't have time to blog tonight. Which is why I'm doing it now. Oh yeah, I promise that I'll have a Superblog tomorrow!
Dapple Grey

Granville Island

My brother had art lessons at Granville Island, and my mom was too tired to drive home and then all the way back, so my mom, my sister, and I had to wait in the car for him. For 1 and a half hours. For some reason, it was really hot in the car, and I felt like I was being cooked. My mom just said that she felt normal, so maybe something's wrong with me. Or maybe it's because I had P.E. before that. Anyways, my sister and I got really bored and my mom said we could go shop at the art supply store. They have the best art supplies. Ever. Problem is? It's so expensive. I was planning on buying a really nice brush. But the smallest ones were already $6-8. No kidding. In the end, I got this colour blender stick that's really cool. I've always played around with it when I had art class. It's really cool!
Actually, I'm planning on spending my weekend sketching and maybe a little of painting, to test out my new art supplies. I can't wait to start!
Dapple Grey

Another Socials Project

We had a Science test this morning, and I'm still pretty mad at myself for not finishing it on time. I mean, I still had 3 questions, and I could have gotten 3 more marks...Next time, instead of checking my answers while I'm doing it, I'm just going to finish all the questions and then go back. Well, Ms. Davidson posted our marks up, and I'm actually doing pretty good. But she didn't do include our hydraulic lift project, which is going to bring my mark down, as well as the test. I just wish I'll do better on my other work. Oh yeah! Have I mentioned that Ms. Smedley came back? She's taking over from now on, since Ms. Davidson is now teaching at the Aquarium. Another exciting science news is that we had a desk change! How I love not being at the back...My partner is still Kathy C, and there's a lot of other new people around us. The seating's actually not bad!
Math test was better than the science one. Learning from the science test, I did all my work quickly, and then double checked at the end. What took up most of my time was the bonus question. It took me so long to do, since I knew my answer was wrong. I looked over it about a million times until I noticed that I forgot a bracket, and needed to change a sign. Now I'm just happy I got that over with.
For Socials, we have yet ANOTHER project. This time, we have to invent a new siege weaponry. It's actually pretty hard, since our group spent most of the class saying why our ideas were bad, and how they wouldn't work. It's really fun, and is really interesting. I love castles and knights!
Dapple Grey

New Design

Yay! Everyone should be getting all excited for spring! I mean, the sun is out, and it feels nice and warm. How I hated those dark, cold winter days. It's a easter bunny theme since Easter is right around the corner. Sorry if the words are a little small, I'll change the design again once Easter passes.
Anyways, I had French in the morning, and then English after that. We had 3 more book talks, and then we had to write 8 short poems. It was hard at the beginning, since we had to come up with the ideas, and once you have an idea, you still had to fit it in the structure of the poem. Haikus were first, and I had all these great lines, except they were always more than 5 or 7 syllables. Near the end, I came up with way more ideas, but I only finished 4 in class. I guess I don't mind having it for homework. Short poems are really fun to write!
We watched more of Slumdog millionaire during Applied Skills. I'm finally getting used to it now, since it was so weird last time, switching from Toy Story to this. It's so much more...real, and sad. It makes me so mad what the adults do to the kids...
In P.E., I was so glad we didn't have to change, because we had this drug talk. It was okay, and I found it pretty interesting. Ms. Salter was there too, helping. For the icebreaker, we had a RockPaperScissors tournament, which was surprisingly fun!
After school, I checked the library, and the book that I was waiting for a long time was finally back on the shelves. The horrible thing was that I realized that my library card was full. Noooo....I just hope that it's still there waiting for me.
Dapple Grey

Recognition Assembly

I totally forgot we had a recognition assembly today. I was so confused when Science was just cut short. I thought that we would spend the rest of the class reviewing for our test on Wednesday. Well, at least this time they didn't read off the wrong list. I sat close to the edge so I couldn't really see much, but I lot of people I know got onto Honour Roll, which was great! After more talking, and a few presentations, we left the auditorium, and headed back to science. Since we only had about 15 minutes left, we played Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader, which was pretty easy, but still really fun. Also, it turns out that we don't have a Math test on today, it's switched to Wednesday. I should really start studying, since I have both a Science test and a Math test on Wednesday...
Dapple Grey

Sun Run 2011

So, the big day has finally arrived. I woke up at 7:20 and was all excited. I ate breakfast really fast and then started preparing for the Sun Run. For warm up, I walked all the way to the skytrain to meet Natasha. Then we bused to Granville. When we stepped out of the station, it was so weird. There were these gates all over, and for a while, we didn't know what to do and where to go. Then we spotted Joanna, and so we just followed her. She led us to some Synergy kids, and then Natasha and I decided to wander a bit more. By chance, we met Mimi, Leslie, April, and Olivia, and so we just decided to stay together. Yes, it was pretty cold, but there were so many people, that it became warm-ish. Almost right before the race, we realized that we were in the green zone, instead of the white. Then the race bell rang, and all the greens surged forward. We lost Leslie and Olivia when they were pushed forward, but at least they were with each other. So the remainder of us joined the white section, which were still waiting behind a gate. When it was our time, we ran forward for a bit, got stuck behind another gate, and then really started the race. We ran for a bit, and then we lost April. For a moment she was just slowing down and walking, and then she was just...gone. I felt so bad for losing people so fast.
But the race was AMAZING. There were people on the sides cheering you on, and it just gave you so much motivation. Also, there were cool bands playing on the side. We stopped at every water station, just in case, and at one of them, Natasha and I got water thrown at us. Well, it really was an accident, but actually, it felt pretty good. Having cold water sprinkled over you feels really nice when you're running a marathon, and the sun is blaring at you. We got held up at the washroom, but it was mostly because we had to wait for people. So we ran a lot to make up for it, and adopted Fang-yu into our group, whom we found at the washroom. We also ran into April again, and we were glad because she found another buddy to run with. For the final stretch, we jogged, ran, and then sprinted. I really didn't feel tired at all, and it was only a while afterwards, that my feet started getting sore. But not bad. Yes, it was long, and tiring, but I had so much fun!
Dapple Grey

The Airport

Ok, so my grandma and grandpa came back from China today, so our whole family went out to greet them and bring them back home. I guess it was pretty hot in China, because they were both wearing T-Shirts, and then they grabbed for their sweaters as soon as they felt the air in Vancouver. If China got this hot in April,  I wonder what it'll be like in the summer...
They sure had a lot of suitcases, and my dad had to put down the back seats to back room. We had dinner tonight at a restaurant, and the food was really good. Even though we did get back later, I was really happy, since my stomach was filled. One thing I still wonder about is how they are not jet-lagged. I mean, they seem perfectly fine, and not tired at all. And if they're not tired, that means that slept in the airplane. But the thing is, it's almost impossible to fall asleep on the airplane! I tried so many sleeping positions, and no matter how comfy they  try to make the seat, it still is so hard to fall asleep.
Thinking of sleep, I have the Sun Run tomorrow, and I really should go to bed now in order to wake up early enough. Good night!
Dapple Grey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Yes, I'm finally turning fourteen. Happy Birthday, Dapple Grey. In my mind, for some reason, I still think I'm 12. I have no idea why, but I've never gotten used to being thirteen, and now I'm fourteen...
Well, to start off, it was pretty sunny outside today, which I was nice. I did have a Chinese exam, but it wasn't really an exam...my teacher told us not to be scared, and it was just a "review". My cousin and I didn't really believe the Chinese tutor, until she started helping us with the answers. Weird...
After that, my cousin, my sister and I went downtown to do some shopping for my birthday. I decided that I wanted to buy something for myself, so I bought a nice blouse, and two scarves. I just loooove scarves. They are my favourite accessories, ever. I could wear them every day, if only it didn't get so hot afterwards.
I opened my birthday presents today, since I succeeded in being patient. My cousin got my a bag from LeSportsac, which added to my collection of bags. It has a really nice colour, and lots of doves and peace...I LOVE IT! From my grandparents, I got a new pencil case, which I've been wanting for a long time, and I also got this glass case thingy. It's really cool. It's like a square of glass, but inside it there's a model of two horses. It looks really pretty! It totally caught me by surprise, it's just so....beautiful! Also, my horse magazine arrived, which is PERFECT!
My parents took my out for dinner at this cafe place, which I really like. The food was ok, but the drinks were all fancy and delicious!
I'm in heaven...
Dapple Grey

Multicultural Night

Every year at my old elementary school, we have this thing called "Multicultural Night". It's when people of all cultures get together, and experience other cultures. We send in dishes of food from our cultures, and we have a big dinner where we get to taste foods from other cultures. Well, the food was delicious! But it was more fun trying them out. It was a bit crowded, but it was still an awesome experience. When the show started we watched a fashion show for primary students. And they were so cute! I remember this girl in grade 2, Mia, and she had on a Japanese kimono, except the outfit was so well done that she looked so awesome and cute! There were also Scottish costumes, Hungarian, Indian...the list goes on. After that, we had a ticket draw, in which we won nothing, but it was fun getting excited over the tickets. There were also numerous dances, and I there was this Hungarian dance which I really liked. They were fully in costumes, and the dance was pretty cool. Another cool one was when a whole family came out to dance to this Ireland song. It was just so great. I also got a chance to talk to my old teachers, and they still remember me! Our family ended the night with a family photo shoot, which took pretty long, since the photographer took at least 20 photos in all the poses that you could imagine. Well, at least we have one good family photo, the last nice one we ever took was when my brother was still a baby...
G'night,
Dapple Grey

Running in the Rain

Whoa. Day 1 is now totally different. Since today was Collab, I still had to go to school early since my mom was at work, and my dad dropped off my siblings early, and dropped me off on the way. I spent the extra time knitting, and my scarf is almost double the size.
We had french first, which passed by really quickly. Same with English, we had reading time, and then a book talk, and that was it. I was so surprised, it barely felt like one class. Anyways, for Applied Skills I got a lot more knitting done, and we finished Toy Story 3, and the ending was still kind of sad, even if this is my second time watching it. WHY IS LOTSO SO EVIL? HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE A BIG, KIND, FLUFFY, HUGGABLE BEAR THAT SMELLS LIKE STRAWBERRIES.
Anyways, we had P.E. after that, and I barely had time to change. Next time I should change before lunch. We got to get our Sun Run stuff, which was just a nice T-shirt, a bib number, and a running chip. I'm so excited! But it's also kind of early in the morning, so I might be tired. Natasha did an approximate calculation, and it's supposed to be 25 times around the track...We had to do track outside today, and it was raining. We had warm up and during that time the rain wasn't so bad. And then it just stopped. We did 100m sprints, which was really fun. I managed to beat my old score by 0.3 seconds. We also did long jump, but by then everyone's sweater/T-Shirt had droplets of rain and mud. It was just disgusting. Long jump was okay, and I got 2.2, which was I think second highest for the girls in our class. The boys got like 4.7. The only bad thing was that we got sand in our shoes, and I just felt so cold and miserable afterwards. But I'm still so excited for Sun Run. I can't wait!
Dapple Grey

Block Rotations

Oh, I'm really not used to block rotations. After every class, I have to take time to stop and think about what class I have next. Just in case I go to the wrong class. Well, I had science in the morning, which is not so bad actually. I feel more energetic in science class, which helps, since science does sometimes get boring, especially the super-duper long tests that the student teacher gives us. Today, we had presentations on natural fluid systems. Mimi, Leslie, and I did ours on snake venom. It was pretty fun listening to the presentations, but I'm really glad no one else picked snake venom, because there were a lot of repeats. A LOT. Especially the ones on starfish and volcanoes. We also worked on this hand-made lung, which was a lot of fun. We made it with 2 balloons,  a pop bottle, some elastics, plasticine, and a straw. When we were finished, we pulled on the bottom, and the balloon filled up with air. Cool, huh? Band followed science, and lunch just felt weird afterwards, since I'm so used to going home after band. During math, our teacher gave us another quiz, which was fairly easy. But last class we had a quiz, this class we had a quiz, next class we have a quiz, and the class after that we have a chapter test. Gee, our teacher must really like scaring us. Socials was after Math, and I actually looked forward to it. Of course, we did venture off topic more then once, but it got so gory and disgusting when Mr. Sale started talking about burns and blisters and....yuck. We did more Medieval stuff, with knights and chivalry and castles. Our assignment today was to sketch a castle with a whole bunch of stuff in it. And at the end of the unit, we're going to get other people's sketches and then plan an invasion on their castle. It sounds pretty cool!

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Ad Mare Woodwind Quintet

Grrrrrr. Homework is starting to pile up and it's really starting to stress me out. It seems like every night I'm sleeping a little bit later than the last. At least I can still manage to wake up pretty early in the morning, and I barely feel tired in class. But it's only a matter of time before I start to collapse. I have a Chinese exam on Wednesday, which I'm totally not prepared for, and then there's projects to be done, poems to be written, and homework to be caught up on, especially French.
I feel pretty bad about missing French, again-the second time in a row. The first, we went to watch The Trespassers, and today, I went down to watch a band performance. But I really am glad that I didn't miss out on the performance. The Ad Mare Woodwind Quintet came in today, and they were a professional woodwind quintet. And they were really, really good. A woodwind quintet is basically made up of 5 woodwind instruments: Flute, Oboe, French horn, Bassoon, and Clarinet. It was really cool hearing them play, because their sound and tone was really good, and they were so in tune! Also, they didn't have a conductor, so they relied on each other, giving signals as to when to start and when to end. It was just really, really amazing to watch. It was really awesome since I could see the Oboe in action, one of the instruments I've never seen before. Also, our band doesn't have a French horn, so it was great hearing how that sounded. The flutist also gave us a surprise when she played her piccolo, which was also very amazing. Piccolo as always been one of the instruments I've wanted to play. The sound was really shrill, and high, but still, the fingering and appearance look is very much like the flute's (but way shorter, of course). They quintet played various songs for us, especially a series of movements that impersonated a frog, which was really nice, especially since each of the instruments were featured in different movements. I'm really glad I decided to come watch this. Now, I really wish I could play the flute this well. Well, I guess this means more PRACTICE!
Dapple Grey

Downtown Trip

Since I don't have piano today, my aunt decided to take my dad and I out for a bit of shopping and then Japanese cuisine for lunch. YUM! The rest of my family were out for dim sum, and I got to stay home because I wanted finish off my homework. Well, the trip to downtown was kind of my birthday treat, which was really nice of my aunt. We parked somewhere and then got to go shopping for a while. The stores there are so cool! I love the ones with more than one floor. Anyways, my aunt spent so long in Banana Republic, my cousin and I went up and down 3 floors trying to look for her. It might sound easy, but one floor had so many rooms, and then there were changing rooms on both sides, and the stairs were so long...The Japanese Cuisine was after that and it sure was good. Like, really good. I got to taste a lot of Japanese food that I've never bothered to try before. I was only sort of full, and there was this cafe next to it, and we got to buy a treat from there as well. I got a berry parfait, thinking that it would be small-ish, but it wasn't. After eating it, I was just really stuffed. Oh yeah, before I went home, my aunt gave me my birthday present, which I'm determined not to open until my actually birthday (This friday! Hurray! Pro-D!). I guess I'm testing my patience, and how long I can last.
Tonight, since I finished all my homework, I watched Black Beauty with my sister. It's for my sister's homework, but I LOVE the movie anyways. I've probably watched it a million times by now. But it's really good, it's my all time favourite. And I love the book as well. Sigh. It's such a good classic.
Dapple Grey

Knitting

Yay! I spent a lot of time knitting today. And my second scarf is now finally getting longer, and longer, and longer, and....you get the point. My first and second scarf are both the same colour (grey and white) since I bought two big balls of yarn, thinking that I would need them both. Well, it turns out, that my first scarf only needed one big ball of yarn, and I don't want to waste the other ball, so I'm using it for my second one. My mom helped me a lot on my first scarf, since she showed me how to do it, and I had to experiment a lot of times, which explains the holes and the many mistakes on my first scarf. But I'm especially proud of my second scarf, because I made it all by myself! Well, it's not finished yet, but right now it takes me a long time to do it, since it's a little wide. Since I love watching it grow, I spent a long time knitting. I did eventually take a break when I had to go to tutoring, but when I came back, I took a shower, and went straight back to knitting. It's kind of fun, and for some reason, it doesn't bore me. My brother was watching TV for most of the day, so I just watched with him and knitted at the same time...perfect! For me, the best time to knit is before bed, because after knitting for a long time, you get kind of tired, which is also perfect for me, because I can just fall asleep.
I should go back to knitting now, I really have to catch up on my scarves. Goodnight!
Dapple Grey

What happens after school?

Sigh. What is with today and pop quizes? Have the teachers all come up with a evil plan to make us all do a pop quiz? I'm sure that it doesn't say "Make all students do pop quiz" on the calendar. Anyways, for math, we had a pop quiz, which was really easy, and at least I got a good mark on that. Today, we had to work on these worksheets that took forever to do. I took half an hour just to finish one side. Well, at least they were fun, since you could decode the magical mystery sentence at the end. Ms. Kobbi also decided to try something fun today. So she brought us all to the computer lab to work on this algebra thing online. Boring? not really. It was playing with blocks and balloons, and making them balance. It was surprisingly fun.
At Socials, we were all really nervous, and everyone was at their desk studying. As it turns out, he did give us a pop quiz. As soon as we saw up cutting up pieces of paper, we all took out our textbooks and just studied as much as we could. I tried not to freak out so much, because somehow it makes me forget things faster. I actually did way better on the quiz then I expected to, and most of it was because of what I remembered from last time. At least the Middle Ages is interesting enough that most of the information sticks in my head. We also got our China test back, and err, I didn't do so well on it. But really, I have no idea how people studied for it. There were so many names to remember, it was so confusing...
For science we had yet another pop quiz. I have a feeling I didn't do so well on it. Oh well, I got my big science test back, and I think I did better on this test than all the other science tests. YAY!
For Band, thanks goodness we don't have much pop quizzes, and it was really fun today. We got this new song, "Just a close walk with thee". It was pretty easy for us flutes, since we only have a couple of bars of actual playing, and we have more then 14 bars rest, since the trumpets and clarinets had a solo. The whole band learned it in half an hour, and it was just so easy, and so fun.
After school, I had to stay until 5, since my mom was really busy, and still running errands. So I stayed in the cafeteria with Leslie, and we did some work. We actually ended talking more than actually working. But it was fun. I helped her a bit on her book talk, and she helped me on my math. Even she gave up after a while though. There were these loud guys sitting close to us, and they were all playing cards. But I don't get it, why don't they just go home? It's the weekends, for goodness sakes. Leslie's been in the cafeteria after school for almost every day, and she said that sometimes the dance group practices there, or other entertaining things happen. So THAT'S what happens after school. Cool!
I should recover from the stress of those pop quizzes. At least I know I won't be getting another one for quite some time.
Dapple Grey

The Trespassers

As you've probably heard by now, we watched The Trespassers, at the Vancouver Playhouse. It was really awesome, but there when Greskiw said that we "had to be mature about it" she really meant it. Because there was some rather....disturbing scenes. Anyways, the actors were all amazing, and the play was really, really good. It was so sad at the end, but it was just so...lovely. I don't know how else to explain it. So we left the school at about 12:15, but we kind of late, because we couldn't find everyone. We traveled a large group: Mimi, Carina, Jennica, Leslie, Judy, Fang-yu, Jessie, April, and I. That's 9, which is, if you think about it, almost a third of the synergy class! Cool! Anyways, we walked for a long time, then took the skytrain. When we arrived downtown, it was all weird, and we walked for a bit until we got kind of lost. Then we found this really nice guy who gave us directions to the Playhouse. Mrs. Greskiw wasn't there yet, so we wandered around, got snacks, and then walked back. This time, she was there, and so she gave us our tickets. Once we got inside, we got free tea and cookies! Yummmm. The cinnamon cookies were so good, and the tea was so warm, and it felt really good after eating it. A lot of people were already there, so we talked, and had fun. After the movie, Mimi, Carina, and Leslie walked back with Mrs. Greskiw. And then there were six. The six of us (Jessie, April, Judy, Fang-yu, Jennica and I) went for a treat at A and W. Then we got back to school, kind of late, because when I got there, my mom had just arrived. So I had to rush and stuff everything and run out the school. Well, people kept leaving the group because their bus stop or their homes were on the way. It was just an awesome field trip!
And then there were none.
Dapple Grey

T3 B37: Flight of the Bumblebee

Okay, a lot of interesting things happened today. For Math, it was just...Math. A lot of work to be done, and each question takes a long time to do, since we have to write down ALL the steps, and then check our work after that. For 15 minutes, I could only do 9 questions. For Socials, we did a little bit of Medieval stuff, and then Mr. Sale told us he had a "treat" for us. That sure got me scared. Kathy C was wondering if it was a pop quiz, and it was at that moment that i kind of freaked out. If it was a pop quiz, I would never pass it, since I still can't remember anything. Well, it turned out that he had a CD, and after all the cheering passed, he showed it to us: another Twilight Zone. Oh gosh, those scare me a lot. I still remember the first Twilight Zone episode he showed us, it was just so scary. This time I was all prepared to hide behind something or someone if something scary happens. This time, the episode was called "Nightmare at 20,000 feet" I got to admit, it wasn't as scary as the first one, but still, it was kind of scary. Anyways, moving on. I'll rather not think about that episode again. So in Band, we practiced Flight of the Bumblebee. It goes so fast, and not only do we have to play it, we have to record it for our final recordings. Mr. Hurst showed us some performances of Flight of the Bumblebee by professionals, and they are SO GOOD. Really. It's scary how fast and perfect they can play. Our assignment was to find a recording of Flight of the Bumblebee with our own instrument. Well, I play the flute, so here's what I found:

Isn't it scary how well he can play? It actually sounds like a bee buzzing around, which is, I guess what it's supposed to sound like. I'll never be able to get that far. I don't even know how I'm going to do my recording. Well, I guess I'll just have to practice. A LOT.

Buzzzzzzzzz.

Dapple Grey

T3 B36: High Jumps

For P.E., we're starting Track and Field. Thankfully, our P.E. teacher is really nice, and is letting us work inside, until the weather gets better. I have friends in the other class, and they have to run outside in the freezing cold and rain. Well, we did high jumps today, and when I first heard of it, I was kind of scared, since I've never done them before. But it turned out to be pretty fun, and still kind of hard. Mr. Dykstra's been doing high jump in high school, and since he's really tall, he's pretty good at it. But he makes it look really, really easy. He just seems to hop over the jump, without even trying. But for me, I have to launch myself over the bar, and arch my back to keep from knocking the bar. I can only make it when the bar is lower, after it's lifted, it gets way harder, especially if you're short like me. Well, I had to do my Book Talk today for English, which went well, and I kind of volunteered to go. I was all prepared, and it turned out better than I expected. I just had so much to say, it was hard to say it all without suddenly bursting out with different kinds of facts. We also heard book talks from Cynthia, Kevin D, and Kendrew. They were all really well done, and the bar is set pretty high. I've finally started on my second scarf today, and it's looking great! All I have to remember to do is to remember what kind of stitch I have to do. Since I'm doing a pattern, I have to remember what stitch I'm doing. It's kind of tricky, but it's a great challenge, and also, it looks pretty nice.
Knitting on and on...
Dapple Grey

T3 B35: Back to School

The day has arrived. It's back to school we go. I was pretty tired, but surprisingly, I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I was actually pretty energetic all through Math. Maybe I was just excited to see my friends again. Well, we got our Math tests back today, and guess what? I got perfect! For the first time in a looong time. Maybe it's just that I'm careless, but Ms. Kobbi can always find mistakes on my tests. And now, FINALLY I get a perfect score! I gotta celebrate! I'm pretty proud of myself. But math class was kind of chaotic, since we had people leaving and entering to do the satisfaction survey. I got to skip the last bit of Socials to go, but Socials was really interesting today, since we are finally stopping with ancient China, and moving on to Middle Ages, meaning castles and knights! Hurray! Oh yeah, my uncle and aunt came over for dinner tonight, and we got a chance to catch up with each other. We haven't had dinner with them for a long time. Well, after dinner, my brother taught my uncle how to play Mario Kart, and it was really amusing, since my uncle would laugh everytime his character fell off the wall, or something like that. It was really, really interesting to watch.
Dapple Grey

T3 B34: Hydraulic Project

Okay, I've finally finished working on my Hydraulic Lift Project. And tada! It's an elephant. Yes, an elephant, so don't laugh that hard. It actually looks pretty cute. It's mostly made out of cardboard, and that took a long time to cute. I've connected the syringes with this tube I found lying around, and I've filled it with water. But the hard thing is getting the water in there without the air bubbles. It's so annoying, I've spent so long trying to make sure the syringe is all filled. It took me about 20 minutes, until I FINALLY got it. Anyways, it works perfectly well with lighter objects, but if I place really heavy objects on, the tube kind of explodes off the syringe. So hopefully, the weights that Ms. Davidson puts on our Hydraulic Elephant isn't THAT heavy.
Can't wait to see everyone else's project,
Dapple Grey

T3 B33: Sleep Schedule

Oh no. How is this possible? There's only two days left until school starts. Where have all the time went? At least I'm almost finished my homework. I have everything done, except for my Hydraulic Lift Project. I still have to build the model, since I've just got all the materials. I guess I'll have to build it myself without my partner, since both Kevin Z and me are too busy to get together to build it. At least I've already got an idea of what I want to do. But I can't tell you that yet. You'll just have to wait until I finish. But I hope it turns out to be awesome! Anyways, what I'm worrying about this weekend is how I'm going to get myself to wake up at 7 instead at 10. 7 feels really early. I'm going to have to wake up at tomorrow, and then 7 on Monday. Oh well, I guess I'll live. I'll just have to go to bed earlier.
Dapple Grey

T3 B32: Pizza Party

So, since it was the last day of Badminton, our Widget's tradition is to hold a pizza party. I only ate one slice, since I have no idea how the others are going to be able to play a whole tournament after stuffing themselves with food. Yup, having a tournament is a tradition as well. Well, it went pretty well, and it was really fun. At the end, the top winners get to choose their prize. Some got candy, while others got other amazing stuff. After the top three got their pick, the runner up could take the last prize. Well, since I was the runner up, my prize was whatever they left me with. I ended up with a bag of chocolate eggs, which I LOOOVED! They're so good! I'm so proud of myself. In fact, I'm treating myself to them at the moment. Anyways, I'm considered lucky since no one has played a prank on me, and it's April Fools. But then again, I guess it's pretty hard to play a prank, since everyone can see it coming. Oh, and since I worked myself to death this afternoon, I decided to take the night of, yes, watching another movie. This time it's Hercules, the cute cartoon one by Disney. Since I have to catch up on my superblogs, here's another one.

This is the new song that's stuck in my head. Sigh, it's good, too. And it's so catchy, I'm just singing it all day long. Hercules was okay, and the cute pegasus in the movie was really cute! As April said, Hades had an appearance in there. His hair really was blue, and when he got mad, he tired all fiery. It was pretty funny, just as April had described. All the other gods were there too, including the Almighty Zeus, Hera, Ares, and even Athena, with her little cartoon owl perched on her shoulder. By the way, the five people singing along with Meg are the Muses, which is a really cool way of portraying them.

Well, Enjoy!

Dapple Grey

T3 B31: Mulan :)

Well, my mom had to go grocery shopping at Superstore, so I decided to tag along so I could check out the Pharmacy and see if they sold syringes. Lucky for me, they did. But they only had a small size, 5 mL. It's okay, i guess, and I can use it as the smaller syringe. Now, if only I could find a bigger size, a way bigger size. Also, we stocked up on snacks, so we're all ready for school.
When I got home, since I've worked so hard on my homework this morning, our family decided to have another movie night today. This time, we watched Mulan, since we haven't seen that in a long time, and wanted to watch it again. It was good, but now the songs are stuck in my head. Hmmm, I should do a superblog, since I haven't done that in forever, too.
So guess what the superblog's theme is? Of course! The songs of Mulan!
Here's the vidoes. Enjoy! And get them stuck in your head, too!

This song, I'll Make A Man Out of You, was the one stuck in my head. Seriously, I could memorize all the lyrics, after all the times I've listened to it. It's just so good! But I just love it. Anyways, I heard Lillian singing it in class one day, so that's why I've started listening to it. It brings back so much memories from when I was small and watched Mulan for the first time.

This one always makes me laugh, especially the part where they go "Hands folded perfectly, like holding a lily." It always manages to cheer me up!

This is the other one that manages to make me laugh. All those little kids in there are so cute, especially that funny part where the cute little girl goes "I'm ready!" and Mulan says, "Not yet, you still have to work on your balance" Then gently pokes her, and the little girl tips over. Sigh. I could watch these videos for so many times, and never get bored of them. Of course, they'll just get stuck in my head all over again.

Well, enjoy the videos, and I'm sorry if they get stuck in your head.

Dapple Grey

T3 B30: Theme change!

Hey, O lovely blog followers! As you can probably tell by now, I've changed my theme again. Now's it's time for spring! Isn't it lovely? It makes me so happy thinking about it, knowing that the sun is coming. Only a few more weeks of rainy days, and dark mornings. And then....it'll be spring! Oh, how I wish the summer could come. No more school, just the sunny days, and tons of time to play....Hmph. Maybe I should do my homework now, just in case the last few days of spring break do turn sunny.
Oh, but before I go, here's an update on what we did in camp today: We did practiced our foot work, which was basically running around over the court, picking up tennis balls, and placing them at different corners. It was actually pretty fun, believe it or not. We ended with King/Queen of the court, and that took a loong time. I'm pretty satisfied with where I ended with, even if it wasn't Queen, but I did pretty well, at least way better than I had expected.
I should do homework while I can,
Dapple Grey

T3 B29: UP

We had another little family night thing, and this time we watched UP. It was so cute! I haven't actually watched the film before, except for the time we held a movie fundraiser, and they were showing UP. When my friends found out that I haven't watched UP before, they made me sit down and watch. But that was only at the beginning, until I managed to convince them that I had to help with the fundraiser. It was really touching at parts, and the beginning was so sad...Anyways, the sight of the cute little kid, Russell, always makes me laugh! Also, our neighbors that are renting downstairs are moving, so now my parents are putting advertisements again. There's always phone calls in the middle of the day, and the house is beginning to get chaotic again. But when that happens, I always retreat into the peace of my bedroom. I can get my work done way more quickly in there. I wonder what the new neighbors are going to be like. I really hope they have a pet like a dog or something, so we could finally have something to play with. That is, if they let us play with their pets. But the bad thing is, I doubt my parents would rent the house to someone with pets. Oh well...
Dapple Grey

T3 B28: The OTHER Badminton camp

Yes, the OTHER Badminton camp. Each one only lasts one week, and since my mom wants me to get more exercise, she signed my sister and I for both. Since my mom only has a week of spring break before she heads back to work, we have to walk to camp this time. Luckily for us, it's at the community center, which isn't so far away. My sister and I had to leave home half an hour earlier, and it took us another half an hour to walk there. And thank goodness it was sunny, because it would have been so horrible if it rained on us. I got kind of scared in the middle, since it felt almost as if we were lost. Then I found the street. But it sure scared me alot. It's mostly because I haven't walked there, ever. I was only relying on my memory skills from the times my dad drives me to the library, which was right next to the community center. Anyways, we got there 20 minutes earlier, and fooled around for a bit. Badminton camp's actually pretty interesting. This time, the people are less experienced than last time, which was fine with me, since they were kind of at my level. It was really awesome playing with these guys, and this camp's waaay better than the other.
Playing on,
Dapple Grey

T3 B27: Sushi!

Well, we had piano, today. Again. For the second time this week. This time, for our theory, we had to write a whole essay that she assigned us. I had to write one on Cantata No. 80 by Bach. It had to be memorized, too. So I spent most of this morning reviewing, and reviewing. And then that annoying headache came back. Well, at least I managed to write that essay. Piano was pretty nice today, and I managed to survive. Then I got to go home early! But no, I didn't sleep either. No naps for me. I just dislike them...At least we had sushi tonight. That was a nice treat, after a horrible day that I had today. It was sooo YUMMY! Yum. I was so stuffed, but so happy as well. I'll try not to worry about homework that much. Sigh, but it's already Sunday. Oh, how fast time passes.
Dapple Grey

T3 B26: A Beautiful Day!

A Beautiful, Perfect, Sunny Day! A Wonderful Weekend. LALALALA! I feel so cheerful for some reason. But it's still too bad that I'm still sick. At least I'm getting better. Yesterday, I spent most of the day sleeping. I woke up at 10, ate breakfast, slept again at 11, again. Then I woke up at 2, had chinese school at 3:30, and managed to stay awake for dinner. Right after, at 7, I fell asleep again. I woke up at 11pm. It was just so totally weird. Waking up at night? Anyways, I felt better than, so I ate some fruit, drank a whole cup of water, and fell asleep again. The next morning, I woke up at 8, and I sure felt soooooo much better! Anyways, since it was so sunny today, I decided to talk a walk in the park today. Just slow walking, with the wind gently blowing, the warmth of the sun on my back, and the fresh air...It just felt really nice. Especially when you're sick, going outside for a walk feels like heaven. Anyways, I felt more refreshed and managed to do some work when I got back. Maybe by tomorrow, I'll be back to normal. I really hope so.
Enjoy the lovely sunshine! :D
Dapple Grey

T3 B25: Sick.

Sorry, today's going to be short. And I still can't believe myself. I finally gave in and got sick. NOOOOO.....I'm pretty sure I jinxed myself, because it was only a day before that I was talking about how glad that I wasn't sick. At least, it's the middle of Spring Break, and I won't be wasting that much time. I just hope this sickness would pass...because I really can't do any work right now. This morning I felt so horrible, all I did was throw up. Yeah, you get the idea, it wasn't very pleasant. I felt better in the afternoon, after I took a looong nap. Oh yeah, have I ever told you that I haven't taken any naps. Ever. Well, except for the naps you take when your sick, and the ones in preschool when you're forced to sleep, but those don't count. I don't know, I just don't like naps. I hate the feeling you get when you wake up, and time seems to have disappeared, and it seems so dark and so much later in the day. So...disoriented. At least I'm able to write my blogs, not much use with anything else.
So tired....
Dapple Grey

T3 B24: Just a typical day

I can't believe my mom scheduled my piano lesson for 8 in the morning. Normally, I sleep until 10. I know, I know, it's really late, but still, I really need to catch up on my sleep. Even with me sleeping until 10, I still feel kind of tired. I really don't know what I'm going to do when school start's again. Anyways, somehow I got up at 7 this morning, and did a bit more studying before going to piano. We had theory, and good thing I studied some more, because we (my sister and I) were tested on our music history. I got most of the stuff right, but some I had no idea how to answer, because me piano teacher didn't give me all the notes. Most of the time, I was just rubbing my eyes or stifling a yawn. Really, I was just that tired. Piano was better, i guess, since your arms are moving, and you have to pay close attention. But right after piano, I had pizza for lunch in the car, and then it was off to badminton camp. Oh gosh, I have no idea how I survived that either. I should go to bed earlier today, I bet I'll fall asleep once I hit the pillow.
Goodnight,
Dapple Grey

T3 B23: Survivor!

Oh noes. Everywhere I turn, it's sickness. My sister's sick, my brother's sick, my dad's sick, my grandma's sick....the only great sickness survivors are me, my mom, and my grandpa. I. must. survive. If I ever get sick, I'll be so dead. I mean, I guess it would be okay if it was the middle of spring break, but all I would be able to do at home would be lie in bed and feel terrible. Oh gosh, I still remember the fevers. Lying in bed, when it's all dark, not being able to fall asleep because of the heat, and then it's so quiet and dark because everyone else's gone to sleep...But in the morning it gets worse. Your body's all stiff and shivering, or it's all hot and sweaty. I hate it either way. Every else seems to have too much energy, and you just feel like sitting there doing nothing. You can barely get anything accomplished. Anyways, I'm doing all I can to keep myself from getting sick, and I'm probably washing my hands a million times each day.
Stay strong,
Dapple Grey

T3 B22: The genius homework plan

Ok, so today, like the beginning of every break, I have created a homework to-do list for Spring Break. It always makes me kind of nervous and scared to look at the list, and see all the things that I had to do. But it kind of makes me happy at the same time, since I've wrote it out and I know that I won't be slacking off, as long as I have my list. Already, I've finished my math homework, and that sure took a lot of my time. But it's so satisfying to see that big check mark on the math homework, knowing that you won't have to cram it in on the last day. Anyways, I also had tutor today, and since my siblings always take forever on their work, I had time to read my book for the Book Talk. That's what I call Prioritizing. Hmmm, maybe next time, I should bring my knitting stuff with me, than I would be able to do a couple more rows....
Dapple Grey