Hunter

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June 12, 2012 Well, this weekend I didn't do much, literally this time. All I did was study, and go on the computer. But on Sunday I had to go to a pool BBQ with some friends of my parents at the embassy. I brought my computer to study but I mostly hung out with the other people there. At the BBQ all I really did was talk. I had to watch my little sister a bit but other than that I talked and just went on my iPod. For the last like half and hour of the BBQ I took out my computer and started to study once again. One of the things that really bothers me is how teachers still give us homework so close to exams. We weren't given any homework today but we had homework over the weekend. In some ways though I can see how it can help, but if we know it, then we don't have to do it and instead we should be reviewing stuff that we don't understand as well. I am going to go ahead and stop my journal there, I know it is not as long as usual but I thought I might give you a small break from reading a lot. Your welcome.

June 4, 2012 Just wanted to say that the conference was not about goofing around. Every night I spent about two hours looking over my notes and the actual session were 4 hours each, and there were 4 sessions. We also had to go to a bunch of museums and I was actually interested and payed attention to the things in the museum.

It seems like every weekend the same thing happens but as a different location. Last Saturday my family and I went out for Brunch with some embassy friends at Terra Nova. They had a great menu. They had some delicious craw fish and a huge desert table. However I only had a miniature pie with like kiwi and strawberries on top. I have no idea what they are called. Then Sunday I went over to Isabella's house for a BBQ.

Everyone said they would come, even Matthew, Tristan, and Daniel, but in the end they didn't. Charlotte, Anushree, Isabella, Sabine, D'Andra, Seya, Tyla, Louis, Manley, Reuben, Werner, and myself all went. Isabella really had the BBQ just so that we could hang out with Sabine more.

At the BBQ, we went swimming for about an hour and a half and then ate hotdogs. Manley and Reuben had a hotdog eating contest but Reuben won again. Manley just kept laughing but was in the lead in the beginning, but Reuben just casually ate his hotdog. Then Louis and I tried to do front flips into the fool, but we kept getting 180's and I kept landing on my back causing pain. Manley tried as well but he basically just leaped in the water.

After swimming we went back inside and played Mario Party Wii. It is basically the same as Wii Party but in Mario form. Because there were so many of us, there were four teams of three, but in the game two teams had to work together so there was really two teams of six (guys vs. girls). So in the game, we did the board game, and the goal was that after every time you rolled the dice, you move, if you land on the green, you gain three coins, if you land on the red you lose three coins. Whoever has the most coins wins, but if you find a star, then it doesns't matter how many coins the other team has the star beats all coins. The only thing that can beat a star is another star.

The guys had found two stars and we were going to win because the girls couldn't find any stars, but when we were about to get our third star, the girls played tricks on us. They kept pausing the game before we could buy the star and then Isabella quit the game before we could officially win. We still won the game though, but Dabin was mortified. It was his roll when we found the final star and he never got it.

So after a "friendly" game of Mario Party Wii, we went back outside to eat ice-cream. No one was planning on swimming again, but Louis jumped in and Anushree pushed me in with my shirt on so I stayed in. And then everyone just followed after me. Louis and I continued to master the art of flips but that didn't work out so well.

Isabella has some kind of boogie boards, so we just jumped on those and tried to keep our balance but everyone just fell off back first into the water, and Isabella said that we were damaging them so she took them away. So then we grabbed the small board that you use when you are learning to swim, and just jumped on those. It was a lot of fun. After that everyone started to leave but my dad got stuck in traffic and I was the last one to leave. So I just sat there with Isabella and Sabine and just talked. Then I went home and did last minute homework.

I also wanted to mention that I started reading a new book called Max. It is the fifth book in the Maximum Ride series. I have been reading the series for like two years now on and off because it is a long series and it is kind of the same. It was a really good book in the beginning but the author was American so he probably just continued to write books to keep the money coming in. The later books in the series are good, but not as great. When it comes down to James Patterson, he writes so many books, that he doesn't always write a good book, and he keeps the series going for too long. However, ignoring the author now, I will tell you a little about the series if I haven't told you already.

The Maximum Ride series is about these bird kids who are running away from evil scientists that had experimented on them. There is this laboratory called the school where they trap kids and experiment on them to find new ways to improve the human body. The birds kids who escape (the flock) are kids who not only have wings, but grow more mutant powers as they grow older, and just when you think they are safe, a director arises and sends more and higher advanced robots to find the flock. At first instead of robots though they had erasers. In a nut shell, they were like werewolves. They could transform into mutts with insane jaws and strength.

But was was special about the flock, was that they didn't have an expiration date. Every experiment had an expiration date because the test were lasting and had some side effects. I am only around page 20 or 30 in the Max, but I think I will finish it before school ends. Just stay tuned with this series because I will probably be updating about this book in my next journal. Also, I think in the fall of 2013, the first movie is coming to theaters, but I think the movie is going to be on the first three or four books.

There you have it, over 1,000 words.

May 28, 2012 So, because I have missed only one journal, I will write extra this time. I will write at least a more than 500 words, and because I did a lot in New York, this shouldn't be too hard. Emma Bunting, Nicholas Mahfood, Bella Issa, Daniel Schwapp, D'Andra Brown, Isabella Craig, Seya Lewis-Meeks, Leah Barnett, Simone Phillips, Nina Johnson, Gabby Belnavis, Miranda Melhado, Zuri Marley, and myself left for New York to participate in the Model United Nations, so we left on the 16th of May. I thought that the plane rides would be kind of boring, but I ended up sleeping for a huge part of it, as well as hanging out with the people sitting next to me and just messing with stuff on my iPod. Then we had to do a three hour lay away in the Miami air port where I just helped Bella, Emma, Zuri, and Leah do their dance dares. Some of them were quite funny. Then we had a three hour flight to New York, but we had to sit in the plan for an hour because something was wrong with the computers or something, but during that flight I just slept the whole way.

When we arrived in New York, it was a disaster trying to find our rides back to the hotel. All of the upper class-men rode in the big van by themselves with no teachers and the 9th graders had to ride with the teachers. Ms. Clough said she didn't do it because we were 9th graders, but I think she was just saying that. The first day we were there we went out to eat at Chipotle and then immediately went to Time Square after that where we had a few hours of free time. We really didn't do much during our free time though, we mostly just goofed off, no major shopping. Then we went back to the Hotel and went to sleep for tomorrow. The next day we didn't do that much either, we went to So-Ho and did another free time thing, still didn't do much. But then we had to go to the training for MUN delegates, but that only took an hour. The biggest thing of the day though was probably going into the UN, but we had to wait like two hours in line.

On the 18th we had to actually do the MUN conferences. I was apart of the GA 6th, which is criminal accountability of UN officials. The first session wasn't that great and I think that because we were Venezuela, we weren't recognized that much by other countries. No one came to us or even ave a thought about us. But in the second session on that day I found Iraq, Cuba, Mali, and Morocco and started to make a resolution. On the 19th, the final day for conferences, we tried to finish our resolution but there wasn't enough time and my group basically just gave up. When it came down to voting on resolutions, people in my group didn't even vote for our resolution. So I just basically hung out with my new friends for the remainder of the time. And guess what, no one in our group won an award.

So for the next day we basically goofed off again by going to museums and just "shopping". We first went and saw the Museum of Natural History, but I only got to see the dinosaurs because we didn't have much time. Then we went to the Met museum which is full of art. I am not an art person, but I actually enjoyed looking at some of the stuff in the museum. I even knew some of the works and artists that were presented there. After the Museums and other educational stuff we did, we went back to the hotel and had like and hour or two of free time, so everyone went to Time Square and did their last minute souvenir shopping and such. I even had to do Souvenir shopping. One of the highlights though for me was going into the M&M store. I probably wouldn't call it a highlight though, becasue I don't even like M&Ms that much. They have three stories just for M&Ms. They also have giant M&M dispensers that are used to fill up bags or boxes to take home and eat. But the next morning we had to had to come back to Jamaica, sadly, but it was fun while it lasted.

So this past weekend I didn't do much except celebrate my brothers birthday. We had a seafood feast at home and had homemade ice-cream cake my by my grandmother. Then on Saturday I went over to Charlotte's house with Manley, Isabella, Reuben, and Anushree to practice our song for the talent show. But the girls start bringing up band names, dress code, and stage performances. I had to leave early though so I don't know if anything was set and done. Then Sunday I went out to dinner with some Embassy friends. We went out to Red bones which was a lot more fancier than I thought, but the food was delicious. The crab back salad was extremely good and so was the seafood trio. Great place to eat at.

So thats my journal for this week and last week. Surprisingly though, I only have 909 words in my journal.

May 7, 2012 So this weekend was another busy weekend. Saturday I spent most of my day getting ready for the MUN trip. I had to try on a bunch of suits and different combinations of clothing to see what looked good and what fit. Then I went and bought new shoes, one pair just to wear and the other for MUN. Then at 2:30 my brother, my dad, and myself went and saw the Avengers. It was a pretty good movie. My favorite character was the Hulk. Not really the smashing aspect of the Hulk, but the comedy. You have to watch it to understand the jokes and actually laugh. Then I went home and did nothing for the rest of my Saturday except relax.

Then Sunday was the busiest day. At 11:00 Isabella and Manley came over to practice our song that we are playing for the talent show, which your children can also participate in on the 25th of May. D'Andra came at the same time as Isabella so she just listened and practiced her own song. I am doing the guitar, and the part I am doing, is very complicated for how far I am in my lessons. Then at 12:00, Reuben, Charlotte, Anushree, and Werner all came over to hang out. First we played a game of Wii Party. We did the board game aspect of it and played in teams. It was Reuben though who ended up winning. Then we watched a movie called 'Dawn of the Dead'. It wasn't that scary of a movie, and to be honest, there wasn't that much of a story, mostly just killing zombies and not dying.

After the movie, as soon as we turned it off, the back doors flung open randomly. Reuben and I went and looked outside and no one was there, the gate was even locked. Then I realized that the door wasn't closed right nad I fixed it. OF course though it was D'Andra who freaked out the most. Then we played random games in the dark. We played hide and seek, which was basically some had a blanket over there head and people just throw stuff at the blind person. Then everyone started to leave and I spent the rest of my day doing nothing except homework.

April 30, 2012 So this weekend was field day and sadly red team came second. Yellow came last and Blue came third and Green came first, again. It was a close sports day because Red and Green were tied for a while, but then it all came down to the tug of war. And even though high school won for the Red team, middle school and elementary came third and fourth. We came in second by ten points. Then D;Andra, Seya, Isabella, Anushree, WErner, Manley, Louis, and myself all went to T.G.I. Fridays for dinner. We made a huge mess as people were loud, spilt a bunch of stuff, and everyone looked at us.

April 23, 2012 This weekend on Friday I did nothing. Then on Saturday, I did quite a lot. First, I went with some friends to go paintballing. I got some pretty bad bruises on my leg and a really bad one on my hand. While at Sun Coast, the place we go paintballing, I did the rope challenge. Basically there are a bunch of obstacles that are elevated by ropes so you have to do all the obstacles with balance. When you reached the top, you have to zip line back down. Of course though there were harnesses so if you fell you would still be safe. Then, later that night, I went to Marketplace for dinner. I went with my normal group. Except a lot of the people from our normal group didn't come. It was only Isabella, Charlotte, Louis, Manley, and myself. By the way, did you know that Louis, is spelt with a y. Also, Manley and Louis are really gullible. Did you know that if you say strawberry 5 times fast, it sound like gullible. After dinner when I got home, I was so tired I got in some pajamas and fell asleep almost instantly. The problem was though, was that I had to wake up at like 6:00 in the morning so I could go diving with Dr. B and a whole group of people.

This dive was pretty cool because I got to use my Hawaiian sling for the first time. I managed to spear two lion fish. I mean, I got to live up to my name. I also saw my first wild turtle swimming in the ocean while diving. It was one of my major goals for diving. I also managed to see a school of squid, but it wasn't that new, but it is not something I see every dive either so it was pretty cool. I also found out that Dr. B was stung by a lion fish on Saturday, so if you get a chance to see her hand, it is pretty messed up. Then, when I came home, I did nothing but work and do homework. For a lot of the time though I sat in a hammock out on my porch. We have had it since February, but just recently got it hung in a good spot that has easy access. Now I spend a lot of time there with my pillow and my computer, enjoying the outside weather and fresh air. Loop hole for all those people who say "go play outside".

April 16, 2012 Well, back to the usual grind I guess. Because we had a nice two week vacation, and therefore missed 3 journals, I am going to at least write 750 words. Considering all the stuff I did, this will be fairly easy. First off, my grandfather from Arizona came to visit. It was a lot of fun. By the time he left, he was dead tired. It was non-stop driving, moving, and sight seeing. We went to Fort Clarence beach nearly four or five times. It didn't bother him, or myself. They have some vendors and food huts that sell amazing food. I almost always buy their shrimp and crawfish. They cook them in some kind of red spice or sauce, I don't know, I just know its delicious. We almost always buy the food huts lobster, but this time we decided to try something different. We bought their fish which they cook in escovitch. I have yet to find a disappointment with the beach itself, and the food. We also drove up to treasure cove. And while their we did quite a bit of stuff. First we went up Black River. Black River is the only place in Jamaica that has American alligators. When I first heard this I honestly thought it was a joke because they kept saying __American__ alligators. Then I found out they weren't joking. Went went on a small eight or nine seater boat. The driver of the boat would tell us about all the different plants, animals, and would tell us how the alligators lived. Did you know that alligators are very territorial and normally fight for their spot for the rest of their lives, and no other alligator will enter another's territory unless they fight for dominance. Also that alligators will latch on to roots and trees, or other places that are sturdy enough to keep them slightly in the water but their backs out of the water to soak in sun. When they do this, it is almost like they zone out. Even if you place something on its back or near its mouth it won't react until it wakes up on its own. They also have Mangrove trees that have roots that start growing at the top and grow longer and longer until they reach the bottom of the river where they then start to root in the dirt in the river. After Black River, we visited Y.S. Falls. I mean, they have quite a bit to do there. I hear it might be better than Duns River because it is less commercialized, and it wasn't that crowded and I didn't see a single vendor. They have quite a bit of activities, they have like to swimming pools, tubing down a river, rope swing, and even zip lines. Of course, I had to try the zip line and I have to say, it was pretty cool. You don't just go down one zip line, but like five or six. I think I saw people even younger than Toby ride. I also tried the rope swing, which was just a swing you use to jump in the water. That was about all I did in Y.S. Falls, besides of course just hanging out in the river. Then we went and found out hotel which did not have tv. Luckily though, all my sibling and myself brought our iPads and iPods to entertain ourselves. The beach was really rough so you can't go swimming, it was very isolated, and there were a lot of rocks. But the hotel itself was really nice, they also had breakfast and it was also nice because we had the whole hotel to ourselves. For dinner we went Jack Sprouts. They serve some excellent sea food there. The next morning we went to Appleton. There, they showed us how they use to make rum, and how they make it now. They use to use a donkey to squeeze sugar cane so they could use the juices. Sadly, I didn't get to taste any rum, but I did get to taste sugar cane juice/water. On the Appleton estate, they also had to peacocks. I don't know why, but when ever people in our group tries to take pictures, they would hide behind a tree or something. Then right when we were about to leave, we saw a peacock with here baby chicks. When we left Appleton, we were already close to the maroons, so we went to go and take a look. Then we ended up taking this long tour about houses made of cow manure, prayer grounds, their sacred tree, and the places Nanny use to be when she got her visions. The maroons up there were all really friendly and they gave me my first star fruit, which I thought it kind of had a salty taste, which in my opinion, is good. After the maroons we drove back home and rested for a day. But the roads to and from the maroons were terrible. The roads were just really narrow and bumpy. After a day of rest at home we drove up to Ochi. There we decided to go to Dolphin Cove and swim with the dolphins. They also have a lot of other attractions, they have a shark show, lots of gift shops, other animal place like holding parrots, swimming with stingrays, and game tables. I swam with the dolphins and they even pushed me from their noses like I was super man. I found out that most of their dolphins were either from Cuba or Mexico, and they had five babies, all from one father and different baby mamas. After Dolphin Cove, we went to our hotel called the Silver Seas, they had a great view, clear enough water so you could see the coral at the bottom. There were also steps so you could go down and swim. The bad part though was the the rooms were crap. My room didn't even have a door knob. When we went out to dinner, we went to Magaritaville. It was a pretty cool restaurant, especially because they have a swimming pool and a beach so you could go swim while your food was cooking. The pool was closed though when we went but we still went out on the beach for a while, not to swim though. When we got back at our hotel, my room was completely flooded and we had to move to a different room. When we moved, we found two cockroaches. This was not a very good hotel and I do not recommend it. When we got home, all we did was go to the beach and celebrated easter. For our Easter dinner, we enjoyed some delicious lobster and shrimp made by my dad. When my grandfather left on Thursday, our usual group of Isabella, Anushree, Charlotte, Reuben, Werner, Manley and myself all went over to Reuben's house. We played wii for a bit at first and then went swimming and did some pool volleyball with Werner as the ref. But he kept saying redo because he didn't want to side with anyone. After swimming, we went back inside, found out it was Friday the 13th, and the power went out. We played truth or dare around a fire lamp and ate pizza. When the power went out, we left the lights off and just kind of hung out in the dark. In the end we just continued to play truth or dare and when people started to leave we played wii. Then, on Sunday, Anushree, Charlotte, Werner, Dabin, Manley, and myself all went over to Isabella's house for a BBQ. We had hamburgers, played wii, went swimming, ate ice-cream, and played more wii. For some odd reasond her dogs seemed to dislike me. They kept growling at me and barking at me, but Charlie would growl at me, and come and sit next to me so I would pet her, so I think she had a split opinion. I think I have just done more writing then Isabella's last three journals now. I have 1,366 words and she has a total of 1,308 words.

March 26, 2012 This weekend was pretty good. Friday we all went over to Charlotte's house from 4:00-10:30. I know what you are thinking, "How could a group of kids hang out for six and a half hours straight?". Well, I'll tell you. Manley, Anushree, Isabella, Dabin, Reuben, Charlotte, Louis, Werner, and myself went to Charlottes house. When Manley, Isabella, Anushree, and I arrived, Louis was all ready there. The six of us played Mario Kart Wii. But twenty minutes after Dabin, Reuben, and Werner came we all played Just Dance Wii. It was the most hilarious thing I have seen in a long time. Especially when Manley decided to dance by himself to "Raining Men". After we played wii for an hour or two, we all went to the pool. Anushree and Werner didn't bring their swimsuits so they just watched and Isabella got out early because she wasn't feeling to well. While swimming, we all played hide and go seek. Reuben was it, but while he was counting we all ran back inside Charlotte's house. When Reuben came inside and we were all dried off, we all ate a nice meal of pizza, salad, and brownies for desert. After a nice hearty meal and everyone pretending to like their vegetables, we all watched a really bad horror movie about zombies which was suppose to be a spoof, but wasn't all that good. Probably because it was a british film. I kept asking Isabella what this and that meant. After the movie we all just hung out, did nothing, chat, make fun of each other, the usual, but this time there was no Truth or Dare. When everyone was gone and it was just Manley, Charlotte, and I, we all played Mario Kart Wii again until Manley's mom came and picked us up. The next day, we decided to keep the fun going and met up at Blue Cafe. We thought that after just loitering in the restaurant, we would go and watch Hunger Games. After just reading the first and second book as you know from my last journals, I had some pretty high expectations, and afterwards I just felt like being picky. Because the book had more detail, it seemed like there was a lot missing in the movie, and they cut out one of the most important symbols in the movie. I am not going to tell you though because you should read the book and then watch the movie. But overall it was a pretty good movie. Sunday, my family had to go over to a friends house for an easter party where I was the easter bunny. They had an eighteen-foot water slide, a twister bounce, cotton candy, snow cones, and a buffet containing some of my favorites such as lobster and steak. There was also a trivia where if you get the question right, you get a prize. However, the main attraction that everyone knows, was the easter egg hunt. I had to help hide the eggs and helped one of the younger ones, who I think was five, find some of them. Overall, besides Monday which was filled with nothingness and homework, it was a really good four-day weekend. Now it is time for another week of school, which is thankfully only a three and a half day week until Spring Break full of relaxation, and NO school work what so ever.

March 19, 2012 Believe it or not, I read __another__ book! It is the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy and the first movie comes out on the 23rd of March. Basically, in the second book, Katniss Everdeen has to go back into the Hunger Games for the 3rd Quarter Quell, but the games don't go as expected. Talk of rebellion occurs, news about district 13 existing as an underground rebel head quarters, and there is a love triangle with Katniss right in the middle of everything. On another note, Anushree's birthday was last Monday and we went out last Saturday to celebrate it. Reuben, Manley, Isabella, Anushree, Charlotte, Modvicka, Louis, Dabin, Werner, and I all went paintballing. Tristan, Daniel, and Matthew didn't go as usual, Tyla didn't go because of her shoulder, and D'Andra and Seya didn't go. At paintball, the teams were myself, Isabella, Louis, Charlotte, and Manley. The other team was Anushree, Modvicka, Dabin, Werner, and Reuben. We played a total of five games and my team won the first three. Then we decided to change the teams. My second team was myself, Charlotte, Dabin, Werner, and Anushree against Manley, Isabella, Reuben, Modvicka, and Louis. During the last two games, it was suppose to be Dabin and myself running for the flag, Werner sniping, Anushree covering people, and Charlotte would move and cover at the same time. The problem with that plan though, was that Dabin got shot in the first five seconds and it was up to Charlotte and myself to get the flag and we ended up winning the last two games. After paintballing we all went and ate and played games ate like 3:30. Once everyone was done eating, we went and did the maze, my first time was four minutes and my second time was eight minutes. Injurie count, I got hit really bad in the arm and Louis tore some skin off his toe and got shot in the wrong spot. Just when you think the day would be over, everyone except Reuben and Werner went to Isabellas house and did some late night swimming and played wii. Update on injury count, Dabin cut himself deeply in the pool. I went home at around 10:30.

March 12, 2012 This weekend was a fun. Friday, I had my first PE class in the rain. Mr. Prince normally says he is allergic to rain and makes us go inside, but this time we managed to convince him to stay outside. We were playing hand ball, but we stopped because the ground was to slippery. So we just hung out, did a little futbol, talked, and played in the water. After that, my grandmother who picked me up kept telling me that I need to find a way to not get the car seats wet or I would have been in trouble. Luckily, I found a towel in the car. The the next day, Saturday, our class went over to Isabella's house just to hang out. Of course, the usual didn't come. And the usual is Tristan, Daniel, and Matthew. Tyla and Reuben didn't come either, but they try to come. At Isabella's house, Manley, Werner, and I were the first to arrive. So we played Rockband. First time I ever played it, and I really enjoyed the drums. Louis kept saying he would sing but kept handing it off to someone else like half way through the song. Isabella and Seya were pros, but they have the game, and everyone else did fairly well, except Louis. Then we just hung out outside and watched Manley and Louis try to perform flips on a bar. Louis fell and Isabella's dog, Charlie, exploded his face. Manley also fell, but Charlie didn't attack him, instead he just received a large bruise on the back. Then the class played truth or dare, again. The game is fun, but because we do it so much, we run out of ideas. I wasn't there for the beginning of the game because I was out playing futbol with Werner when they started, but I didn't really see/hear anything worthwhile like the last few games. And believe it or not, but I read a book this week. It is called the Hunger Games. The movie comes out on the 23rd of March and I wanted to read it before the movie comes out. It is a really good story and would recommend this to everyone. The story takes place in a country called Panem in North America long in the future. The country is set up into districts 1-12. There use to be 13 but the government blew it up because of a rebellion. Because of the rebellion, the capitol wanted to keep a leash on the districts, and so the capitol created the Hunger Games. Two kids between the age of 12 and 18, one boy and one girl, must compete against all the other children from other districts. They televise the games to every person in every district. The Hunger Games show how much power the capitol has and what they can do to you. So the book is about a girls named Katniss Everdeen who is entered into the Hunger games, and has to survive. She will face careers who train their hole life to compete in the games, mutations the capitol creates, harsh terrain, questionable love, and whatever else the capitol throws at her. I suggest you read the book, watch the movie, and compare it to how our life is today. In a way, our lives are fairly similar.

March 5, 2012 Last Friday, the girls of our class, Seya, Isabella, D'Andra, and Charlotte, decided to go out for dinner for Seya's birthday. Then Louis, when he found out, was jealous, and asked if the guys, Manley, Louis, Reuben, Werner, and Dabin, could come over to my house and watch tv and play video games. So we did. We didn't bother inviting Tristan, Daniel, and Matthew because they almost never come. Then Manley, had to open his big mouth, and went and invited the girls. The point of coming over to my house, was for the guys to hang out because the girls were hanging out. However, only Charlotte and Isabella ended up coming for the girls. In the end it was alright, the girls though grew bored of video games really fast, so we had to go do something else. We did play video games though for about 2-3 hours. Then we went and messed around throwing beach balls at each other. Then Isabella and Charlotte ditched the guys, then all the guys went and followed them upstairs. The the girls tried to sneak back down, but the guys went down first. The girls said stay up, and they didn't, only Reuben and I did. Because of that. The four of us ditched the rest and hid outside. We took the beach ball and played volley ball on the other side of my compound. When the other guys got a clue about us being gone, they ran outside and tried to find us. Then I told Reuben, Isabella, and Charlotte about a path that secretly lead back to the other side of the compound. It took the guys about 20-30 minutes to find us. Then they wanted a turn to hide, so when they went to hid. Then we __all__ went back inside and played truth or dare. The highlight was that Isabella and Manley drank the most nastiest thing ever. It was salsa, nacho cheese, sprite, hot peppers, and a crushed up cheese puff. As you can tell, our parties can get pretty weird.

February 26, 2012 Last Friday our class had a class party to celebrate Werner's birthday. Dabin, Manley, Werner, Reuben, Louis, Charlotte, Isabella, Anushree, D'Andra, and Seya all came to my house to eat pizza, ice-cream, popcorn, brownies, and drink soda. The brownies though was more of a surprise for Werner though because we put candles in it and sung happy birthday. Tristan, Tyla, Daniel, and Matthew did not come. Tristan, Daniel, and Matthew almost never come anyway, Tyla was just in the states. When the first people started to arrive, they decided to play wii. They played Dragon Ball Z Budakai Tenchaichi 3. Then when some more girls came, we played Sing It, Disney style. The main reason of the night however was to watch a horror movie called "The Woman in Black" starring Daniel Radcliffe. In my opinion the movie wasn't that good, it took like an hour for anything not only to make sense, but for something to actually happen. And the end sucked because Daniel Radcliffe and his son were murdered by the Woman in Black. The only good thing about the ending was that Daniel Radcliffe and his son were reunited with the already dead wife of Daniel Radcliffe. Manley was probably the happiest one there, he had his arms around four of the girls. I had at least one. Everyone else was jealous, especially Reuben. Louis was the funniest, when ever something scary happened, he put in his headphones, played a song, and started to sing with it. He was very loud and not very good. Of course it was D'Andra and Charlotte who were the most scared. At least Charlotte didn't jump/fall out of her chair three times, and again, D'Andra's scream was worse than the movie. All in all though, it was a fun night. Next time though, we need a scarier movie. I just wanted to quickly add, Manley got a Facebook. This is a surprise to all of us.

February 22, 2012 Reuben thinks Jamaican apples are healthier than normal apples. I think he is wrong. Although I have no proof, All-American apples taste better, and are just better (because they're American), end of story. America rules. On another note, my weekend was boring. The good thing about last weekend was that I went to Little Ochi for lunch. This Saturday is my father's birthday, so we plan to go out for dinner, or just have a sea food dinner at home. On Friday, we are going to go to someones house at 7:30 for a horror movie, Domino's pizza, ice-cream, and popcorn. Don't forget coke. The best drink in the world. I just found out we are going to watch Women in Black. Hopefully it is a very good movie and is scary. I am just afraid D'Andra's screams won't scare anyone. Please. Thank you for reading. Bye.

February 14, 2012 Sorry I didn’t turn it in earlier, I do all of my journals on a word document and I forgot to put it on my wiki page. This weekend, Charlotte, Isabella, Tyla, D’Andra, Louis, Werner, Manley, Dabin, and I decided to all go to Haagen-Daz for some ice-cream. Of course, Manley had to order the biggest thing there, and it ended up being to sweet for him to eat. He ate it anyway. After we had our nice ice-cream, Louis had to go home, and we randomly decided to go get sushi in Loshusan. Manley and Dabiin, for some odd reason, decided to eat the green bubble gum. Even though it awful tastes when it is by itself, they didn’t care. Then we decided to go walk around Loshusan, and ended up loitering in the parking lot. No one was quite ready to go home, and we needed something to do. Then we decided to have our own movie night over at someone’s house. We then scrambled trying to decide whose house we were going to use, and how we were suppose to get there. Finally, Manley and Charlotte’s parents agreed to take us over to Charlottes house, before that, we had to go rent a movie, buy popcorn, candy, soda, and rush outside to the transportation vehicles. Tyla and Werner sadly had to leave. We ended up watching the movie, “The hills have eyes”. It so much as a horror movie, more of a thriller, the thing scarier than the movie were the other people trying to scare people, and D’Andra screaming over the least scary parts in the movie.

February 6, 2012 Giants won the Superbowl! I was rooting for them throughout the entire game. It was a very close game with a few injuries. Giants had only two thumbles, but recovered both of them. Giants won by four point, 21-17. It looked like the Patriots had won for a while with 15-17, but with two or three minutes left in the game, the Giants scored a touch down. To watch the game, my parents invited a few friends over and we had something like a buffet. We had buffalo wings, chile, cornbread, sausage, cheese ball, vegetable platter, banana bread, cheese platter, and brownies. It was a lot of fun, too bad the Redskins weren't there. On another note, a California-based restaurant has just made a bacon milkshake. It consists of vanilla ice-cream, whip cream, and the most important ingredient, bacon flavored syrup, yum. However, this shake come at a price, it carries a whopping 1,081 calories and 17 grams of protein. I guess you could call it a protein shake. Ha ha. Actually, bacon has become a very popular dessert. A lot of desserts are being tested with bacon being infused in different desserts like: bacon donuts, cupcakes, and cookies. Bacon is addictive, it has a similar effect in the brain almost as the same as cocaine, sniff sniff. This shake may sound appealing, but food critics say it is horrific, and it leaves a smoky after taste. http://shine.yahoo.com/shine-food/drink-bacon-milkshake-231500241.html

January 30, 2012 There are multiple reasons why you should give up soda. I am being a huge hypocrite for talking about this, because I am a huge soda lover, but who cares, it looked like a good topic to talk about. It was either this, for six steps to the best fried chicken. The first reason is that soda can make your organs fat. A recent study with drinking milk, regular soda, diet soda, and water showed that no one gained fat. But those you drank regular soda gained hidden fat such as liver fat and skeletal fat. On the other hand, diet soda can increase your chances of diabetes, but you just don't gain hidden weight. Sweeteners and food coloring also kills brain cells, and increases hyperactivity. Another reason is that soda contains toxic flame retardants. The flame retardants can cause bromide poisoning symptoms, cause memory loss, skin lesions, and nerve disorders. The last reason is that when you drink soda, you are basically being a free tester. Soda industries add genetic corn into the soft drinks. Stuff like this have only been around since 1990, so no one really knows what long term effect can occur with consuming these types of products that contain genetic corn. Some hypotheses are that genetic corn can cause digetive tract problems, accelerating aging, and can even cause infertility. http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/3-shocking-soda-facts

January 9, 2012 Can you imagine the feeling of the being the only one of your king. Well, the thought to be extinct tortoise, the Chelonoidis Elephantopus, probably knows the feeling. Chelonoidis Elephantopus was just recently found somewhere in the Galápagos Islands. Scientists say this will be a major come back for this species of tortoise. This species has been extinct for nearly 150 year. Scientists believe that they became extinct because of whale hunters from a hundred and fifty years ago may have come across these tortoises and hunted them as well. Its close relative isthe Chelonoidis Becki. The different between the two species is that the Chelonoidis Becki has more of a domed shape shell, while the Chelonoidis Elephantopus has more of a saddle shape shell. Scientists have been doing some DNA testing ever since Chelonoidis Becki tortoises were found with a dome/saddle shape shell. The tortoises with the mixed look of shells, have just been proven through DNA testing that one of the parents must have been a Chelonoidis Becki and the other must have been a Chelonoidis Elephantopus. Some of the hybrid tortoises were only about fifteen years of age, this allows scientists to believe that the parents should be alive due to the large lifespan of tortoises. Scientists hope they can find the hidden population of the Chelonoidis Elephantopus, scientists will be able to set up breeding camps to bring back thei thought to be endangered species. http://news.yahoo.com/extinct-galapagos-tortoise-reappears-173106567.html

January 2, 2012 There are a lot of people who don't eat breakfast in this world. Well, whoever doesn't eat breakfast, needs to. Here are ten reasons people need to eat breakfast. One reason is that it boosts your brain power during the day to stay focus during those boring days at work and at school. Except for Mr. Bennets class, even if you don't eat breakfast, it is hard to not pay attention in his class. Another reason is that you get the proper nutrients needed for a daily routine. Eating breakfast also helps your heart by lowering you chances of diabetes and also lowers your heart rate. Eating breakfast also reduces chances of metabolic syndrome. Side effects of metabolic syndrome is obesity, and insulin resistance. Eating breakfast also prevents eating disorders. Studies show that most 13-year old girls who don't eat breakfast, are dissatisfied with their bodies, and go on unnecessary diets, resulting in eating disorders. Eating breakfast also helps your immune system preventing diseases. Eating breakfast boosts your immune system. Breakfast can even improve your skin. It is mostly the eggs though that improve your skin. Breakfast can keep you thin. Without eating breakfast, your body increases the fat storage to replace the food you didn't eat. Studies show that almost all the people who lived to be 100, were consistent breakfast eaters. It is said that eating breakfast helps you live longer. And lastly, eating breakfast also boosts your energy levels. Breakfast replenishes you glycogen stores which help keep your muscles full of energy. http://www.thedailymeal.com/10-reasons-eat-breakfast-slideshow?utm_source=yahoo%2Bshine&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=10%2Breasons%2Beat%2Bbreakfast&RM_Exclude=Welcome

December 11, 2011 Almost everybody knows a show called "MythBusters". Well, "MythBusters" very one Adam Savage and Jaime Hyneman attempted to measure the speed of a cannonball being shot out of a cannon. What could possibly go wrong? Isn't that something everyone says. Well they tried to slow the cannon down using water. Water is often used to slow things down because of the great resistance water provides. They were going to use the impact absorbed to find the speed. They actually missed the tank of water, and went flying right pass the tank, and through the wall. The cannonball went through two houses, over a street, through a mini van, and stopped inside the third house. Remarkably, nobody was hurt. Next time they need to make sure their aim is right. On another note, ski resorts in Europe are having strangely warm climate for snow, even artificial snow. However, extreme skiers aren't stopping just because there isn't any snow. They are using rocks instead. Surprisingly, no one has had any major injuries. Another extreme sport going on is surfing in Australia. To celebrate summer, Australians are going surfing in the night. Surfs up dudes. They are adding neon lights to their snow boards, and wet suites. Sound fun, but what happens when a shark come and you can't see it because it is dark. http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/cannonball-experiment-goes-wrong-27517529.html

http://news.yahoo.com/video/oddnews-22772304/odd-news-rare-albino-snail-ski-on-stones-glowing-surfers-27510333.html

December 4, 2011Its Christmas time again and it is one of the best times of the year. However, this amazing time can be a dangerous one. During Christmas, many con artists come around trying to gain an extra buck. One scam would be that fake charities are made to fool people into falsely donating money. A lot of people during this time also try to find a way to make some extra money for some Christmas fun. Another scam would be “Fake holiday help.” So if you are in the middle of job interview, and the employer wants your security number, or prepaid money, you are probably being conned. What people also do is try to find bargains, so they go to street vendors that claim name brand products. Most vendors only claim name brand products, when they are actually fakes. Other scams can occur, such as “No delivery of stuff bought online”, “fake vacation rentals”, and “email scams”. Many online stores also claim limited quantities, and so they may require you purchase a certain amount of other merchandise, or “can’t produce a tracking number within 48 hours of any sale”, then you need to cancel your order through your credit card company and go somewhere else. These cons happen so often, and there is always a con artist out there, and 99% of people who fall for these scams are just too gullible, and impatient, and cheap.[] November 26, 2011 Have you ever seen or even thought an octopus could walk on land? Well, its not as unique as one would think. It is actually quite common for an octopus to crawl on land. No one sees it, because octopus have been known as a shy creature, not only to humans, but fish and even other octopuses as well, therefore, this is one of few videos that have been taken of this rare event. Scientists have and are still studying the brain activity of octopuses, and there motivation. Research shows that octopuses are smarter than we all think. Octopuses have been known to be captured by fishing nets, purposely, to use the nets as trampolines. The octopuses then run away on the boat’s deck, and run and hide in small places, just like a cat would. Octopuses have also been known to escape from fish tanks. Some have been found trying to crawl away on land, hind in bookshelves, teapots, and other unusual locations. Other octopuses have also been found in other fish tanks; mostly enjoying a snack on the occupants of the fish tank that octopus enters. Octopuses have also been known to crawl on land in search for food. Scientists are still studying octopuses for us to get a better understanding. If we understand octopuses more, we might be able to understand their motives, and maybe find a way to better hold octopuses in captivity with better tanks. Please enjoy the video below, and look carefully to see how they crawl on land. media type="youtube" key="FjQr3lRACPI" width="425" height="350" This is where I found my information. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/video-octopus-crawls-water-walks-dry-land-150510810.html

November 20, 2011 Looking back on the story "A Brief Conversion", I personally enjoyed it, after I read it. With this short story, while I read it, I thought it was boring, but when I look back on it and think it over; it was a pretty good story. Not a single person managed to predict what the "brief conversion was". I was surprised how well the mother took the fact Travy got into a fight, and it seemed more like Travy was rewarded instead of being punished. He no longer had to get such goofy looking haircuts. However, Pearl could have been trying to prevent another fight, after all, the started because people were making fun of his hair. I think that if this short story, “A Brief Conversion”, had continued, Travy would have kept on track with his school work listening to his parents, but will be tempted to join Michael and his crew to replace Skull because of how Skull was humiliated. I didn’t go to Sports Fiva on Saturday, but I have a feeling neither AISK team made it to the finals. While watching on Friday, the girls lost both games, and the boys won one game. I will just have to find out who won on Monday and will write an update regarding this part of the paragraph. Boys came 3rd place, girls also came 3rd place.

November 13, 2011 I just watched a movie called “Fail Safe”. I don’t know if you have heard of it or not, I think it came out between the fifties and sixties. I personally thought it was a pretty good movie. It was about how the US had some computer problems and accidentally sent some bombers to destroy Moscow. There were about ten bombers, and Russia desperately tried to destroy those bombers. However, the States were afraid of and upcoming war, and offered that if Moscow was destroyed, New York would be destroyed in order to prevent war. It was an old black and white movie with one of my favorite actors Larry Hagman. You might know Larry Hagman from a TV series called Dallas. I read a story called “The Lottery”. Don’t let the name fool you, it is the complete opposite of what the title make it look like. In “The Lottery”,, I you win, you lose. In this short story, when someone wins the lottery, they are stoned to death. All ages participate. It is a village custom in this story.

November 6, 2011 I didn’t even watch the Washington Redskin game today. I watched maybe 5 minutes of it and then quit. When I checked on the score afterwards, the Washington Redskins still lost 11-19 against San Francisco 49ers. Coach Mike Shanahan opinion is that Quarter Back John Beck is meeting up to standards, and the whole team is providing a poor performance. If it isn’t John Becks fault, then how is it that he hasn’t one a game this whole season, and that Rex Grossman won his first three games? Although Grossman did lose one game, he hasn’t lost as many as Beck. On another note, I really enjoyed making the brochure about a Marlin Fishing Company. I personally love to fish, and I like the business sense of it all. For the second part of the class work you gave us, didn’t really excite me though. I don’t mind writing an essay, but I don’t and never will like to rewrite part of a book. I haven’t done it yet, but I am not looking forward to it. This weekend, I also watched a movie called “Zoo Keeper”. It was hilarious! The movie starred Kevin James who I am familiar with because of his past comedies such as “Grown Ups” (which was also a funny movie). My favorite character was probably the monkey or the gorilla. The monkey wasn’t seen much, but when he did show, he always said some stupid, pointless, yet funny remark.

October 30, 2011 For the past year and a half, I have read a book series called Maximum Ride. I am on the 5th book called “MAX”. The reason it has taken me so long is because I have to order the books online, and I tend to take breaks every now and then. However, I love this book series and I still have two more after this one. I love this book series because the characters in the book continue to adapt, the adventure never stops, and I like the idea that they have to survive with limited supplies and the never-ending danger. Not only do I like what the book is about, but I also enjoy the writing style done by James Patterson. Once I finish this book series, I plan on reading another book series written by him called “Daniel X: Alien Hunter”. At the moment, I am typing this 250-word essay while watching the Washington Redskins play against the Buffalo Bills. I am a Washington Redskin fan, and firmly believe, that if Rex Grossman was playing instead on John Beck, the Washington Redskins would be doing a lot better than they are. John Beck lost the last game for Washington Redskins and he lost this game as well. My personal opinion is that Mike Shanahan should put Rex Grossman back in the game, and take John Beck out. Redskins lost 0-24. This only proves my point.