I honestly don't know how I want to write this final post. I'm going to write it like I always have– with no plan, but a need to type whatever pops into my head at the time. No proofreading, either.
First, a quick update; a lot has happened since my last post. These past three weeks have happened so fast, they've all blended together. If I can recall– I went to the final summer session for We the People and got to judge the judges; I met up with the girl I dated from that other team again and we smoked together for the first time; I moved in early and went to Cal's Filipino orientation, where my parents and I were interviewed by a national Filipino news network and my dad started crying about the opportunities Cal provides. Golden Bear Orientation, my freshman orientation and the first time Cal has had a week long program, just finished and has been so much fun. My group grew very close together; I made new friends, including an international student, a very sarcastic girl from San Diego, and a girl with two moms who very much reminds me of my unitmate. I spent many nights walking late at night from the all girls STEM dorm, gained a reputation for being a player with a different girl each day (not true), and broke a world record. I can't remember everything, but it's made me excited for what's to come. I start classes tomorrow.
It's been a long time since I started this blog on the New Years of sophomore year. I haven't even gone back to read everything I wrote, but from what I've skimmed, I've improved so much. I've reviewed two hundred teas, from the first hundred I did those five months in 2015 to the last one this summer. My writing is way more interesting; I've gone through hard times and made it through; I've graduated with honors and am now attending the number one public university in the world with the most prestigious merit scholarship available there. I experienced my first extended relationship and my first real break up, met so many new people (dated a few, too) and came out of my shell, and became a state champion and a nationally ranked team. I've lost friends and loved ones and failed more times than I thought. Like the past few weeks, there's so much that's happened in these short two years that I could never write it all out without going through all of this writing. Documenting my day to day life is mundane, but taken altogether, I've become a completely different person than when I started.
Despite the title, this isn't the end; cliched as it is, it's the end of one chapter in my life and the start of a new one. I'll continue drinking tea and writing. Maybe I'll start a new blog when I finally get my act together. I'm glad I'm where I am now, and I'm thankful for all the people, places, and chance happenings that got me here. Maybe two years from now, I'll come back to this blog and read about growing up (which I will still be doing at that time). I'll wonder why I made such a big deal out of dumb things like grades and girls, laugh at the silly things that I did with my friends, and feel nostalgic about the people that have both entered and left my life. I'll reflect on those memories that I thought were small in passing, but ended up defining who I am now.
I don't know how to end this post. I guess I'll go back to doing what I did in the posts that got me through that tough time junior year, giving advice that isn't directed to really anyone but myself. Own your shit. Be original, be genuine, be caring. Generalizations never work out; people are defined from anything and everything, ranging from their race, economic status, experiences, family, and more. Grades are only there to tell you that you need to improve– and you can always find ways to improve yourself; you don't need to take the path everyone else takes, or stress out just because it's what everyone else does. Expect all people to be good people, and give them second chances (but don't let them take advantage of you). Go with the flow, or as English teachers like to say, live in the present.
Right now, I feel great. I'm excited to enter this new part of my life, although I don't even know if I'm really ready to face it. The homesickness hasn't hit me yet. I don't know if it ever will. All I know is that I think my roommate is great, I've established a friend group (even though I'm the odd one out in terms of major and dorm), and I'm doing well learning how to live on my own in a city. Getting out of my comfort zone is both scary and, sometimes, easier than I thought. For one, I went to a frat party and did my laundry for the first time. The people are very friendly, showing it in their own ways. I love Berkeley just because it seems like there's so much opportunity available and I can be myself, nerdy and however social I'd like to be (I don't think I'd be happy at UCLA, thinking about it now). I like to think that the people here think the same too. I know, being at Cal, that there will be very low lows and very high highs; it'll be a learning experience.
For people new to this blog, I know it sounds weird, but tea has changed my life. Try it sometime, it's been very therapeutic for me. I always wrote about how it all focuses on the process of brewing– the product, a good tasting tea, is only a result. I don't like using metaphors, but hey, I think it's a good way to describe these past two years. Take that how you will.
Thank you for everything. This is the end of this blog, but not the end of my story. It's time to go to the next level and be the best person you can be, so try to take in the views while you can.
As Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., wrote in Timequake: "You were sick, but now you're well, and there's work to do."
Showing posts with label Update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Update. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Saturday, July 8, 2017
A Day in San Francisco
Sorry for missing a post on the schedule, but I have a strong excuse– I was showing my friend from San Diego (going to UCLA) around San Francisco and Berkeley. I just got home from spending the last hour or two riding trains, so I'm very tired. But, still, it was one of the most exciting times I've had in a while, with three parts: San Francisco with my friend, Berkeley with her and her friend going to SFSU, and going home. For ease, I'm going to call them by the college they're going to.
The first part of the day was very touristy. In the morning, I took BART and the MUNI Metro to pick up UCLA at the university, and we went to the Golden Gate Bridge. I've been a few times, and today it was more beautiful than ever. There was just the right amount of fog and sun, but we still had a perfect view of the bridge, city, Alcatraz, and bay. UCLA thought the bridge was more beautiful in person than it is in the postcards; it never really hit her that it was something tangible– that it was large and able to be walked on. Once we walked half of the bridge, we took a bus going the wrong direction but eventually reached Ghiradelli Square, where UCLA bought some ice cream and I bought a shake. We walked along the waterside until we reached Fisherman's Wharf, where we had sourdough clam chowder at Boudin and played foosball at the Musee Mechanique. After that, we went to Pier 39 and window shopped for a while. The conversation mainly revolved around our own relationships, plans for college, and experiences working at ice cream shops. Finally, we caught a bus to Chinatown and went shopping for clothing and fidget spinners– her choice, not mine. We spent a lot of time thinking of bad pick-up lines/puns that I sent to my friends; UCLA eventually got a call from SFSU that she was done with orientation, so after resting in a park for a while, we all met at BART.
From BART, the second part of the day began as we met. I think we all hit it off pretty well, and we took a train to Berkeley. There, I brought them to the Asian Ghetto for food, and afterwards we looked for stores selling Cal gear. Most were closed, so we just decided to get milk tea at U-Cha and I gave them a tour of the campus, showing them the basic stuff like the Campanile, Valley Life Sciences Building, and whispering bench. The day ended with an ice cream sandwich at Cream, which we all shared together before heading back to BART. It was getting pretty late, but since they didn't really know how to navigate public transit here, I went back with them to the university.
The last leg of the trip came from my adventure trying to get back home. I haven't taken MUNI Metro at all until the day before, and when I reached the end of the line, I had no clue how to reach a BART Station. My phone was almost dead, and I got onto another train, but was kicked off by the operator who said that he was also reaching the end of the line. I ended up hopping onto a third train, marked shuttle, that I had no idea where was going– all I knew that it was moving in the direction I needed to go. At this time of the night, San Francisco was especially beautiful; it was a sea of lights in a place I had never been alone. I had a conversation with a man who had a knack for identifying people's races and spoke too fast and too quiet with a mumble. He connected the protests today, in Germany and about Korea, with his experiences seeing the protests about the Vietnam War. After transferring to another train once the shuttle stopped, I finally was in a place I felt was familiar. I got off at Civic Center and had a quick conversation with a Filipino lady who lived near the station and was surprised that I lived so far away from San Francisco.
Since I've never taken BART this late at night, and caught the second-to-last train, I went in and sat down in the first seat I could. When I did, I accidentally took the seat of a man who was going to sit with his wife– and he angrily asked me if I was stealing his girl. I quickly switched to the seat behind him, and I spent the rest of the ride watching the rest of the people on the train. In front of me was the angry man and his wife; they fell asleep together as the ride went on. Behind me was a girl who was either writing or sketching something in a notebook the entire ride. To my left, there was a man who looked angry at the world, taking swigs out of a bottle of Jager and chasing it down with coke. He was eventually replaced with two ladies who were drunk and giddy and laughing the entire time. In the corner of the car were two young metalheads, who kept flashing the rock-on sign throughout the ride. The most interesting people was another couple, two seats in front of me, who discussed the importance of education in socioeconomics. Someone sitting next to them joined their conversation, and they talked about topics ranging from music, to stories growing up and leaving home, to recipes, and to ideas of progressivism. The wife looked at me a couple of times, smiled, and rolled her eyes when politics came up, and I smiled back.
Today was a day with a lot of firsts. I took a number of buses that I never have taken before. I went to places that I've never been, despite living here for my whole life. I ate at restaurants that I've never tried, and walked in areas that I've never seen. I also got to look at the city and stay out, far from home, at a time much later than I've ever been. It's fun– but it's also terrifying and exciting at the same time. At times, it felt lonely. At others, I felt like I had been long friends with people I've only known for a weekend or have never met at all. I guess this is what it feels like to grow up; last night was memorable and I'd definitely do it again in a heartbeat.
The first part of the day was very touristy. In the morning, I took BART and the MUNI Metro to pick up UCLA at the university, and we went to the Golden Gate Bridge. I've been a few times, and today it was more beautiful than ever. There was just the right amount of fog and sun, but we still had a perfect view of the bridge, city, Alcatraz, and bay. UCLA thought the bridge was more beautiful in person than it is in the postcards; it never really hit her that it was something tangible– that it was large and able to be walked on. Once we walked half of the bridge, we took a bus going the wrong direction but eventually reached Ghiradelli Square, where UCLA bought some ice cream and I bought a shake. We walked along the waterside until we reached Fisherman's Wharf, where we had sourdough clam chowder at Boudin and played foosball at the Musee Mechanique. After that, we went to Pier 39 and window shopped for a while. The conversation mainly revolved around our own relationships, plans for college, and experiences working at ice cream shops. Finally, we caught a bus to Chinatown and went shopping for clothing and fidget spinners– her choice, not mine. We spent a lot of time thinking of bad pick-up lines/puns that I sent to my friends; UCLA eventually got a call from SFSU that she was done with orientation, so after resting in a park for a while, we all met at BART.
From BART, the second part of the day began as we met. I think we all hit it off pretty well, and we took a train to Berkeley. There, I brought them to the Asian Ghetto for food, and afterwards we looked for stores selling Cal gear. Most were closed, so we just decided to get milk tea at U-Cha and I gave them a tour of the campus, showing them the basic stuff like the Campanile, Valley Life Sciences Building, and whispering bench. The day ended with an ice cream sandwich at Cream, which we all shared together before heading back to BART. It was getting pretty late, but since they didn't really know how to navigate public transit here, I went back with them to the university.
The last leg of the trip came from my adventure trying to get back home. I haven't taken MUNI Metro at all until the day before, and when I reached the end of the line, I had no clue how to reach a BART Station. My phone was almost dead, and I got onto another train, but was kicked off by the operator who said that he was also reaching the end of the line. I ended up hopping onto a third train, marked shuttle, that I had no idea where was going– all I knew that it was moving in the direction I needed to go. At this time of the night, San Francisco was especially beautiful; it was a sea of lights in a place I had never been alone. I had a conversation with a man who had a knack for identifying people's races and spoke too fast and too quiet with a mumble. He connected the protests today, in Germany and about Korea, with his experiences seeing the protests about the Vietnam War. After transferring to another train once the shuttle stopped, I finally was in a place I felt was familiar. I got off at Civic Center and had a quick conversation with a Filipino lady who lived near the station and was surprised that I lived so far away from San Francisco.
Since I've never taken BART this late at night, and caught the second-to-last train, I went in and sat down in the first seat I could. When I did, I accidentally took the seat of a man who was going to sit with his wife– and he angrily asked me if I was stealing his girl. I quickly switched to the seat behind him, and I spent the rest of the ride watching the rest of the people on the train. In front of me was the angry man and his wife; they fell asleep together as the ride went on. Behind me was a girl who was either writing or sketching something in a notebook the entire ride. To my left, there was a man who looked angry at the world, taking swigs out of a bottle of Jager and chasing it down with coke. He was eventually replaced with two ladies who were drunk and giddy and laughing the entire time. In the corner of the car were two young metalheads, who kept flashing the rock-on sign throughout the ride. The most interesting people was another couple, two seats in front of me, who discussed the importance of education in socioeconomics. Someone sitting next to them joined their conversation, and they talked about topics ranging from music, to stories growing up and leaving home, to recipes, and to ideas of progressivism. The wife looked at me a couple of times, smiled, and rolled her eyes when politics came up, and I smiled back.
Today was a day with a lot of firsts. I took a number of buses that I never have taken before. I went to places that I've never been, despite living here for my whole life. I ate at restaurants that I've never tried, and walked in areas that I've never seen. I also got to look at the city and stay out, far from home, at a time much later than I've ever been. It's fun– but it's also terrifying and exciting at the same time. At times, it felt lonely. At others, I felt like I had been long friends with people I've only known for a weekend or have never met at all. I guess this is what it feels like to grow up; last night was memorable and I'd definitely do it again in a heartbeat.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Post-Graduation
After holding off of on writing this for a few days, I'm finally going to force myself to put down my thoughts. I graduated high school last friday, on June 6th, 2017. I begin a new life at the University of California, Berkeley, on August 14. In the meantime, I'm going to try and enjoy myself this summer vacation, although I still have a few plans and responsibilities: interning at the Alameda County District Attorney's office, writing for this blog, working at that ice cream shop, getting ready for Berkeley, and a few other things.
I'm sure I've mentioned this time and time again, but this year has defied my expectations– I wouldn't trade it for anything. We placed fifth in the national We the People competition. I'm the best mock trial journalist in California. I placed second in the area round of the American Legion oratorical contest. I judged for the science fair. I was accepted to all of the Universities of California I applied to, with some very good scholarships to boot. I graduated with a 4.0 unweighted GPA. I got a paid trip to UCLA and had a great time with some newly found friends. I've made so many friends and become close to so many of them. So much has happened in this short year that I never would have expected, especially if you saw who I was just a few years earlier. Hell, I even got the guts to ask a few girls out on dates. Who would've guessed?
I finally feel like I've left the shell I've lived in my entire life, and I'm so much happier for it. I still have problems stressing out about the future and opening up to people about my feelings and all that fun stuff, but that's alright. There's time, and there's hope. I don't know if this is how technically being an adult feels, but I'm indifferent about it. I expected that the moment I'd get up there on the stage and pick up my diploma I'd feel more free or more mature or more of anything, but I just feel the same. I feel like me, but me with just a little bit less off of my back. One of my friends said it took three days for graduation to really hit her last year– and I wonder, has it hit me yet? Maybe it never will. I don't mind.
But, this wasn't a perfect year. Nothing ever really is. There were high points and low points, like everything else in life. On May 20th, my friend and AP Chemistry lab partner's sister passed away after a long battle with cancer. She was young. On June 8th, my AP Biology teacher and science fair advisor suddenly passed away, just days after his retirement. For all that he did for me, I wish I spoke to him more or simply visited him to say hello once in a while. I have a picture with him at graduation, but that's it. I left one of my science fair pins in his old room as a sentimental gesture and thank you for all the help he's provided me these past few years.
Until recently, I've never really dealt with death, or at least it has never hit me as hard as it does now. Life is unfair, and it doesn't make sense sometimes. Good people go; bad people succeed, or get more than they ever really deserve. But, still, no one ever really is just good or just bad. You just have to push through those low points, and eventually come to terms that there is never really a reason to what happens in life. There's always light.
I still need to figure out how to deal with emotions and people. I need to learn how to help others and be a leader, and I think Berkeley will be the place to do that. I'm going to get that environmental sciences degree in memory of my teacher. I'm going to push through and continue the success of this year.
"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."
I'm sure I've mentioned this time and time again, but this year has defied my expectations– I wouldn't trade it for anything. We placed fifth in the national We the People competition. I'm the best mock trial journalist in California. I placed second in the area round of the American Legion oratorical contest. I judged for the science fair. I was accepted to all of the Universities of California I applied to, with some very good scholarships to boot. I graduated with a 4.0 unweighted GPA. I got a paid trip to UCLA and had a great time with some newly found friends. I've made so many friends and become close to so many of them. So much has happened in this short year that I never would have expected, especially if you saw who I was just a few years earlier. Hell, I even got the guts to ask a few girls out on dates. Who would've guessed?
I finally feel like I've left the shell I've lived in my entire life, and I'm so much happier for it. I still have problems stressing out about the future and opening up to people about my feelings and all that fun stuff, but that's alright. There's time, and there's hope. I don't know if this is how technically being an adult feels, but I'm indifferent about it. I expected that the moment I'd get up there on the stage and pick up my diploma I'd feel more free or more mature or more of anything, but I just feel the same. I feel like me, but me with just a little bit less off of my back. One of my friends said it took three days for graduation to really hit her last year– and I wonder, has it hit me yet? Maybe it never will. I don't mind.
But, this wasn't a perfect year. Nothing ever really is. There were high points and low points, like everything else in life. On May 20th, my friend and AP Chemistry lab partner's sister passed away after a long battle with cancer. She was young. On June 8th, my AP Biology teacher and science fair advisor suddenly passed away, just days after his retirement. For all that he did for me, I wish I spoke to him more or simply visited him to say hello once in a while. I have a picture with him at graduation, but that's it. I left one of my science fair pins in his old room as a sentimental gesture and thank you for all the help he's provided me these past few years.
Until recently, I've never really dealt with death, or at least it has never hit me as hard as it does now. Life is unfair, and it doesn't make sense sometimes. Good people go; bad people succeed, or get more than they ever really deserve. But, still, no one ever really is just good or just bad. You just have to push through those low points, and eventually come to terms that there is never really a reason to what happens in life. There's always light.
I still need to figure out how to deal with emotions and people. I need to learn how to help others and be a leader, and I think Berkeley will be the place to do that. I'm going to get that environmental sciences degree in memory of my teacher. I'm going to push through and continue the success of this year.
"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."
Thursday, April 6, 2017
What's Going On? (Life Update) 4/6/17
So, looking at the drafts, I actually planned to write one of these reviews in February right before the We the People State finals. I guess I got sidetracked, but all in all, everything's worked out in the end for me.
Let's split this up by topic. I'm just going to keep writing whatever comes to mind; I'm bound to miss a few, but I can always make up for it by putting whatever I miss in a later review.
Anyway! First: college applications. It finally ended on March 30, when I heard back from the Ivies (Brown and Cornell). Let's go chronologically. My first response was from Cal (UC Berkeley) on February 10; I was accepted early to the College of Letters and Sciences as an Interdisciplinary American Studies major and a potential Regents scholar. As a Regents candidate, I got to interview with a Jewish studies professor (who suggested I go into law) and do an overnight program in the dorms with the other candidates (one of the most fun times I've had, everyone I met was chill and I love the community of Berkeley). Then, I was accepted to UC Santa Barbara (environmental sciences) and Davis (biotechnology) as a Regents scholar. I was later rejected from Swarthmore and waitlisted at Amherst and Haverford, but accepted at UCLA (environmental sciences). Finally, on March 30, I was rejected at both Cornell and Brown, but I was awarded the Regents scholarship to UC Berkeley.
Now that I have my list of schools, I have to decide by the end of the month. Last weekend, I had my interview for the UCLA Alumni Scholarship (haven't heard back if I was accepted yet, so I'm not sure about that). UCLA's Pilipino Recruitment and Enrollment Program is also flying me in for Bruin Life Weekend, which, coincidentally, is on my birthday and I think will be interesting. I'm using it to see how the community is at UCLA, but I think I'm set on being a Cal Golden Bear– the benefits from the Regents program are amazing, mainly priority registration.
Next: We the People! I'm proud to say that my unit is the best unit 5 in all of California. Our team, too, is the best team in California; we beat our rival school from our town pretty handily, but it was a toss up between the team from Southern California and us. To be honest, the only reason why we won was because the team from Southern California had one unit screw up pretty badly, which gave us the small point difference. Now, for the past few weeks, we've been prepping for nationals in DC in two weeks. We're the team representing California, but that team from SoCal is coming in as the wildcard. Once again, I'm not sure how it's going to go. Our goal is top 10 in the nation, but there was been some drama with the team that looks like its worked out. In short, I was pissed at the team wasting an entire week when our coach was sick, wrote an angry letter, got people pissed at me, had some discussions, and now it looks like we're good. For nationals, I feel like I should be studying more, but at the same time, I trust myself and my unit enough to know that whatever happens, we tried our best.
And that brings me into my next point. Remember that girl I went on a date with during winter break? I don't know if I mentioned it before, but she's on the rival school's We the People team. We went on a couple more dates after the state competition; one time, we went to a book store and an arcade, and another time, I cooked dinner for her and we watched a movie. After we saw the movie, we talked, and she told me that she doesn't want to date because we're both heading to college soon. I agreed, so we're just friends now. I still can never tell what she's thinking though; she's hard to read and isn't that big on conversations through text. We're going to keep hanging out, and I think we're going paintballing sometime soon. I might ask her to ball, too, who knows? Also, I've started hanging out with her comp civics unit; they know a hell of a lot of philosophy, and we need their help for stuff like free expression and equality and all that. Also there's the fact that they're all just very cool people in general. They came to our team fundraiser, my unit's hung out with them a few times to discuss stuff, and yesterday, one of them came to my house to watch movies with us.
Lastly, just some interesting stuff that's happened lately. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm the best mock trial journalist in California! It was a pretty interesting state competition (first time the team's gone together in the last 5 years), with a bit of drama which is going on now, but a good way to end the season. We're the 6th best team, which is amazing considering that we haven't been to state in such a long time. I've also gotten a job at a local ice cream shop, where we make rolled ice cream. It sucks sometimes because it gets ridiculously busy, some of the managers can be dicks, and scheduling isn't always that great, but it's pretty fun other times. We get free ice cream, the owner is a chill guy, and it's relatively decent pay ($11) compared to most other places which pay part time workers less.
I'm gonna keep writing reviews until school or summer ends, I haven't decided yet. This is going to be a record of my high school experience, so I don't want it to bleed into my college life; I'd probably make a new blog for that. But, until graduation or move-in day, I'll try to keep giving updates about what's happening and writing about tea. After all, there's still a ton of teas I need to review.
Let's split this up by topic. I'm just going to keep writing whatever comes to mind; I'm bound to miss a few, but I can always make up for it by putting whatever I miss in a later review.
Anyway! First: college applications. It finally ended on March 30, when I heard back from the Ivies (Brown and Cornell). Let's go chronologically. My first response was from Cal (UC Berkeley) on February 10; I was accepted early to the College of Letters and Sciences as an Interdisciplinary American Studies major and a potential Regents scholar. As a Regents candidate, I got to interview with a Jewish studies professor (who suggested I go into law) and do an overnight program in the dorms with the other candidates (one of the most fun times I've had, everyone I met was chill and I love the community of Berkeley). Then, I was accepted to UC Santa Barbara (environmental sciences) and Davis (biotechnology) as a Regents scholar. I was later rejected from Swarthmore and waitlisted at Amherst and Haverford, but accepted at UCLA (environmental sciences). Finally, on March 30, I was rejected at both Cornell and Brown, but I was awarded the Regents scholarship to UC Berkeley.
Now that I have my list of schools, I have to decide by the end of the month. Last weekend, I had my interview for the UCLA Alumni Scholarship (haven't heard back if I was accepted yet, so I'm not sure about that). UCLA's Pilipino Recruitment and Enrollment Program is also flying me in for Bruin Life Weekend, which, coincidentally, is on my birthday and I think will be interesting. I'm using it to see how the community is at UCLA, but I think I'm set on being a Cal Golden Bear– the benefits from the Regents program are amazing, mainly priority registration.
Next: We the People! I'm proud to say that my unit is the best unit 5 in all of California. Our team, too, is the best team in California; we beat our rival school from our town pretty handily, but it was a toss up between the team from Southern California and us. To be honest, the only reason why we won was because the team from Southern California had one unit screw up pretty badly, which gave us the small point difference. Now, for the past few weeks, we've been prepping for nationals in DC in two weeks. We're the team representing California, but that team from SoCal is coming in as the wildcard. Once again, I'm not sure how it's going to go. Our goal is top 10 in the nation, but there was been some drama with the team that looks like its worked out. In short, I was pissed at the team wasting an entire week when our coach was sick, wrote an angry letter, got people pissed at me, had some discussions, and now it looks like we're good. For nationals, I feel like I should be studying more, but at the same time, I trust myself and my unit enough to know that whatever happens, we tried our best.
And that brings me into my next point. Remember that girl I went on a date with during winter break? I don't know if I mentioned it before, but she's on the rival school's We the People team. We went on a couple more dates after the state competition; one time, we went to a book store and an arcade, and another time, I cooked dinner for her and we watched a movie. After we saw the movie, we talked, and she told me that she doesn't want to date because we're both heading to college soon. I agreed, so we're just friends now. I still can never tell what she's thinking though; she's hard to read and isn't that big on conversations through text. We're going to keep hanging out, and I think we're going paintballing sometime soon. I might ask her to ball, too, who knows? Also, I've started hanging out with her comp civics unit; they know a hell of a lot of philosophy, and we need their help for stuff like free expression and equality and all that. Also there's the fact that they're all just very cool people in general. They came to our team fundraiser, my unit's hung out with them a few times to discuss stuff, and yesterday, one of them came to my house to watch movies with us.
Lastly, just some interesting stuff that's happened lately. I wasn't expecting it, but I'm the best mock trial journalist in California! It was a pretty interesting state competition (first time the team's gone together in the last 5 years), with a bit of drama which is going on now, but a good way to end the season. We're the 6th best team, which is amazing considering that we haven't been to state in such a long time. I've also gotten a job at a local ice cream shop, where we make rolled ice cream. It sucks sometimes because it gets ridiculously busy, some of the managers can be dicks, and scheduling isn't always that great, but it's pretty fun other times. We get free ice cream, the owner is a chill guy, and it's relatively decent pay ($11) compared to most other places which pay part time workers less.
I'm gonna keep writing reviews until school or summer ends, I haven't decided yet. This is going to be a record of my high school experience, so I don't want it to bleed into my college life; I'd probably make a new blog for that. But, until graduation or move-in day, I'll try to keep giving updates about what's happening and writing about tea. After all, there's still a ton of teas I need to review.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
What's Going On? (Life Update) 12/29/16
It's been a long time. Two or three months, it seems. Like I've always said, I'll try to get back on the daily tea grind whenever I have free time. And, it looks like now I do, with it being winter break and all.
So, how have I been in these three long months? Well, for the short version in no particular order:
1. Competition Civics has taken up most of my time.
2. College applications!
3. Meeting people?
4. District Attorney's Justice Academy!
5. End of first semester for senior year.
At least, that's what comes to mind. It's been so long since I've really written a blog post that I've forgotten why I really started in the first place– so I can save these memories. Looking back at old posts, I was going through a really bad time and it looks like stuff is looking up for me now.
Anyway, here's the long version.
First off: competition civics. In short, we're going to compete at state now! I'm in Unit 5, the Bill of Rights/legal unit, and I'm loving it. While my unit isn't necessarily perfect, I like to think we're a dysfunctional family. For the most part, it's mostly been me and another girl doing most of the work, and we've been carrying the third person, but in competition, we all end up pulling our weight pretty equally. The majority of our meetings go like this: we start writing the testimony (the prepared speech we have to do), and then something interesting comes up, and we end up arguing over random legal issues for the next hour or so. It works out pretty well, actually– we discuss many of the questions that come up in Q&A, so when they get asked, we know our stances and responses pretty well. At the first competition, districts, we were the only unit from my school to get first (by a measly 1 or 2 points); overall, as a school, we lost that one. However, at the second competition (the one that matters)– Regionals– my unit did miles better than the other schools, and we won by 13 points! A tiny margin, but hey, at least we got first.
Next: college applications. Oh man, they are stressful. These past few days, I've been writing and editing college essays from dawn till dusk. It's sort of my fault for waiting too long, but me being the indecisive person I am, I ended up dropping and adding a number of private colleges to my list. I'm now applying to Brown, Amherst, Cornell, Swarthmore, and Haverford. Back in November, I applied to UC Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Davis too. My major is undecided– still have no idea if I want to go into the humanities (e.g. law or history) or STEM yet, so hopefully I can figure that out in college. I don't know what I'm going to do if I get multiple acceptances to the private schools, but hopefully, we'll see what happens.
What's this about meeting people? Don't you meet people every day? Well, yes. But yesterday, actually, I met up with a girl from the opposing team for comp civics and it was interesting, to say the least. I didn't really go in expecting much (apparently people said it was a date, which was not my original intention), but I think she's pretty cool. Crazy smart, too. We talked about comp civics, mainly, but also about college and movies and stuff like that. On an unrelated note, I noticed that I get pretty tense when I talk to someone who I don't know that well but am interested in.
I'll make these last two sections pretty quick. On a whim (and because of an extended deadline), I applied to the county district attorney's justice academy, and I got in! For the next few months, I'm going to be attending legal seminars and it looks like I finally have that summer internship (not in science, but in law now). As for senior year, it's gone pretty well. It's not necessarily that hard, but it's super interesting. I love African American Lit (I've warmed up to my classmates, who are pretty cool), and AP Chem, my "hard" class, has turned out to be a decent challenge. It looks like I'm ending with all As, too, so there's that.
There. I finally wrote a post, and it only took three months. I'll be posting some of my essays I've written (not college essays, but just creative pieces) and new reviews soon enough. Crimson Lotus Tea's Yunniverse collection came in the mail today, and I have a few other teas that I got as gifts from people (David's Tea, Tea of Life, and Lupicia samples).
So, how have I been in these three long months? Well, for the short version in no particular order:
1. Competition Civics has taken up most of my time.
2. College applications!
3. Meeting people?
4. District Attorney's Justice Academy!
5. End of first semester for senior year.
At least, that's what comes to mind. It's been so long since I've really written a blog post that I've forgotten why I really started in the first place– so I can save these memories. Looking back at old posts, I was going through a really bad time and it looks like stuff is looking up for me now.
Anyway, here's the long version.
First off: competition civics. In short, we're going to compete at state now! I'm in Unit 5, the Bill of Rights/legal unit, and I'm loving it. While my unit isn't necessarily perfect, I like to think we're a dysfunctional family. For the most part, it's mostly been me and another girl doing most of the work, and we've been carrying the third person, but in competition, we all end up pulling our weight pretty equally. The majority of our meetings go like this: we start writing the testimony (the prepared speech we have to do), and then something interesting comes up, and we end up arguing over random legal issues for the next hour or so. It works out pretty well, actually– we discuss many of the questions that come up in Q&A, so when they get asked, we know our stances and responses pretty well. At the first competition, districts, we were the only unit from my school to get first (by a measly 1 or 2 points); overall, as a school, we lost that one. However, at the second competition (the one that matters)– Regionals– my unit did miles better than the other schools, and we won by 13 points! A tiny margin, but hey, at least we got first.
Next: college applications. Oh man, they are stressful. These past few days, I've been writing and editing college essays from dawn till dusk. It's sort of my fault for waiting too long, but me being the indecisive person I am, I ended up dropping and adding a number of private colleges to my list. I'm now applying to Brown, Amherst, Cornell, Swarthmore, and Haverford. Back in November, I applied to UC Berkeley, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Davis too. My major is undecided– still have no idea if I want to go into the humanities (e.g. law or history) or STEM yet, so hopefully I can figure that out in college. I don't know what I'm going to do if I get multiple acceptances to the private schools, but hopefully, we'll see what happens.
What's this about meeting people? Don't you meet people every day? Well, yes. But yesterday, actually, I met up with a girl from the opposing team for comp civics and it was interesting, to say the least. I didn't really go in expecting much (apparently people said it was a date, which was not my original intention), but I think she's pretty cool. Crazy smart, too. We talked about comp civics, mainly, but also about college and movies and stuff like that. On an unrelated note, I noticed that I get pretty tense when I talk to someone who I don't know that well but am interested in.
I'll make these last two sections pretty quick. On a whim (and because of an extended deadline), I applied to the county district attorney's justice academy, and I got in! For the next few months, I'm going to be attending legal seminars and it looks like I finally have that summer internship (not in science, but in law now). As for senior year, it's gone pretty well. It's not necessarily that hard, but it's super interesting. I love African American Lit (I've warmed up to my classmates, who are pretty cool), and AP Chem, my "hard" class, has turned out to be a decent challenge. It looks like I'm ending with all As, too, so there's that.
There. I finally wrote a post, and it only took three months. I'll be posting some of my essays I've written (not college essays, but just creative pieces) and new reviews soon enough. Crimson Lotus Tea's Yunniverse collection came in the mail today, and I have a few other teas that I got as gifts from people (David's Tea, Tea of Life, and Lupicia samples).
Friday, June 24, 2016
What's Going On? (Life Update) 6/24/16
Holy shit, it's been a long time since my last update on my life. Exactly three months since the last full update! So much has happened since then, I can't even remember all of it. I'll try my best, though.
First off, let's talk about school. Overall, it ended on a pretty good note. I ended up passing all of my finals and finished junior year with all As, which puts me in a nice position for senior year. I also led a research project regarding SAT enrollments at my school for the math department, which was a nice way to apply the stuff I learned in AP Stats, one of my favorite classes and possible future major, this year. Only bad thing was that my graphic calculator stolen during a lab final, which sucks because of its price and the fact that I had a ton of programs I wrote on there. However, my sister did give me hers and a friend gave me a TI-92 he got for free, so that makes up for it.
Next is what I've done my senior-year summer. On the day school ended, I hung out with my ex just around town and at a party. We're great friends, and I still love her, but she's going to move out of state and I just don't know how everything will be once she's gone– especially since she's the one who introduced me to all of these great clubs and people that I've had so much fun in. After that, I ended up taking the ACT and going to Santa Barbara to see my sister's graduation, and spent the rest of the week relaxing. In the weeks following that, I've done some volunteering at the county fair, went to forensics camp/class, and hung out with a few people.
As to my summer science internship situation, it looks like that I've been rejected from every program I've applied to this year– which is more than I can count, or care to remember at this point. The only science-y related things I did get accepted to were a summer extension program for my biotechnology class, an environmental science summer camp, and volunteering in science booths at the fair. I guess I'm not too broken up about it; I'm not wealthy enough to afford those $5000+ summer programs on the other side of the nation, and I don't have the skills or experience to get accepted into the <10% acceptance-rate internships– the majority of which are the programs I applied to.
I have learned quite a few things from these rejections, and from the people I've met so far. First thing is that while I can write a college-level research report, I cannot write an essay about myself, which are the types of essays required for internship and college apps. I've been told that I write too casually, which I'm sure you can tell if you're reading this right now.
The second thing is that even without these internships, I'll be just fine. I'm not as rich or privileged as the people I know who are going to Yale or Stanford for pre-college programs, but I still have more than I thought. Talking to the people at my forensics class taught me that; the things that people at my school scoff at– like community colleges and CSUs– are the Harvards and UC Berkeleys of other schools. Now, while I admit that seeing my friends get accepted into prestigious programs and get the internships I wish I had makes me feel a bit jealous and disappointed of myself, meeting these other students makes me grateful for what I have.
Thirdly, teaching people at the county fair has made me see that everyone is capable of learning and accepting new ideas; they just have different ways of understanding it, and you have to be able to accommodate for that. Even though someone doesn't look or sound intelligent, they can still have a deep appreciation for the work others do and the knowledge they can offer. Oh, and also, it's not too hard to meet people and make friends. All you have to do is just talk and listen.
Finally, from my bus driver to the forensics class, Michael, who I met only a week before he had to transfer routes: just be happy, because every day is a blessing. What he said is a bit cliched, I admit, but he's right. Sure, some days are bad, and that's a given, but there's something new every day and that's the beauty in life– you just have to look for it. His words mainly, by the way.
So, what's in store for the future? Well, tomorrow, I'm going to have my last shift volunteering at a science booth at the county fair, and the day after that, I'll be volunteering with the Uhuru/African socialist movement at SF pride. I don't necessarily agree with their beliefs, but it'll be interesting and a nice experience to prepare for African American Literature and another possible major, African American Studies. Then, I continue with my last week of forensics class, and I'll have to figure out what to do in July. Probably more volunteering, along with that summer camp and other classes.
I also have a bit of summer homework to get through, in order to prepare for AP Chem, Comp Civics, and AP Gov/Macro. I think my plan to get through those and improve my own skills is to read 25 pages of any novel, 25 pages of a required book and/or 1 chapter from a textbook, and write 1 thing, either school-related or just one of these posts each day. I'll try to do a lot of the writing by hand so my handwriting is at least legible. My goal is to finish everything before August, so I can spend the few weeks before school studying for tests. Senior year is going to be a pain in terms of amount of work, but who knows? Hopefully it'll be super fun.
Also, since I haven't updated on this yet, here's my almost-finalized schedule for this year. It's not yet sure because I'll need to wait until Registration, but here it is, after 3 revisions:
AP Chemistry, AP Government/Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, Competition Civics, Photography 1, and African American Literature.
It might be a while before my next tea review since I'm a bit poor; all of my money is going to BART and the buses, I'm out of work for now, and I've had a few large expenses recently, so I think I'll be saving for a while. I might have some tea I haven't reviewed yet, but I'll check into that. If not, I'll probably be posting some other filler posts, like recipes or analyses of stuff or creative writing. Thanks for reading.
First off, let's talk about school. Overall, it ended on a pretty good note. I ended up passing all of my finals and finished junior year with all As, which puts me in a nice position for senior year. I also led a research project regarding SAT enrollments at my school for the math department, which was a nice way to apply the stuff I learned in AP Stats, one of my favorite classes and possible future major, this year. Only bad thing was that my graphic calculator stolen during a lab final, which sucks because of its price and the fact that I had a ton of programs I wrote on there. However, my sister did give me hers and a friend gave me a TI-92 he got for free, so that makes up for it.
Next is what I've done my senior-year summer. On the day school ended, I hung out with my ex just around town and at a party. We're great friends, and I still love her, but she's going to move out of state and I just don't know how everything will be once she's gone– especially since she's the one who introduced me to all of these great clubs and people that I've had so much fun in. After that, I ended up taking the ACT and going to Santa Barbara to see my sister's graduation, and spent the rest of the week relaxing. In the weeks following that, I've done some volunteering at the county fair, went to forensics camp/class, and hung out with a few people.
As to my summer science internship situation, it looks like that I've been rejected from every program I've applied to this year– which is more than I can count, or care to remember at this point. The only science-y related things I did get accepted to were a summer extension program for my biotechnology class, an environmental science summer camp, and volunteering in science booths at the fair. I guess I'm not too broken up about it; I'm not wealthy enough to afford those $5000+ summer programs on the other side of the nation, and I don't have the skills or experience to get accepted into the <10% acceptance-rate internships– the majority of which are the programs I applied to.
I have learned quite a few things from these rejections, and from the people I've met so far. First thing is that while I can write a college-level research report, I cannot write an essay about myself, which are the types of essays required for internship and college apps. I've been told that I write too casually, which I'm sure you can tell if you're reading this right now.
The second thing is that even without these internships, I'll be just fine. I'm not as rich or privileged as the people I know who are going to Yale or Stanford for pre-college programs, but I still have more than I thought. Talking to the people at my forensics class taught me that; the things that people at my school scoff at– like community colleges and CSUs– are the Harvards and UC Berkeleys of other schools. Now, while I admit that seeing my friends get accepted into prestigious programs and get the internships I wish I had makes me feel a bit jealous and disappointed of myself, meeting these other students makes me grateful for what I have.
Thirdly, teaching people at the county fair has made me see that everyone is capable of learning and accepting new ideas; they just have different ways of understanding it, and you have to be able to accommodate for that. Even though someone doesn't look or sound intelligent, they can still have a deep appreciation for the work others do and the knowledge they can offer. Oh, and also, it's not too hard to meet people and make friends. All you have to do is just talk and listen.
Finally, from my bus driver to the forensics class, Michael, who I met only a week before he had to transfer routes: just be happy, because every day is a blessing. What he said is a bit cliched, I admit, but he's right. Sure, some days are bad, and that's a given, but there's something new every day and that's the beauty in life– you just have to look for it. His words mainly, by the way.
So, what's in store for the future? Well, tomorrow, I'm going to have my last shift volunteering at a science booth at the county fair, and the day after that, I'll be volunteering with the Uhuru/African socialist movement at SF pride. I don't necessarily agree with their beliefs, but it'll be interesting and a nice experience to prepare for African American Literature and another possible major, African American Studies. Then, I continue with my last week of forensics class, and I'll have to figure out what to do in July. Probably more volunteering, along with that summer camp and other classes.
I also have a bit of summer homework to get through, in order to prepare for AP Chem, Comp Civics, and AP Gov/Macro. I think my plan to get through those and improve my own skills is to read 25 pages of any novel, 25 pages of a required book and/or 1 chapter from a textbook, and write 1 thing, either school-related or just one of these posts each day. I'll try to do a lot of the writing by hand so my handwriting is at least legible. My goal is to finish everything before August, so I can spend the few weeks before school studying for tests. Senior year is going to be a pain in terms of amount of work, but who knows? Hopefully it'll be super fun.
Also, since I haven't updated on this yet, here's my almost-finalized schedule for this year. It's not yet sure because I'll need to wait until Registration, but here it is, after 3 revisions:
AP Chemistry, AP Government/Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, Competition Civics, Photography 1, and African American Literature.
It might be a while before my next tea review since I'm a bit poor; all of my money is going to BART and the buses, I'm out of work for now, and I've had a few large expenses recently, so I think I'll be saving for a while. I might have some tea I haven't reviewed yet, but I'll check into that. If not, I'll probably be posting some other filler posts, like recipes or analyses of stuff or creative writing. Thanks for reading.
Thursday, March 24, 2016
What's Going On? (Life Update) 3/24/16
So, I'm about to go to sleep but I thought, hell, it's been awhile since I've written a post and don't really have anything else to do.
It's actually been a pretty eventful month so far (March was my super busy work-work-work month, so now that it's almost finally over, I can relax). The main things that have happened are the science fair, mock trial, science alliance/club stuff, and field trips. I'll go over them super quick and probably make another post expanding on them later.
Science fair was surprisingly very successful. On the set-up day, I ended up covering my board in torn up garbage bags and taping it together, and walking through the pouring rain to get to the fairgrounds. On the way there, I met an old Asian man dragging some soaked luggage, and he asked for directions. Weird thing was, he was trying to go to an area super far away from where he was, so I offered to walk with him there, but he refused. After I got rid of my board, I tried finding him again but couldn't.
As for the actual science fair presentations, the judges were really nice (one Indian judge actually came back after judging and said he'll be looking forward to my work in the future), and I got into the second round. For some reason, I didn't really get that many questions about the actual processes surrounding my project– unlike last year– but general consensus from judges and students was that it's a very interesting concept and is "genuine" because I did it all at home without anyone's help (a lot of the projects that got into the second round or won big prizes were done in research labs).
I ended up getting first place in my category ($100 prize) and the Chevron scholarship award for $600. Honestly, I don't know how, but I'll take it. Oh, and I saw this girl I met last year again, which was nice (she won runner up again, which is no surprise since she's been winning science fairs since middle school apparently).
Mock trial, on the other hand, was less successful, but still fun. We left to drive to Sacramento on a school day, got food (grilled cheese with bacon, mozzarella sticks, and fries, oh my), signed in, and hung out in the hotel room for a while. We had our workshops, where we learned about the inverted triangle and news article writing, and then I ended up walking around downtown Sacramento at night with the people from my team. It was a bit ghetto, but we got to see the capitol building and accidentally went to Old Sacramento (which was nice).
Competition day was alright– essentially we went in, took notes, went to Starbucks (a lot of homeless people shoot up in Starbucks bathrooms in Sacramento), wrote articles, and went home. I didn't win anything, but that's okay. I wasn't really expecting to, considering the fact that absolutely everyone except me at the competition were editors on their school newspapers.
Lastly, there's been a bit of club stuff and field trips. Science Alliance (the problematic club) had its first meeting, and barely anyone went. However, I did set up a volunteering thing with Catharine Baker (local assemblywoman), Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and Sandia National Labs helping elementary kids learn science. Of course, the officers all bailed on me last minute, but the one member that came to our meeting also came to the event and was super cool. At the event, there was one kid who did the funniest shit ever: one experiment was to draw something and put it in water to demonstrate chromatography, and he drew anything and everything, from the Great Chicago Fire to "smoke weed everyday". I also got to talk to one of the guys from Lawrence Livermore, who suggested colleges (keep career choices open, and community college isn't bad at all), internships at LLNL (have to be an undergrad though), and skills to learn (take English and Public Speaking classes– they'll help tremendously in the industry).
According to my sister, I'm really good at PR/outreach, so I'm tempted to just drop being co-president of the club (because I'm sick of dealing with the other president's shit) and only take outreach officer. The thing is, if I drop co-president, the club will probably fall apart since I'm the one doing most of the work. As for the field trip, we went to Genentech. Fun place, and it looks like the career I'm interested in (biostatistics) is becoming really big in the biotechnology industry, so I might luck out after college. Only issue with that is I'll need to learn programming, and I admit I'm pretty behind on that.
Well, that was a long block of text. It's been an interesting month. I'll update on other stuff– two of the big summer internships I applied to will send out acceptances tomorrow, so I'm excited– later. As for tea, I'm kind of in a hard spot right now because I think I've finished most, if not all, the teas from Japan, and I have nothing that I haven't reviewed other than tea bags from Trader Joe's or something. I'll probably figure something out since I actually have money now (but first, I need fencing equipment since I'm kind of a big part of the club at my school now).
Thanks for reading! I'll try to make more posts during spring break in a week or two.
It's actually been a pretty eventful month so far (March was my super busy work-work-work month, so now that it's almost finally over, I can relax). The main things that have happened are the science fair, mock trial, science alliance/club stuff, and field trips. I'll go over them super quick and probably make another post expanding on them later.
Science fair was surprisingly very successful. On the set-up day, I ended up covering my board in torn up garbage bags and taping it together, and walking through the pouring rain to get to the fairgrounds. On the way there, I met an old Asian man dragging some soaked luggage, and he asked for directions. Weird thing was, he was trying to go to an area super far away from where he was, so I offered to walk with him there, but he refused. After I got rid of my board, I tried finding him again but couldn't.
As for the actual science fair presentations, the judges were really nice (one Indian judge actually came back after judging and said he'll be looking forward to my work in the future), and I got into the second round. For some reason, I didn't really get that many questions about the actual processes surrounding my project– unlike last year– but general consensus from judges and students was that it's a very interesting concept and is "genuine" because I did it all at home without anyone's help (a lot of the projects that got into the second round or won big prizes were done in research labs).
I ended up getting first place in my category ($100 prize) and the Chevron scholarship award for $600. Honestly, I don't know how, but I'll take it. Oh, and I saw this girl I met last year again, which was nice (she won runner up again, which is no surprise since she's been winning science fairs since middle school apparently).
Mock trial, on the other hand, was less successful, but still fun. We left to drive to Sacramento on a school day, got food (grilled cheese with bacon, mozzarella sticks, and fries, oh my), signed in, and hung out in the hotel room for a while. We had our workshops, where we learned about the inverted triangle and news article writing, and then I ended up walking around downtown Sacramento at night with the people from my team. It was a bit ghetto, but we got to see the capitol building and accidentally went to Old Sacramento (which was nice).
Competition day was alright– essentially we went in, took notes, went to Starbucks (a lot of homeless people shoot up in Starbucks bathrooms in Sacramento), wrote articles, and went home. I didn't win anything, but that's okay. I wasn't really expecting to, considering the fact that absolutely everyone except me at the competition were editors on their school newspapers.
Lastly, there's been a bit of club stuff and field trips. Science Alliance (the problematic club) had its first meeting, and barely anyone went. However, I did set up a volunteering thing with Catharine Baker (local assemblywoman), Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and Sandia National Labs helping elementary kids learn science. Of course, the officers all bailed on me last minute, but the one member that came to our meeting also came to the event and was super cool. At the event, there was one kid who did the funniest shit ever: one experiment was to draw something and put it in water to demonstrate chromatography, and he drew anything and everything, from the Great Chicago Fire to "smoke weed everyday". I also got to talk to one of the guys from Lawrence Livermore, who suggested colleges (keep career choices open, and community college isn't bad at all), internships at LLNL (have to be an undergrad though), and skills to learn (take English and Public Speaking classes– they'll help tremendously in the industry).
According to my sister, I'm really good at PR/outreach, so I'm tempted to just drop being co-president of the club (because I'm sick of dealing with the other president's shit) and only take outreach officer. The thing is, if I drop co-president, the club will probably fall apart since I'm the one doing most of the work. As for the field trip, we went to Genentech. Fun place, and it looks like the career I'm interested in (biostatistics) is becoming really big in the biotechnology industry, so I might luck out after college. Only issue with that is I'll need to learn programming, and I admit I'm pretty behind on that.
Well, that was a long block of text. It's been an interesting month. I'll update on other stuff– two of the big summer internships I applied to will send out acceptances tomorrow, so I'm excited– later. As for tea, I'm kind of in a hard spot right now because I think I've finished most, if not all, the teas from Japan, and I have nothing that I haven't reviewed other than tea bags from Trader Joe's or something. I'll probably figure something out since I actually have money now (but first, I need fencing equipment since I'm kind of a big part of the club at my school now).
Thanks for reading! I'll try to make more posts during spring break in a week or two.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
What's Going On? (Life Update) 1/30/16
Woo, 5/8ths done with high school! Now that first semester is done, it's time to pick my classes for next year and figure out what I'm going to do now.
First off, finals went pretty well. Like I said before, I got an A in all of them except for English, and I finished the semester with all A's. On the FRQ portion of the stat final (that I was waiting for results last time I posted about finals), I got a 98/100. I feel kind of bad about it though, especially since the average was in the F to D range (there were a surprising amount of 50-60%'s).
Next, let's talk about classes for next year! I finalized my selections, and here are my choices:
African American Literature - I'm taking this just for the fact that I'm really interested in the subject and I'm at the point where I don't want to take any more AP classes
AP Government & Macroeconomics - After listening to the teacher talk about it, I like the style of how its run (college styled, focused on lectures) and I'm vaguely interested in the subject
AP Chemistry - I want take chemistry because of my potential college major (biotechnology!), but I'm in that weird spot where regular chemistry is too slow-paced, and I don't have the knowledge for AP chemistry. My solution is to self-study throughout this semester and the summer, but who knows how that'll go
AP Art History - Since I want to go to a UC, I need an art class/credit, and I'd rather not take ceramics or art or anything. I was going to take video production, but apparently there is going to be a new teacher and I'd much rather not have that teacher. I do enjoy appreciating art, history, and culture, however, and this class seems like a good solution to my art credit issue.
Science Research - Kind of self explanatory; it's the career I'd like to go into in the future, and it's just a whole class dedicated to it!
Competition Civics - This class is going to be interesting. A lot of the mock trial people are signing up for it, and some of the stuff it's about– like case law, democracy, and the constitution– are things I love (which is one of the reasons why I love US History).
The schedule next year is going to be a bit hectic, but it's filled with classes I think I'm going to enjoy, so I'm not too worried. Also, my GPA is at that point where getting As are nice bonuses, but I'm fine with settling for Bs.
As for extracurriculars, I have my mock trial competition round as a journalist on wednesday, so once I'm done writing this I'm going to practice writing an article (wish me luck!). I have a good feeling about the team this year. The science fair is in a month and a half, and I still have to do data analysis, so I'll be working on that on the weekends and probably in my free time. I also have those summer application things I have to do, which I have been procrastinating on; in fact, the Japanese essay is due in two days and I might need to rewrite the entire thing. That's probably what I'll be doing tomorrow. I also need to start up that tea class I was planning to host at the library, but I need to find time for it.
Finally, let's talk about stuff that's happened this weekend which was interesting. Yesterday, some friends invited me over for dinner and I ended up having a drink there (only one). Later, they started smoking, but I didn't join them (I did play darts though; it turns out I'm pretty good, since I got 3 bullseyes in a row on my first try). Drinking and smoking aren't really my things, but hanging out was fun; we ended up biking for a while in the rain which was nice. Today, I watched Seven Samurai since I did a presentation on it for Japanese class, and I enjoyed it a lot. A bit long, but Kurosawa is a damn good director (it's probably up there on my rankings near Ikiru).
So, here's to this semester being a good one. See you guys next review!
First off, finals went pretty well. Like I said before, I got an A in all of them except for English, and I finished the semester with all A's. On the FRQ portion of the stat final (that I was waiting for results last time I posted about finals), I got a 98/100. I feel kind of bad about it though, especially since the average was in the F to D range (there were a surprising amount of 50-60%'s).
Next, let's talk about classes for next year! I finalized my selections, and here are my choices:
African American Literature - I'm taking this just for the fact that I'm really interested in the subject and I'm at the point where I don't want to take any more AP classes
AP Government & Macroeconomics - After listening to the teacher talk about it, I like the style of how its run (college styled, focused on lectures) and I'm vaguely interested in the subject
AP Chemistry - I want take chemistry because of my potential college major (biotechnology!), but I'm in that weird spot where regular chemistry is too slow-paced, and I don't have the knowledge for AP chemistry. My solution is to self-study throughout this semester and the summer, but who knows how that'll go
AP Art History - Since I want to go to a UC, I need an art class/credit, and I'd rather not take ceramics or art or anything. I was going to take video production, but apparently there is going to be a new teacher and I'd much rather not have that teacher. I do enjoy appreciating art, history, and culture, however, and this class seems like a good solution to my art credit issue.
Science Research - Kind of self explanatory; it's the career I'd like to go into in the future, and it's just a whole class dedicated to it!
Competition Civics - This class is going to be interesting. A lot of the mock trial people are signing up for it, and some of the stuff it's about– like case law, democracy, and the constitution– are things I love (which is one of the reasons why I love US History).
The schedule next year is going to be a bit hectic, but it's filled with classes I think I'm going to enjoy, so I'm not too worried. Also, my GPA is at that point where getting As are nice bonuses, but I'm fine with settling for Bs.
As for extracurriculars, I have my mock trial competition round as a journalist on wednesday, so once I'm done writing this I'm going to practice writing an article (wish me luck!). I have a good feeling about the team this year. The science fair is in a month and a half, and I still have to do data analysis, so I'll be working on that on the weekends and probably in my free time. I also have those summer application things I have to do, which I have been procrastinating on; in fact, the Japanese essay is due in two days and I might need to rewrite the entire thing. That's probably what I'll be doing tomorrow. I also need to start up that tea class I was planning to host at the library, but I need to find time for it.
Finally, let's talk about stuff that's happened this weekend which was interesting. Yesterday, some friends invited me over for dinner and I ended up having a drink there (only one). Later, they started smoking, but I didn't join them (I did play darts though; it turns out I'm pretty good, since I got 3 bullseyes in a row on my first try). Drinking and smoking aren't really my things, but hanging out was fun; we ended up biking for a while in the rain which was nice. Today, I watched Seven Samurai since I did a presentation on it for Japanese class, and I enjoyed it a lot. A bit long, but Kurosawa is a damn good director (it's probably up there on my rankings near Ikiru).
So, here's to this semester being a good one. See you guys next review!
Friday, January 1, 2016
What's Going On? (Life Update) 1/1/16
Happy New Years! I'm celebrating today with some 2014 Planet Jingmai puerh from Crimson Lotus Tea and Clover & Sealife's debut album, a sentimental cry.
First off, let's talk about what I've done over break. I did the tea reviews, not as much biking as I'd hoped to, finished most of my work and studied– just stuff like that. I also bought a bunch of textbooks and study materials for chemistry (since I have to learn that before senior year begins, because AP Chem), AP US history, physics, and programming, and I've been studying from those. I also watched a lot of movies (I think my favorite was Oldboy, but I also watched Ip Man 1 & 2, Kung Fu Hustle, and a few others) and hung out with friends, which was pretty fun. One thing I did that I'm proud of though was get through a few of my essays for applications; for example, I talked about how tea defined who I am and has taught me about science, and in another essay, I wrote about Japan's formal apology for comfort women during the '30s and 40s and how it can be used to talk about human and civil rights in both Japan and America, regarding Koreans and African Americans.
What are my plans for the next year? Well, I'm not sure, honestly. For the most part, it's simple stuff like write more tea reviews, eat better, and get good grades, because it looks like I might get my first Bs this semester and I'm also having pretty bad digestive issues. I really want to win county journalist for Mock Trial, get some kind of work in science (hopefully my internship applications get accepted), and have a successful science fair project (not really planning on winning because, honestly, my project isn't that groundbreaking and I'm in a very competitive category; I'm going to fix that for next year's project with work on an early-detection system for Parkinson's, if I can get the equipment for that). As I said previously, my senior year might suck a bit because I'm taking some hard classes (AP Chemistry, AP Government/Macroeconomics, Competition Civics, Video Production 1, Science Research, and possibly World Literature), but I guess I enjoy a good challenge. Another thing I'm going to do is start a tea class at my town's public library, since administration at my school is very against having a tea club at my school. I think I'll just need to fill out an application for a room, find a day for meetings, get materials such as tea, cups, and water heaters, and advertise (which doesn't seem too hard, but let's see; I'll give updates on that).
As for tea related stuffs, my sister came back from studying abroad in Japan, so she brought me back a few teas and an owl kyusu (in fact, I brewed the Planet Jingmai in the kyusu today). I'm thinking of doing the reviews on those teas once weekly as a new set, and then finally getting to those other teas I've been procrastinating on for the past few months. I don't know the names of teas since I'm still working on my kanji and I don't want to open the packages now, but I'll be reviewing a soy/black bean tea, a corn tea, a sencha, and a black tea.
Here's to a great new year. Here's one of the things I wrote for a prompt on an application, that I think would be a good way to end this (adapted from the song June by Kara's Walk Home). The prompt was "If you only had a single tweet to tell us about yourself, what would it be?
If nothing changes, at least I know I did my part. I don't care if this could last forever. I'm gonna try 'cause that's what I was born for.
First off, let's talk about what I've done over break. I did the tea reviews, not as much biking as I'd hoped to, finished most of my work and studied– just stuff like that. I also bought a bunch of textbooks and study materials for chemistry (since I have to learn that before senior year begins, because AP Chem), AP US history, physics, and programming, and I've been studying from those. I also watched a lot of movies (I think my favorite was Oldboy, but I also watched Ip Man 1 & 2, Kung Fu Hustle, and a few others) and hung out with friends, which was pretty fun. One thing I did that I'm proud of though was get through a few of my essays for applications; for example, I talked about how tea defined who I am and has taught me about science, and in another essay, I wrote about Japan's formal apology for comfort women during the '30s and 40s and how it can be used to talk about human and civil rights in both Japan and America, regarding Koreans and African Americans.
What are my plans for the next year? Well, I'm not sure, honestly. For the most part, it's simple stuff like write more tea reviews, eat better, and get good grades, because it looks like I might get my first Bs this semester and I'm also having pretty bad digestive issues. I really want to win county journalist for Mock Trial, get some kind of work in science (hopefully my internship applications get accepted), and have a successful science fair project (not really planning on winning because, honestly, my project isn't that groundbreaking and I'm in a very competitive category; I'm going to fix that for next year's project with work on an early-detection system for Parkinson's, if I can get the equipment for that). As I said previously, my senior year might suck a bit because I'm taking some hard classes (AP Chemistry, AP Government/Macroeconomics, Competition Civics, Video Production 1, Science Research, and possibly World Literature), but I guess I enjoy a good challenge. Another thing I'm going to do is start a tea class at my town's public library, since administration at my school is very against having a tea club at my school. I think I'll just need to fill out an application for a room, find a day for meetings, get materials such as tea, cups, and water heaters, and advertise (which doesn't seem too hard, but let's see; I'll give updates on that).
As for tea related stuffs, my sister came back from studying abroad in Japan, so she brought me back a few teas and an owl kyusu (in fact, I brewed the Planet Jingmai in the kyusu today). I'm thinking of doing the reviews on those teas once weekly as a new set, and then finally getting to those other teas I've been procrastinating on for the past few months. I don't know the names of teas since I'm still working on my kanji and I don't want to open the packages now, but I'll be reviewing a soy/black bean tea, a corn tea, a sencha, and a black tea.
Here's to a great new year. Here's one of the things I wrote for a prompt on an application, that I think would be a good way to end this (adapted from the song June by Kara's Walk Home). The prompt was "If you only had a single tweet to tell us about yourself, what would it be?
If nothing changes, at least I know I did my part. I don't care if this could last forever. I'm gonna try 'cause that's what I was born for.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
What's Going On? (Life Update - Part 2) 12/12/15
Well, here's an update for the past 2-3 months! There's a ton of stuff that happened, but I'll try to remember the important stuff. Apologies for the lack of updates and the length of this post.
As for school/schoolwork, it's been going pretty well. I can handle my course load decently, because of I've gotten better at time management (thanks sleep study!) and I've been pulling pretty good grades. In fact, as of right now, I have As in every class except AP US History, in which I have a B+ (I bombed an essay, and have been trying to recover since). The main thing I think I need to practice on is my writing, especially just essays under pressure (that reminds me; I got a 2050 on the SAT, which is OK but I'd prefer getting something closer to my high score of 2200). Anyway, since Winter break is this coming week- it starts the 18th/19th- I can finally relax because I finished all of the work for my hard classes last week and I only have tests for my easy ones.
Extracurriculars, on the other hand, have been quite a doozy lately. The fact that I'm actually doing stuff (compared to last year around this time), combined with the fact that I am kind of freaking out over what I should do because colleges are a thing (a very, very big thing at my school to add), has been quite a dilemma. Essentially, I have 3 main things I do: piano, tutoring (I got a job!), and Mock Trial. Piano, like usual, is Mondays; I've just been practicing recital pieces for Spring. As for tutoring, I go to my old middle school and for an hour after school help kids in the library do homework. It pays relatively well ($10/hr), but I only work 2 hours a week so overall my paycheck isn't amazing, but it's something. Most of the time kids are in there doing homework on their own because their parents are working or something, and I usually end up tutoring Chinese kids in English, Math, or History (most of the people there are in English Learner's classes). Finally, for Mock Trial, I think it's been going pretty well. As a journalist, I haven't been really doing much (I'm actually procrastinating on an article I should write), but overall, the team is great. We went against another team for the first time today in San Francisco and that was pretty fun (except for something that happened at the end; I'll expand on it below). One of their defense attorneys was pretty cute, too.
Anyway, as for other extracurricular things, I'm currently trying to figure that out. Instead of a lot of the people I know at my school, I want to do activities that pertain to things I'm interested in (science, mainly biotech and statistics, and tea!). But, since this is the Bay Area, and I'm from a wealthy area, getting work like internships is very competitive. I'm currently trying to apply for some lab internships at Stanford/UCSF, but they're due in February and I have to get letters of recommendation, my transcript, things like that. In the same vein, I've been working on my science fair project for this year: using slime mold to measure the efficiency of public transport and roadways and design a better version. So far, I've only done most of the application paperwork and tested it out with BART, and I've had decent results (turns out BART is pretty efficient as it is; the main thing the slime mold changed was the connection of the Dublin/Pleasanton line to Bay Fair. Instead it connected to South Hayward, and also connected SFO to OAK, which would be interesting). Oh, and finally, the sleep study has been working well. Barring the past few days, since I've had a lot of stuff happening, I've been sleeping at around 10:30 PM and waking up at 7 AM, with no naps. It's been working surprisingly well, which I'm happy with.
So, how about friends and relationships? The friend group of last year has partly dissolved, but it's alright; we're all friends for the most part, but just have busy schedules. There's been quite a bit of drama which I'd rather not go into, but mainly it revolves around dating, relationships, and people interpreting things the wrong way and getting offended. One thing I've been pretty happy with though is I've made a few more friends (gasp- seniors!) because of mutual classes and my old friend group is wanting to hang out together over break. Anyway, remember how I dated that one girl, who broke up with me, and then went to Homecoming with someone else (I'd rather not remember homecoming, but oh well)? Well, funny story. The guy she went to Homecoming with, she ended up dating, which turned out horribly, and well, now we're back together. I guess it's not really socially acceptable for her to do that, but it's OK. One thing though is that most of the time (it really depends on the time, place, or how I feel), I don't like doing public displays of affection since I feel kind of uncomfortable with it, but my girlfriend enjoys them and wants to do them often. I don't know why I don't like them, but I think it might be the attention that you draw with them (and also the fact that some of our friends are super nosy or touchy? about it, considering all of the relationship drama that has happened lately). Also, this is a bit unrelated, but I've been practicing my creative writing & writing skills with her on a Google doc, which is fun. But, anyway, that's that.
On that note, here's what I've been doing lately that's unrelated to the above. I'm alright in terms of health, but I'm in the process of changing my diet due to issues with my digestion. I've also been cycling a lot more with my Dad because that's his hobby now, but since it's been quite cold in the mornings (even for California) and I've had projects and stuff, I haven't biked that often as I'd like. Oh, and our mountain bike got stolen at the BART today during the Mock Trial scrimmage- someone cut the cable lock and took it- which kind of sucks, but oh well; it was an old bike, we haven't been using it, and hopefully the person that stole it is going to use it or needs the money for something meaningful (not drugs). I'm going to start saving up the money I'm getting from tutoring so I can surprise my dad with a new mountain bike, hopefully for Christmas. Other than that, I've just been listening to a lot of music: I got some more records (the new Protomen single), went to an amazing concert (Curious Quail, the Y Axes, Dangermaker, Please Do Not Fight/Zen Zenith, Picture Atlantic), and have been downloading/buying new stuff. My girlfriend and I are also planning to try and start a tea-based charity and are currently in the process of figuring out paperwork and organization and everything. From what I envision, it'll mostly just be us setting up booths at town events, brewing tea gongfu style for people for free, possibly selling other tea drinks like milk tea, and asking for tips. All proceeds will go to some charity- maybe one in China, because tea- and since I have a ton of tea already, and am somewhat middle class, I'll be fine with losing money on this; after all, I'll be happy just because I'll be making tea for people and helping people out with the funds. I'll give updates on that, but it might just turn into a small thing where I put up a table at street fairs (after applying for one) as an unofficial group/organization and give whatever money we make to charity.
And finally, I have some tea news. Starting tomorrow, I'll be doing the 12 Days of Chris-tea-mas, in which I'll be starting up reviews again: a different tea every day until Christmas Eve. I have been drinking quite a bit of tea lately, but haven't practiced my reviews, so this'll be fun. Anyway, I'll post the info and lineup and everything in an info post later.
Thanks for reading!
As for school/schoolwork, it's been going pretty well. I can handle my course load decently, because of I've gotten better at time management (thanks sleep study!) and I've been pulling pretty good grades. In fact, as of right now, I have As in every class except AP US History, in which I have a B+ (I bombed an essay, and have been trying to recover since). The main thing I think I need to practice on is my writing, especially just essays under pressure (that reminds me; I got a 2050 on the SAT, which is OK but I'd prefer getting something closer to my high score of 2200). Anyway, since Winter break is this coming week- it starts the 18th/19th- I can finally relax because I finished all of the work for my hard classes last week and I only have tests for my easy ones.
Extracurriculars, on the other hand, have been quite a doozy lately. The fact that I'm actually doing stuff (compared to last year around this time), combined with the fact that I am kind of freaking out over what I should do because colleges are a thing (a very, very big thing at my school to add), has been quite a dilemma. Essentially, I have 3 main things I do: piano, tutoring (I got a job!), and Mock Trial. Piano, like usual, is Mondays; I've just been practicing recital pieces for Spring. As for tutoring, I go to my old middle school and for an hour after school help kids in the library do homework. It pays relatively well ($10/hr), but I only work 2 hours a week so overall my paycheck isn't amazing, but it's something. Most of the time kids are in there doing homework on their own because their parents are working or something, and I usually end up tutoring Chinese kids in English, Math, or History (most of the people there are in English Learner's classes). Finally, for Mock Trial, I think it's been going pretty well. As a journalist, I haven't been really doing much (I'm actually procrastinating on an article I should write), but overall, the team is great. We went against another team for the first time today in San Francisco and that was pretty fun (except for something that happened at the end; I'll expand on it below). One of their defense attorneys was pretty cute, too.
Anyway, as for other extracurricular things, I'm currently trying to figure that out. Instead of a lot of the people I know at my school, I want to do activities that pertain to things I'm interested in (science, mainly biotech and statistics, and tea!). But, since this is the Bay Area, and I'm from a wealthy area, getting work like internships is very competitive. I'm currently trying to apply for some lab internships at Stanford/UCSF, but they're due in February and I have to get letters of recommendation, my transcript, things like that. In the same vein, I've been working on my science fair project for this year: using slime mold to measure the efficiency of public transport and roadways and design a better version. So far, I've only done most of the application paperwork and tested it out with BART, and I've had decent results (turns out BART is pretty efficient as it is; the main thing the slime mold changed was the connection of the Dublin/Pleasanton line to Bay Fair. Instead it connected to South Hayward, and also connected SFO to OAK, which would be interesting). Oh, and finally, the sleep study has been working well. Barring the past few days, since I've had a lot of stuff happening, I've been sleeping at around 10:30 PM and waking up at 7 AM, with no naps. It's been working surprisingly well, which I'm happy with.
So, how about friends and relationships? The friend group of last year has partly dissolved, but it's alright; we're all friends for the most part, but just have busy schedules. There's been quite a bit of drama which I'd rather not go into, but mainly it revolves around dating, relationships, and people interpreting things the wrong way and getting offended. One thing I've been pretty happy with though is I've made a few more friends (gasp- seniors!) because of mutual classes and my old friend group is wanting to hang out together over break. Anyway, remember how I dated that one girl, who broke up with me, and then went to Homecoming with someone else (I'd rather not remember homecoming, but oh well)? Well, funny story. The guy she went to Homecoming with, she ended up dating, which turned out horribly, and well, now we're back together. I guess it's not really socially acceptable for her to do that, but it's OK. One thing though is that most of the time (it really depends on the time, place, or how I feel), I don't like doing public displays of affection since I feel kind of uncomfortable with it, but my girlfriend enjoys them and wants to do them often. I don't know why I don't like them, but I think it might be the attention that you draw with them (and also the fact that some of our friends are super nosy or touchy? about it, considering all of the relationship drama that has happened lately). Also, this is a bit unrelated, but I've been practicing my creative writing & writing skills with her on a Google doc, which is fun. But, anyway, that's that.
On that note, here's what I've been doing lately that's unrelated to the above. I'm alright in terms of health, but I'm in the process of changing my diet due to issues with my digestion. I've also been cycling a lot more with my Dad because that's his hobby now, but since it's been quite cold in the mornings (even for California) and I've had projects and stuff, I haven't biked that often as I'd like. Oh, and our mountain bike got stolen at the BART today during the Mock Trial scrimmage- someone cut the cable lock and took it- which kind of sucks, but oh well; it was an old bike, we haven't been using it, and hopefully the person that stole it is going to use it or needs the money for something meaningful (not drugs). I'm going to start saving up the money I'm getting from tutoring so I can surprise my dad with a new mountain bike, hopefully for Christmas. Other than that, I've just been listening to a lot of music: I got some more records (the new Protomen single), went to an amazing concert (Curious Quail, the Y Axes, Dangermaker, Please Do Not Fight/Zen Zenith, Picture Atlantic), and have been downloading/buying new stuff. My girlfriend and I are also planning to try and start a tea-based charity and are currently in the process of figuring out paperwork and organization and everything. From what I envision, it'll mostly just be us setting up booths at town events, brewing tea gongfu style for people for free, possibly selling other tea drinks like milk tea, and asking for tips. All proceeds will go to some charity- maybe one in China, because tea- and since I have a ton of tea already, and am somewhat middle class, I'll be fine with losing money on this; after all, I'll be happy just because I'll be making tea for people and helping people out with the funds. I'll give updates on that, but it might just turn into a small thing where I put up a table at street fairs (after applying for one) as an unofficial group/organization and give whatever money we make to charity.
And finally, I have some tea news. Starting tomorrow, I'll be doing the 12 Days of Chris-tea-mas, in which I'll be starting up reviews again: a different tea every day until Christmas Eve. I have been drinking quite a bit of tea lately, but haven't practiced my reviews, so this'll be fun. Anyway, I'll post the info and lineup and everything in an info post later.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, December 7, 2015
What's Going On? (Life? Update) 12/7/15
Oh, hey there! It's been a long time. This is going to be a short update since I am super busy this week, but I just wanted to let you guys what's been happening since I got a ton of tea this Black Friday. I'll try to keep my personal stuff out of it this time because I have a lot to catch up on, so here are some reviews to expect (for real now, since winter break is coming up and I'll have quite a bit of extra time):
Teas:
Crimson Lotus Tea- Planet Jingmai, 2015 Spring "Gu Ming Xiang Bing" Yiwu-Bulang Blend
[So, I've begun my foray into Pu'erh with Planet Jingmai. After trying one ball- I've bought multiple- I actually enjoy sheng pu'erh quite a bit and I'll be sure to get more when I have the money]
Tea Ave- Rose Oolong, Wenshan Baochong Oolong, Oriental Beauty, Jasmine Oolong
[Just bought the Rose Oolong again since I enjoyed it quite a bit, not sure if I'll do another review on it]
What Cha- Azores Pekoe Black, Ceylon Moragalla Oolong, Nepal First Flush Oolong, Vietnam 'Ta Jin Xuan' Green, Australia Sencha Green, Taiwan 'Jin Xuan' Milk Oolong, Thailand Sticky Rice 'Khao Hom' Oolong, China Fujian Jasmine 'Phoenix Eye' Green, Thailand Four Seasons Oolong, Vietnam 'Dragon Cloud' Green, India Nilgiri 'Hari Ghatta' Oolong
[Now this is quite a bit of tea. What-Cha is one of my favorite vendors since their tea is super cheap and Alistair, the owner, is really nice. I got all of this during their Black Friday sale]
I also got a new gaiwan and scale, so there's that. Now I can't promise that I'll be able to review every single one- a lot of these teas are in small sample bags, and I like to focus on just drinking- but I'll try to do as many I can.
Anyway, expect those reviews coming up and a full update on how my life is soon- hint: it's going alright.
See you guys then, and sorry for not posting that often!
Teas:
Crimson Lotus Tea- Planet Jingmai, 2015 Spring "Gu Ming Xiang Bing" Yiwu-Bulang Blend
[So, I've begun my foray into Pu'erh with Planet Jingmai. After trying one ball- I've bought multiple- I actually enjoy sheng pu'erh quite a bit and I'll be sure to get more when I have the money]
Tea Ave- Rose Oolong, Wenshan Baochong Oolong, Oriental Beauty, Jasmine Oolong
[Just bought the Rose Oolong again since I enjoyed it quite a bit, not sure if I'll do another review on it]
What Cha- Azores Pekoe Black, Ceylon Moragalla Oolong, Nepal First Flush Oolong, Vietnam 'Ta Jin Xuan' Green, Australia Sencha Green, Taiwan 'Jin Xuan' Milk Oolong, Thailand Sticky Rice 'Khao Hom' Oolong, China Fujian Jasmine 'Phoenix Eye' Green, Thailand Four Seasons Oolong, Vietnam 'Dragon Cloud' Green, India Nilgiri 'Hari Ghatta' Oolong
[Now this is quite a bit of tea. What-Cha is one of my favorite vendors since their tea is super cheap and Alistair, the owner, is really nice. I got all of this during their Black Friday sale]
I also got a new gaiwan and scale, so there's that. Now I can't promise that I'll be able to review every single one- a lot of these teas are in small sample bags, and I like to focus on just drinking- but I'll try to do as many I can.
Anyway, expect those reviews coming up and a full update on how my life is soon- hint: it's going alright.
See you guys then, and sorry for not posting that often!
Sunday, October 4, 2015
What's Going On? (Life Update) 10/4/15
Well, long time no post, huh? Today's the last day of a three day weekend and I have quite a bit of free time today, since I got all my work done on Friday. In fact, I've actually just spent the last few hours lazing around because I just have nothing to do- and by nothing, I mean I have some stuff that I could do, but I don't have the motivation to. Anyway, let's get to what's happened this last month, shall we? The first month of school was pretty eventful, and will make for a really, really long post.
First off, it seems that my schoolwork has been going pretty well. My final schedule turned out to be AP Language/Composition, AP US History, AP Statistics, Japanese 3, Honors Precalculus, and Biotechnology. The workload and tests haven't been as hard as I expected, and right now I'm pulling off all A's. Well, except for APUSH; I got a B on my first essay which brought my grade down, but oh well- it's the first essay anyway. My teacher for AP Lang/Comp is super cool, APUSH is a fun subject for me, AP Stat is something I find really interesting, Japanese is always a fun class in general, Honors Precalc is easy because of a new curriculum, and Biotech is what I plan to major in, so there's that
Next, I've surprised even myself with the amount of extracurriculars I'm doing and how well I'm handling it, too.
1. I'm currently a co-founder of a club (with the science fair guys, so ehhh)- the Science Alliance- which is nearing approval from administration. In it, we essentially help elementary and middle school kids do science fair projects and garner an interest in STEM.
2. I'm planning to start another science fair project on my own, and I'm actually really excited to do it because of the topic.
3. I got into the Mock Trial team as a journalist, which is one of my largest commitments for this year.
4. UC Berkeley's sleep study has also been working pretty well, since I started sleep coaching and have been going to bed at 11:00 PM lately; the goal is to be sleeping at 10.
5. I'm applying to be a tutor at my old middle school, which is going to be a paid gig too.
6. Aviation club! There's a pretty high chance I'm going to be joining the rocketry team since I've been going to the meetings, helping them plan a few things, and am friends with a few members.
7. I still am taking piano classes, and might start fencing again in the coming weeks.
Even though all of this looks like a ton of stuff, I'm really excited to do it and I'm actually pretty proud of myself for not having a complete breakdown over the amount of work. Actually, I don't even feel that it has been that much, which may or may not be worrying.
Also this past few weeks, I went to freq.fest.norcal 2015 and APE 2015. Freq.fest was amazing, since it was the first year that it ever happened here and a few of the bands I like played. Slime Girls was amazing (even better than at California Extreme 2 or 3 years ago, since I could actually hear them), and I found a few new bands that I really like including Curious Quail, Here Between You Me, Paladin Shield, and more. The best part was that since it was a pretty small concert- I think half of the people there were actually musicians performing- everyone was super hyped. At one point during Astroskeleton's set, everyone started moshing together and we all sang We are the Crystal Gems in a big group (did I mention- I started watching Steven Universe because of my sister lately). APE 2015 was actually yesterday, and was alright. I got a ton of comics that I think my sister will like, a couple of prints, and talked to and discovered artists that I like.
For relationships and friends and everything, I don't really know what to think. A few weeks ago, my girlfriend broke up with me and we got stuck in a "are we dating or just really good friends that mess around" phase. Then, she's now actually dating another guy in our friend group, and honestly, I'm just kind of done with all of that now. It's not that I'm jealous, but I'm just a bit hurt that I got blindsided by it and she just decided to text me (plus the fact that it's all over Facebook and all that stuff). Needless to say, I'm not going to Homecoming since it seems like every year something super shitty happens (freshman year- the girl I asked texted me the day of, saying that she's not going; sophomore- I messed up and abandoned the girl I asked, but we're still pretty good friends; I just feel bad about it). My plan this year is to just dress up, bike over to the next town over, and watch a movie at this theater that has couches and food and everything inside the viewing area. Also, my friends convinced me to smoke with them for the first time ever- and I did. And I'll never do it again. Not because it ended up bad or anything, but it was nothing special (also the fact that my ex texted me that she started dating someone else in the friend group on that very night). The whole time they were super out of it, but I just felt a bit sleepy. I guess now I can say I tried it, but like I said, that's it. Not worth it at all. Some other stuff happened too, but I honestly can't really remember it or it just pales in comparison to these two things.
For tea stuff, I've just been drinking a ton of Twinings tea bags, since I haven't really gotten any new tea (kinda broke because of the stuff above and I still have a lot of the tea from the Week of Jin Xuan left over). I did participate in Reddit's first tea exchange, and my person gave me a few different green and herbal teas, and some black teabags (which was when I started drinking a lot of black tea with milk and sugar). I also bought some matcha from another tea blogger, Oolong Owl, which comes in the mail tomorrow. Expect reviews on that and a few more things, but I don't have any set release dates for those- I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.
A lot of stuff has happened in this last month, and it's been such a blur that I can't remember much of it. Most of the stuff that really stands out to me is in this post, but just know that a ton more happened and I just don't know what to make of it.
Anyway, to end on a slightly more happier note, here is a quote from one of the comics I got at APE (LP/Lavapunch 2). I think it'd be a good ending for this post, since it might be a while before I get another one up.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Sure I am. But I don't make it my life."
First off, it seems that my schoolwork has been going pretty well. My final schedule turned out to be AP Language/Composition, AP US History, AP Statistics, Japanese 3, Honors Precalculus, and Biotechnology. The workload and tests haven't been as hard as I expected, and right now I'm pulling off all A's. Well, except for APUSH; I got a B on my first essay which brought my grade down, but oh well- it's the first essay anyway. My teacher for AP Lang/Comp is super cool, APUSH is a fun subject for me, AP Stat is something I find really interesting, Japanese is always a fun class in general, Honors Precalc is easy because of a new curriculum, and Biotech is what I plan to major in, so there's that
Next, I've surprised even myself with the amount of extracurriculars I'm doing and how well I'm handling it, too.
1. I'm currently a co-founder of a club (with the science fair guys, so ehhh)- the Science Alliance- which is nearing approval from administration. In it, we essentially help elementary and middle school kids do science fair projects and garner an interest in STEM.
2. I'm planning to start another science fair project on my own, and I'm actually really excited to do it because of the topic.
3. I got into the Mock Trial team as a journalist, which is one of my largest commitments for this year.
4. UC Berkeley's sleep study has also been working pretty well, since I started sleep coaching and have been going to bed at 11:00 PM lately; the goal is to be sleeping at 10.
5. I'm applying to be a tutor at my old middle school, which is going to be a paid gig too.
6. Aviation club! There's a pretty high chance I'm going to be joining the rocketry team since I've been going to the meetings, helping them plan a few things, and am friends with a few members.
7. I still am taking piano classes, and might start fencing again in the coming weeks.
Even though all of this looks like a ton of stuff, I'm really excited to do it and I'm actually pretty proud of myself for not having a complete breakdown over the amount of work. Actually, I don't even feel that it has been that much, which may or may not be worrying.
Also this past few weeks, I went to freq.fest.norcal 2015 and APE 2015. Freq.fest was amazing, since it was the first year that it ever happened here and a few of the bands I like played. Slime Girls was amazing (even better than at California Extreme 2 or 3 years ago, since I could actually hear them), and I found a few new bands that I really like including Curious Quail, Here Between You Me, Paladin Shield, and more. The best part was that since it was a pretty small concert- I think half of the people there were actually musicians performing- everyone was super hyped. At one point during Astroskeleton's set, everyone started moshing together and we all sang We are the Crystal Gems in a big group (did I mention- I started watching Steven Universe because of my sister lately). APE 2015 was actually yesterday, and was alright. I got a ton of comics that I think my sister will like, a couple of prints, and talked to and discovered artists that I like.
For relationships and friends and everything, I don't really know what to think. A few weeks ago, my girlfriend broke up with me and we got stuck in a "are we dating or just really good friends that mess around" phase. Then, she's now actually dating another guy in our friend group, and honestly, I'm just kind of done with all of that now. It's not that I'm jealous, but I'm just a bit hurt that I got blindsided by it and she just decided to text me (plus the fact that it's all over Facebook and all that stuff). Needless to say, I'm not going to Homecoming since it seems like every year something super shitty happens (freshman year- the girl I asked texted me the day of, saying that she's not going; sophomore- I messed up and abandoned the girl I asked, but we're still pretty good friends; I just feel bad about it). My plan this year is to just dress up, bike over to the next town over, and watch a movie at this theater that has couches and food and everything inside the viewing area. Also, my friends convinced me to smoke with them for the first time ever- and I did. And I'll never do it again. Not because it ended up bad or anything, but it was nothing special (also the fact that my ex texted me that she started dating someone else in the friend group on that very night). The whole time they were super out of it, but I just felt a bit sleepy. I guess now I can say I tried it, but like I said, that's it. Not worth it at all. Some other stuff happened too, but I honestly can't really remember it or it just pales in comparison to these two things.
For tea stuff, I've just been drinking a ton of Twinings tea bags, since I haven't really gotten any new tea (kinda broke because of the stuff above and I still have a lot of the tea from the Week of Jin Xuan left over). I did participate in Reddit's first tea exchange, and my person gave me a few different green and herbal teas, and some black teabags (which was when I started drinking a lot of black tea with milk and sugar). I also bought some matcha from another tea blogger, Oolong Owl, which comes in the mail tomorrow. Expect reviews on that and a few more things, but I don't have any set release dates for those- I'll burn that bridge when I get to it.
A lot of stuff has happened in this last month, and it's been such a blur that I can't remember much of it. Most of the stuff that really stands out to me is in this post, but just know that a ton more happened and I just don't know what to make of it.
Anyway, to end on a slightly more happier note, here is a quote from one of the comics I got at APE (LP/Lavapunch 2). I think it'd be a good ending for this post, since it might be a while before I get another one up.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Sure I am. But I don't make it my life."
Monday, August 17, 2015
Quick Update (Again) - 8/17/15
Sorry for the lack of posts lately- I've been busy with family stuff since my sister got back from college. Anyway, here's a quick rundown of everything that's happened and what I have in store:
First off, what I've done.
First off, what I've done.
- Finished all summer homework in 2 binge sessions, so now all I have to worry about for school is the first week tests/socratic seminars/whatever and proofreading.
- A lot of family stuff like eating and biking and crap
- Bought a ton of stuff and as a result am now broke; I bought the Protomen's Act 3 single on vinyl, quite a bit of tea (see below), a physical copy of Supernormal Step Encore (one of my first and favorite webcomics),
- Watched Into the Woods with the girlfriend
- Started playing osu! (mostly just osu!mania though)
And what I plan to do in the coming weeks:
- Tomorrow, I'm going to go be in an audience member in a new educational show about chemistry at UC Berkeley
- Throughout this week & next: Jin Xuan tastings & reviews! I bought What-cha's complete catalog of Jin Xuan tea, including: Thailand Winter Frost Jin Xuan Oolong, Guangdong Jin Xuan Mao Feng Black, Fujian Anxi Jin Xuan Milk Oolong, Taiwan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong, Vietnam Jin Xuan Oolong, Thailand Jin Xuan Oolong, Taiwan Ali Shan Jin Xuan Oolong, Thailand Jin Xuan Pearl Black, Thailand Sticky Rice 'Khao Hom' Oolong, Vietnam Ta Jin Xuan Green. To stretch the tastings to a full 7 days (2 each day), I'm also going to re-review Vital Tea Leaf's Milk Oolong and Tea Aves' Rose Oolong, Magnolia Oolong, and Jin Xuan.
- After that, review that Red Blossom Tea Co's Pi Lo Chun and Monkey-Picked Tieguanyin, What-cha's Thailand Oriental Beauty Pearl Oolong, Indonesia Harendong Twisted 'Cengkok' Green, and Nepal First Flush Clonal Delight Black. I might also throw in some instant tea reviews and Twinings' herbal tea.
- Study the shit out of everything, practice Japanese, etc.
- Next week, school!!!
- I joined Reddit's first White Elephant tea exchange, so hopefully something good comes out of that.
- Next month, sleep study overnight stay
- Soon (when I have enough money saved up), building an arcade stick. I've been reading up on it and I plan to buy the buttons, PCB, & wiring and put it all in a pizza box as practice
- Other school related stuff like clubs that I'll probably put into its own post
- Freq.Fest.Norcal in September (Crashfaster, Slime Girls, Petriform, Maxo, oh my!)
So, expect that. I'll try to start the week of Jin Xuan before summer vacation ends, but I'm trying to work out how I'm going to brew + review + all that stuff. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, August 2, 2015
What's Going On? (Life Update) 8/2/15
I know I've been posting these too often lately but I really want to do something meaningful before summer ends- especially since I've been a hermit and done jack all this summer and everyone I know has gone somewhere on vacation, volunteered places, hung out with friends, got jobs, internships, whatever. I want to do something that makes me feel like I haven't wasted all this time, and August is going to be the time I do it. And so, I dub this month the "Really Get Shit Done" month and this update the "August Checklist" update. Welcome to Summer-land.
Anyway, stuff that's happened lately first. I had an interview for the sleep study, which went pretty well. They said I'm likely to continue in the study, and I got $30 in Amazon gift cards for participating so far. I'm going to get a call either tomorrow or Tuesday about staying in the study, so my fingers are crossed. The girlfriend also came back from Hawaii and I got her flowers, but both of us need to find free time before we hang out together (related, my sister came back last night and she's going to spend the month here). I also finished the SAT classes, with my last test grade being 2200 which was pretty great. Only 1 wrong on the math section, and over 700 on everything else. Other than that, not much because of the wrist and my own laziness (I did start the summer homework and am now 1/4th done).
Now that that's out of the way, here's my checklist for August, before school starts (in no particular order):
Anyway, stuff that's happened lately first. I had an interview for the sleep study, which went pretty well. They said I'm likely to continue in the study, and I got $30 in Amazon gift cards for participating so far. I'm going to get a call either tomorrow or Tuesday about staying in the study, so my fingers are crossed. The girlfriend also came back from Hawaii and I got her flowers, but both of us need to find free time before we hang out together (related, my sister came back last night and she's going to spend the month here). I also finished the SAT classes, with my last test grade being 2200 which was pretty great. Only 1 wrong on the math section, and over 700 on everything else. Other than that, not much because of the wrist and my own laziness (I did start the summer homework and am now 1/4th done).
Now that that's out of the way, here's my checklist for August, before school starts (in no particular order):
- Finish all of the AP homework (English, History) and study for the tests
- Practice piano (pieces I would like to learn, including this binder I got from my teacher full of songs)
- Bike with my dad every other day; related- work out
- Write more tea reviews and creative writing stuff
- Hang out with friends
- Practice SAT stuff using the books from class
- Learn physics and maybe chem with the textbook and online videos (Khan Academy or UC Berkeley?); related- review Biology for the SAT subject test
- Build the algae tank for the science fair or just prep for that
- Do this project I've wanted to do for a long time (essentially, watch a movie every day/every other day for a full month and do a super quick review on it)
- Email admin assistants at colleges about internships (thanks reddit!); related- email people about volunteer opportunities
- Read books
- Cook more since I haven't done too much of that lately
- Other stuff that I can mention later
And that's it. It's a lot, but as long as I get at least a few done, I'll be happy. I do have two new life rules related to it (thanks to my British friend and also reddit), so here they are:
Everybody has the same amount of time. Everyone just chooses to do different things with it.
and
There is always more time.
Thanks for reading, and hopefully it all goes well!
Thursday, July 23, 2015
What's Going On? (Life Update) 7/23/15
Short update today since I feel kinda weird posting 2 life updates without anything in between.
So, California Extreme was great this year, even though none of my friends went. I played a ton of arcade games (and screwed up my wrist in the process!), joined a Panic Park tournament and got eliminated on the first round, met a bunch of people during my volunteering shifts, had a hell of a time at the Rockage SJ concerts, and overall had a lot of fun. I'm super happy since I got to meet the Megas (they complimented me on my Protomen shirt!) and Kirby's Dream Band (first time I heard their music ever, and I was blown away). I spent a ton of my money on merch, and got a CD from Dog Party, a vinyl from Kirby's Dream Band, and a CD from The Megas. I got the vinyl and Megas CDs signed for me and my friend (and in the process got to meet the bands and talk to them- they're super nice). Way better than last year even though Police 911, my favorite arcade game, or my friends weren't there.
As for non-CAX stuff, there wasn't really much since I've been taking it easy with my wrist. For tea stuff, I had a free sample come in from Teazillo, and I was pretty surprised. I got rose flavored black tea, and it came within two days of it shipping. The guy put them in really nice tins and included an extra (I only ordered 1). I'll get a review on that up sometime, but from what I've tried so far, it's actually pretty good. I've also been practicing cupping with the teas from Red Blossom Tea Co and Tea Ave, and drinking Twinings' The Rich Milk Tea (review also coming soon).
For non-tea stuff, I took another SAT practice test and got 2000 on it (10 more than last time, woo). The only 'work'- I doubt it even counts as real work- that I've really done is learning Audacity and converting my vinyls to digital. I also shipped out a package to my British friend with that signed Megas CD and some Ghiradelli chocolate, since he's the one who introduced me to the Megas and he's been having some health problems lately (hopefully it cheers him up). I also tried emailing a local ice cream shop that just opened if they're hiring, but they haven't gotten back to me (note to self: start filling out those apps!). Lastly, the girlfriend has been in Hawaii with her family for the past week and will be until the end of July, so I haven't really been talking to much people other than a few internet friends, namely the British guy mentioned above. Actually, my parents are going to Hawaii next week so I'm going to be alone with the grandparents then (I dunno how I feel about it).
Finally, that sleep study is going well! I finished doing a week-long sleep diary in which they call me daily and ask me a few questions about my sleep. I have to actually go into their lab for an in person interview, but according to my dad, it looks like I'm going to be accepted for their actual study with the ActiWatch and sleep coaching and sleeping at the lab and everything. He says they told him that the study could really help me and that I'm a good candidate for it. We'll see how the interview goes next week; I'm pretty hyped for it.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading.
So, California Extreme was great this year, even though none of my friends went. I played a ton of arcade games (and screwed up my wrist in the process!), joined a Panic Park tournament and got eliminated on the first round, met a bunch of people during my volunteering shifts, had a hell of a time at the Rockage SJ concerts, and overall had a lot of fun. I'm super happy since I got to meet the Megas (they complimented me on my Protomen shirt!) and Kirby's Dream Band (first time I heard their music ever, and I was blown away). I spent a ton of my money on merch, and got a CD from Dog Party, a vinyl from Kirby's Dream Band, and a CD from The Megas. I got the vinyl and Megas CDs signed for me and my friend (and in the process got to meet the bands and talk to them- they're super nice). Way better than last year even though Police 911, my favorite arcade game, or my friends weren't there.
As for non-CAX stuff, there wasn't really much since I've been taking it easy with my wrist. For tea stuff, I had a free sample come in from Teazillo, and I was pretty surprised. I got rose flavored black tea, and it came within two days of it shipping. The guy put them in really nice tins and included an extra (I only ordered 1). I'll get a review on that up sometime, but from what I've tried so far, it's actually pretty good. I've also been practicing cupping with the teas from Red Blossom Tea Co and Tea Ave, and drinking Twinings' The Rich Milk Tea (review also coming soon).
For non-tea stuff, I took another SAT practice test and got 2000 on it (10 more than last time, woo). The only 'work'- I doubt it even counts as real work- that I've really done is learning Audacity and converting my vinyls to digital. I also shipped out a package to my British friend with that signed Megas CD and some Ghiradelli chocolate, since he's the one who introduced me to the Megas and he's been having some health problems lately (hopefully it cheers him up). I also tried emailing a local ice cream shop that just opened if they're hiring, but they haven't gotten back to me (note to self: start filling out those apps!). Lastly, the girlfriend has been in Hawaii with her family for the past week and will be until the end of July, so I haven't really been talking to much people other than a few internet friends, namely the British guy mentioned above. Actually, my parents are going to Hawaii next week so I'm going to be alone with the grandparents then (I dunno how I feel about it).
Finally, that sleep study is going well! I finished doing a week-long sleep diary in which they call me daily and ask me a few questions about my sleep. I have to actually go into their lab for an in person interview, but according to my dad, it looks like I'm going to be accepted for their actual study with the ActiWatch and sleep coaching and sleeping at the lab and everything. He says they told him that the study could really help me and that I'm a good candidate for it. We'll see how the interview goes next week; I'm pretty hyped for it.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading.
Friday, July 17, 2015
What's Going On? (Life Update) 7/17/15
Woo, California Extreme is tomorrow! I'm gonna be volunteering for 2 hours both Saturday and Sunday, so I'll have free admission for the whole convention (so many free play arcade games!). The Megas are also going to be playing there, so I'm excited; I'm going to try and get a CD signed for one of my friends. Oh, and I might also film a video since I haven't made one in a while (it might be hard since it's going to be only me, and you also kinda need 2 hands to play arcade games).
Anyway, now lets get to what's been going on in my life.
As for tea stuff, I've mostly only been practicing cupping tea (aka tea tasting with the set I got from Tea Ave), as you can see in my most recent review. I've only really been drinking the Tea Ave stuff lately, and to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel towards the brand. Some of their teas are really good (remind me to pick up some Oriental Beauty), but for some reason, their tea can be really hard to brew. Like, it either tastes really good or like total crap if its' done right, and from what I've seen, it's kind of hard to do it right. It might be just me, which is why I've been drinking it so much lately (to try and get a feel for it), but I dunno. Other than that, I've also been planning to do that review of Twinings' The Rich Milk Tea soon since I really want to try it.
My job hunt kind of went on hold because I'm losing motivation right now, but I'm going to force myself to fill out the apps next week, along with starting summer homework (the writing part- I finished reading the Scarlet Letter in a binge reading session). As of now, I've only turned in 1 app and have the rest just lying in a folder in my room. Oh well. The dream for a science internship is still alive, though (which is a great transition into my next paragraph!).
Instead of getting a science internship like I was hoping, it turns out that I'm going to be on the opposite side- I joined a study about teen sleep! Essentially, they're trying to see how effective sleep coaching is at UC Berkeley. I finished the first interview and they think I'm a good candidate, so they're making me do sleep diaries for a week (what time I went to bed, how many times I woke up, how long it took for me to fall asleep, etc.). If they like my sleep diaries and my second interview, I get to do an 8-week (?) long study, where I have to sleep at their clinic, wear an Actiwatch, and take sleep coaching sessions. They'll then keep a tab on me for the next year to see how I'm doing. I'm really excited for this since it's research that also can help me at the same time. Honestly, I tried sleeping like how I did during the school year earlier this week (6 or less hours of sleep), and I was tired as hell all day; I have no idea how I kept that up for so long, and I guess I can see why I always passed out for a nap right after school. So, I'm really hoping I'll get accepted into the study after the second interview.
Other than that, I didn't really do much this week because of how hyped I am for CAX and that study. Mostly just SAT classes, CS:GO, and the Kill Bill movies (I really liked those). Oh, and I finally saw my girlfriend for the first time since summer started! We watched movies and played games at her house with some other people, which was pretty fun (except the fact that it seemed like her parents were shooting daggers at and judging me the whole time and were using her siblings to spy on us). Can't wait until she gets back at the end of July.
Finally, here's just a list of what I want to get done before July ends:
-Finish/turn in all of those job apps
-Participate in the sleep study
-Read those science textbooks I've been too lazy to read lately
-Read the APUSH text & work on the respective homework (along with AP english stuff)
-Make an examples Quizlet for AP english
-Practice piano, better handwriting, etc.
-Write those reviews I've been waiting to do for so long
-If I do record stuff at CAX, then edit + release the video
-Bike/exercise/eat/cook more & better
-Other stuff that I can't remember right now; I might update this later
Well, thanks for reading! I'm going to go be excited about CAX and the Megas and all that other stuff.
Anyway, now lets get to what's been going on in my life.
As for tea stuff, I've mostly only been practicing cupping tea (aka tea tasting with the set I got from Tea Ave), as you can see in my most recent review. I've only really been drinking the Tea Ave stuff lately, and to be honest, I'm not sure how I feel towards the brand. Some of their teas are really good (remind me to pick up some Oriental Beauty), but for some reason, their tea can be really hard to brew. Like, it either tastes really good or like total crap if its' done right, and from what I've seen, it's kind of hard to do it right. It might be just me, which is why I've been drinking it so much lately (to try and get a feel for it), but I dunno. Other than that, I've also been planning to do that review of Twinings' The Rich Milk Tea soon since I really want to try it.
My job hunt kind of went on hold because I'm losing motivation right now, but I'm going to force myself to fill out the apps next week, along with starting summer homework (the writing part- I finished reading the Scarlet Letter in a binge reading session). As of now, I've only turned in 1 app and have the rest just lying in a folder in my room. Oh well. The dream for a science internship is still alive, though (which is a great transition into my next paragraph!).
Instead of getting a science internship like I was hoping, it turns out that I'm going to be on the opposite side- I joined a study about teen sleep! Essentially, they're trying to see how effective sleep coaching is at UC Berkeley. I finished the first interview and they think I'm a good candidate, so they're making me do sleep diaries for a week (what time I went to bed, how many times I woke up, how long it took for me to fall asleep, etc.). If they like my sleep diaries and my second interview, I get to do an 8-week (?) long study, where I have to sleep at their clinic, wear an Actiwatch, and take sleep coaching sessions. They'll then keep a tab on me for the next year to see how I'm doing. I'm really excited for this since it's research that also can help me at the same time. Honestly, I tried sleeping like how I did during the school year earlier this week (6 or less hours of sleep), and I was tired as hell all day; I have no idea how I kept that up for so long, and I guess I can see why I always passed out for a nap right after school. So, I'm really hoping I'll get accepted into the study after the second interview.
Other than that, I didn't really do much this week because of how hyped I am for CAX and that study. Mostly just SAT classes, CS:GO, and the Kill Bill movies (I really liked those). Oh, and I finally saw my girlfriend for the first time since summer started! We watched movies and played games at her house with some other people, which was pretty fun (except the fact that it seemed like her parents were shooting daggers at and judging me the whole time and were using her siblings to spy on us). Can't wait until she gets back at the end of July.
Finally, here's just a list of what I want to get done before July ends:
-Finish/turn in all of those job apps
-Participate in the sleep study
-Read those science textbooks I've been too lazy to read lately
-Read the APUSH text & work on the respective homework (along with AP english stuff)
-Make an examples Quizlet for AP english
-Practice piano, better handwriting, etc.
-Write those reviews I've been waiting to do for so long
-If I do record stuff at CAX, then edit + release the video
-Bike/exercise/eat/cook more & better
-Other stuff that I can't remember right now; I might update this later
Well, thanks for reading! I'm going to go be excited about CAX and the Megas and all that other stuff.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Quick Update: 7/10/15
Alright, so here's a quick update of what's happened lately and what I'm planning to do soon.
I bought some stuff from Tea Ave (http://teaave.com/) and it came in the mail yesterday, and I am very pleased with what I got. It came from Vancouver to California in 2-3 days with free shipping, and inside the package was a free totebag, 4 free samples (3 loose leaf, 1 teabag), a letter, their business cards, and the tea and oolong competition tasting set I bought. First time buying from them, and I am very impressed.
As for the tea I got from them, I bought myself 25g of Jin Xuan oolong and 25g of Rose oolong, so expect reviews from those. The samples they gave me were Tie Kwan Yin oolong, Magnolia Oolong, and Oriental Beauty- as for these, I want to drink it and enjoy it without having to worry about writing a review each brew, BUT I might write a quick/very short review about them. I'm actually tempted to buy the larger packs of these oolongs from Tea Ave if I like them enough.
Now, the upcoming reviews are:
Tea Ave. Jin Xuan oolong/Rose oolong/Magnolia oolong*/Tie Kwan Yin oolong*/Oriental Beauty oolong*, Red Blossom Tea Co. Pi Lo Chun/Monkey Picked Tieguanyin,
assorted instant milk teas (like Twinings' The Rich Milk Tea and Owl teas),
and very possibly re-reviews of some Lupicia teas (since I've been drinking some of their loose leaf).
*possibly a short review or none at all
And finally, what's going on in my life. Woke up today to a nice surprise- a 5 on the AP Bio exam- so I'm pretty happy about that. Thanks to urging from my dad and girlfriend, I think I've decided that I'm going to self-teach myself AP physics (and possibly chem) from the textbooks and also take the AP exams, since I have the whole year to learn it. I'll have to work my ass off for that, but I guess it won't be too bad since I can retake the test. Secondly, I got most of the applications from the places near me, and I've turned in an app to Baskin Robbins, but I'm waiting for them to call back. So, for the next week or so, I'm just gonna be filling those out, editing my resume, and turning those in. Thirdly, I also took another SAT practice test. It wasn't as bad as the first time, and I actually think my essay was decent this time. I didn't finish one section, but oh well it's just a practice test for Princeton Review. And finally, California Extreme is coming up next week! I'm volunteering both days so I'm super excited, especially since The Megas are playing there (free play arcade games are awesome too). My friends might come, but I think they're going on their own since I have an early shift.
So, that's it! Thanks for reading.
I bought some stuff from Tea Ave (http://teaave.com/) and it came in the mail yesterday, and I am very pleased with what I got. It came from Vancouver to California in 2-3 days with free shipping, and inside the package was a free totebag, 4 free samples (3 loose leaf, 1 teabag), a letter, their business cards, and the tea and oolong competition tasting set I bought. First time buying from them, and I am very impressed.
As for the tea I got from them, I bought myself 25g of Jin Xuan oolong and 25g of Rose oolong, so expect reviews from those. The samples they gave me were Tie Kwan Yin oolong, Magnolia Oolong, and Oriental Beauty- as for these, I want to drink it and enjoy it without having to worry about writing a review each brew, BUT I might write a quick/very short review about them. I'm actually tempted to buy the larger packs of these oolongs from Tea Ave if I like them enough.
Now, the upcoming reviews are:
Tea Ave. Jin Xuan oolong/Rose oolong/Magnolia oolong*/Tie Kwan Yin oolong*/Oriental Beauty oolong*, Red Blossom Tea Co. Pi Lo Chun/Monkey Picked Tieguanyin,
assorted instant milk teas (like Twinings' The Rich Milk Tea and Owl teas),
and very possibly re-reviews of some Lupicia teas (since I've been drinking some of their loose leaf).
*possibly a short review or none at all
And finally, what's going on in my life. Woke up today to a nice surprise- a 5 on the AP Bio exam- so I'm pretty happy about that. Thanks to urging from my dad and girlfriend, I think I've decided that I'm going to self-teach myself AP physics (and possibly chem) from the textbooks and also take the AP exams, since I have the whole year to learn it. I'll have to work my ass off for that, but I guess it won't be too bad since I can retake the test. Secondly, I got most of the applications from the places near me, and I've turned in an app to Baskin Robbins, but I'm waiting for them to call back. So, for the next week or so, I'm just gonna be filling those out, editing my resume, and turning those in. Thirdly, I also took another SAT practice test. It wasn't as bad as the first time, and I actually think my essay was decent this time. I didn't finish one section, but oh well it's just a practice test for Princeton Review. And finally, California Extreme is coming up next week! I'm volunteering both days so I'm super excited, especially since The Megas are playing there (free play arcade games are awesome too). My friends might come, but I think they're going on their own since I have an early shift.
So, that's it! Thanks for reading.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
What's Going On? (Life Update) 7/4/15
Happy 4th of July! Go America.
Anyway, here's what's been happening- I've designated July as my "Get Shit Done" month, so for the past few days I've been trying to actually get something useful done.
Since the 1st, I've been practicing piano for around an hour (?) a day, and have gotten pretty far. As of now, the songs that I've focusing on and can play somewhat decently now are Before Dawn from the .hack//SIGN soundtrack, the instrumental to Paper Boats from the Transistor soundtrack, and The Impossible Dream from the Man of La Mancha soundtrack. I actually enjoy playing now, since I've gotten much better at sight reading. However, I still have that dream of playing Piano Sonata in A Minor Croatoa, Op. 5, Mov. 1 by Jonas Blake one day (the piano cover of Lost Temple of Croatoa Suite from Jamestown); maybe I'll be able to before I graduate, but I still have a really long way to go. The Apartment Theme would also be a nice song to know too.
On the 2nd, I had SAT practice class from Princeton Review (which I'm honestly not too happy about, but oh well it's something to do). We got the scores back from the previous SAT practice test we took, and as of now, I'm at 1730 with a 3/6 on the essay. I'm pretty sure I can improve, since it seems like a lot of the questions I got wrong were because of not reading closely enough. After that, I spent a couple hours biking all over my town looking for places that were hiring and for job applications (I'll talk about it more below). Here's a tip: don't go job hunting before Independence Day weekend, since every place is closed early and isn't open until the next week.
The 3rd wasn't really a productive day (in terms of "Getting Shit Done"), but I actually had fun with friends! Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed with myself since I've only hung out with friends twice this whole summer. The first time I got lunch and hung out with my old friends a week ago, and this time, I went to the fair for the whole day with a different group- my newer friends. It was a ton of fun, but a lot of them had to leave early and I couldn't go on much rides after a while since I felt like throwing up from the heat & dehydration. Also got some SAT homework done but that's pretty much it.
Today, I started online Drivers' Ed classes, did some more SAT homework, wrote this, and maybe will fill out some of the applications.
As for the girlfriend, we've been chatting almost every day since she's been out of country after summer started (would prefer if we were hanging out together, but oh well). It's gotten more serious and a lot of stuff has happened, but I still like her as much as when we started dating. If you're reading this, I'm not lying, even though you might think different. I'm planning to give her something big for when she gets back (not gonna spoil it), but it might involve stuffed animals and junk food and stuff.
As for some sort of work, my hopes for a biology or science internship have pretty much died at this point since professors seem to want to get emails months in advance (reminder to self: start emails in spring), and the chances now are super slim. I'm a bit bummed out since that one guy from my science fair project (the one who did the least) got a really nice, paid internship at UCSF because of family connections, but oh well, I'm not rich. I've changed my focus to a part time job (summer, but might continue through the school year), and I think I have my CV/resume almost ready. The places I'm interested in are Baskin Robbins, 99 Ranch, Rising Loafer (a cafe/bakery-I'm sure you can guess where I live now from that), Java Detour (a drive-thru coffee shop), Screenworks (fixing screens woo) and Workbench Hardware (I'm interested, but the hours/available shifts are kinda crap). To be honest, though, I'm actually a bit scared of this since it'll be a big change, but I need the money (for reasons stated below) and something to do.
Other stuff I have in store are volunteering at California Extreme and AP homework. The volunteering I'm looking forward to because it's going to be a ton of free arcade games and bands playing, but I might have to go alone since all of my friends are either busy or out of town. I've started the AP homework (English and History woo), but I've been going at a snail's pace since I'm too lazy to spend a ton of time on it. I also started reading the AP Physics textbook, even though I'm not signed up for the class, so there's that. Oh, and one last thing that I haven't mentioned yet- I think I'm gonna be going to Japan with my sister for winter break! I've been saving since the start of this year (I'm at $1000 now; a job will help tremendously), and my parents are letting me go with her since she'll be studying abroad then. Woo!
Well, that's it! I might try to figure out a schedule to post these so they're not super long like this one, but I've kinda been lazy on posting stuff lately so we'll see. Thanks for reading!
Anyway, here's what's been happening- I've designated July as my "Get Shit Done" month, so for the past few days I've been trying to actually get something useful done.
Since the 1st, I've been practicing piano for around an hour (?) a day, and have gotten pretty far. As of now, the songs that I've focusing on and can play somewhat decently now are Before Dawn from the .hack//SIGN soundtrack, the instrumental to Paper Boats from the Transistor soundtrack, and The Impossible Dream from the Man of La Mancha soundtrack. I actually enjoy playing now, since I've gotten much better at sight reading. However, I still have that dream of playing Piano Sonata in A Minor Croatoa, Op. 5, Mov. 1 by Jonas Blake one day (the piano cover of Lost Temple of Croatoa Suite from Jamestown); maybe I'll be able to before I graduate, but I still have a really long way to go. The Apartment Theme would also be a nice song to know too.
On the 2nd, I had SAT practice class from Princeton Review (which I'm honestly not too happy about, but oh well it's something to do). We got the scores back from the previous SAT practice test we took, and as of now, I'm at 1730 with a 3/6 on the essay. I'm pretty sure I can improve, since it seems like a lot of the questions I got wrong were because of not reading closely enough. After that, I spent a couple hours biking all over my town looking for places that were hiring and for job applications (I'll talk about it more below). Here's a tip: don't go job hunting before Independence Day weekend, since every place is closed early and isn't open until the next week.
The 3rd wasn't really a productive day (in terms of "Getting Shit Done"), but I actually had fun with friends! Honestly, I'm a bit disappointed with myself since I've only hung out with friends twice this whole summer. The first time I got lunch and hung out with my old friends a week ago, and this time, I went to the fair for the whole day with a different group- my newer friends. It was a ton of fun, but a lot of them had to leave early and I couldn't go on much rides after a while since I felt like throwing up from the heat & dehydration. Also got some SAT homework done but that's pretty much it.
Today, I started online Drivers' Ed classes, did some more SAT homework, wrote this, and maybe will fill out some of the applications.
As for the girlfriend, we've been chatting almost every day since she's been out of country after summer started (would prefer if we were hanging out together, but oh well). It's gotten more serious and a lot of stuff has happened, but I still like her as much as when we started dating. If you're reading this, I'm not lying, even though you might think different. I'm planning to give her something big for when she gets back (not gonna spoil it), but it might involve stuffed animals and junk food and stuff.
As for some sort of work, my hopes for a biology or science internship have pretty much died at this point since professors seem to want to get emails months in advance (reminder to self: start emails in spring), and the chances now are super slim. I'm a bit bummed out since that one guy from my science fair project (the one who did the least) got a really nice, paid internship at UCSF because of family connections, but oh well, I'm not rich. I've changed my focus to a part time job (summer, but might continue through the school year), and I think I have my CV/resume almost ready. The places I'm interested in are Baskin Robbins, 99 Ranch, Rising Loafer (a cafe/bakery-I'm sure you can guess where I live now from that), Java Detour (a drive-thru coffee shop), Screenworks (fixing screens woo) and Workbench Hardware (I'm interested, but the hours/available shifts are kinda crap). To be honest, though, I'm actually a bit scared of this since it'll be a big change, but I need the money (for reasons stated below) and something to do.
Other stuff I have in store are volunteering at California Extreme and AP homework. The volunteering I'm looking forward to because it's going to be a ton of free arcade games and bands playing, but I might have to go alone since all of my friends are either busy or out of town. I've started the AP homework (English and History woo), but I've been going at a snail's pace since I'm too lazy to spend a ton of time on it. I also started reading the AP Physics textbook, even though I'm not signed up for the class, so there's that. Oh, and one last thing that I haven't mentioned yet- I think I'm gonna be going to Japan with my sister for winter break! I've been saving since the start of this year (I'm at $1000 now; a job will help tremendously), and my parents are letting me go with her since she'll be studying abroad then. Woo!
Well, that's it! I might try to figure out a schedule to post these so they're not super long like this one, but I've kinda been lazy on posting stuff lately so we'll see. Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Quick Update 6/25/15
Hey, so it's been a while since my last post (school kinda picked up in the last month/during finals). But, since school's done now, I can start back up with my tea reviews and everything else. My plan is to do at least one review/update/post every week this summer.
Anyway, here's a list of what I've gotten done since my last posts:
Anyway, here's a list of what I've gotten done since my last posts:
- 105% in AP Bio (I have no idea how) & all As; GPA is 4.08 now which is pretty nice
- Actually started fencing classes, every tuesday for a month (season is ending so that's going to be put on a hold, but it's super fun and I love it even though I'm trash compared to everyone else)
- Dating that girl still and we've done a ton of stuff together and it's great
- Started drinking a ton of instant tea since I've been kinda lazy these past few weeks
- Got pretty good at CS:GO
- Other crap that I've forgotten and will probably mention later on
To go along with that, here are my plans this summer:
- Self teach myself AP Physics and AP Chem (mostly just reading the textbooks and solving the practice problems)
- Get an internship at a lab (preferably in bio or energy or something); also write a related cover letter and resume
- Get a job or some kind of work (kinda depends on what happens with #2)
- Piano (get an actual practice schedule going)
- Summer homework and crap
- Fencing- sort of done now but I did it!
- SAT classes (because my dad signed me up without telling me)
- Write more reviews and stuff because a certain someone enjoys reading these
- Chill and hang out with friends and girlfriend and stuff
- Insert plan here
So, there it is. Expect more stuff coming soon- not just tea reviews.
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