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Thursday, February 26, 2009

This is how the real world works, I guess.

The new issue of the newspaper came out today. We spent part of class reading headlines and leads and discussing whose were good and whose were bad. They said my lead sentence was boring and doesn't tell you anything new, just what people already knew. They compared my lead to the lead of the girl who's article was next to mine on the page. They loved hers and said it drew people in and made them want to read.

I wrote her lead. XD

My teacher said her article needed an entirely new intro, and she was busy, so I offered to rewrite it for her since deadline was close. Now at least I know I did something right, even if nobody else knows it.

A few things that made me sink: The two golden sophomores, former staff writers with that oh-so-stereotypical high school popularity are co-editors in the opinion section now. Both of their page designs had glaring errors and their writing is good but not amazingly brilliant or anything. Yet I find out from the kid who sits next ot me in math class that they get to be editors. Whatever, they're better than me, and I don't want to be an editor. I'm not serious enough. Just....ughhh! That's so annoying! They get to mess up all they want and get editor status. I get grief about my lead being boring and one of my pictures looking stupid, but my teacher had previously told me that my article was really good and my work fixing the other girl's article in one day was impressive. I guess if my teacher knows I work, that's what matters.

And editor almighty is still at the top of the staff list even though she showed up twice to help with this issue and didn't edit anything.

Sigh.

Love,
Juliana
We spent half of English class on this poem today, analyzing the life out of what still looks to me like a note stuck to a refrigerator.

"I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold"
--William Carlos Williams

Before I get into the poem, his name is William Williams? Did his parents just have a really weird sense of humor or something? What kind of name is William Williams? Sure, you can add Carlos in there and maybe people won't notice right away, but putting the Carlos in unfortunately makes it sound pretentious.

Okay, the poem. We talked forever about how this is a message about marriage and communication, and how the plums are a symbol for virginity that the girl was saving the guy took. He says he's sorry, but he really isn't.

What if it's just about plums? What if this was a legit note that someone found, published it, and now us AP Lang students analyze the hell out of it? How do we know that was Bill's intention when he wrote this. You can find deeper meaning in everything.

"I chose to talk about this, but I really should be doing Chinese homework. And I'm hungry."

This quote is about giving into the temptation and has a message choosing something you feel is more important at the moment. And being hungry represents a sense of emptiness...

You get the point.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Dollhouse

I watched this new show last night. My friend's been talking about it for months but he watches a lot of weird shows so I wasn't planning on watching it. The local paper ran a blurb on it and I thought the whole concept was intriguing.

It's about an organization that takes people and completely wipes out their memories and personalities, then imprints new personas on them, turning them into anything they want. People can "rent" them to do certain jobs. They're called "actives," or "dolls," and they live in this giant hotel-like place called the dollhouse.

The main character's name is Echo, and in last night's episode, she was hired to help with a kidnapping.

Overall, the concept is brilliant, kind of Stepford Wives-ish. It's interesting and has potential. I'm not sure if it will keep me watching for the rest of it's run, but I don't know what to make of it yet. I'm going to see what happens as the show progresses. Unfortunately, it's on a Friday night, so even though I have Tivo, that means the TV people aren't expecting it to go anywhere.

Juliana

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Newspaper, because that's all that's going on right now.

I spent newspaper today fixing other people's articles because one didn't line up right and the other was supposed to be a sidebar-article about Obama and wasn't as Obama-centric as was originally planned. I had to rewrite and move around things to make it work, and my teacher said I did a good job fixing it. Relief. The only thing I'm not so happy about is how I have to find a new picture from someone who went to the thing by Friday. >.<

One of the editors shrunk the font in my pullout quote and out a little note "get a longer quote, ok thnx" under it. I asked them if that was the right font size and they said yes, I had someone else confirm it and they said yes. Grr. Lucky I had one, but while I was finding it, I wrote under their comment "I asked you about this quote TWO WEEKS AGO and you decinde now that it's not long enough?? How's that for a longer quote?" Made me feel better at least.

While one of the writers on my page (the one who made me wait for her article on Friday) had a lot of stuff to fix, so she commandeered my page and told me to go do something else since she would be a while. I went and helped my friend write her headline, and we ended up goofing off with it and making up some really funny ones. Ah, how a newspaper would be if I owned it.

My other friend has a lacrosse article and was trying to think of a headline, so she goes, "'Lacrosse: More than just balls and sticks.' Sex sells." Hey, it would liven up the sports page a little.

I'm tired. I have 10 more minutes of Spanish homework and then I get to sleep. Sleep is good except when it's in the middle of Chinese class.

Juliana

Monday, February 9, 2009

Grrrrrrrrr

A combination of hunger, PMS (causing more hunger on top of overall crabbiness and insane chocolate craving), being really really cold even though the weather's warmed up, desire to sleep instead of doing this insipid Spanish homework, and overall Mondayness is making me incredibly tempestuous and I thought complaining on here would make it better.

That paragraph-long rant actually helped a lot. Off to apologize to Anny for freaking out about her taking my iPod out of the charger and letting it die (see how crabby I am? On a normal day, that wouldn't bother me at all).

Sunday, February 8, 2009

DC Rewind? What are you rewinding?

So tonight on Disney Channel, they're having an event called "Disney Channel Rewind," a marathon of shows and movies leading up to the premiere of some show with Demi Lovato called "Sonny with a Chance."

When I heard "Disney Channel Rewind," I got all excited. I thought they were going to go back to Zoog Disney for a night and play a typical nighttime line-up from the 90s, like The Jersey, Flash Forward, Even Stevens, you know, those, and some of the old movies.

I got all excited. I've wanted them to do this for a long time. I was wondering if they were going to restore the station ID to Zoog Disney for the night, they were making it seem like such a big event, when I heard High School Musical.

They're idea of rewind is High School Musical 1 and 2, the Cheetah Girls 2 and 3, Camp Rock, and Jump in. Um...am I missing something here?

HOW IS THIS REWIND??

Cheetah Girls the first would have been acceptable (love that movie) but all of these movies are less than three years old. Apparently they're going to air the premieres of each where the stars host during commercial breaks. Okay, that's a cute idea, but "rewind" is not the word to use for a bunch of still-popular movies from 2006.

Just so you know, Disney, calling that rewind is like calling egg rolls from Panda Express authentic Chinese food. It's inaccurate and insulting to the people who actually know authentic Chinese food.

Oh, and Seth Myers on SNL last night defended Michael Phelps for smoking weed and threw some fire at Kellogg's for taking away their sponsorship and the person who sent the picture to the tabloid. Okay, I agree that the person shouldn't have taken the picture and ratted him out, but of course Kellogg's is going to withdraw. They only signed him because of his wholesome appearance.

I think Phelps messed up. He's in the public eye, he's known for being a good guy who's serious about his dream, and he's a hero to a lot of little kids. That wasn't smart, but Seth thinks that you can do whatever you want when you've won twelve gold medals. I don't agree. I think that gives you more of a reason to watch your actions.

Watch for yourself. I lost a lot of respect for the SNL writers/Seth/whoever came up with the jokes for this. The cracks about the cartoon characters looking stoned were really cheap.



Really, Seth? Phelps screwed up big time and you defend him like it's Kellogg's fault he did something stupid? When you're famous and you screw around with marijuana, you're pretty much signing a contract that says "I accept the consequences for this." You can't expect anyone to endorse you after that. And Seth doesn't realize Michael Phelps knew this risk beforehand? Really?!

Love,
Juliana =D

Questions Answers Questions Answers

1) What are the 3 things you would save out of your burning house?
My doll that I've had since I was three, pictures and home movies.
2) What was the last thing you read/are currently reading?
People magazine and my Spanish Cultura y Literatura book for school. I'm not reading any books right now.
3) Do you nap a lot?
No, I can't sleep in the middle of the day. I nod off in school sometimes or in the car if it's a long drive, but I don't nap very often.
4) Who was the last person you hugged?
My sister
5) Where would you like to be at this very moment?
In the magical world where I can eat all the chocolate I want and it won't have any calories. I'm making bronies and the timer has 1 minute 30 seconds left.
6) What is the last thing you said out loud?
"Anny, I want my chair back."
7) What websites do you always visit when you go online?
Blogger, X-Entertainment, Retro Junk to check for updates
8) What was the last item you bought?
Pretty markers from Office Max
9) What is your most challenging goal?
Overcome my crippling shyness and fear of going to college
10) If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished, anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Well, I have a lot of family here and I wouldn't want to leave them, but if that wasn't an issue, I would pick Napa, California.
11) Favorite Vacation spot?

12) Say something to the person who tagged you:
I just took this but thanks, Kelsey, for giving me something to do!
13) Name one thing you just can't resist no matter how bad it is for you:
OREOS. I've gotten better, though. My friend's mom still teases me about the insane oreo obsession I had in 7th grade.
14) What is your favorite item of clothing?
My Beatles shirt that I got on Hollywood Blvd in California.
15) Favorite pair of shoes you keep going back to over and over, even though your closet is over flowing with a zillion others?!
Black flip-flops with cut out circles on the band. They look like these without the fingey stuff. (I should stop being lazy and take my own pictures, but I don't want to get up to get the connection cord.)
16) Name one thing you can not live with out:
My sister. I have no idea what I would do without her.
17) What do you envy?
People who like their own birthdays and don't get sad when they have to tell people their age. Other kids my age who want to grow up. It would be easier if I felt like a 16-year-old. I think that's why my sister and I get along so well. She's actually 12 and I just feel 12.
18) If you could only have one 3 course meal for eternity, what would it be?
What does that mean? I get to eat once ond only once for the rest of the time I live, or I have to eat the same thing every day forever? For the former, it would be something with mashed potatoes. For the latter, I don't know about that one.
19) If you could have one superhuman power, what would it be?
Invisibility. I've given this one a lot of thought before.
20) If you could contribute to any charitable organization, what would it be, and why?
Altzheimers research. My grandma (who's still alive) has had it for almost 15 years, and I can't imagine a scarier way to die than having your mind slowly deteriorate until you can no longer remember your family, friends, or even where you are. My grandma seems to know me since she lives with me and I see her every day, but some days she looks at me like "who are you?" and I explain. She can hardly speak anymore, but she understands almost everything, another scary thing. You know people are talking about you, but you don't know who they are and you can't say anything to find out. I would donate to this. (Others on my list would be Cystic Fibrosis and Make A Wish Foundation, among others)

Juliana

Friday, February 6, 2009

I have a little more respect for Ms. Editor Almighty.

Maybe Ms. Editor Almighty used to yell at us because we totally and completely deserved it...

My head hurts and my eyes hurt. I almost had a major crying episode after school at newspaper, but managed to hold back any major melting-down until I left. That girl who was supposed to give me her article didn't start writing it until about 3:04 this afternoon. I know that because I had nothing left to do but wait for her.

I had a newspaper page to finish and a math test to finish today, and my plan was to get as much done at lunch as I could, do math after school, and go back to newspaper to make the last adjustments. That didn't happen. I got in there, asked this girl (I'll call her A2 since the name A is taken by "A the fabulous" and A and A2 have first names that sound alike) for her article, the one she didn't have yesterday, and she told me she has to work on her page now, she'll give it to me after school, so I did the math test at lunch. A2 didn't mention that she hadn't even written her article yet. She also didn't mention that she didn't even have all the interviews for her article yet.

So after school, I waited. And waited. She walked around the room, had some snacks, stopped to talk, checked out everybody else's pages, and after an hour, she had three paragraphs written. I wanted to yell at her, but people in there tell me I'm nice to work with, so instead of ruining that, I kept the nicest tone I could without crying and was like, "A, are you almost done? I have to leave soon and the only thing I have left to do is place your article."

She said she would do it and print my page for me, and I think she saw I was about to cry since she looked at me a little bit remorsefully. Well, she should be. If I knew someone was waiting for my article, one that was due four days ago and I should have had yesterday, I would have been so focused on getting it done. I wouldn't be eating boiled peanuts and chatting with my friends while the person who's waiting for me is sitting ten feet away. I would feel bad to make them spend an hour at school on a Friday waiting only for me. I guess none of this occurred to her since she couldn't have worked any slower. Sense of urgency, hun. Not starting your article until 3:00 the day it's due is kind of lazy. And it's a short article, not a big story. I could have written it for her if only I knew what it was about. Oh, there's another point.

A: Where's this article going?
Me: Page 3
A: What section is that in?
Me: News... (shouldn't you know that?)
A: Oh...um, it's not really an article about human trafficking it's about the Human Geography class writing essays on it.
Me: Alright...that's still news though, right? (Code for: it better be news)
A: I dunno...

But I printed out what I had and turned that in with a note on the top saying A hadn't given me her article and this is what the page looks like without it.

And we had a pep rally today. My head hurts now. I hate those things. Dealing with lazy people in newspaper after a pep rally is so torturous. And my eyes still hurt.

Sorry about the complaining.

Love,
Juliana

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Deadline and frost both approaching

It's cold here. It's really cold here. 35 degrees isn't normal for the tropics. I actually like it though. It's nice to have some cold for a change. The worst part about it is having to sit in the cafeteria at lunch. I can handle the cold, but my friends are real tropic babies. I get claustrophobic in there. It's lod and crowded, and they crank the heat up so it's stuffy. I'm a spoiled child of tropic weather who's used to eating lunch outside.

Some editor (pretty sure it's the new news editor by the handwriting) gave me back corrections to my article and she tried to correct my quotes. Uh, how do you edit quotes? You can put brackets if it's absolutely necessary, but she just didn't like the wording. Sorry, C, you don't have to like the wording, you weren't at the inauguration and it's not your quote. They make perfect sense, too. Most of the corrections are null and void since I completely redid the article since then. This draft is more than a week old now.

The two other writers with articles on my page haven't even written them yet, and this whole thing has to be done tomorrow. At least one was nice about it, but A (not the fabulous A, a different one) was like, "Uh, I'm kind of busy, I have a page to do..." in a sslightly snarky tone of coice when I ask ever so nicely if she had her article. It's not an unreasonable request since the deadline for small articles was Monday. And today was our last class before pages are due. All I have left is to place articles (which is debatable...I think my page looks good, but it's up to C and my teacher.)

I cropped and placed my own pictures and wrote my own captions even though I'm not supposed to. It's supposedly the photo staff's job, but it's so much easier to do it myself instead of relying on everyone else.

People hover over me in the class and criticize how I do things, and I don't even know they're there until they say something ans I realize they've been watching for a while.

We have a pep rally tomorrow. Not too excited about it. It's in the middle of the only class I actually like.

Okay, Spanish test to study for. Bye!

Juliana

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Lifesavers are saving my life

Ever have one of those days where your single goal is staying awake? I have no idea why I'm so tired or how many times I drifted off in Chinese and Government, but I made sure to stuff a handful of Wintergreen lifesavers into my backpack this morning to eat when I start to fall asleep. I think I have one left.

They keep me awake enough so the sleep fog lifts a little and I can actually comprehend, though hazy, what my teacher's saying. The second the thing dissolves, it's like the jigglypuff music kicks on. I was actually twitching because I kept falling asleep for a second and waking up again and every time I woke up, I would shake like I was getting shocked back into coherence.

I'm starting to hate those lifesavers. They taste like exhaustion.

Okay, enough of that. I want to talk about this friend of my friend who really annoys me because I have some weird anecdotes. I went to say hi to her before school and she walked away from me. Stuff like that. Another time, I've exceeded my boring personal story quota for the day.

Let's talk about "Clueless," the TV show, not the movie. I haven't seen the movie yet. I'm going to rent it soon.



Who used to watch this show? I was about four when this came out, but I remember reruns of it on Nickelodeon when I was in fourth grade. This show was a big deal. All the girls in my class were obsessed with this show. After if went off Nick, I watched it on The-N.

I've had this theme song stuck in my head for two days. Oh, and Monday's "Gossip Girl" was one of the best of this season.

S'all for now.
Juliana

Monday, February 2, 2009

This looked fun =] Thanks, Kelsey.

Rules:
1. Put your iTunes/iPod/MP3 on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your next answer. don't cheat and skip.
3. You must write that song name down no matter how outrageous it sounds!
TAG as many people as possible

IF SOMEONE SAYS, “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Get Together--The Youngbloods

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Torn--Natalie Imbruglia

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Love Me Do--The Beatles

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Like A Virgin--Madonna

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S MOTTO?
Should I Stay or Should I Go--The Clash (that one acually kind of fits)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
She's Always A Woman--Billy Joel (hahaha)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OFTEN?
From This Moment On--Shania Twain

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Freak Out--Avril Lavigne

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
You are my Lucky Star--Debbie Reynolds (aww, that's cute)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
What Child is This--Jessica Simpson

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves--Cher

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
We Go Together--John Travolta/Olivia Newton John

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Barracuda--Heart (that one applies to Anny more, I think)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Thriller--Micheal Jackson (I WILL dance to that at my wedding. I'm going to learn it by then)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Never My Love--The Association (sounds kind of funerally)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
What Time is It?--High School Musical cast (Yeah, time's totally an interest. That's why I'm writing a book about the time demension. And yes, I do have HSM music on my ipod. I got it for Anny, okay? ^_^")

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
C'est la Vie--B*Witched (true!)

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
I'm Outta Here--Shania Twain (yeah, leaving here wouldn't be too happy)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
The Little Things--Colbie Caillat (hmm...that's interesting.)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee--Stockard Channing from Grease (That works actually, thought it's usually not so bad being the good girl.)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Hey all you People--some fish from Spongebob (that song makes me laugh harder than any song on my ipod, so that's a good one.)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Fall to Pieces--Avril Lavigne (well, when something makes me cry, I can fall to pieces...)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me--Billy Joel

WHAT DO YOU YELL OUT DURING SEX?
Walk Like and Egyptian--The Bangles (hahahaha. My sister said it would have been really funny if the song I got was "I'd Do Anything" by Simple Plan, also on my ipod XD)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Breakout--Miley Cyrus (Miley Cyrus scares me the most)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
I'm Alright--Kenny Loggins (yeah, I'm alright with no one liking me)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Don't You Forget About Me--Simple Minds (aww)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Hold On---The Jonas Brothers (yeah, hold on while I count. Just kidding. ^_^)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
You're So Vain--Carly Simon (dunno what that means)

TO THE CRUSH OUT THERE I WOULD LIKE TO SING TO YOU...
Ticket to Ride--The Beatles

SOMETIMES I WANT TO YELL..
Mickey--Toni Basil (I do yell that sometimes)

I THINK THIS SURVEY IS..
Movin' Out--Billy Joel (yup! Terminado.)

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Happy Birthday, Anny!

I got to be 12 years old again this weekend, and I forgot how fun that is.

My sister had a sleepover party for her 12th birthday on Friday and I got to hang out with her friends. Remember when wearing make-up was fun instead of a chore and when you could just be random and crazy (like breaking out into a perfectly synchronized rendition of the funky hat song when you see someone in a hat) without being called immature?

Sometimes I think I like hanging out with my sister's friends more than my own. 16-year-olds are just...if you've ever seen The Breakfast Club (best movie ever), remember when the girl says "When you grow up, your heart dies?" You lose something in the teen years. I don't know if it's imagination, compassion, or just blissful ignorance, but my sister and her friends remind me that I don't have to be so cynical. There are people physically living in the same world as me but are mentally in an omnipresent Disney World. What's stopping me from living in their world?

My friends and I were like that when we were 12. Actually, I had that kind of psychological Disney World until high school. Childhood was basically over, and everything got serious. I hate birthdays because I'm afraid the older I get, the harder it'll be to remember my childhood. I am so happy for my sister--these are the memories that will keep her from getting too serious and letting her heart die like most do. I'm going to be a mess watching my children grow up. It's like a tug-of-war with time, but I can't grab the rope.

A few more things to address.

Gatorade changed their name to G...that's not a name, that's a letter. I'm not going up to the guy at 7-11 and asking if they have any G. Sorry, I'm not too lazy to say Gatorade.

Have you seen the PETA vegetarian commercial that was banned from the superbowl? Not posting that, but holy croutons. They can't put that on TV.

Here's an SNL skit I really like. Makes me laugh every time. Kristin Wiig has really good comedic timing.



Happy superbowl! It just reminded me when I heard my dad and grandpa yelling at the TV from the other room.

Love,
Juliana