Relaxing Day Doing Many Things

Today I'm gonna keep this brief because it's getting late... :P Must go to bed!!!

Anyway, slept in late then watched a dance movie in the morning. It was really cool and I really loved the soundtrack which I'm going to try to get.

I mostly just relaxed in the early afternoon then went for my ballet class a bit early so I could do some stretches. The weather's been really weird today; raining cats and dogs, lots of sunshine, drizzling, then cloudy, the more rain! Weird...

Ballet class was lots of fun; handed in my ballet learning log and I hope I did well... :P After class (which was around 4:40), went home then went to the bank for a quick stop. Got home but pretty soon it was already time to go to the church for the Friday evening service. Tonight Josh was leading; I didn't realize he played the guitar! Maki and I were volunteered to help out with the ushering so we helped in handing out the communion and offering 'baskets'.

Pastor Ron talked about Evolution tonight which was interesting though a lot of it I knew because of the excellent books we study at KCIS for Science. You know, us KCIS kids are very fortunate because unlike other high schools, we actually learn both creatinism and evolutionism, which other students don't really learn (only evoluitionism).

Ok, I couldn't help putting the picture of Kyla and Nika up on my blog. Aren't they adorable? I think they're used to me now, especially since I give their family Japanese snacks and stuff which I heard they absolutely love. :P

After the service went out to dinner at Chilis where I had a huuuge hamburger. I think I should'nt have eaten so much of it... :P I didn't even finish eating all of it and I'm stuffed!

Now I'm home, trying to digest everything I ate. :S lol! I'm off to bed, soooo late and I have a tap class tomorrow morning. *yawn* good night!

Yay! The School Week is (Mostly) Over and Done With!

Yay, Thursday is done! That means tomorrow's Friday, and I only have one class (which is ballet so it's not really a class in my case) so it's like the weekend starts from tomorrow! Woohoo!

Ok, just am really excited about this weekend for some reason... or maybe I'm just happy that no more school days for the week. ^_^

All right, back to 'blogging'... this morning I had History class and it started off with a map quiz. Fairly easy (especially since we had already received 'practice maps') so I think I did well. We also learned some more about 'Jainisim' and a little bit about 'Buddhism'. We're going to have start reading the book on Siddhartha (oh joy...) :P

For lunch I made delicious fried rice along with some buffalo wings (my favorite). Quickly did the easy assignment before my ASL class, which was to try a map with three buildings or more. Easy...

ASL class was lots of fun though as usual I kinda of got sleepy towards the end. I can't help it! It's in the afternoon and the room gets so warm... lol! We're already preparing for another quiz next week so today we finished up unit 3 then after having a review and 'practice test' on Tuesday, we'll have the quiz on Thursday. I'm doing pretty well in ASL so far; I'm able to keep up which I'm happy about. ^_^ I'm doing better in reading finger spelling, too, which was always a hang-up for me before.

Stopped by the post office after class then went home; I finished up my Ballet learning log (yay!) so I'm done with all the homework for this week. Whoop! I did some writing for Boromir, Thou Shall Live (long time, huh? ^_^) and got a page or so done. Right now it's a difficult, political part of the story, what with Boromir talking with Theoden about the Dark Forces gathering around Minas Tirith. Sticky situation... :P

After dinner, Naomi, Erin, Christi, and Lani were having their Bible Christian Study class so Maki and I went over to Blockbusters. I brought a list of what to borrow and fortunately (or unfortunately), most of the movies I wanted to watch were in stock. The problem was... which movies to borrow first... Tough decisions are what makes life interesting, right? lol! So, finally decided on two then when we got home, Maki and I watched Serendipity in our room.

Starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, I thought it was overall a fun movie. Very cute, though all the 'fates', 'chances', and 'destiny' stuff was over the top, but I'm sure it was done that way on purpose. The script is most obviously only for a 'movie'. Lots of cute moments but strictly a 'rental' movie.

When the movie finished, I chatted with Maria for quiiiiite a long time. :P Lots to say, I must say. ^_^ Now I think I'm off to bed in a little while after doing some more writing of fanfiction. Have a great weekend y'all!

You Know Those Times When You Lose Something But It's Just Been Moved...?

English class wasn't held in the usual classroom; instead we had a special class held at the library in one of the rooms used for these kinds of occasions. Instead of Mrs. G teaching the class, the head librarian, Mrs. Marcos, taught us about how to research things in the library, whether by using microfilm, the library computers, or (the old fashioned way) books. ^_^ It was very interesting and got lots of information on how to research for an upcoming essay. It was a good thing that Mrs. G warned us about it being cold in the library; it was really cold so I was happy about the long sleeved shirt I was wearing, along with the casual sweater.

Class finished a little earlier than usual and after chatting a bit then saying goodbyes to my classmates, went home and I had a relaxing lunch time. Went to Math class and got my test back... and I did really well! Hurray, 15 out of 15! I had been so worried about it... Now we're learning about 'interest rates' which involved using the calculator a lot! I love calculators, they are a math student's best friend. lol!

After math class (for the first time, we actually finished just a little before class is supposed to end) and I went over to the chapel for ballet class. Unfortunately, my right leg near the ankle has been really stiff from this morning. So I did the barre excercise but after getting permission from Sharon I sat out for the rest of the center and mid-term practices. Fortunately, I think I have a fairly good memory so I think I can remember all the new stuff learned today. Pretty easy stuff.

Erin and I stopped over at Foodland to pick up some chicken and ahi before heading home. First thing I did was finish reading Violet Eyes; I had stopped at such a GREAT part so I really needed to finish it. :P After reading the book, I did my math homework and looked a bit over my history. Tomorrow I have a map quiz and I hope I do well... :S

Did a little writing then it was time for dinner; Naomi had made a broth soup from the chicken bones (from the chicken Erin and I had gone to get), chicken, and ahi for dinner. Very delicious...

After putting away all the dinner things, Naomi, Maki, and I watched The Sixth Sense. It was Maki's first time to watch and I hadn't watched in a loooong time so it was lots of fun watching again. It's terrifying well done; such a brilliant screenplay as well as brilliant actors to play all the characters. There's one scene which always gets me crying and another scene where chills always go up and down my spine and I feel all 'prickly' all over. *shudder* A classic movie to be sure, though NOT for young kids or teens.

Now I'm off to bed; only three more classes for this week! Hope it all goes well (and quickly). :P Good night! (sorry, no pictures again because right now I can't download any pictures because of a blogger.com glitch). :S

My Head is Filled with Timesteps...

Today's morning class was History; fairly easy for, lots of interesting things to learn about Ancient and Classical Indian civilization. I thought it was funny that when Mr. Cassity asked who knew about the Indian 'sati' ritual, I was the only one of the very few people know. I guess watching/reading 'Around the World in 80 Days' is very informative and useful in knowing these little things! ('sati' by the way is the practice of the widow burning herself to death when the husband dies.... ick, what a horrible way to die...) I also got my Gilgamesh quiz back; got 10 out of 10, hurray!

After class, walked over to the Honda International Center to drop something off for Naomi. Nichelle came along because Subway is on the way. ^_^ Said our byes then Maki and I walked back up to the upper campus parking lot and drove home. I made myself ramen today; it's been a while since I had a nice ramen. ^_^ I even had some boiled eggs to eat with. Yum!

ASL class was lots of fun today; we played assorted games like Hot/Cold where a partner has to leave the room and after you hide something, the partner comes back in. Using the regular 'getting hot, getting cold' rules, instead we had to express 'hot' and 'cold' only through our facial expressions. Another game was where two people went outside and after picking a spot, one of them goes back inside and tells another partner 'where' the other person was staying. All this was without using our voice but only signing. Lots of fun; I love these little games!

Went home and after doing the ASL homework (easy stuff, hardly took ten minutes to do), I started reading the book I'm on right now (finished The Moonstone a few nights ago then also finished The Last of the Jedi series book #2; now reading Violet Eyes by Nicole Luiken). I haven't read this book in such a long time that I've forgotten some of the parts so reading it again is very exciting.

Sharon (my ballet teacher) had given me a flier yesterday about a special tap dance workshop happening tonight at UH (University of Hawaii). So around 5:30 Naomi drove me to UH campus and after parking, went to one of the dance studios. I didn't realize just how HUGE the UH campus is!

Anyway, from 6:00 to about 7:45 I took the tap workshop which was loads of fun though pretty high level. It was a workshop focusing mostly on the various 'timesteps' (basic tap steps though they're anything but basic, especially when you go to such high level steps). My favorite step was probably the 'Tap Dogs swing timestep" since I love the show Tap Dogs. The Bo Jangles timestep was pretty cool, too. The teacher was a famous tap dancer from the mainland so she had lots of interesting things to tell about the history of tap dancing.

Oh, and it was nice because my teacher who had taught my tap classes at the Diamond Head Theatre along with several of her students had come. So it was nice seeing her today!

Ok, I admit that my feet were hurting by the end of the class. :P Naomi (who had been just hanging around during the class) and I went over to Kahala Mall to eat at CPK's for a late dinner. I was starved and everything tasted soooo good! They had this new avocado, bacon spring roll dish-thingie that was new. We made sure to tell the waitress that they had better keep it on the menu because it was simply delicious!

Got home and unfortunately for some reason the video machine didn't tape tonight's House, M.D. *sniff sniff* So I just watched a L&O episode though I had been looking forward to a new episode. Oh, well. I need to try to figure out why the video machine is acting so weird.

My plans from now? Probably will read my book though if I'm inspired I might write some of my fanfiction. :P Though I doubt it... that's the problem of starting to read a really good book. Your free time is spent focusing on reading and nothing else. lol! Good night!

Fun English Class, Difficult Math Test, and Challenging Ballet Class... Just Another Day of College

Here are the pictures I wasn't able to put up last night...


English class was fun as usual; we all brought in our first drafts for our next essay. It was soooo embarrassing as my teacher was going around asking if the students had brought the first drafts (some people hadn't, and a LOT of people hadn't showed up. :P). But when Mrs. G went to Maki she said, "Oh, I know you have your essay." Then she came to ME and said, "Priscilla, you are such a model student so I know you have done your first draft very well." :S Very embarrassing and I know Nichelle and Eric are NOT letting it go that Mrs. G has taken a liking to me. lol!

We also had a quiz today but since she hadn't announced it last week, she said that we didn't have to take it today but could take next week. So she put it to a vote. She asked who would like to take today; no one raised their hand. Then she asked who would like to take next week and NO ONE raised their hand. lol! What's to be expected? So she was saying that it's such an easy quiz that those who are ready can take it today. Eric then started whispering, "Hey Priscilla, you're ready, you can take it!" In the end, we all took it today though it was fairly easy, there were some confusing parts to I hope I did well.

Drove Maki and myself home and had a nice lunch relaxing in front of th tv. I also prepared my math notes for my math test this afternoon. As I said, for Math class we had our first test and it was fairly simple so I finished rather quickly, even though I had gone over all the question at least three times. :p I think I did ok... Soooo nervous to find out how I did...

Since it was just a test, we finished REALLY early. It was around 2:10 that I got to the chapel so instead of going in (ballet starts at 3:15), I stayed in a nearby shady aread where there's this perfectly shaped rock. You can actually sit quite comfortably on it so I was able to jot some ideas for my next ballet learning log.

Went into the chapel around 2:40 to start my stretches and chatted with the other girls. Florence, one of the students who has been doing ballet for a little while, brought her 'point' shoes so Sharon was helping her with her en pointe a bit. I think it'd be sooo cool to have point shoes...

Class was pretty tough today, considering we're starting to put together our mid-term choreographed piece. We're also starting to work on turns, jumps, and balancing on one leg. Whew... so tiring.

I drove the car home myself (Erin stayed on campus since she had a later class), and did some writing and chatting with my parents. Dinner was good as usual and tasted especially good because I was starved from ballet class. After dinner I drove over to the campus to pick up Erin then when I got home, I watched the new episode of Just Legal and a taped episode of Law and Order.

Video chatted with Maria; it was especially nice to see Mrs. Kanai and Mrs. Sato today! They're looking great; seeing them made me miss everyone back home in Japan even more. :P Well, that's all for this evening. I'm off to read a bit from my new Star Wars book then go to bed. I wonder if I'll be getting my Gilgamesh report back tomorrow.... :S:S:S Agony!!

Played Drums for the Church Evening Service With Only Five Minutes Notice!!

I know Naomi came in around 7:15 to wake me up but then the next thing I knew, Naomi was yelling in my ear, "POOH! It's 7:50! We're going to be late!" :P Hmm... I must have fallen asleep so suddenly or something. lol! Never fear though; I was completely ready for church in about fifteen minutes and we left the house, arriving at church in time for the 8:30 service. Like I had probably mentioned before, Ericson's been giving this week a short talk about his time in Japan during the three services. He did a very good job and it was fun seeing all of his picture including the fun slideshow he had put up on the projector. He was wearing the Japanese aloha shirt Kanto Christian Church gave him; and he was also wearing geta! (so sorry, for some reason I can't seem to put up any pictures right now! Will try to get pictures up tomorrow). Great job today Ericson!!

Pastor Ron talked about Jesus vs. Buddhism which I found very interesting; it's also great to learn all this because I'll be learning about Siddhartha in History class soon. It'll be good to know some things on the subject before having it in class. I talked to Pastor Ron afterwards about my little 'nitpicks' going on History class and he said he'd be happy to hear out any questions I might have on any subjects. ^_^

Took a while to get home because we spent so much time fellowshipping with so many people afterwards. :P Got home and we soon started our own Sunday morning services. Maki and I didn't get to practice for the worship last night so there was a little 'lapse' while we were trying to find the chords for everything. But everythin went well and we didn't mess up the chords or anything. Naomi talked about Precious Stones, talking from I Corinthians 3:9~15 and Job 23:10~. She brought up several points that were interesting so I had fun listening.

Erin, Maki, and I were pretty starved though it was still a half an hour to noon. We didn't care and decided to go ahead and have lunch. lol! We were desperate! Anyway, lunch was delicious, composed of all leftovers. Erin and I watched Emma since Erin is really into Jane Austen right now. It was her first time to watch it so it was fun watching her reaction as the movie is to confusing to a certain degree. ^_^I really like Ewan McGregor, but I can't for the life of me what the hair stylist was thinking when they had him have that hairstyle in the movie... is it a wig?!

Took a rather short nap then proceeded to finish off my English essay for tomorrow. Read some more of the Moonstone and reached a point where there was such an unexpected plot twist! I was totally blown away and stopped reading for a while because I was so stunned. It changed the whole outlook in which I had been reading the book so now I'm planning to definitely finish the book tonight at all cost!!

Tonight is the yearly "Family Celebration" night at Kaimuki Christian Church where members of the church gather and talk about the past year and afterwards have a potluck dinner. All right, the first that happened when I walked through the doors into the sanctuary was that Rose came over to me, saying, "Pooh! You're here? That's perfect! Joe's not here and probably not coming tonight for some reason. You can play drums!" I completely blacked out and was like, "What?" Then she went off, saying that she'd ask Tony if I could play along. Next thing I know, Tony's beckoning me over and said that the songs were fairly easy and that I would have no problem.

I didn't have any time to think and it was no time before Tony beckoned for the musicians to come forward. A lot of people had the strangest (and funniest) looks on their faces when they saw me heading for the drumset. lol! Ok, I was really nervous but fortunately, I played drums very well, considering I didn't really know any of the songs and we hadn't practiced at all. :P I made one pretty big mistake where the music was supposed to stop (I didn't know that and I couldn't catch Tony's signal because of the position) so when everyone else stopped, I just kept playing. Fortunately, Tony is a REALLY good leader and immediately started clapping his hands and got everyone to clap along like it was all planned. ^_^ He lead everyone right back to the chorus smoothly then we finished the song since I could get his next signal. But seriously, no one seemed to notice anything was wrong which I'm really thankful. It was actually embarrassing because after the music, Tony told everyone, "All right, let's hear it for Priscilla, our new drummer!"

After the short service, sooooooo many people came to me (since Tony had pointed me out to everyone) and told me that I had played so well. Women especially were telling me that it's so nice to see a girl playing the drums for the service. lol! So, I'm trying not to feel too bad about my mistake (lol!) and consoling myself with the fact that if I had stopped suddenly after everyone else had stopped, it would have been REALLY obvious to everyone.

Anyway, I enjoyed all the attention was giving me (and as Maria told me, don't worry, I'm not letting it get to my head. ^_^) It's just nice with everyone enouraging me and saying that they wanted to see more of me.

On to the potluck dinner; the food was great, there was just sooo much stuff that I seriously didn't even get a chance to have a bite of everything! Desserts were also fantastic; I especially loved this vaniall strawberry cake with coconut flakes. ^_^ Fellowshipped with lots of people including the 'Friday night crowd' and lots of other people in the various ministries of Kaimuki Church.

Arrived home actually only a little before 8:00 (we all felt like it was much later) and after chatting with some people, Naomi and I relaxed and watched an episode of Moonlighting. As for now, I think I'm going to start on making my Math hints paper for the test tomorrow (eep! Math test tomorrow!) then am going to press on and finish The Moonstone. Good night! I apologize again for not being able to put up pictures!

I Don't Think I'll Ever View an Airplane the Same Way Again...

For some stupid reason, my alarm clock woke me up at 7:00.... ARGH! lol! Well, it was kind of a good thing because I had been sleeping wrong and my neck was starting to hurt. Maki was still sleeping so I opened up the curtain on my side a bit (making it completely bright in my room) and did some more reading until I had to get ready to leave the house at around ten minutes to 9:00.

I drove over to the church for Joe's drum lessons. Today I remembered to bring my camera (finally!) so I have pictures of Joe, Croz, Shouko, and myself (I didn't get one of Charisse). Yes, I know, that IS Croz. :P He has long hair now and though he usually ties it back, today he was letting it loose. I'm still not sure what to make of it when it's like that...

Today's lesson was tons of fun. Because Joe knew that I could only stay for an hour because I had tap class later on, he worked a little more on me than the others. Seriously, in just the few times I've had Joe help me out and teach me drums, I think I've gotten at least a *little* bit better in playing. Well, at least I hope so. ^_^

Drove next to the Diamond Head Theatre for my tap class. I learned this REALLY step: combination being "step, shuffle, pull back, toe". I know, doesn't mean anything but trust me, it's REALLY cool and 'classy'. :P My teacher kept making me come up forward in front of the class. Very embarrassing... lol!

Got home and the other girls were in the midst of cleanup so after a quick shower I did my part (though Maki had been nice enough to already dust everything). Had a really light lunch while watching The Thrill of It All starring James Garner and Doris Day (was playing on TCM). Such a great movie; I just love watching such classic romantic comedies! And plus, I really enjoy watching most anything with James Garner. :P

Read some more of my book then we all went over to Ward Theatres to meet up with Ericson. Erin went shopping but the rest of us watched Flightplan together. It was REALLY crowded and I can honestly say that this is one of the best 'new' movies with a good plot in a long time! A lot of critics had been griping about how 'lame' the ending had been but in my opinion, the ending was better than any 'political' ending these critics nowadays want. Jodie Foster is simply an amazing actress and plays her role to perfection; Sean Bean, though his role was small, played such a dignified and likable character that I can't help but say this is one of my favorite roles that he plays. Obviously everyone else in the theatre really liked the movie because most everyone was laughing and getting scared at the right parts and when the closing credits came out, a lot of people were actually clapping! Even at the midnight showing of Episode III people hadn't clapped at the end! Being as I am, I end my mini-movie review to say that the movie IS in the thriller category and rated appropritately, so I recommend to older teens and adults. ^_^ Ahh... am always the critic-reviewer. lol!

After dinner, Erin joined us and we ate together at Buca Di Beppo, a popular Italian restaurant. Ericson's parents treated us for the evening so many thanks to them! The food was delicious and the company was of course excellent. ^_^ Our waitress was very funny and always had us laughing whenever she came over. We had salad, pizza marguerita, shrimp, pasta, and a huge garlic bread to split. We really stuffed ourselves pretty good and only had a little to take back home. In the end, because this was a kind of 'second birthday party' for Maki, the whole restaurant sang Happy Birthday (this place is very popular and famous for the birthdays; EVERYONE is encouraged to sing along. In fact, tonight in just our area of the restaurant there were three other birthday people!). Had a delicious raspberry cheesecake to finish off dinner. Yummm...

After getting home, Naomi and I had lots of fun video chatting with our parents (and dogs). There's ALWAYS something to talk about, and half the time we're laughing. Ahh... what a crazy family I'm part of. lol!

Well, I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow we'll be going to the 8:30 morning service at Kaimuki Christian Church! Ciao for now!

P.S. To the Anonymous person who commented on yesterday's blog: thanks for dropping a not! No, unfortunately my sister isn't writing a blog. :P She's just not that 'type' of person, if you know what I mean. lol!

A Very, Merry, Happy, Wacky Birthday to Maki!!

This morning I meant to at least say 'Happy Birthday' to Maki before she and Erin left for ASL class but unfortunately I didn't hear them leave. :P Naomi woke me a little later to help get ready for Maki's 'morning bash'. ^_^ We blew up balloons (mostly Naomi blew up balloons... :P) and got ready for a nice breakfast (Naomi had gone to Kimuraya's Bakery to get some Japanese breads). I went to go pick Erin and Maki up from their class then when we got home, Maki got her cards from us then opened her present.

We had told her that she'd never guess in fifty years what we had gotten her and after seeing it, she agreed! For her birthday, the three of us chipped in to buy her a nice wooden easel which includes one canvas, the basic colors of acrylic, watercolor, and oil paints, paintbrushes, and a palette! She was really excited about getting it so the three of us were happy that we got something she really likes and will use.

Erin had to go to her internship so while Naomi took her there, Maki and I worked together to figure out how to open up the easel. It's a REALLY nice one with drawers and everything; lots of little knobs to adjust everything. ^_^ I like how it can fold up nicely so it can easily be carried around.

Naomi came back and we had breakfast together. The breads were soooo good; it's been such a long while since I've eaten Japanese baked breads; 'ann-pan', melon bread, sausage roll, curry bread, and other assorted goodies! Very stuffed after breakfast.

Spent some time at the computer writing a bit more for my English essay. Then a little before 11:00, Naomi, Maki and I went over to Kahala Mall. While Naomi was getting a haircut at Macy's, Maki and I did a little shopping. Stopped by Borders but eventually went to Barnes&Nobles because there's much more of an assortment of books. Together we bought an ASL dictionary like the one I had in Japan. I was also able to buy the second book in the Last of the Jedi series by Jude Watson. I know, it's a kids series but I like Jude Watson's writing quite a bit.

Next went to Tower Records and had my usual fun time just going through all the aisles. ^_^ Didn't buy anything though I've added to my list of what to check out on the Internet and perhaps rent at Blockbusters. But not this week; no time to watch a movie... :P Strange to hear that from me, huh? Am a college student now... *wink!*

Got home and watched an episode of Law&Order while having a very light lunch of 'chyazuke'. My mother called so it was nice talking to her though there was some confusion about our doing special things for Maki both today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) so she was like 'aren't you doing that today'? ^_^

At a little before 3:00 I went to campus and after dropping some of Naomi's papers for the Honda International Center, I went over to the chapel for my ballet class. I got my Don Quixote ballet report back; I got an 'A'!! Hurray! I had been a little worried about the paper since my ballet teacher is also a Logics and Phsychology teacher. :P But she really liked my paper and told me so. ^_^

Oh, there was this funny incident during class when she was telling us to go as high as we could on our toes with our legs as tightly pressed together as possible. I was trying to do it when she suddenly yelled out, "Freeze, Priscilla!" Then she proceeded to tell everyone to gather around her to look at my 'form' and saying, "Doesn't her feet look just like a nice ribbon? That's how it's supposed to look like!" (she really likes using 'imagery' in teaching ballet). I was thinkging, 'My feet look like a ribbon?' and tried to look down at my feet but she stopped me by saying, "Don't look at it! You have to feel and imagine it." Oooook... :P But I'm glad that my form is good enough to be praised. ^_^ I think that one of my strongest points is that I have pretty good balance and can stay on the balls of my feet for long times; mostly because I practice anywhere I can. :P

After class, drove home then since my feet hurt from class, I just wanted to lie down though I wasn't 'sleepy' per se. So I decided to catch up on my reading. I was completely hooked for a couple of hours in reading The Moonstone. It's SUCH a good book! I only got half way through (it's a thick book) when it was time to go out for dinner, and so far I'm loving it!

The four of us met Aunt Jean at a Korean Barbecue restaurant where we had dinner. The food was really yummy; lots of spicy foods and we got to cook some of our own food. After the dinner, Aunt Jean gave her present to Maki which was a beautiful gold chain necklace. Verrrry nice quality. Aunt Jean had also bought a Godiva chocolate cheesecake and had brought it to the restaurant. So we lit up candles on it and we sang a birthday song. ^_^ The cheesecake was soooooo 'rich'; naturally we all loved it. :P

Oh, it was funny because two older men sitting in the next table ordered Korean nori for us, compliments for Maki's birthday! Of course, we all LOOOOVE Korean nori so we cut two pieces of the cheesecake for them. :P Our waitress was also really nice to us and took good 'care of us' so we left her a piece of cheescake, too. ^_^

After the delicious dinner and dessert, Aunt Jean went home while the four of us stopped by Walmart. Maki and I bought some nice belts; mine a black and silver one. It was interesting because Maki and I met our classmate from History class. ^_^

Got home fairly late and immediately started writing the blog (though it actually took a while to start writing because Maki, Naomi, and I were kind of hyper for some reason... :P lol!) Sooo much to write today and so many pictures. ^_^ Chatted with a few people and now I'm finally off to bed! I have a busy day tomorrow with drum lesson and tap class in the morning. In the afternoon we're planning to go see 'Flightplan' (one of my gift for Maki's birthday) and perhaps get together with Ericson in the evening. ^_^ Good night! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAKI!!!!

The Drums are Such a Fun Instrument

The morning was spent fussing over my history paper and finally I just had enough of it. :P Printed it out and after that, refused to even look at it. lol! Today we were going to have a Gigamesh book quiz so I scanned through the book quickly before heading for class. Oh, did I tell you that I got a perfect score for last week's History quiz? ^_^ I'm very happy about that...

Anyway, today's class was lots of fun. The book quiz was fairly easy so I don't think I'll get a bad score for it or anything. The rest of the class was spent learning the rest of the Persian and Empire then we started on the Indian Civilization around the Indus river valley. Learned LOTS of interesting facts like the cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were built in city grids and actually had a good sewer system. Interesting stuff...

Went home after class and watched Full House and Just Shoot Me while eating lunch and relaxing. Erin, Maki, and I left pretty early for campus so before my ASL class, I found Naomi (she had been at campus since earlier on) and several of my classmates at one of the picnic tables near our building. Had a nice time just chatting before going into our classroom.

We all got our ASL quiz back from last week; I got a 96%, an 'A'! I'm so pleased with my score because I had been thinking that I hadn't done too well. In fact, from seeing some of the other students' scores, I might have gotten one of the better scores in the class. ^_^ Hurray!

Today's ASL class was pretty fast-paced as we learned sooooooooo many words! Went over what had been learned during the campus tour in the last class but also learned other interesting words. 'Sodapop' is such a fun sign. :P

After getting home I started doing research and writing my outline for my next English essay. It's a compare/contrast essay on two short stories we had read in English class so there's a lot of 'analyzing' to do. It's either do this compare/contrast essay or a reaction essay, which I think Maki is going to be doing.

Erin and I went over to Longs' Drugstore because I needed to get a few 'little' things. Seriously, it was time for a new toothbrush. :P lol! As soon as we got home, dinner was ready and Naomi had made excellent quesadillas. I simply love Mexican food...

Tonight there was music practice at Kaimuki Church so I drove over there by myself. Woohoo! So cool getting to drive a car all by myself. ^_^ It was REALLY cool because while waiting for the singers to arrive, Tony (on the guiar), Joe (on the drums), Davin (with his ultimately cool sax) and Carl (on the bass) were completely jamming away. They played straight on for so long, taking turns doing some solo work but all the while being completely in tune with each other. *sigh* They are all so talented!

When the singers arrived, they practiced their music though this time I didn't play the drums. After the practice, when most everyone had left except for Tony, Jenny, Joe, and I, Joe told me to go up and play the drums 'for him'. ^_^ He watched me and taught me some new beats with Tony helping out by strumming on his guitar to set off a rhythm. It's really so much fun just to jam like that without any set music. And it's great having such a great drummer/teacher like Joe staying right by and giving tips. He also like my plastic tip Fleetwood Mac drumsticks Daddy and Mommy asked Miyo-san to bring to me. ^_^

After I got home, it was already almost 8:20. I got to work on my English essay and have gotten pretty far on it. I should finish tomorrow though like I do with all my essay, I'll be going over it over and over and over until I actually hand it in. :P Well, I'll try not to 'perfect' it too much since I only have to hand in a first draft by next Monday.

Tomorrow is Maki's birthday! We've got a full day planned out so wish us a fun, great, fantastic day for Maki and the rest of us! You'll never guess what gift we're giving her... *wink!*

It's Still Only Wednesday...? :P

I was jolted awake this morning when my cell phone rang. It turned out to be Miyo-san who was at the airport and wanted to call before her flight left. :P Seriously, I almost had a heartache because I had set my cellphone louder than usual yesterday (for a reason I can't remember now). Oh well, I needed to wake up anyway...

The other three 'girls' were at the campus so I was alone at home in the morning for a while. I ate some breakfast and just relaxed at the computer, alternating between reading Moonstone and playing computer games.

Going to campus with Maki later on for our 10:45 English class was the first time for me to drive without a licensed 'driver' in the car. ^_^ No accidents and I didn't freak Maki out, so I must say it was a success. :P

English class was loooooots of fun today as the discussion was very intweresting and everyone had a chance to talk and voice their opinions. The topic was on an article we had read for homework, 'Pain is Not the Ultimate Enemy'. It was about how many Americans today take too many prescription medicine (or pills like tylenol and advil) without actually finding the 'cause' for their discomfort or pain. Instead of fixing their problem, they merely dull the pain and don't deal with the cause. This caused a very interesting talk about this topic.

Oh, it's also interesting because I found out that Eric (who's in my English class) was a Marine and was stationed in Iraq for a while. He had a few interesting stories and experiences to share. Like having to go through 29 days without taking a shower... :P And something about scorpions... *shudder*

After class, I drove Maki and myself home and had a nice lunch of homemade quesadillas. Beef, onions, mushrooms, and cheese... I just basically put everything I liked into mine since we each made our own. Was watching a little tv when Naomi called (she had been at campus still) and asked me to pick her up and take her to Kaimuki Elementary School to give some sort of presentation. So I drove (by myself!) to campus and picked up/dropped off Naomi. ^_^ It feels very good being able to help out in driving people to wherever they need to go.

Got home and relaxed a bit before heading off to Math class. Today's class was really easy; just going over the homework and taking a practice test (next Monday is our first Math test! :S) I did pretty good on the practice test; it was pretty easy and hopefully the test will be the same kind of thing. It's so nice because we can bring in one sheet of paper with math notes to help out during the help. That is going to be SOOOO helpful!

Finished early and got to the chapel early. Nichelle was the only one there besides Sharon so we were just chatting while doing stretches. It's nice because I'm actually feeling myself getting more flexible and turning out from my hips more. Sharon was hinting that if I work really hard at it, I might get close to a 180 degree turnout. Must try to do stretches at home, too...

Today's class was pretty difficult towards the end; we're starting to learn more jumps which is quite tiring. :P I'm looking forward to hopefully start doing turns. I really want to learn how to do a pirouette and a fouette which look REALLY cool.

Erin and I went home together by car and when I got home, I once more strove to 'perfect' my Epic of Gilgamesh report. I'm not very confident about it, mainly because I don't know how much Mr. Cassity is expecting in the report. Hmph... I have to had in tomorrow morning though I won't be completely 'calm' until I get the result. :P

Tonight we had 'Chinese dinner' night. Naomi made gyoza, spring rolls, chingennsai, and some pickles. I ate quite a bit because I was starved after a strenuous ballet class. Played a bit of computer before Maki and I decided on watching Muppets Take Manhattan. It's such a GREAT movie; I simply love the songs, especially I Will Always Keep on Loving You. The baby versions of the muppets are soooo cute, in particular Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and Kermit. Aww.... ("Mama, dada, goo goo, she wa wa" will be in my head tonight...)

I'm very determined to get to bed early tonight. Been up too late recently and sleeping in a little. Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man (girl) healthy, wealthy, and wise. Well, I don't know about the wealthy and wise part, but it'll be better to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier.

Watch out; I have a 'License to Ki... Drive'! ^_^

This morning I was woken up around 8:30; since Naomi needed to take Erin to her internship, someone had to be up in case this maintenance person comes to the house for some kind of repair (they said he'll come between 8:00 to 12:00... and that's a pretty biiiiig gap. :P) So I fuzzily got up and read in the living room. As it turned out, the guy didn't come till after Naomi came back. :P

I did a little studying then Maki and I went off to History class. We actually didn't get much into history because Mr. Cassity (who loves to talk about current events as well as history...) started talking about nuclear research, the gas cap, talks of this fraud case getting a guy put in jail from 8 1/2 to 25 years, etc. ^_^ It was pretty interesting though everyone was fairly quiet because most of them were hardly awake yet. :P So only the last thirty minutes were actually spent in studying the Assyrian and Persian Empire. This coming Thursday we'll have to turn in our Epic of Gilgamesh report and have a quiz on the book so I'll have to be sure to be ready.

Went home then Naomi and I ate a nice lunch at Covenant Bookstore (which is a Christian bookstore as well as restaurant) then went to Dillingham for my appointment to take the drivers license test. Got there early enough to practice driving in the area. Was still early but decided to go ahead and register for the test. Immediately, my instructor (a local woman) came out and gave me my road test while Naomi waited for me.

The woman was such a nice lady and told me to not be nervous. But surprisingly enough... I wasn't nervous at all, which is very unusual for me (I'm usually a nervous wreck at these kinds of stressful 'occasions')! Throughout the road test I was very calm and at peace... and I passed!!! It was soooo easy and unstressful; it was nice because I didn't have to parallel park! Well, I did parallel park, but because the space was very big, I just drove in instead of having to back into the space. ^_^ I can do that very well...

After she told me that I passed, I went back into the waiting room where Naomi was. She was really happy that I passed and told me how nervous she had been for me. :P She said that she had been sooooooo nervous that her hands had been shaking and was sweaty! LOL! I thought that it was so funny that she had been more nervous than me. :P

I got my license (took my picture, signed a paper, paid for the stuff) and that was it; all done!

Drove back home and realized that my ASL class was still going on (because of the road test appointment, I was going to miss the class since I had written my teacher an e-mail about it). So Naomi and I went over to campus and was able to make it for the last hour and a half. Today's class was a tour of campus and learning all the words of 'campus/college' stuff (like 'services', names of majors, 'staff', 'faculty', 'parking lot', 'soda machine', etc.). It was lots of fun (lots of walking) and Ami is such a good teacher and makes everything easy to learn. ^_^

Got home and talked to my mother for quite a while. She (and my father later on) congratulated me on getting my license. Such a load off my mind that I got the license!

Did some homework then had a great dinner (compliments of Naomi). Tomato based beef SOS, yummmmm! Very good, lots of beef and onions.

After dinner I just relaxed at the computer and watched the first half of a new episode of House, M.D. which was fun (REALLY liking Hugh Laurie now. ^_^)

Then, to celebrate that I got my drivers license, the four of us went to Chili's to eat dessert. We shared cheesecake, an ice-cream fudge plate, and an ice-cream over 'something' plate (the 'something' was 'something' like a chewy, crunchy, nutty, kind of thing... and hot! Caramel...?) Ok, whatever it was that's so hard to explain, it was REALLY good; everything was good. It was nice to go out like that.

When we went out, we were surprised that it was pouring and now that I have my 'license', I went out to get the car and brought the car around so the other girls wouldn't get too wet. :P Aren't I kind; what an advantage of having a license.

Finished watching House, M.D. then now I think I'll be going to bed soon. ^_^ Good night, have a great day/evening (depending on when you're reading this).

Very Tiring Day...

This morning's English class was fun as usual. I got my essay/paper and quiz back; I got A's for both! Hurray! It was pretty embarrassing though when Mrs. G returned the quizzes and said, "Everyone didn't underline the fragments, which wasn't necessary but would have been very helpful. Priscilla was the only one who did underline, and of course she got an A." :$ Soooo embarrassing... :P Now that a few of my classmates/friends and I are getting to know each other, we've gotten into the 'friendly teasing' level of friendship. Did I ever get teased for that comment. Then somehow it was passed along that I got an A for my essay too... lol!

After class, I was planning to donate blood for the blood drive that was happening today. Unfortunately, when Nichelle, Maki and I got to the 'Bloodmobile' (scary name, huh?), there was a 2 hour wait. :S They said they were a little behind, but that was ridiculous. :P So I decided to go ahead and make an appointment for when they come back in November. Hopefully by making the appointment the waiting won't be too bad or anything.

Saying good-byes to Nichelle, Naomi picked Maki and I up and we ate lunch at home. Ham sandwich. ^_^ Watched a rather funny episode of Just Shoot Me. Through the commercials I found out that David Spade is going to starting his own tv show from this week. I might check it out though I don't know... David Spade can be very unfunny at times.

Afternoon classes included Math and Ballet class. Math was lots of fun; real easy stuff though we began with a puzzle that took a lot of thinking. The first person to come up with the answer gets extra points; unfortunately, I couldn't come up with the answer first. :P But I was really close!

Math finished early (as usual), so went over to the chapel. Waited mostly outside today because Sharon didn't come till a little before 3:00. It was fun before class started because us girls from the class were able to chitchat a lot. One of the girls (who's also in my history class) used to be in the cheerleader squad so she was doing some split and back-handstand (I can imagine Maria going green with envy now. :P)

Ballet class was sooooooooooooooooo strenuous today! I was simply exhausted and it didn't help that I forgot my water bottle. :S So I was getting a bit hot and dehydrated and when I get dehydrated, I get a little headache. Rachel was kind enough to share her water with me so it didn't get too bad. ^_^

Naomi picked me up after class and as soon as I got home, I took a quick shower and drank lots of water. Tonight I was going to babysit Malia and Bella so Naomi and I picked up some Taco Bell for dinner then went to the kids' house around 5:30. Naomi stayed for a while until she had to leave for hula practice at the church. Malia was quite rambunctious today so thankfully, Naomi kept her busy while I was able to do my Math homework. Bella was simply adorable and such a happy baby so she didn't give too much of a hard time. That is, until she started getting hungry and was becoming fussy. She really LOVES babyfood! :P

After Naomi left (and after Malia took a bath as you can see in the picture), Malia and Bella were pretty much playing on their own so I got to read a little bit from my book, 'The Moonstone'. Haven't read much recently... :P *guilty look*. It's still at the 'dry, introductory' part so I'll have to 'plod' through a little more as is the case with most classics. ^_^ I like the style of the writer, Wilkie Collins, a lot. Lots of narratives and points of view.

Heather came home a little before 9:00 so after she put the kids to bed, we chatted a bit (Kim, who lives just next door, came right over to be with the kids while Heather was going to take me home. So it was nice to see her, too). Malia's bedtime prayer is sooo cute; she prays, 'Thank you God for Mommy, Daddy, sister, etc., etc., etc.....' She seriously lists almost everyone she probably knows, from family members to church friends like Nika and Kyla. She even included me! (And I'm sure God knows that when she says 'Printella' she means me. lol!)

It was a little after 9:00 when Heather dropped me off at home. After watching the kids for a couple hours straight, I relaxed by watching Just Legal which I had just taped this evening. As so many people and critics have mentioned about this new tv show, it's nice to see Don Johnson back 'in tv' again (after such tv successes like Miami Vice and Nash Bridges). It was a really fun show, so I might be watching it weekly. ^_^ (Ok, he's not as young as he is in the picture, but I like that picture a lot.)

Tomorrow's History class then my driving test in the afternoon. :S Getting 'majorly' nervous... *wrinkles nose* Please be praying for me; not just to 'pass' but that I'll have peace for whatever the outcome! ^_^ Good night to all!

I Might Be Sitting On a 'Spirit'?!?! lol!

Sunday morning! Woke up and we all had breakfast of homemade blueberry muffins (compliments of Naomi). ^_^ Nice and hot so that the butter melts... Yummm....

Erin led the service today and talked about "God's Path". Very good talk, about why God wants us to follow His path. Went to the Kaimuki 10:30 church service. Pastor Ron talked about Animism today, the believe that 'objects' have 'souls' in them. David's (aka Croz) introduction was as usual lots of fun... who knew how scary it was to think that everything has a soul/spirit, especially when you sit in chair or walk across the floor... :P

After the service, we were able to talk with a lot of people. It was especially fun to 'play' with Malia and Bella. ^_^ Bella loves it when I make faces at her, she goes totally bonkers!

Went home and had leftovers for lunch and I basically was a couch potato for a while, just sitting in front of the tv watching various shows. Later in the afternoon, Naomi and I drove over to Dillingham so that I can practice driving. My driving test is coming up soon... :S Not excited... definitely not...

Stopped by Costco and did some shopping then when we got home, the four of us went to eat out at Genki Sushi, which is a 'kaitenn sushi' restaurant. Sooo yummy! It was nice eating sushi again, especially the fresh salmon and 'ikura'. ^_^ Got sooo full...

After getting some things at Longs, we went home then Naomi and I watched 'Woman of the Year', starring the unforgettable duo Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. A really delightful film; recent movies certainly cannot come up with the power, sizzles, and chemistry like the classic actors/actresses! And they make such a fantastic couple, no wonder they made nine, successful movies together (this was their first movie together). *Sigh* They are soooo PERFECT together! Such talent...

Well, I need to try getting to bed early today. Tomorrow starts another week of school; perhaps I'll be getting back some of my reports so we'll see how well I did. :S Good night!

Just Like a Heavenly Day ^_^

(I promised to have yesterday's picture up for today, so here are picture of the chapel where I take ballet class and a picture of my new shirt from my parents. ^_^)

This morning I woke up around 9:20 and had to quickly get ready for my musical theatre tap class which starts from 10:15. Made it in time (of course) and I think I'm really going to enjoy this class! It's for people 18 and up so the 'maturity' level is higher than the other tap class I had been going to. The 'tap' level is a little lower since they are lots of older people who aren't fast learners but I like the style of broadway tap. There's a lot more 'dance' and 'choreography' to it instead of just doing just regular routines. My teacher, who's perhaps in her mid to late 50's, is really good at what she does and is always conscientous of her students. There are a few Japanese ladies taking the class so I was able to talk to them a bit. After the class it was nice because my teacher came up to me and told me that I am a very natural dancer that I'm a 'nice addition to her class'. ^_^

(Oh, trivia, the song we're dancing to is "Sweet Georgie Brown", the instrumental version that's sung in Polish in 'To Be Or Not To Be' which is simply hilarious! I almost started laughing when the music played during class. :P)

Got home and went to Ward Theatres. It was really crowded but fortunately we made it in time to buy our tickets. We had invited Ericson to join us this morning to watch a movie so he was there waiting for us. ^_^ Just in the nick of time we got into the theater.

We caught the 12:15 show of Just Like Heaven starring Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo. It was a really fun, sweet, cute romantic comedy. There were some really laugh-out-loud funny scenes and those 'awwwwww' wanna-almost-start-crying-because-it's-so-sweet moments. ^_^ All-in-all, a good movie and I might want to get the DVD. Definitely some 'questionable' parts, but easy to skip on DVD. :P Ah, how wonderful technology is... lol!

After the movie I went to the movie 'store', though it's nothing at all like the store at Warner Mycal Theatre in Japan. I bought some Batman Begins cards. I really want to see that movie again; it's playing at Restaurant Row right now (aka, the $1 theatre ((or 50-cent matinee theatre))). ^_^ Definitely must say that Christian Bale is so far the best Batman. Can't wait for perhaps a sequel!

We all went first to look for a computer chair for Maki and it was nice because she found one she really liked which was on sale. Hurray for Maki!

Ate a very late, light lunch at Wolfgang Puck's (an American-diner-type restaurant). I really love their garlic mashed potatoes and chicken tenders. Yummm! Walked over to Logos bookstore and Naomi and Erin bought a few things. Ericson new some of the people working there so he chatted with them a bit. Stopped by the dog shop to look around though we didn't buy anything. Maybe when I go back to Japan or something I'll buy these pretty cool, 'puzzle' toys for dogs. But I think they'll still be too easy for Bianca. ^_^

Said goodbye to Ericson then went home. I finished up my Gilgamesh report while Maki put her chair together. ^_^ It's a pretty big chair so she can actually curl up in it! Glad she found a nice chair.

I relaxed a bit and did my craft then around 6:30, we all had dinner. Naomi made some gyoza so we had that with some rice and a potato dish for dinner, along with some other assorted dishes. Because we had a late lunch we all didn't eat too much though I must confess we all did pretty well. lol!

Maki and I watched 'Sad Cypress', the last of the four DVD Agatha Christie/Poirot set that I had bought the other day. It was a really good mystery and I enjoyed it to the very end. I kind of guessed 'whodunnit' but it was suspenseful to find out just how Poirot uses his little gray cells. ^_^ Of all the Poirot movies I think I enjoyed 'Death On the Nile' the most.

I had a nice video chat with my parents and got to see my puppies. ^_^ I'm off to bed now; Tomorrow's Sunday so must get up early for church! Until tomorrow's blog entry!

The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gifts, Ballet, and the World's Best-Known 'Sting'

This morning Maki and Erin left the house early for their ASL class; I sort of recall Maki leaving the room but everything else is fuzzy. :P Slept in until a little before 8:00 and began working on on my Epic of Gilgamesh report. I must seriously say now that it's going veeerrrrry slloooooowwwwwlllly... gah, not a fun report; not at all.

I had a chance to talk with Paul Scott a bit. It's certainly been a while since I talked to him! He seems to be doing really good and had just come back from a trip to China. I'm definitely going to try to get pictures he took there. He went to the Great Wall!!

Ate lunch and since I didn't want to get back to my report (I had gotten the basic outline completed) so I watched an episode of L&O; haven't watched in quite a while.

Around 1:30, Erin and I left the house and went over to Kahala mall to meet Miyo-san. Before going to the meeting place (Starbucks), we stopped by the post-office. Needed to get some stamps and other miscellaneous things. Went to Starbucks and Miyo-san and her husband and daughter were there around 2:15. We talked a bit then we drove over to our house to show the place to them. Miyo-san had not yet seen the new house so was really impressed, saying it's sooooo big and so well kept. ^_^ I was so happy because she brought some 'omiyage' from my parents, along with my drumsticks and some dvds. ^_^ And SNACKS!!! Yummm!!

I had to go for ballet class so Erin dropped me off then went to drive Miyo-san and her family to do some shopping. All right, I really did remember to take my camera to class and I actually took some picture of the chapel but unfortunately, blogger.com is acting weird and I can't upload any pictures unless there's a URL (hence my being able to upload movie pictures). So I'll try to get pictures up tomorrow of the chapel.

Anyway, today's class was focusing on doing a Vaganova style class, or better explained as an old-school, Russian ballet type of class. It was really tough and I'm sure I'm going to be really sore tomorrow morning. Gah... My thight muscles especially hurt, as well as my shoulders and arms. But my shoulders and arms were already hurting from my carrying that 4x4 yesterday... :P

Erin picked me up and we went next to pick Naomi up who had gone to an old classmate's house. I drove home and when I got home I started to write more of my History paper. Got a bit more done, then Naomi suddenly called me to her room. She had been looking through the bags Miyo-san had brought for us and discovered two shirts our parents had gotten us! We hadn't even realized it. Ahhh, I LOVE my shirt! I took a picture of it but because of blogger.com not cooperating, I'll post it tomorrow. Anyway, it's pink and long-sleeved and it says 'The best dancer of the year, Miss Ucb' (United Colors of Benniton). Thank you Mommy and Daddy!

For dinner I baked frozen pizza which was actually very good! Ate dinner while watching The Sting. Erin unfortunately had to leave after the first part because she had some homework. Fortunately for her, The Sting is such a good movie that I can watch again easily. :P I just really love Paul Newman and Robert Redford, though mostly Paul Newman. He plays such an interesting character. I'll have to try to find some more good Paul Newman movies to watch though hard to find it may be (was chatting with Maria 'Yoda' fashion, I think rubbing off in my writing it is...)

Now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I have my first Musical Theatre Tap dance class at Diamond Head Theatre. I hope this turns out to be a really fun class! Again, sorry there aren't any pictures of Hawaii. :S

Pretty Busy Day; Many Things Happened...

This morning I had History class and we started off with a History quiz (it was nice because Mr. Cassity was about ten minutes late getting to class so we got extra time to study. :P) The quiz was relatively easy though I really hope that I don't have any mistakes. Learning from the last quiz, I wrote fairly long answers for the short answers. lol!

Today we mostly learned more about the Epic of Gilgamesh and though interesting, I was slightly disgusted just how immoral the people in Mesopotamian culture were. ~sigh~ Even more can I truly understand how God wanted His people to be 'a culture apart' from everyone else at that time. If people think how bad it is morally now, back then it was just the same.

History done, Nichelle, Maki and I hung out together on campus before Nichelle and Maki's classes started (my afternoon ASL class was canceled. ^_^). We were all hungry so went to Subway and luckily, it wasn't too crowded. I got a roast beef sandwich and since I chose the special student discount pack, I also got a peanut butter cookie! Very yum... All the seats were taken, even when checking out the cafeteria so we opted to eat on one of the benches outside the cafeteria area. It was really interesting because I saw soooo many of my classmates from ALL my classes. Only knew Eric from English class well enough to chat with him for a bit.

Nichelle's class started from 1:00 and Maki's from 1:45 so Maki went to the library to do some research for our Epic of Gilgamesh report coming up while I walked with Nichelle to her class. Said good-byes then I walked home. It was really hot today so as soon as I got home I 'blearily' tried working on my Gilgamesh report but ended up just reading some very interesting Christian points of view on the so-called 'similarities' between Gilgamesh and the Bible. :S

Naomi and I then went to City Mill because I really need a desk to work on. I've been having some back pains from using the laptop on my bed so I was pretty determined to get a desk. I found the perfect desk; unfortunately, they weren't carrying it in stock so we asked them to call the City Mill in Hawaii Kai and have them hold onto one for us. I also bought a 4x4 ft piece of plywood so that I can practice doing tap in perhaps the garage. Unfortunately, through a 'slight' miscalculation, the plywood board couldn't fit in our car. :P So... the only thing to do was carry it home. lol! It was quite an interesting experience. First off, Naomi and I carried it together while eating ice cream. Then halfway home, I just decided to carry it by myself so while I went on my way, Naomi went back to get the car. I definitely might have some muscle pain tomorrow but I'm still happy I got the board. The thing is, I'm never moving that board anywhere ever again. lol!

When Naomi and I (through different paths) got home, we decided to go ahead drive to Hawaii Kai to pick up my desk. I drove over there and on the way back, Naomi drove because I was feeling a bit tired for some reason (it could have something to do with my carrying that plywood board about 8 blocks...)

Got home and after a quick shower, Naomi and Maki helped me put the desk together. I always love putting things together so it was lots of fun. Especially fun to handle a screwdriver and hammer again. ^_^ It's simply a beautiful desk and I'm sooooo happy about it! I'm putting the desk between Maki's and my bed, where the nightstand used to be. The nightstand is now at the foot of Maki's bed underneath the airconditioner and window. She's keeping all her things on top now and gets the whole drawer while I get to put my dance stuff (tap shoes, ballet shoes, dance shoes, towel, etc.) in the space underneath.

As for my desk, I can basically put ALL my things on it now so Maki gets her desk all to herself now, too. It's nice because there's a narrow shelf above the computer where I'm putting my speakers so I have a fairly nice sound stystem. As for the sliding shelf where you're supposed to put the 'keyboard', I'm putting like notepaper and pencils since I have a laptop and have no need for a 'keyboard'. In the 'printer' space I'm putting my magazines and books. The space used for putting the 'computer' is perfect for putting my school back and some folders.

Another cool 'feature' about my new desk is that because it's on rollers, not only can I sit on a chair in front of the computer, I can roll it so that it's facing my bed and I can watch a movie while getting comfortable on my bed! My own perfect little home theater!! All I need is a vhs player, too... lol! ^_^

Had dinner in Maki's and my room since Christi had come by that time and the older 'girls' were starting their Bible study. After finishing finding a place for everything on my desk, I finished up my ballet report. It's a pretty good report I think; hopefully Sharon will like it (and even more hopefully, I hope I can get a good score. :P)

Deciding I needed to just 'relax', I watched an episode of Moonlighting from my bed to the laptop screen on my new desk. Very interesting episode, especially since there was a VERY young Whoopie Goldberg guest starring. :P She looks so.... young... lol!

I am now going to probably try to get to bed a little early tonight. Tomorrow I'm meeting Mio-san in the early afternoon then I have a ballet class. Still not sure whether we'll be attending the Friday night service or not at Kaimuki Christian Church. Morning will probably be spent trying to get a start on my Epic of Gilgamesh report. Oh joy... :P

One of My Favorite Days of the Week!

Had English class from the morning and because Naomi had a meeting on campus, Maki and I got to class early and had to wait outside in the picnic area because the previous class before ours was still going on. At the picnic area we saw Nichelle and some others from my class waiting so we joined them and had a nice time talking all together. Oh, there was one funny point when Mio-san (my mother's friend/student from Japan who's in Hawaii right now on vacation) called me on my cell phone. I started talking Japanese, and the looks on my classmates faces were sooo funny! :P I guess they didn't really expect me to speak Japanese suddenly like that. lol! Very funny, still chuckling about it...

English class was as usual enjoyable. We had a quiz on fragments but it was so easy. Maria should be interested because the quiz was we had to correct a paragraph, and the paragraph was about the Beatles (in a bit of an indirect way, but still 'about' the Beatles). Already got another deadline for another new essay for English class. Not due for a couple of weeks, but I think I might get started on it later on this week.

Maki and I walked home though it was raining just a bit. Didn't bother me though. Got home and ate in our room because it's MUCH cooler in our room than in the living room. It was really muggy today, what with it raining on and off all day. Maki and I went over our Math a bit before heading off to class.

Math class was LOTS of fun! I really loved today's class which was expanding on the truth table logic and learning about 'arguments'. I like the logic part of it so much that when I was one of the first people to finish the handouts first. :P Sooo easy and fun...

Since Math class finished early as usual, Maki went home then I walked over to the chapel. It was funny because on the way I met many of my classmates along the way. ^_^ I'm finally starting to know the faces of everyone.

The chapel was being used for a special hula class for Japanese tourists so I couldn't get in till 3:00. I had about thirty minutes so I was waiting for my class together with Candee. She and I are getting pretty close, especially since she and I are around the same height and are paired off together a lot.

Today's class was pretty hard; we learned lots of new moves which takes lots of strength in the legs. I'm soooo sore right now... :P But today I'm really starting to feel that I'm getting better in my form. Some of the moves are easier to do now than when I first started. I'm progressing!!

Erin took me home afterwards which was a real good thing because it was pouring by the time ballet finished!! I was seriously soaked even just walking to the car. :P So glad I didn't have to walk home...

Went home and while doing my math homework I watched House, M.D. which I had taped last night. My first time to watch it and I found it interesting though I'll have to watch a few more episodes before I really know if I like it. I really like Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House; he's such a sarcastic but incredibly intelligent doctor. :P Plus he has such a cool cane... I also like the Australian medical assistant ("You're British..." "I'm Australian!" "You put the Queen on your money, you're British." lol!).

For dinner Naomi made 'soboro' so dinner was yummy as usual. After cleaning up all the dishes, Naomi, Maki (later on Erin), and I watched Death on the Nile, the 2004 version with David Suchet. It was really good, I think better than the other two 'new' Poirot movies we had watched. I thought it was really interesting that this version uses the same cruise boat as the one used in the 1978 version. I really liked one character played by Alistair Mackenzie in the movie. He had a really funny/interesting part in the story and had the funniest lines!! One line I liked is when he tells Poirot, "Quite a field day for you, isn't it? Everyone dropping like flies!" lol!

Now here I am, in front of my computer, listening to my i-Tunes playlist of 'Most Played Music'. :P At the top is 'Crunchy Granola Suite' and 'Peace in Our Time'. ^_^ Two completely different songs, huh? Off to bed, tomorrow I have only History class because my ASL class was canceled. ^_^ So happy, though I'll probably spend the afternoon working on my dreaded Epic of Gilgamesh essay. *groan* Wish me luck for my quiz in History class! Not too stressed out about it though tomorrow is will certainly be a different story. :P

And many apologies; I meant to take my camera to class but forgot. :P I put my camera in my bag right now so there is NO excuse. :P

No Quiz and a Quiz, an 'Interesting' Movie, and Lots of Music

This morning it turned out I didn't have a quiz for History. :P So I had been studying most of the morning and got to class early for really no reason... but I guess it's good because I'll be ready for the quiz when it comes out the day after tomorrow. :P

Today's history class was on Hebrew history which was interesting though Mr. Cassity got sidetracked quite often, going from talking to 'if the Ten Commandments are really clear or not' and 'is the gas cap right or wrong for Hawaii'. :P It was still all really interesting so it was almost a kind of surprise when he announced that time was up for today.

Maki and I started walking home but midway, Naomi going home from the campus picked us up and drove us the rest of the way home (she had been on campus and her meeting with our ASL teacher for a private quiz was canceled). Got home and had leftovers Korean BBQ. I studied for my ASL class and Erin dropped me off in time for the quiz to start. The quiz was fairly difficult though I don't think I did too badly. But most assuredly I made some mistakes. I don't have many problems in reading signs though I have a MUCH harder time in reading 'finger spelling'. The Japanese alphabet is waaaaaay easier to 'read' compared to the ASL alphabet. Ah well, it was really nice because class finished in just forty minutes because today was only doing the quiz. The class had been divided into two sessions of the quiz; luckily I was in the first session and got to go home early!

I walked home today while listening to my i-Pod. It's so nice having an i-pod! Makes walking so much more fun.

Got home and though I tried to do some studying, I was a bit 'brain-dead' after doing so much homework yesterday then studying and having a quiz today. I decided to 'treat' myself for a movie and watched 'The Hustler'. I must say, that was a pretty depressing movie... :P Don't get me wrong, the acting was SUPERB. Starring such big names like Paul Newman (sigh... he's soooooo COOL!), George C. Scott and Jackie Gleason), of course the acting was better than anything you'll se in nowadays movies. But like some dramas were around the 60's, it was very depressing and the 'theme' a bit 'off'. The pool games were really cool to watch though, especially since all the actors are actually doing their own stunts (except for one shot in which a famous pool champion did for the camera; excellent shot... simply no words to describe).

By this time, everyone had come back home, Erin and Maki from class and Naomi from her appointment. For dinner Naomi and I cooked salmon, a spinach dish and asparagus. Very yummy dinner, especially since we had fresh rice. Yummm...

After dinner, Naomi and I went out and did some shopping at Kahala Mall. I wanted to get some earrings but in the end didn't buy any. :P I couldn't find some that I really liked although I may just be too picky. lol! Tower Records was having a sale today but I actually didnt get anything. (smiles proudly). Good self-control, huh? lol!

Got home and wrote a few letters and finished my Deaf event paper (I was stuck in writing the last few paragraphs since the report had to be exactly two pages long.) I'm so happy because I won't have ASL class this coming Thursday! My teacher has to go to a doctor's appointmet and won't be able to make it. And since I finished my paper, I don't have any homework for ASL! Woohoo! That means Thursday that I just have History in the morning, then the rest of the day is free! So exciting... :P

I think I'll listen to music while working on my craft. I recently went through Erin and Naomi's cds and got some new music because I really needed more music to listen to. Being a college student and having lots of computer work means you listen to a LOT of music. ^_^

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's classes; English, Math, and Ballet. I'll try to remember to take my camera to school and perhaps take a picture of the ballet class.