Christmas!

Yay! It's finally Christmas! :D :D :D

So yesterday we went to my relatives house [as we've done for the past several years]. This time me, my brothers, and cousin were able to watch A Christmas Story in the master bedroom. But we came in halfway through and watched it until the end. Then we watched the first half of the next one. We ate posole [don't know how to spell it, though]. And we just kind of hung out for a bit. My eldest brother and I left around 11 since it is kind of boring there. We got home and played LEGO: Indiana Jones until the rest of my family got home around 1. We all went to sleep [and like a kid, I was excited.]

But unlike a kid, I actually slept in this Christmas. Seriously! I don't think I've ever slept in like this before... [It was only until 10 or so, but that's way earlier than my typical 6 or 7.]

My eldest brother was already up, watching the Mythbusters marathon. Then since not everyone was happy to get up early, we watched the Christmas special of Spongebob :) So yeah, then when everyone was up the kids got around to organizing the presents like always--we make piles of every person's presents. Then we all take turns opening up each present, with the video tape going. [We have our own habit, so what?]

I got pretty much everything I wanted: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance // Sonic and The Black Knight // Eternal Poison // Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis // Disgaea DS // Scribblenauts // The 39 Clues: In Too Deep // The Time Travelers // The Time Thief // Future Diary volume 4 [which I forgot to put in here] /and/ $20.

My cousin, aunt, and her friend just arrive so we're going to be eating soon. Then for the rest of the day the adults are going to be talking at the table and us kids will be playing MoH, SSBB, and stuff, eating leftovers until the night.

Merry/Happy Chritsmahannakwanza! :D


-Tzui
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"But At This Point, After Last Year, I Am Happy To Be Alive"
CAMP OUT - An Horse

My 16th

As of earlier today, I am officially sixteen years old :D

My mom and I went out to have a mommy-daughter day [haha] and it was fun. We went out to different stores, some that my mom went out to and some that I, we had lunch at Round Tables and went to a few more stores [Barns and Nobles to name one]. I grabbed Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap and Black Sun, Silver Moon volume 1. My mom also snagged some stuff from the cheapy section. The anime dvd is called Memories and was three bucks at Pic n Save. We didn't get home till maybe five. I actually don't remember xp Then I wanted to go to Franks since they're open the week before Christmas for lsat minute shopping. So I went and the comic dealer let me get all the books I got for free ^_^ I looked around some more and finally got home, were me and my family went out to eat dinner at Carrows. By the time we got home it was a bit late and I opened my presents and ate cake.

My brothers got my a B&N giftcard [which is always the best gift for me]. Then I got volumes 2 and 5 of Amazing Agent Luna. Now I would've also gotten volume 4 if not the stupid dealer at Amazon got rid of the item and put it back up for $999.99 O_O Who in their right mind would buy any manga for that crazy amount!? So yeah, then my mom also got me a new mp3 and speaker, which I was a bit disappointed with because I didn't need nor want a new one. I made her sad, which makes me feel guilty. I mean, I'm content with the old one I have now but I guess I could take the new one to make her feel good... Ugh, I hate guilt...

Oh the bright side, Christmas is here again! Just three more days...

-Tzui

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"All I Know Is At The End Of The Day / Is The Love To Smile Now Even If That's Fake"

HAIR - The Early November

This November

Quite a lot has happened this November, really.

The first thing that's happened since I've last posted was that two Sundays ago my family and my aunt and cousin went to go see the movie, 2012. It was very apoctalyptic. It reminded me in a way of the movie, Knowing, but this one was entirely about the Mayan Calender. [or is it Aztec]. It was very actiony and almost everyone died. The main character and his family, as always, lived, and they were able to go to the 'ships' and lived after the end of the world. It had it's funny moments but also a few sad ones. THere was one point were I almost cried and another where I did a little. But all in all, it was a good movie :)

And then last Friday was my school's first of two Renaissance rallies. I think I said earlier that I wasn't sure if I was on it or not, but I was ^_^ I was in last place [5th] and I'm still gald I'm on top ten. [Somewhat related, but yesterday during math we got into groups and the group next to us was talking about the rally. They said somethings but what really got my attention was that they said that none of the teop ten are in sports and they're only in clubs and stuff. I thought [I know people who are in tennis/badminton and one of my friends [who is number one] is in dance/drill. SO yeah--those loser are wrong...]

Anyways, I've added alot to my manga collection. Last Wednesday I went to Franks and unfortunately, the guy wasn't able to bring the box of manga but only a bag of a few and I was [kind of] sad because I wanted to buy a lot of manga, but I was gracious and bought most of what he brought. I got: 3x3 Eyes: Legend of the Gesu, which kind of sucks 'cause I already bought the comics of them. Shadow Star volume 4 which I don't know what it's about. Battle Angel Alita: The Last Order volume 7, which is the second series so it's pretty far down the road. Kekkaishi volume 12--I've read the first few chapters online and it looks fun. And Ninja High School volume 4 which is American and I'm not sure if I want to read since it's not really part of my forte...
Anyways, I also looked through the quarter boxes and found some comics that I got: 3x3 Eyes issues 2-5 and Aquarium issues 1-6. The first is the beginning of 3x3 Eyes story which is pretty good too, although there wasn't volume 1. Then there's the Aquarium series, which is only a oneshot and shoujo and so far it isn't bad.

Then on Saturday last, my dad and I had a little 'daddy-daughter' day again. We went out to Jack in the Box and got dinner after he finished painting the house [my mom and her friend went out which is why we were going to do this but it was a little later than planned]. So yeah, we went out and then we hit up Barnes and I had a coupon so I got Legend of Zelda: Four Swords part 2, which I have yet to read. Then the two of us went out to Best Buy to look for a new microphone 'cause ours from Guitar Hero World Tour got messed up the week earlier. I looked around the games and they had three boxes of clearance games and I well....I organized them :D It wasn't as bad as Circuit City since I didn't organize them by groups of the same game. So yeah, I did it and I met up with my dad who found a microphone for the XBox and I told him about this *shudders* High School Musical sing thing that came with the microphone. We got both in case and the HSM one worked and now we can sing again :)

So yeah-- TODAY MY BROTHER CAME HOME FROM COLLEGE AFTER LIKE TWO MONTHS of BEING AWAY AND WE ALL MISSED HIM :) Even though this is his third year up at high school, we all missed him and now he's back even for a short while.
And today was the last day 'cause Thanksgiving is tomorrow--woo! four-day weekend :D

So after school today me and both my brothers went to Franks and I was worried that maybe the guy didn't bring any manga, but he did. And I was kind of disappointed that he didn't have some that I wanted but I was excited that he brought a box.
So I looked through it and on the first run I checked to see what kind of stuff he had brought. I then went on a second pass to get the books that I recognized and kind of wanted and I did another pass to make I got every manga that I thought I might even remotely like. [I think there may have been someone waiting for me but whatever--at least I cleaned it out first. Then I looked through some new boxes and I was thinking of getting some Oh My Goddess comics but there were so many I only got one series.
So here's what I got: MANGA= Alive volume 2, Arcana volume 1, Bt'X volume 2, Kuchijouji Cafe volume 2, Category Freaks volume 2, Cathedral Child, Destiny's Hand volume 2, The Devil Does Exist volume 1, Forest of Gray City volume 1, Her Majesty's Dog volume 3, Kazan volume 3, Kazan volume 5, Legal Drug volume 2, Pretty Maniacs volume 1, Train+Train volume 3, Walking Butterfly volume 1. Gosh, that was a lot to type. :) I hadn't realized that I got so many volume 2s, which kind of stinks since they're not 1s, but I'm introducing myself with new series and some of these I've been meaning to get into however I could never find them or [as in this case] aren't able to start off from 1. [sigh] But yes--there's 16 books here and I got 'em for a dollar each--$16 for the lot!
COMICS=Video issues 1-4. I've never heard of it but the cover of the first issue intrigued me so I lookedand found all four [at least I think there's only four since those are the only ones I found.] I noticed later that they're all autographed wihich is pretty cool. Now, what is this series about? I honestly have no idea. :) I kind of just flipped through the first issue since there wasn't a blurb at the cover page and it looks good. Plus, I got them for free ^^ I'm not joking: I paid $16 for everything, so it's like I got these four for free instead of coming up with some irrational number for the price of each book I got...

So yeah--I think we might go to Franks again this Saturday, which would be very awesome :D


-Tzui
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"'As I Recall I Think We Both Kind Of Liked It' / Then I Said 'Well That's One Thing We've Got'"
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S - Deep Blue Something

Veteran's Day

Well for some odd reason we got Wednesday off for Veterans Day, which is weird becuase it's in the middle of the week unlike a Monday or Friday like usual. But yes--it was fun not to have to go to school :)

Anyways, my mom and I went out and had a 'mommy-daughter' day [too]. Hahaha, so lame, it sounds, but it was pretty fun, really. We slept in a bit and left to go to stores. First we went to Target at about 12 and mom was looking down all the aisles at first which felt like hell.... But I got some stuff for me--just little things--and I think we finally got out around two. Then I needed paper and we went to Staples which was near and at first I couldn't find it, but I did, and yes--I got paper a comp book. My mom and I were hungry so we were going to go to Round Table Pizza but we weren't sure if my brother wanted to go [since he also had the day off] but he didn't so it was just the two of us. The pizza there was good: really good. It took a bit of time to come out [which pizza always does, right?] but it was crazy awesome :D We made a pit stop at home then headed off to the best store ever--Barnes and Nobles. ^^ I wasn't really sure what to get, going down the row of bookshelves for a long time until I decided to snatch Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning volume 9. Then I told my mom I was ready--until I realized I had a gift card and thought--why the hell not?; I'll get another one. At first I was tempted to get the Artemis Fowl graphic novel; when I first heard of it I thought that there was no way I'd ever consider getting it, but....no, I didn't get it. I finally reached to a conclusion of maybe getting the next Maximum Ride...or the next Pretty Face...but I ended up getting Hoshin Engi volume 2. I got volume 1 back when it came out in 2007 I think--there's 12 or 13 out already though. Finally I paid and my mom and I headed out to the last store, Pic n Save. Well, technically it's Big Lots, but we knew it as the old name and it's weird to say the real one. Yeah, we went and it wasn't bad; we actually left with quite a more than I expected but it wasn't [too] overload. I think we got home at 6 or 7 so we were gone for quite a bit :)

Then the rest of the week went by. I'm kicking myself that I didn't finish chapter 14 in history 'cause I got a stupid 81 on my test >:( If I had actually went back and changed my answers that I thought were wrong and thought I knew the answer I could've gotten by with an 89-90 so I wouldn't have to do the stupid Proofs of Reading. Argh!

*sigh* But today was a pretty good day. Last night me and my family [well my parents actually] kinda had the night to ourselves. After piano my dad got [more] Round Table Pizza and the bread twist things, both of which were good. Then we were watching game shows eating pizza, and somehow we ended up watching the Supernanny that was on after it [haha]. I think at first we were going to watch a movie that my mom got from one of her friends but somehow during the show we got aroudn to deciding to play Guitar Hero >.<>
Anyhoo, after a day of doing nothing, really, my brother wanted to go to Franks again today. I figured why not since it has been a while, and I was kinda happy that he offered. So I was hoping that this one guy would be there--the same one that sold me 11 for $10--and he was. Except, he had boxes upon boxes of comics and I thought "darn, he doesn't have any manga today" but then he noticed me and showed me the boxes that had the 'maynga' [he says it like that but whatever]. I was thinking 'but those are comics' and he pulled out a few that were, actually, Japanese. I then remembered that I read somewhere that manga used to be flipped in comic book style as opposed to graphic novel style, which is how they usually are. So I looked through hundreds of hundreds of comics and pulled out one that he mentioned, looking through the boxes until he motioned me to this other box where he found some other series and I ended up looking through almost all the boxes xp There was probably twenty or so but I can't recall. Yes. I ended up grabbing about twenty comics and this Ghost in the Shell book but I put the book away and seven of the comics and went to pay for them--the guy gave me the thirteen comics for only $2! [they were originally a quarter each so I got 'em half off of the already low price]. Here's the picture and what I got today: 3x3 Eyes 1-5, Blade of the Immortal oneshot, Mobile Suit Gundam 1-4, Cthulu Tales 1-2, and Mobius Klein. It's going to be weird to read manga like this but I think I might get used to it.
Ah, and by the way, I guess I kinda became friends [a bit] with the shopkeeper, which is kinda cool. He said that he could bring in the graphic novel manga it I'd asked and I asked if he could bring 'em on Wednesday. I'm hoping my brother can take me there so I can--maybe--clear him out of most of the manga he's going to bring [plus I'll probably get 'em for a buck a pop again which would be so crazy awesome :D]


-Tzui
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"'Cause Everyone's Got Problems When It Comes To The Soul / Who Needs Anyone?"
WALK LIKE A GENTLEMAN - Eye Alaska

Halloween and Stuff

Well last Saturday was Halloween.

Let me back track a bit--on Tuesday of that week I went to this thingy where I got a certificate saying I was the top ten of my class from last semester. I don't know when the next Renaissace assembly is but I'm not sure if I'll be in it--I got a freaking B on my report card... >:[

On Thurday my dad pulled me out halfway through math 'cause I had to take my level 3 practicum for piano. It's done by this thing called ABRSM [Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, in case you didn't know]. I was practicing like hell the night before and I really wish I practiced more throughout the week. I got there a bit before my time [9:42] and conversed with my piano teacher and the student before me [who also goes to my school and I kinda made friends with :)] So yeah. Anyways, I went nervous like hell, and I went in--hands frozen and clammy and my stomach churning. I decided to start off with my worst piece this time and work my way to my best instead of the other way around the last two times. So I did--and I f***ed up Allegretto! T_T I started off really good thinking 'I'm not doing bad'. Then I got halfway through and I literally stopped. I forgot what to play, staring at my hands and the music for, like, five seconds, muttering 'shit where am I' and 'crap crap crap...'. I finally picked up and I know I'm getting no more than a 20--I'll be lucky for a 15, actually O.O My next piece, Waldvoglen, wasn't bad but it probably sounded better than the first, and my last--Round Dance--was really good. Those were my three pieces, and then I did scales and shtuff. Next is everything else--sight reading, which was really easy and I'm set in for at least 18/19--echo, which is singing what they say and I did average--recognizing change in a melody--understanding a piece--and I think that's about it. *sigh* I'm hoping for a 100 [which is barely passing] but I'll be surprised to get merit, which is 110, I think. I got distinction which was 130 last year. [It's out of 150 but that's almost impossible.]

So yeah, and now Halloween. My plan was to invite four people--two friends from my school and two from other. At five-ish, when I asked 'em to come, I texted everybody and here's how it went; one was sick since the day before and couldn't come; one had people remodeling their house and didn't have a ride but after offering still couldn't come; and one was all set until the last minute and she couldn't. So it was pathetic--me and one friend trick-or-treating by ourselves. But it was fun--we went all around our neighborhood and it being hills and no one ever goes way up, we got quite the haul :) After we got back we ate snacks, wacthed TV and acted dorky, played the piano, and then she left at, I think, 10-10:30.

So that was my past week. What else?

Erm, on Monday I went with my dad to Costco 'cause I also wanted to go to Barnes and Noble. So we did, and I got some stuf:
The top two are books--Catch-22 and Portrait of an Artist, as an Old Man [if you couldn't read]. They're for my author study in English which is due in, like, a month >.> I don't remember why I picked him, but I kinda wish I picked Frank McCourt...
Yes, and the bottom two are manga: Othello volume 1 and next is Negima! volume 24. The first was a present for my friend. I read some of it at school and decided to get it to her [pst--I finished it Monday night and it was a pretty good book]. And the next is, of course, Negima--the one and only :) I also finsihed it already and it was quite satisfying--love the cover, by the way.

Um, I don't think much happened this week... I finished all the things for the Halloween event on GaiaOnline [my unser's codestone0, so add me if you want :)] Yes--I'm kinda boring...

So now I bring you to the real reason why I decided to actually write a blog entry [finally]. *drumroll* I read through my e-mail, go thte Tokyopop newsletter and opened it. They had a link for their summer '10 releases [pretty lame if you ask me]. I jus scrolled down, distracted, and this name popped out: The Quasar of Stigmata!!!! :D :D :D It sounds lame but I started reading these scans in October and drew a picture of the main character, Sasha, and I thought it was good though also kinda random, and I was like 'Oh my gosh!!' when I saw it. So yeah... XD I'm weird, I know. *goes to finish article* Meh nothing else, but Quasar comes out in August which sucks... -.-

Anyways, I shall be off doing pointless things...


-Tzui
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"Tell Me Why / Does It Have To Be Like This? / Tell Me Why / Is There Something I Have Missed?"
TELL ME WHY - Declan Galbraith

Manga Update

Well it's been a while since I've posted pictures of the manga I've gotten since last time I took pictures. It's not that much but it's still a bit of a leap from where I left off.

[WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD!!!]

AUGUST 26

Okay, first we have School Rumble volume 1, which I snagged for two dollars. It's gross how yellow the pages are... But the series is funny.
Then we have Dark Edge volume 1, which was five dollars. It's about zombies [in a way] and I think it's pretty cool :)
Finally there's Yotsuba&! volume 5. I had finally caught up, but Yen Press has already released volume 6 so I'm behind again

SEPTEMBER 2

Also bought at Franks. These are Dark Edge volumes 2 and 3. [The crazy thing is that the orange one doesn't have a big 2 on it]. Got both of these for five bucks a pop as well.
Personally, I'm liking this series although there was a part in volume 3 [I think] that shouldn't have been there...either censored or rated as M... *shudders*
Anyways, it's still cool but there were a lot of cliffhangers. Um... I think volume 3 was better than 2.

September 3

Okay, I was waiting forever to get CSI: Intern at Your Own Risk this September. I found it to be really good though the disappointing thing was that it's only a oneshot T_T [that and I think it cost, like, 14 dollars and it's bigger and wider than other books]. But it was still awesome.
Oh, and I also got Catching Fire, the second book of the Hunger Games Trilogy. [By the way, that book was freaking awesome!!! Can't wait for book 3!]

Spetember 5

This book I wasn't actually going to buy [I've never even heard of it actually]. It's called The Day of Revolution volume 1. I got this at Franks, too, although I think I was going to try and get Future Diary or Four-Eyed Prince.
Somehow I got into a 'romance' conversation with the manga lady, and then I tried to be polite and be like "oh, I don't know if I want this series" with some books. Then we got onto gender-benders and then it was closing and I figured "why not? I'll get the other books later" so I got this book.
It was okay though I think I'd rather have bought something else...

September 12

Okay, so at Barnes and Noble I got Future Diary volume 3. This book was really good and it was pretty crazy, like the first two books in the series.
I think I was able to get my dad to take me to Barnes but I had that 15% off coupon so I was going to use it on this book and pay for it. Then my dad grabbed the White Album [from the Beatles] and the coupon went towards that and he paid for it :)
But yeah--good book.

October 3

Hm, this one's pretty crazy looking and hard to see.
Basically, I went to Frank and Sons this day since I think my brother wanted to so I thought [why not?] and we also painted. Anyways, so I went and I figured I might get the next Dark Edge. Then I saw this one guy who wasn't there before. And he had these two boxes that said 'Manga $2'. Who the hell would pass that up? I got there and started looking--the guy said he recogninzed me and gave me 'em at $1 each!!! I grabbed the books I recognized and most the volume 1s.
Here's the list: Chikyu Misaki volume 1, Dark Edge volume 4, Dragon Hunter volume 1, Eden: It's an Endless World volume 1, Gundam Seed Astray volume 1, Kazan volume 1, Lunar Legend Tsukihime volume 1, Moon Child volume 1, No Man's Land volume 2, Dragon Wars, Hissing volume 1, Steam Detectives volume 2.

October 25

Finally, these are the books I got yesterday.
The first one is Cirque du Freak volume 3. I know there's a movie that just came out, and the trailer looks so much more different than the manga so I'm like "what? that didn't happen that way" but it might've been that way in the books. I think I might see the movie but I don't know if anyone else wants to...
And we have Negima!?Neo volume 3. Also a book I've been meaning to buy and, well, now I have it. [I found out there's only 6 books in the Neo, which is pretty cool.]
Now yesterday I wanted to go to Borders 'cause they had a 'buy 4 get 5th free' on manga and there were five books that came out this month and I'm like "I'm going to go and get the books all in one go", etc. So I went...and they only had Negima!?neo [and Amazing Agent Luna 5]. I'm like, "what the hell?" 'cause that's stupid. It seems Borders and Barnes sell almost complete opposites when it comes to manga. Anyways, so then I got a book for my eldest brother, and we went to Halloween shops. Then we went to Barnes and Nobles and they had four of the five books I wanted [I think]. And I got these two.

My life's story--The end.

-Tzui
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"Realized What He Had Done / Remembered What His Daddy Said"
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN - Declan Galbraith

Pancake Breakfast

Well it's been a bit of time since I've last posted here... ^^; [sorry 'bout that].

But I guess I'll just continue off from today. So, it was the Pancake Breakfast to promote Red Ribbon Week and the community service club I joined kinda does the shinddig and stuff. Basically the member got to school around 6:30-7:30 and it went from 7-12. I personally didn't think it would be such a hit but the line never got any shorter until the last forty-five minutes. O.O
It was behind the gym where the table and the griddle was and tables set up down on the blacktop. There were some tents with groups that I think were promoting 'no drugs'. The police was there as well as a mounted cavalry [horse], the fire department and the SWAT team gave a little performance later on. It was cool :D
As per the kids, our club booth had facepainting and a beanbag toss. There was this train ride thingy [kinda lame but it looked kinda fun too]. And finally, there were two giant jumper/slides. One was just a slide and the other was an obstacle course with a slide at the end. I worked at the later one, making sure the little kids didn't get stuck or needed help, as well as giving the okay to let the next set in. This one looked so fun but I didn't go on it though [other big kids did =p
Around 11:20 I was thirsty so I went to get a water and I saw that the line to pancakes was extremely short [and I was hungry]. So yeah--I got pancakes and they were so good XD
Anyways, it ended and we put things away, took a group picture, and signed out at 12.


Let's see, I think I should talk about school but I don't want to take too long. So here's my *updated* schedule:
1 - Chemistry Honors
2 - Algebra II Honors
3 - English II Honors
4 - Spanish II
5 - AP World History
6 - Sports PE
In case you were wondering, my 4th and 5th changed. What happened was that--when I got my schedule--I assumed that I got AP World History and went home. I got to school on Monday and found that I had History with my friend, and when 4th rolled around I got stupid regular >:O What the hell!? I even signed up for AP and I have a crazy high GPA! Arggh!!!
So on Tuesday I went after school and had to wait in line for a stupid hour, which sucks because when I got to line I was--like--two seconds late from being one person ahead and I think the person ahead of me had their mom or something which was why it took so damn long..... [My friend got in and out while I was waiting too, which was annoying]. *breath* So I got in and said I wanted to go into an AP but I needed the signature of my new and old teacher, then come back and get it changed, then get my book... My new teacher was there but my old was gone so I went early the next day to have to wait ten minutes before she showed up. And because of that I couldn't change it before school so I went during nutrition [which was good since my math class is literally right there]. The other thing that was stupid was that me and other kids who were waiting for the counselor waited for a few minutes before he showed up, but then he was talking to some guy until the bell rang. Luckily I was first so I got it changed, then during lunch I got the new book. *sigh*
On a side note, the regular class and AP class are really different [unless you have this one teacher who taught all APs last year but now only teaches one--it sucks for my friend =p]

So yeah, that's part of my life. I guess I'll have to post what books I've bought next time :D


-Tzui
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"I Was Sleeping And Right In Middle Of A Good Dream / Like All At Once I Wake Up From Something That Keeps Knocking At My Brain"
I THNK I LOVE YOU - Declan Galbraith

Sophmore Begins...

Well my second year of high school begins tomorrow and I really don't want it to start T_T

I'm kinda nervous this year, although I think the most of it is 'cause of my 6th period--cross country. It's sports PE, technically, but that's what I signed up for and I'm not sure if I'll be able to go through with it. Not 'cause I'm lazy but I'm still worried about my ankle and me being slow and me not having done the last two months of PE and stuff. *gulp* Hopefully it won't go too bad, but I'm still as nervous as hell.

And these last two days--my last two days of summer to be exact--weren't really fun either. Yesterday me and my brother worked on the sprinkler wire for a few hours and I really wanted to go to Frank and Sons 'cause it's been FOREVER, but apparently they close at five now. -.- Yesterday wasn't much fun. ANd today--since almost noon to a bit while ago we've been cementing which wasn't fun. I also woke up at 7:40-ish which is an hour later than I'll wake up tomorrow.

But on the bright side, one thing good DID happen today.

While me and me brother went to take a break inside around 2, he was watching Fantastic Four. I was thinking it was weird that he was fastforwarding commercials since we don't have DVR or whatever, but he said it was on-demand. Anyways, one commercial caught my interest and right before I left the room I looked back and it mentioned something about 'Harry Potter'. I'm thinking 'what the heck? Harry Potter's not due till awhile. And then it had a kid ride up the Empire State Building's elevator and then it said 'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Theif'.
One thing was going through my mind--Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! :D I couldn't believe they were making it [already]. I got super excited though the preview said President's Day 2010 which isn't too far from now [I think].

Anyways, I'm going to see the trailer on Youtube.


-Tzui
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"Day Fades Away / I Can't Stay Awake / Alone In This Empty Place"
DETROIT - Black Gold

Worst Day Ever

Honestly, this day is the worst that's ever, EVER happened.

Well first I had to register for my sophmore year. Me and my mom left our house around 11:30, and we waited in line for, like, 20 minutes or so. We barely made the lunch break time, but my dad apparently forgot to fill out the backside of one paper so we had to spend time to fill it. If it was all done I'd've been able to take my hearing test. Anyways, the ASB store was closed so we couldn't do anything else. My mom and I went to pick up the mail and visited Dollar Tree, then came back. I got my planner, yearbook paid and a shirt. Then I took my yearbook picture and got my ID card. Finally I was able to get my schedule and books, then do the hearing test--we finsihed around 1:30.

SCHEDULE:

1st- Chemistry Honors

2nd- Algebra II Honors

3rd- English II Honors

4th- AP World History

5th- Spanish II

6th- Cross Country

*sigh* The next part went a bit easier--me and my mom went to Kohl's for my clothes shopping from, like, 2:30-5:15. O.O Oh, and we spent a lotta money [we saved $388 fromthe sales and stuff then an additional $90 'cause of a 15% card]. Right when we were paying some lady in the register next to us grabbed her bag and ran--she freaking shoplifted! It was crazy, I tell you. Apparently she had gift cards that were bought with other people's member cards, there happened to be no security guards, and a car was waiting for her. Crazy...

We went to our Barnes and Noble next, but I didn't find the book my brother wanted [and I didn't know if I wanted to buy a manga]. We ended up going to a different B&N where we got his book, Shutter Island. My mom was able to find The Thousand Splendid Suns or something, and I got Pretty Face volume 1. I wasn't sure if I should buy something but I did :D

And Here's the chain of bad stuff:

After we left the first B&N, we got a call from my brother--apparently he was in a crash with some old lady and her car hit his. And from what they were saying just now, it all sounds like her fault.

My great-aunt kinda gives my family and my aunt trouble. She's been calling our and her house for the past week or so with "hello?-you-there?-no?" calls and we find out this morning she needs to be picked up from Burbank. So they have to go out of their way to pick her up.

Not only that, but my school starts on Monday T_T

-Tzui

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"The Dreams In Which I'm Dying Are The Best I've Ever Had"

MAD WORLD - Gary Jules

Yosemite

Well, we just got back from Yosemite a little while ago. Here's my little summary:

Friday--August 14
Left around 9am. Drove about 2.5 hours until we ate Jack in the Box. Another 2.5 hours till we got to Yosemite and .5 hours to get to the Yosemite Lodge. Unpacked and had dinner.
Saturday--August 15
Woke up and did the Lower Yosemite Falls hike and Mirror Lake hike. Had lunch. Went around to the village, saw deer, ate cup noodles.
Sunday--August 16
Drove and hiked Galcier Point. Went to little river to have lunch and fished. One brother caught and named Douglas, his fish. Dad didn't catch anything. Finally went back and had dinner.
Monday--August 17
Woke up late [hehe]. One brother went biking whilst we went walking around. Didn't do much.
Tuesday--August 18
Packed and checked out. Hiked to Vernal Fall bridge [hell of a hike]. Went back and had ice cream. Then drove six hours till we got back home :D


-Tzui
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"I Would Swollow My Pride / I Would Choke On The Rinds / But The Lack Thereof Would Leave Me Empty Inside"
INSIDE OUT - Eve 6

Going / Books

Well, as of tomorrow I shall be heading off to another vacation T_T Truthfully, I don't really want to go 'cause 1-we just got back from Tahoe and 2-I'm going back to school soon.

And just 'cause, I'm posting a picture of the books in my room [note: these aren't all the books I've read, just the ones I've bought :D [Best to click for full view]

TOP SHELF
Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Eighth Grade Bites
Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Ninth Grade Slays
Chronicles of Vladimir Tod: Tenth Grade Bleeds
Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening
Quantum Prophecy: The Gathering
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox
Gregor the Overlander
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
Gregor and the Marks of Secret
Gregor and the Code of the Claw
The Hunger Games
The Sea of Trolls
The Land of the Silver Apples
The House of the Scorpion
Dragon Rider
Inkheart
Inkspell
Inkdeath
The Thief Lord
Breathe
The Graveyard Book
39 Clues Card Packs 1, 2
39 Clues: Beyond the Grave
39 Clues: One False Note
39 Clues: The Sword Thief
39 Clues: Beyond the Grave
39 Clues: The Black Circle
[Romeo and Juliet / Midsummer's Night Dream]
BOTTOM SHELF
RightStuf Catalogs
The Host
Star Lore
Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters
Percy Jackson: The Titan's Curse
Percy Jackson: The Battle of the Labyrinth
Percy Jackson: The Last Olympian
Septimus Heap: Magyk
The Alchemyst
The Magician
The Sorceress

Book of Questions
Of Beetles and Angels
Gods, Demigods, and Demons
Flowers for Algernon
Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture
Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Journey
Harry Potter: Socerer's Stone
Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire
Eats, Shoots and Leaves
Quidditch through the Ages
The Ravenmaster's Secret


-Tzui
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"So Long Ago, I Don't Remember When / That's When They Say I Lost My Only Friend"
ONE HEADLIGHT - The Wallflowers

'Black Circle'

These last few days seemed to go by so slooowly. But they're gone now and it's finally the eleventh! :D

I was able to get my brother to take me to Barnes and Noble today and I got the books I planned to buy.

The first is a manga: X-Men Misfits volume 1. I haven't read it yet and it's also not Japanese, though it's kinda like a teen take on X-Men and shtuff.
Next's The39Clues: The Black Circle. I re-read book four yesterday to freshen up for book five--after I'm done writing this I'm goingn to run through this book. ^-^
Last is 39Clues Card Pack 2. 'Snot a book but kinda like a booster pack with 16 cards related to books 4, 5, 6. It's also a money-maker for the company--in order to unlock more clues than the mission and book ones, you need card combos of cards from the card pack. [Though I'm tempted to buy more card packs... =p

More manga that I want'll be coming out soon so I'll be able to increase my manga count by quite a bit. Oh, and it's 150 now.

-Tzui
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"I've Got Blood Running Through My Veins / But I'm Sick And Tired / Of The Fakest Face, Telling Me To Smile"
BODY LIKE MIND - Ace Enders

Manga Again

Wow, it felt like forever since I walked into a Barnes & Noble today.... Maybe I'm just weird like that.

Anyways, I wasn't actually going to buy any manga today since I was lead to believe none were out yet. But I ended up buying two more volumes which brings my manga count to 149. :D
LEFT: Cirque du Freak volume 2 I found this in the Teens section [like vol. 1]. I read that it was supposed to come out later this month. I also found another title from Yen Press that I think is interesting though I might get it later. Anyways, I haven't read this one yet 'cause of freaking Odyssey, but I'll get to it tomorrow.
RIGHT: Legend of Zelda: Four Swords volume 1 This was supposed to come out tomorrow [I think] but I found it by accident while looking for Yotsuba&! 5. I never actually got really far in the game but I kinda know the just of the story. I can't wait for part 2. ^^

That's about it. Oh, and here's a list of books I want to buy next week Tuesday:
X-Men: Misfits volume 1
The 39 Clues: The Black Circle
When You Reach Me
The Times Travelers


-Tzui
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"I'm Not A Hopeless Romantic / I'm Just Romantic Yeah I'm Very Hopeless"
YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE IN SPACE - The Years Gone By

Tahoe / Reno

Super sorry for not having written in a long time, though I was out on vacation for the past week at Lake Tahoe [more technically Reno]. ^^;

Since there's so many pictures I took and a long summary I could write, I'll be lazy and give an uber breif description.

JULY 25
Left early in the morning and drove for eight hours to Reno. Got at the condo around 5:30-6, hung out and planned our week
JULY 26
Went to a place called Animal Ark. Similar to zoo though they have animals that were abused, left to die or cannot survive in the wild anymore. It was neat though my mom was obsessing over the bear. I got a nifty shirt though. I don't think we did anything else...
JULY 27
Went river rafting down the Truckee River. Was super fun but I was scared at first [haha]. We had lunch on the shore and had to cross trecherous level one rapids [they weren't much]. At the end my dad fell out which was scary and funny. We went fishing at Donner Lake afterwards.
JULY 28
Went to a planetarium, visited exhibits, then watched a movie in a dome theater room. Later we went to Denny's for lunch. In the evening we went to Scheel's, this big-a** sports store that had almost every sport [mostly outdoor shtuff]. They had an indoor Ferris wheel and virtual reality games like racing and sports
JULY 29
Went to place called Boca/Stampede. Drove until we settled down to fish. I wasn't in the mood so I watched and took pictures. My mom and I got bitten by a caterpillar. We were heading to Lake Tahoe but had car trouble. We ended up in a motel in Carson City.
JULY 30
Finally reached Tahoe a day later. Got to a really nice condo place. Hung out there, had a bar-b-que. We looked around The Ridge at the stuff they've got, then headed to the jacuzzi and played A-Z categories.
JULY 31
Headed back to Reno after hiking down to Vikingsholm. Went mini golfing and go-karting, then ate DQ and got ready to leave the next day.
AUGUST 1
Headed back home after eight more hours. It's good to be back here.


-Tzui
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"Where Do We Go From Here? / We Find A Way To Disappear"
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE - Ace Enders

6th Movie

Well on Sunday we went to watch the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and it didn't seem any longer than the previous few movies. It was quite comical and didn't follow the book exactly [mostly they changed the location or cut stuff out due to time] but it was enjoyable. And just like the book, the ending was just as sad T_T Graystache!!!!!! No!

*sob*

Anywhoos, we actually had a 'PotterFest' on Friday and Saturday, watching all five previous movies [not in a row, of course--hell not]. It was twelve hours worth of movies.... We saw the first two on Friday from around 9 to 2 at night and only my brother and I mangaed to stay awake. Then on Saturday we watched movie three [which still kinda bugs me since they changed things around *rant*], then the first quarter or four and the last quarter [maybe less]. I think my mom wanted us to 'hurry up and watch it so we can freshen up with five', but whatever. Then came movie five, which was more enjoyable than I remember. Finally, we slept and went out to the movies the next day.

Now we just need to waiat for the next two movies to come out--in case you hadn't heard, book seven will be split into two which is cool but also sucks.

-Tzui

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"And Every Word I Hear Is Just Left Ringing In My Ears / Saying Everyone Around Me Looks The Same"

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN - Ace Enders

Manga:147

Here it is after so long: an updated version of my manga collection :D

My 'hobby' has lasted since fall of '05 up till now, though I was barely introduced to actual graphic novel format. Ah, reminicence...

Basically, in Janurary of 2004 my brother bought that issue of Shonen Jump and us three were entranced. Since then up to I don't know when, whenever we accompanied my mom to Stater Bros. we'd read the Shonen Jumps in the magazine section. This lasted a while--it was fun, though :D However, as I was saying, the actual manga format came in August in our Language Arts class of '05. My friend brought a couple volumes of Fruits Basket and I was further entranced than I could have ever been. I went to Barnes and Noble soonafter and began my collection with Legendz.

Ah, what a beginning... T_T

And now, I present you with my manga collection! If you want a list of all the books in the picture, please visit here. [You can also fullview it there]

-Tzui
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"There'll Be No More Pointless Fighting / No More Money Running It / Bring Back Love"
BRING BACK LOVE [YEAR 2020] - Ace Enders

Mini Golf

On Friday and Saturday we went mini golfing. :D It was fun even though I suck half the time >.<. Our first day I got last with 61, my dad got 60, my mom got 53 and my brother got 45. And in golf, you want the lowest score. Then on Saturday my cousin and aunt came over and we eventually went to Boomers. It was kinda like this one place we went to in Arizona. Anyways, there was outdoors and cosmic minigolf [we only did the latter], go-karts some rides or something and an arcade. Anyways the kids played golf whilst the parents sat out. I got third 'cause my cousin kinda sucked more than I. Haha. Then my brother and I played one more game while my other brother and cousin went to go on the go-karts. We were really close, one right behind the other and switching. After hole 17, we tied. It was all up to 18. And...........I won. It was crazy. I got 3 and he got 4, so it was awesome to win [and speaking of winning, I also beat him at the three rounds of air hockey we played]. ^_^ Okays. I believe I've already posted the picture of books I got Friday, so I'll show the ones I got this weekend.
SATURDAY:

The left book is Kitchen Princess volume 2. I wasn't planning on continuing this series so early but there wasn't anything else I wanted.
Besides... It Takes a Wizard. Oh. My. Gosh. I've been waiting for this book for so long to hit the shelves. Seven Seas kept on pushing back the date and I assume it's 'cause they decided to put the whole story into one book. But after reading it I really loved it. I don't have a set top 5, but this is up there :D

SUNDAY:

Yeah, I was able to go to Borders with my dad and I got Yotsuba&! volume 4. I was hoping to also find volume 5 since Yen Press will be taking over the series at vol. 6. But I haven't read it yet, though the series is really cute ^-^
And finally there's Kitchen Princess volume 3. I'm actually really liking this series and the recipes in the back are cool too. I might actually finish a series that's long than five books.


-Tzui
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"If I Go Anywhere That You Want Me To Go? / How Do I Know You'll Still Follow" PANIC SWITCH - Silversun Pickups

Neopets

Yes, I've started playing Neopets again. [haha]. No, really, I have:

<--This is my Neopets homepage [better to click on it for full view to actually see anything]. I would use one of my usual usernames but I'd already created accounts with 'em so I had to use the last name of one of my OCs; Yggdraeniel. Haha, it sounds so corny but I think it's cool. ^^

This time I picked a Xweetox as my starter Neopet. He's a Red Male named Lapistier [pronounced: 'Lah-pee-stee-ay']. He's already level 9 with fairly good starter stats, though I'm going to work on his HP and Defence next.

Oh, and as of this afternoon, Lapistier as a week old :D Yes, I've been playing that long.

What else about Neopets...? Well, I transferred all my money and items from my old accounts--which was a lot. I got a shit load of stuff and about 150,000 NP from it, though I've almost 230,000 now which is kinda sad. ^^; But I also kind of missed the games that I used to always play.

If you've a Neopet account, be my NeoFriend!

Anyways, went to Barnes and Noble, which was unexpected. Basically my mom kinda bought a new car and she really wanted to drive it so we went to do errands. But I was able to get two manga for myself [and a Chocolate Frosty from Wendy's ^^] Back to the manga.

On the left is Negima! Magister Negi Magi volume 23. I was led to believe it came out later this month but I found it actually came out a few days ago, so I bought it [of course]. Haven't read it yet, though.

And I also got Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning volume 8, which I believe also came out this month. I'm really liking this series and now I'm officially caught up with the manga. It also happens to be my second largest series at 8, with Negima having 23. ^^;

-Tzui

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"Cause We Need A Leader / Someone To Be A Hero"

LEADER - Ace Enders

Scrabble

Yes, I play Scrabble. It's very fun actually, if you actually play it [and maybe bend the rules a bit *cough*].

We've played several rounds so far this summer, one of which we played today. Here's the final result [I got last, beaten by my brother and mom [as usual :p] I believe we were all able to play each of our tiles, though it's still kinda hard when you've got crappy letters >.>

Oh, and my mom was finally able to spell 'ZOMBIE' this time--she was almost able to the last time we played but I think she didn't have room last time. Oh, and the E is a blank tile, so it's technically [not] there.


And then my dad and I went to Barnes and Noble which we were going to do yesterday but kind of ran out of time--he came home late and there were two shows we watch at 8 and 9 and B&N closes at ten, so yeah. But we went today where I ran to one of my old friends and her mom. I wasn't even expecting to see her there but I did, and she's still as dorky as ever :D We talked and were dorky in the B&N JR section, looking at the plush toys and baby books. Haha, good times. But she was there since three and we said our byes. It was fun talking to her again.

So anyways, my dad and I went to the bookstore. I got two manga [pic later] and I grabbed a book for my brother. Then we got Super Scrabble. Yes; Super Scrabble. I couldn't believe how BIG it is--441 squars compared to 225, and twice as many tiles. Aweome. :D To the left's the pic of the completed board we played tonight, which took forever. It was really fun though I got last again.
Me=188, Bro1=204, Dad=277, Mom=289, Bro2=299. It's not that I suck at it, it's just I can never get the tiles on the right spaces and stuff. >.> Oh, and I was able to spell 'DRUDGE' finally, but my mom mooched the points by adding '-ERY', which totally sucked. -.-

Okay, manga time. For some reason, Barnes and Noble hasn't carried the manga I want recently, which totally sucks. Maybe I'm used to the variety of stalls at Franks but it may just be me. I was gonna get Jack Frost but the cover was bent. I didn't know what to grab so I got Alice on Deadlines volume 1 [right] and Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning volume 7 [left]. And I got my dad to pay for them :D

Good nights.


-Tzui
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"Look At You Now / Remember How You Gave Me Shit / And I Made Lemonade Out Of It"
LEMONADE - TSUNAMI BOMB

July and Books

Man, it's July already. This is my third week of vacation and I can't believe how fast it's going O.O GAH! I don't want summer to end.

But it has to.

Well, I opened The Odyssey today though i haven't started reading the first chpater yet. I'm going to have to read it soon, though I also want to finish the book books still collecting dust on my shelf.
__________________________________

And speaking of books, I was able to get my mom to take me to Barnes and Noble today. I also was able to get her to pay them for me :D

The manga on the right is Kashimashi volume 5. Huzzah! I've finally bought the last volume in the series [though it was mostly procrastination--they didn't have many books I wanted today]. It might be one of the series I own that I really like though to say the least I like all my series :D
Then the blue book is The Graveyard Book. I actually don't remember what it's about but I might not have really boughten it unless I had that coupon--the book was $18 originally, but I paid just over $10. ^^ I'll try to get around reading it soon.

Oh, and the yellow magazine is Nintendo Power August 2009--it came in the mail today and I've read most of what I found interesting--still need to go over the E3 section.
And speaking of, the video game that I found most interesting was Fragile. It looks spooky yet also very interesting even if most people wouldn't see it that way. You play as a kid named Seto and all you remember is living in the postapocalyptic Japan where everything is deserted and beginning to be overrun by plants. There's ghost and as far as you know, you're the only survivor left. Personally, I'll get this game even though it's one NP might rate it as a 5 or lower [i.e. Time Hollow and Lux-Pain].

Now off to read my manga!


-Tzui
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"Earth Below Us / Driftin, Falling / Floating Weightless / Calling, Calling Home"
MAJOR TOM [CALLING HOME] - Shiny Toy Guns

Yen Press

The manga publishing company Yen Press has been around since mid-2007. I remember this 'cause when me and friend went to the Comic-Con that summer, I snagged the preview book of Yen Press and a poster [which I gave to my brother and is probably lost or thrown away.] The first thing I had ever boughten from them was Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning.

A little while ago I browsed their web site and found a couple more series that I would like to get when they come out: :D

Dystopia
Hero Tale
Hissing
Higurashi: When they Cry
Jack Frost
Night School
Pandora Hearts / Crimson Shell
Raiders
Step

These are the series that I have and the ones I need to catch up on:

Cirque du Freak
Maximum Ride
Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning
With the Light
Zombie Loan

These are, of course, just the series from Yen Press that I'm interested in; there'd be much more if I would include every book from every company. Hm, maybe later.
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Oh, and I'm working on my fanfiction finally, and I'm really hoping to publish it before midnight. AH! I need to write!!!


-Tzui
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"Just Like The Crow Chasing The Butterfly / Dandelions Lost In The Summer Sky / When You And I Were Getting High As Outer Space"
The Crow & The Butterfly - Shinedown

New Movie

Before I forget, I was going to mention that yesterday during the previews of Transformers, there was a preview to one movie by M. Night. Shaymalan [is that how you spell his name?]. So at first I though it was going to be another movie like 'Signs' or 'The Village'. But then throughout the preview [which wasn't much], I had a realization that was right--they're going to make an Avatar movie! Haha, I was thinking oh my gosh, no way! and oh my gosh, I want to watch it! You know--Avatar-- the kid with the arrow tatoo and controls air and stuff.

That's about it.


-Tzui
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"Wrap Me In A Bolt Of Lightning / Send Me On My Way Still Smiling / Maybe This Is The Way I Should Go / Straight Into The Mouth Of The Unknown"
CALL ME - Shinedown