Tuesday, January 11, 2011

In which Pearl questions her sanity

(Or, in which Pearl's brain becomes so fried that she can't act sane.)

Konbanwa, minna-san!

Well, I'm certainly quite a bit more upbeat than I was the week before Winter Break. I feel like I shouldn't be, considering Culminating Activity deadlines and the ever-terrifying exams are quickly approaching. Then again, this might just be my way of keeping myself sane. Yes...acting crazy to keep myself sane...what a reasonable explanation.

I wonder why people stare at me strangely when I say "This is so interesting!" about a crime fiction/mystery novel. Or a show where something - doesn't matter what: vehicles, trains, airplanes, houses, barren fields, etc. - blows up. Or a chase scene. Or a gunfight scene. Is it strange to like that?
Meh. Castle always says (and yes, this is part of the introduction to each episode) "There are two kinds of people who spend their lives thinking of ways to murder people. Psychopaths...and mystery writers."
I relish in that kind of stuff.

Anyways, before I completely forget what we did in ICS this morning, let me write it down here.

Today was basically another work period for the Culminating Activity. (Why do I capitalize that? Is it simply an example of how much it towers over me; an example of how much of our mark this is weighted on?) Yes, er, well. I made some necessary edits to the About the Authors page, since Shreya joined our group. Lisa had asked for it to flow better (see, before I had tried to follow the model of a short About the Author[s] blurb in the back of a fiction book), so I had to change a few things.

Last night, Shreya sent me the glossary terms she wrote. I put those up on the Wiki. Looking over them, I feel like we'll have to do some editing. The language is not exactly professional, but that's okay. At least she has the basic idea. Don't get me wrong - I'm very glad she's so eager to contribute to our project. But...the grammar Nazi I am, I just...I'm picky about these things.

Which reminds me, as soon as exams are over, I need to reply to my pen pal (sort of) on FF. I still remember the days when we sent several messages back and forth on the same day.

So, for tonight I have to finish the flow chart about Tutoring Turing and the edits to the AtA page. Lisa will (hopefully) send me the rest of the introduction so I can put the two parts together.

I can't feel the pressure. Is that a bad thing?
Nevertheless, we're making good progress. Hm. That's probably why.

I'm feeling wistful now. Mm.
I think I'll go talk to my friend on MSN for a bit. He's always fun to talk to.

Mata ashita!

---

Current Music: Victory Korea - Super Junior
[Zarin-dono, you'll be happy to know I've gotten somewhat addicted to their songs. And Amy, too, if you're still reading my blog.]

Monday, January 10, 2011

In which our CA group gets a new member!

Konichiwa, minna-san!

Even as I type this, I'm creating flow charts for our ICS Culminating. Oh, the month of January is so busy! With exams coming up in two weeks, and Culminating Activities to finish, I'm as busy as a bee. Some people are stressing out, but not me! No, my mind has already blown up! I just get really hyper and then sporadically change energy levels and get depressed. Then I get hyper again. Yes...if you see me acting drunk, you know what happened.

"Mi-mi-mikuru, mi-mikurun-run!"
You might hear me singing that. Three cheers for Mikuru and all the people who act like her in real life (a.k.a. me)!

Yup. That's how far I've gone.

Well, today we got a new addition to our ICS Culminating group! I'd like to extend a welcome to Shreya, from Class A. She will be taking care of the glossary - not exactly an easy feat.

As for my tasks, all I have to do is edit the About the Authors page and the first part of the Introduction. Then I'm going to help Zarin-dono with the Case Statements lesson, and I have offered to help Shreya with the Glossary. Then, I will get to work thinking up test questions.

Ah, but before that, I have to finish creating the flow charts that were requested. It's pretty easy, and everyone else is doing so much; so I want to contribute as much as I can in any way possible.

Then I must memorize my lines for English CA; and do research for French CA, which is more about science (environmental problems). If I may, I'd like to voice my anger at Naeem for basically forcing our group to do Climate Change - something he's been obsessed with for the past two years (at least).
It's shameful.

Ah, well, there's no time to blow up at anyone. Besides, my brain is already fried.
"Koi no magiku, mi-mi-ku-run-run!"

Mata ashita, minna-san!

---

Current Music: Koi no Mikuru Densetsu - Yuko Gotou (Mikuru Asahina from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)

Friday, January 7, 2011

In which the first signs of exhaustion appear

Konbanwa, minna-san.

I'm scared. Very scared. The lack of sleep resulting in drifting off at certain times in class is getting out of control again. Today, when walking home, I only had to climb two very short hills and it got me wheezing. Moreover, those incessant, painful headaches I get are annoying me. These are the same things that happened last year, before I went into my period of exhaustion. Now, this wouldn't terrify me as much if it wasn't January; that is, exam month. I absolutely cannot afford to get sick now. Besides, exhaustion is frightening in itself.

Today Mr. Arkin asked us to send him the link to our PDF files (for the Mosaic Project). There were a few problems with most of them, so we were asked to resend them. Ah. I should go do that now, before I forget.

Done! *smiles wryly*
That project has caused me a lot of pain.

Now, my main focus will be on Culminating. Luckily (in a way), there is no CA for Science, so I won't have to worry about that. And the French CA appears to be much simpler than the ones for English and this class, ICS.

Zarin-dono and I edited and improved our group's proposal in class today. Strangely enough, that took the entire period. Huh.

As I have mentioned before, we are writing a manual (similar to the Topic for Dummies series) teaching the reader about Selection.
I have been assigned the Introduction to the book, the About the Authors blurbs and the Glossary definitions. Writing out a lesson for one of the components of Selection would've been fun to do, but oh well. I'll take what I get.

I plan on finishing the Introduction tonight so I can send it Tasfia. She'll edit it into the manual.

Over the next two days, I plan to do as much as I can between the About the Authors blurbs and the Glossary. I want to finish at least one blurb, but am aiming for all of them to be done.

I'd also like to edit the book. I love editing others' work. But after my meeting with Mr. Arkin a few days ago, I wonder if my corrections are, well, correct. I hope so. It would make me feel really guilty if they weren't.

On another note, we got our exam schedules today. My ICS exam is on the same day as my French one. Luckily, I have my Science exam last - more time to study!

I'm off to work now.
It's back to class on Monday!

---

Current Music: Motteke! Sailor Fuku (Lucky Star OP) - Aya Hirano, Emiri Kato, Kaori Fukuhara and Aya Endo
^I can do the dance, too. Except for the high kick. I'm not flexible. 

Thursday, January 6, 2011

In which Pearl blows up at her computer

Konbanwa, minna-san!

I'm taking this opportunity to relax a little since I finished all my homework, and all that's left to do is write this blog and make some progress on Culminating (for ICS). Of course, I do plan on working on that, but I need a break first. However, I plan on going to sleep by midnight at the latest tonight. I've only gotten seven hours of sleep in the past two days!

Today Mr. Arkin introduced us to CutePDF, a program which allows an user to convert web pages into PDF files. It's very easy!

Nevertheless, I had some problems when I tried to convert my Mosaic Project's web page into a PDF file. In the PDF file and the print preview, the text got pushed down, and there was a vast amount of blank space to the left of my image. This annoyed me to no end because no matter what I tried, I couldn't get the layout to be the same as my web page. So I posted up my question on the Discussion forum in the class Wiki.

Since no replies had been posted, and I wanted to finish this trivial task quickly, I asked Zarin-dono to take a look at the print preview for my web page, to see if it looked the same for her. Surprisingly...it didn't. Later, when Mounir (thank you so much!) answered my question, he said the same thing. It still shows up strangely on my computer, so I guess there must be something wrong on mine. I'm not sure what, though, but if I remember, I'd like to ask Mr. Arkin tomorrow.

Now, I can officially say that the mosaic project is over! From tomorrow on, I will be focusing solely on the Culminating Activity. As I said before, my group is writing a manual. It's an interesting process, and we even set up a Wiki so we can plan and communicate with each other.

Exams are coming up, too, so I need to start gathering my notes and summarizing them. I plan to type out all my notes for all my classes so that I have a neater, shortened copy that is easier to study from.

So! Until tomorrow, minna-san!

---

Current Music: Bleed it Out - Linkin Park
(Suggested by one of my very close friends. Unfortunately, the latter part scares me quite a bit.)

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

In which Pearl's pride takes a blow

Konbanwa, minna-san!

Last night I slept at 2:30, seeing as I wanted to finish a rough draft of my Mosaic Project so I could clean it up today, and I had to read some pages in my Science textbook. Then I had to get up early so I could meet my French group to practise for the presentation today. However! Although majorly sleep-deprived, I have finally managed to complete my Mosaic Project! So, I'm in quite the good mood right now.

Remote Access Trojans are very interesting. To me, at least. I was always fascinated by how the Greeks defeated the Trojans by hiding in a wooden horse. Actually, I even learned something new from this - did you know that this legend is actually a myth? Like Miria says, "Sugoi~!".

I'd like to give a big thanks to Mr. Arkin and Zarin-dono for editing my work and helping me think up an idea for a conclusion respectively. It really helped!

Ah, now this is where the title plays in. As most of you know, I'm very confident in my English skills. Mr. Arkin found grammatical errors that I didn't even know existed in my writing, so my pride took a blow. Like he said, "You look like I just ran over your cat with a steam roller". Ah, well, that made me laugh. *smile* This incident hasn't dimmed my love for the English language, and I will strive to get better and understand what I have done wrong and why, so my writing will improve!

After I finish my French and study a while for my Science test, I will devote my time to the Culminating Activity. My group members - it's been finalized - are Zarin-dono (Class C), Lisa (Class A) and Tasfia (Class A). We're going to write a manual on Selection. Everyone is brimming with ideas, and eager to contribute, so everything's going great! I feel so lucky to be in such a motivated group.

Because we are all working on our Mosaic Project tonight, the real work will most likely start tomorrow.

On that note, I'm off to study now. Or, at least, try to study.

---

Current Music: Shut Up! - Simple Plan

---

Translation Notes:

Sugoi [sue-go-ee]: An expression of amazement: awesome; amazing; wow.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

In which Pearl starts to stress out...again.

Kon'ichiwa, minna-san.

With Culminating Activities to do and Exams coming up, I'm just as stressed as I was before Winter Break. Coupled with a painful feeling of nostalgia, I'm in a very...fragile...state right now.

Today in ICS we were assigned the main part of our Culminating Activity. Mr. Arkin gave us a large spectrum of choices, as well as the advantage of getting into groups.

Of course, I'm not a very social person, so the very thought of working with others scares me. As it seems, there's a conflict between who is in which group. I hope that we can work this out tonight (the sooner the better), but if not, I'd like to finalize things by tomorrow.

The calendars in my room, in my agenda and in my locker are constant reminders of the extremely short amount of time we have to complete this. Three weeks may seem like a lot, but days pass by so quickly. Time flies.
I mean, it's already exam time - Semester 1 is over in a mere three, four weeks. Allow me the pleasure of being depressing for a minute: I feel like I haven't accomplished anything, and I'm missing the luxury of middle school where I felt more at home more and more each day. Have I mentioned that I keep seeing people from my last school in the halls, then realizing that I don't know them at all?

Anyways, the project I plan on doing is the Education one, where you teach any concept (selection, repetition, animation, etc.) to another in a media form. My "group" is planning to write a small instruction manual.

The Mosaic Project, as small as it is, is most likely due tomorrow. I have a lot to do. I shouldn't have volunteered to work on my English script (for Culminating) tonight. Wish me luck!

---

Current Music: Welcome to my Life - Simple Plan

Monday, January 3, 2011

In which we return to school

Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone had a safe, enjoyable holiday.

Today was the first day back to school after a long, two-week break. The truth is...I had...a very small breakdown the night before, because I was so nervous. But! I recovered! And I'm honestly glad to see everyone again.

In ICS, we got the first part of our Culminating Activity - the Mosaic Project. It's not so much a mosaic as a...puzzle, sort of. Each of us must write a professional article on some aspect of computers (there was a list of possible topics given). I chose to do Trojan Horses in general at first, because the actual idea is genial! I give credit to the Greeks for thinking it up. Of course, Trojans can do a lot of damage to your computer, as well as your privacy! Moreover, I had, for some reason (most likely because I watched too many crime shows) an affinity to the technological side of solving crimes. So! This was, without a doubt, the perfect topic for me!

In the end, I narrowed it down to Remote Access Trojans (RAT), which gives the creator of the Trojan access to your computer. All the information saved on your computer will be available to him or her - which, as you know, is a blatant breach of privacy.

This is a very interesting topic, though I have qualms about finding a suitable picture.

Nevertheless, I look forward to it!

---This next part is about my Winter Break, so you don't have to read it. It's just me rambling on about how great RF2, Durarara!!, and Baccano! are, really.---

Speaking for myself, I didn't get to finish my notes. It's my own fault, though. I had held off playing video games for so long I couldn't help myself, so I took advantage of the break to catch up on those long five video-game-less months. It was fun, because I was playing Rune Factory 2, a JRPG about living a life on the farm in a world with caves filled with monsters. It has a four-month calendar, and - surprise, surprise - I was nearing the end of "Fall". With "Winter" quickly approaching, I set a goal to celebrate New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in the game on the corresponding days in real life! With a lot of non-stop gaming, I managed to do it! Yes!


Natsume makes the best games! RF2 is my favourite game, and RF3 came out in English last January. I have yet to play it, though. I'm planning to start either during March Break or Summer Vacation.
And...this is huge. I finally finished watching Durarara!! (animated by Aniplex). It's amazing. I would definitely recommend it to you. See, the story is told, in a way, backwards, so that all the events in the first 23 episodes will make the last (most epic) episode make sense. After watching the final episode, I can summarize the entire series (probably) - something I couldn't have done before. As I'm sure I've said repeatedly, my absolute favourite character is Shizuo Heiwajima, the "Strongest Man in Ikebukuro". He's the tsundere type, that's probably why. *smile*

Durarara!! (c) Ryohgo Narita
This is a pretty good cast picture - the best one I could find, actually.
Anyways, I was so completely enchanted by Durarara!! that I decided to watch another anime that was originally a light novel written by Narita-san: Baccano! This one is about a "Cure-All Elixir", a potion that grants the drinker immortality. Most of the characters aren't on the side of the law, but very likable. For example, Jacuzzi Splotz, a petty thief, who pulled on a large amount of courage to rescue the passengers of The Flying Pussyfoot (a train). Then there was Chane Laforet, the woman who would do anything - even kill - to protect her only family, Huey Laforet. And finally, we come to my favourite characters (in order): Firo Prochainezo and Luck Gandor. They are part of different mafia families situated in New York, but they're also childhood friends, so the families are on good terms. Firo is so innocent, loyal, kind and amiable; but he can be very dangerous when he needs to. Luck is also sort of tsundere (not really). I can't very much elaborate on his personality, though, because he wasn't featured much in the anime.


Firo Prochainezo is at the very bottom right, in the green suit. Beside him, with the reddish-orange hair, is Ennis, a homunculi. In the middle, with the sword tattoo on his face, is Jacuzzi Splotz. In front of him, the little boy in the brown suit, is Csezlaw Meyer. To his left, the woman with the blond hair, is Nice Hollystone. The woman in the black dress beside Nice is Chane Laforet.
On the top, starting from the left: Miria Harvent, Isaac Dian, Vino, Lua Klein, Ladd Russo
Baccano! (c) Ryohgo Narita

Baccano! was so amazing that I cried at the end, because it had, well, ended. It's unfortunate that the anime only had thirteen episodes, plus an extra three episodes for the OVA. Aw, man, now I'm sad again.

I can't say which one is better - Durarara!! or Baccano! I just know that they are both very good stories. I even compiled a playlist of all the openings and endings of these two animes. If anyone's interested, here it is:
  • ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D - Complication [DRRR!! OP2]
  • Yuuya Matsushita - Trust Me [DRRR!! OP1]
  • Theatre Brook - Uragiri no Yuuyake [DRRR!! ED1]
  • On/Off - Butterfly [DRRR!! ED2]
  • Kaori Oda - Calling [Baccano! ED]
  • Paradise Lunch - Guns & Roses [Baccano! OP]
Guns & Roses is a really nice song, even though there are no words to accompany the instruments. Calling is a beautiful, slow song. It's very lovely, and I do recommend it to anyone who's interested. The others are addictive, but they're more on the rock/pop side.

I plan to read the entire DRRR!! and Baccano! light novel series. There's over fifteen books, but I'm commited to it. Seriously. This is why I love Baka-Tsuki.

On another note, I finally found time to reply to my good friend on FF. I also started a Kuroshitsuji fic for Zarin-dono. I've turned Sebastian into an assasin and Ciel into the second-in-command of a mafia family. Please don't kill me.

Ah! Well, that was the longest blog post I've ever written, I think. I'll shut up now. *sweat*
Good luck with culminating, minna-san!

Mata ne!

---

Translation Notes:

tsundere [t-soon-dae-ray]: A term used to describe a person who acts tough, but is actually very kind on the inside.
yandere [yahn-dae-ray]: The opposite of tsundere. A term used to describe a person who acts nice, but is actually very mean. An example of this is Yuno Gasai from Future Diary (Mirai Nikki).