Asian Fest of Sorts
Posted: April 13, 2012 Filed under: Life, Randomness, school | Tags: Asian Leave a comment »Back in January my school had something called AjiaFest*. Besides AjiaFest, there’s also AfricanFest, Latin America Fest, and most recently EuroFest. EuroFest was just started this year so I wonder what kind of acts will be in it… They are cultural shows that the student body put on.
I took part in AjiaFest with 2 acts, tinikling and breakdance. Tiniking is a Traditional Filipino dance that involves hopping to and fro inbetween 2 bamboo sticks.
No, breakdance isn’t really asian but it’s always in AjiaFest and contains a good number of asian members. After I got back from Christmas break, my life got taken over and swallowed by AjiaFest. For 2 weeks I had no life. I had barely any time for eating, homework. I would practice for my 2 acts immediately after school for maybe 6 hours or so. My tiniking captains also finished the choreography during the very week of the show, giving me very limited time to practice -.- The choreography for the modern section was baller though and ‘meant to look impossible’.
If you want to see me, I start at 1:22 in the all purple outfit. If you’re bored would recommend to start watching at 3:14 for pure amazingness. It’s the shit!!! No, seriously and really, you have to see the ending. The part through the sticks had my friends messing up every practice. If you do one wrong move, everyone is thrown off. They successfully went through the end only a couple of times right before our performance. My captains are brilliant geniuses (and good senior friends who both happen to live on my hall). Me, along with the girl I was dancing with in the blue, are going to be the captains together next year.
Here’s the Breakdance video. I’m in the beginning, boy/girl pairing, and very end.
*spelled incorrectly purposefully
Exam Week
Posted: February 15, 2012 Filed under: Life, Randomness, school 2 Comments »Hey everyone! So, it’s exam week over at my little bubble of science & mathery and I’m done with Chemistry! Woot woot! *hands up in the air like I just don’t care* A Computer Science final project also down, so 3 more exams to go. American Studies, Precalculus (which is incidentally much harder that Calculus), and Japanese. Precalculus isn’t really an intro to Calculus. It’s where all of the random math subject matter gets thrown in. I studied pretty intensely for Chemistry and I’m glad it was my first exam because I got to get the most challenging subject out of the way. Today was also Valentine’s Day. The best part of it was all of the candy, baked goods and food that was thrown around <3. *insert sigh about highschool boys*
So, how have I been doing lately? how have I been?
I don’t even know what to say. This school has been the most intense experience I have ever taken under my wing. I practically live in a bubble. There’s this culture here that you can’t really find anywhere else which is why it’s difficult to explain to people. There aren’t any methods of comparison. Whenever I go out to the “real world”, it feels so weird. That there are these other living breathing people who aren’t enrolled in my classes, who have very different lives of their own. When you try to explain things about the school you make so many references to SSM specific things that you have to stop and explain the little parts. I almost forget that the world isn’t made up of very weird, interesting, hardworking, and good looking teenagers.
The best thing about the school is definitely the abundant amount of opportunities. Relationships, classes, language seminars, clubs, etc. It’s interesting to see what you end up manifesting in the school.
So yeah, I just felt like writing a random update. Maybe I’ll do it more often. maybe.
Regenerate
Posted: September 23, 2011 Filed under: Life, Randomness, school Leave a comment »I’m moving. On the web-asphere, that is. When you go onto radicalturtle.com in a couple of days it’ll look a bit different.
Changes
I no longer have the time nor the energy to churn out blog posts… Okay, the time-thing is an excuse, it always is. What I mean is, radicalturtle is no longer one of my top priorities… I’m trying to balance the three S’s of SSM (school of science and math).
- Sleeping
- Socializing
- Studying
So, my posts will be much more casual, maybe just a musing from the day, or whatever I feel like. I might start writing about different aspects about the school, my day, my grades, whatevs you know.
School
I got my grades back yesterday… Somehow, I don’t care about numbers as much as I used to. It’s probably because barely anyone in this school actually gets straight A’s even when we did in our home highschool. This school doesn’t rank students, or have a valedictorian either.
Somewhere along the line I forgot that education is actually supposed to educate and teach us. We can make connections between subjects to better understand the world as a whole. If you’re just cramming, not enjoying yourself, and doing everything for the sake of grades, when you look back, what was the point?
Very Official Poll
Posted: July 31, 2011 Filed under: Randomness Leave a comment »It’s pretty self explanatory – I’m interested in hearing what you guys would like to see more of. I can’t guarantee unicycling in a bear costume if that is your heart’s desire, but I will try.
Ladies and Gents, What would you like to see on Radicalturtle?
Anime Expo 2011
Posted: July 11, 2011 Filed under: humor, Life, Randomness | Tags: 2011, anime, anime expo, cosplay, japan, manga 1 Comment »Hi all! I’ve returned home after 3 days of flying… I’m glad to be back on the ground. First I visited my cousin in Florida and then we flew to LA together with 2 of his friends to go to
Whoo! It’s the largest anime convention in North America. Anime? What’s that you say? It’s Japanese c-c-c-cartoon, though I’m hesitant to call it that. I saw lots of cool costumes.
My Feelings about the trip
It was fun and a little sad. I got to experience new situations with new people so I learned some things about myself. I also made friends with people I just met at AX. So, I can make new friends by myself? Yep.
Pictures!
Pokemon: Almost Nekkid Man version. They had the theme song playing around with them haha.
Hastune Miku is so popular she promotes Toyota. Hastune Miku is the most popular vocaloid (ficitonal character who’s voice is created from a software) from Japan. The Hastune Miku concert was sold out.
Kyoko from Skip Beat! Love me section. One of my all time favorite mangas.
Ren, Nana, Hachi, and Shin from NANA. I cosplayed as nana, only I didn’t have the wig so I just looked punk.
Awesome Joker
I dunno where he’s from but he just looked cool.
My favorite costume — Crazy Transformers! I thought they could’ve turned into cars at any second.
From the music video — Just be friends
Prince of Tennis. unrotated photo — cause it’d take to much time to unrotate.
I won a Cascade badge from Misty in a vicious game of rock, paper, scissors.
Two kawaii girls in traditional Japanese Yukatas — They were speaking in bonefied Japanese.
Two of my teachers from parapara dancing. I enjoyed watching the guy to my left dance the most.
My cousin cosplayed as a character from a video game — persona or something or other?
Ahhh! It’s the cast from Avatar! I definitely want to do a coordinated cosplay if I go with friends.
It’s a computer trackpad… they vendor was yelling “touch their boobs!” to all of the people. As I walked away after taking the picture he shouted to me “you can touch!”
My cousin bought the “say no to walls” shirt which I love. It’s just so unexpected.
There where some famous singers, voice actors, and notable people from the Japanese anime industry there. Nergilis (band), Danny Choo (popular blogger and host), Maon Kurosaki, Kalifina, Miyuki Sawashiro (voiced characters from Angel beats!, Beelsebub, Arakawa under the bridge). I saw Arakawa under the Bridge and The Girl who Leaped through time while I was there — both are highly recommended.
アニメ エキスボ が 好き です。
P.S. You should subscribe if you like anime.
P.P.S. Or, if you say no to walls like me, follow me on twitter.
Leslie's First Dance
Posted: March 13, 2011 Filed under: humor, Life, Randomness Leave a comment »
I started off on an awkward foot but steadily became accustomed to flailing my body around to the rhythm. I looked around to my classmates who were dancing around without any reservations and took note. Most of the time was spent dancing in a certain group of schoolmates so I wasn’t worried about a guy coming up to me and doing what I like to call the “faux butt sex move.” I’m pretty sure a guy’s genitals came in touch with my butt once, but I turned around and looked him straight in the eye. He and his friend delved deeper into the crowd. Afterwards, my level of hearing went down to the equivalent of an 80 year old senior citizen. If you want to dance but not dance with sneezy guys then you have to be at the edge of the crowd but near the music so I was next to the speakers almost the entire time. My original plan was to watch my friends dance from the back of the room like a creepy stalker. I actually had fun. *gasp*
All in all it was a good experience. Would I like to experience it again? Errr, very sparingly. Halfway through I realized I lost my name tag. My very important name tag needed to enter the business competitions. Shit. I squeezed my way through the suffocating crowd several times. I found 5 nametags on the floor and threw them onto the stage since my name wasn’t on them. There was one point where I spotted a name tag in between two people grinding and thought to myself “damn… I need that nametag. Awkwardness is inevitable. How do I make this as least awkward as possible?” After a few rounds of thinking how to approach this, I stuck my leg in between and the guy started dancing on leg looking like “yeah, wanna join?”. I moved my leg further in without actually moving the homeland (aka my body), stomped on the nametag, dragged it back, picked it up, and walked away. Then I threw it onto the stage. The next day I had to buy another one for $2.
I went on a field trip with my business club, DECA a few weeks back. Last year I left the dance after 10 minutes because I was soooo uncomfortable and watched The Real Housewives of Orange County with my senior roomates who had boyfriends.
We stayed in a nice hotel next to a 3 story mall. Both places were consumed by thousands of teenagers from all across the state in both casual clothes and business attire (suits, blazers, pantyhose, heels).
Do something that makes you uncomfortable. You might enjoy it.
Bye Bye Windows, Hello Mac!
Posted: December 11, 2010 Filed under: inspiration, Life, personal development, Randomness 9 Comments »Dear 13 inch MacBook Pro,
The first time I laid my eyes on you, I knew you were the one. That aluminum unibody enclosure, your sleek and slim intersurface, and ooh! the apple logo permanently etched into your back. A thing of beauty. We were meant to be. It was fate the law of attraction that brought us together. You surprised me. That introduction? The flight through the space time continuum where you said hi to me in like every language. Totally unexpected.
Our first moments…. they were awkward. I’m not going to lie. You’re so much smaller (I mean REALLY. My friend’s is 21 freaking inches! So much smaller)… but I’ve become accustomed to it. I think it’s cute. The command for shortcuts… it’s placed so differently. For a couple of moments there, I’l have to admit, I missed Windows. Vista. Oh please! Don’t crash on me. Your so fast though, lightening fast. I suppose that makes up for the size issue. I love the way your keys light up when I turn you on. During the honeymoon period of our relationship, I always washed my hands before using you. Embarrassing, I know.
Even now, I’m still getting to know you. I don’t know everything about you. You don’t know everything about ME. Sometimes I’ll try to close an application but it still stays up. I know it’s me… I just don’t know which keys to press. But why don’t you have an X button at the top right hand corner of your applications?!
Sorry.
You and Windows are different. Different both inside and out. It’s just that windows was my first, you know. We were young. I was naive. We met during the… 6th grade I think? He was… how should I say it? Heavier. Chunkier. Clunkier. But I still used him will all of my heart. We went through so much together. He taught me so many things. And I programmed him into my comfortable ways. There’s no doubt you’re slimmer, shiner, and richer, though ok? Want a cookie? The virtual kind? Oh mac, I can tell this is only the start of a new chapter in both of our lives.
But…….
Do you know what else I’ve realized while I’ve spent time with you? You’re not going to make me happy. I repeat, you’re not going to make me happy.
Please, please! Don’t be offended. No boyfriend/computer/[insert sexual innuendo] is ever going to make me happy. I have to be my own person.
When first I heard about you through the grape vine, I was determined to make you mine. You’re well known for being a player and turing everyone you touch in an “Apple fanboy.” Ohhh you’ve definitely got the magic touch. To be quite honest, you have the most badass reputation out there. In fact, I had to pay you $800 just to meet me, remember that? At that point, I think your traveling expenses should be free. And my parents had to chip in more. They said it was a “Christmas present.”
I crave and crave for the circumstances of my life and the people of my life to be “perfect.” I want gorgeous things and fabulous people. There’s nothing wrong with that right? But even when I do have gorgeous things and fabulous people… there’s this part of me that still feels empty inside. Really empty. Like a big black hole that just sucks everything into it. You’re amazing, I really want you to know that. Never doubt it.
It’s not you, it’s me. No, no! I’m not using that as a breakup line. I just think we need some space.
….Not cyberspace you naughty boy. Just some time apart from each other. Sometimes I need to go to a field of grass by myself and stare at the big blue sky for a while. Clarify my own thoughts without your input.
We’ll still be together. We’ll still spend lots of time together and fool around like nobody’s business. I’ve just realized that I need to take care of ME. I need to chase after my own dreams. I can’t be like those other girls. I can’t depend on you for everything and that includes satisfying my emotional needs.
- Lots of Love, Hugs, And Kisses
XOXO Leslie
Jumping off the Train of Information Overload
Posted: November 28, 2010 Filed under: Randomness 8 Comments »Over the past two years or so I’ve collected and assimilated more information than I’ve possibly ever needed to know. Topics ranging from health, wealth, life, the universe, the government, dangerous chemicals in our cosmetics, etc. I would like a break. I actually bid my RSS reader adieu a couple of days ago. I bookmarked my favorite sites which I can go to read whenever I feel like it. This actually works well because I can take my time to digest what an author says and sometimes browse those forgotten archives. Even though we’re exes, RSS reader and I may get back together someday.
If you need distraction free reading, you can use the Readability bookmarklet (click and drag to your bookmarks).
I’ve come to a culmination of subject expertise. There is no need for me to rapidly digest so much information any longer. I used to be hungry, but now I’m just tired. Instead of staying caught up with the latest information, I’d like to implement and take more action upon what I have learned. I’m going to focus more on my hobbies and developing skills rather than digesting new information.
Among my list of important things are:
- Speaking and breathing in the Japanese language
- Acquiring learning tactics which will increase my ability to understand and remember new information quickly (give me a random list and I can memorize it like that *snap*)
- Releasing frozen, stale emotions
- Spending more time with my lil brother (there will be a day where he’ll prefer to spend more time with girls his age than me)
By cutting out the input of information I’m sure I can definitely increase my abilities. I already know all about sugar, our agricultural system, the fact that our government does lots of shady stuff behind our back that most of the American public is completely oblivious to, minimalism, how gluten is bad for you, etc, etc. Mind, thank you for handling so much information. I’m giving you a break.
New Thoughts, Fun Update
Posted: October 18, 2010 Filed under: Experiment, Life, Money, Randomness, school 6 Comments »Hi everyone! I hope you all have been having a lovely time these last few weeks.
Things have been quiet over here because like Reggie, I haven’t felt anything of value to say and I’d rather not post for the sake of posting. I’ve decided this is the direction I will take my blog. I’d rather have interesting and meaningful content to both you and me. Neh to fillers and fluff, unless that comes in the form of a cute K-drama *cough Playful Kiss cough*.
I’m also a bit overloaded with schoolwork, experiences, and processing life but I don’t blame time. I don’t think that’s a veritable excuse, ya just gotta prioritize sistah!
Over the last few days, I’ve started reading “Money and the Law of Attraction” by Jerry and Esther Hicks. It has made me realize and pay attention to all of the incoming thoughts and feelings I have. Many are old thought patterns ingrained into my psyche. They’re creeping spiders injecting you with small doses of venom everyday.
Instead of keeping them there, I’ve been working to slowly and gently, the most important thing, replace them with new positive thought patterns and feelings. The key is gently. Take note of how you’re feeling and listen to your inner guidance on whether or not you’re just suppressing how you really feel or genuinely inviting a newer positive feeling into your existence. On the day the book arrived, I found a dollar bill thinly coated with sand on the ground in the dark tumults of a crowd. I thought that was worth noting. I also read a review where a man found a $20 bill the day the book arrived.
Thanks to my good friend and mentor, Kenton, I’ve decided to use school as a sort of training ground. There really are such interesting and strange examples of human nature.
Schoolwork:
I’ve already read Learn More and Study Less (pretty fantastic book on holistically learning) but have not yet implemented many of the tactics. Also, my thoughts and feelings towards schoolwork may be keeping me from grasping concepts as quickly as I could. I’ll be experimenting with this in the coming weeks.
For anyone interested in what I’ve been up to:
-I watched “Oklahoma!” with my friends on a weekend field trip. It was good! *two thumbs up*
-I went to my first homecoming and football game. Our team won 48-14. I still have no idea how football works though.
-I went to the local Oyster Festival for the first time. Yummy food!
-I finished up playing tennis as #3 on the team. Woot! Woot!
-Found out one of my best friends choose to write about me as his favorite person for his journal in English class =D.
Quirky fun pictures! Plus an Unexpected Evacuation
Posted: September 25, 2010 Filed under: Life, personal development, Randomness, school 9 Comments »What have I been up to?
I’ve been chugging along in school, playing on the tennis team, doing homework, and working on both assigned and personal projects while somehow keeping up with my k-drama for the price of sleep. In pockets of my days I meditate or read the sedonna method.
One fun moment was in Algebra 2 with my favorite teacher. She took us outside to make pictures of the things we’d been learning, such as absolute value or radicals on the graph, out of ourselves. But my favorite pictures were these:
Trying to get good service. I'm on top of the fourth bar.
jumping in the air for a highschool musical freeze frame
Escaping over the fence
I think we should have recess in highschool. It was so fun!
Our school had a bomb threat on Thursday causing the entire student body to evacuate the building. It was actually kinda nice excluding the possibility of being in danger. We sat outside and I had some major bondage time with a new friend. We went deep. What he told me about himself completely surprised me. I reiterated one of my reoccurring thoughts to him “You know, I feel like people don’t know me that well… They don’t know what runs through my head, my past experiences. But then I also think hm, I guess that also works the other way too and I don’t know other people all that well either. It baffles me.”
Besides that, a lot of other shit has been happening lately. I’m trying to stay afloat and deal with it all. Once in a while I look out my window at night and think of reasons to live….
Since this is the “personal development” realm we’re talking in here, I feel as if I shouldn’t talk about the bad stuff but then I wouldn’t be true to myself. I haven’t been feeling good lately. I’m trying to put on a facade of being ok, but I’m not. I’m crumbling like a cheap, non-food cookie.
I feel like life and people are trying to pull me in so many directions but I don’t want to go along with them. Should life feel like a war of inner turmoil everyday?
The true underlying thought under my real dreams and aspirations?
Freedom.
I saw this video today and it cheered me up a bit =)
