Pops Concert and The Drive In

Blog No. 141: Pops Concert and The Drive In

My left kneecap still hurts from yesterday's "collision" with JT... XP

Anyway, I went to the Foothill High Pops Concert with Parkarr, which is basically a concert/potluck outside near a gazebo. We met up with Piper and Difuentez in the grass with those fancy, fold-up backyard chairs. 

We saw Taka, Abril, King, Susan Surrandon, and Home Skillet Biscuit, with others, performing in the first set, Taka and Abril on flute, King on trumpet, Susan Surrandon on trombone, and Home Skillet Biscuit on clarinet. It was pretty much the Foothill High portion of the ARC Concert Band meshed amongst the current students of Foothill. 

Although, when I saw Home Skillet perform, I did not recognize it was her until the set was over and she sat back down in the audience. It kinda made me sad because I would be the person to recognize her, seeing as I sat next to her during Concert Band. She's pretty cool. Her, Bianca, and I pretty much have our own little inside jokes and whatnot. Home Skillet had brought a bunch of post it notes one time, which we've used to write on peoples folders. XP

I met Taylor, Susan Surrandon's "Boyfriend" in the eyes of Susan Surrandon's mom... (Yeah, I'm not sure how that technically works out either. XD) Susan Surrandon introduced Taylor to me as the second-most-coolest-person-on-the-planet... Me being the first apparently. XP

Yowty was also up there after the first set, playing the ukulele part for the song a couple of guys performed, "I'm Yours" from Jason Mraz. Honestly, I welcome Jason Mraz songs as a refresher from the weird dance beats on the radio... Just not this song. I also used to like that Second Serenade song "Fall For You" but someone kinda ruined it for me... Stupid radio hits...

... But Yowty was pretty cool on the ukulele! XP

Then the beginning band played... And ended.

Then the bigger band played. It was funny because some of the composed songs from the alumni set were made by the same person who did the composed quartet songs for this band. All of which pretty much refered to video game music, like the pokemon center music for all the pokemon games. It was quite funny. XP

We kinda had to leave during the middle of the performance to try and get to the Drive-In on time.

~~~~~

Difuentez was leading us in his car while Parkarr and I followed in the red car. Originally, Piper and I would have switched cars so that Piper could lead Parkarr in case we got lost. That didn't happen for some reason... Instead, we just had to follow close behind while I was on the phone with Piper in the car ahead. We almost lost them a couple of times, but we followed OK, partly because we told Difuentez to use his blinkers. XP

At the Drive-In, the person who took our cash had attended the Italian class with us, Krystal. Either it's a really small world or a really big school... I vote big school. XP

Piper and Difuentez had went to Winco prior to the Pops Concert to grab a bunch of junk food. All I'm saying is that she got my favorite chips, Doritos Nacho Cheese, and my prefered movie soda, Grape Crush soda. She also got like a pound of sour worms, which kinda changed from a solid to plasma phase in Difuentez's car, which made them THAT much more delicious. XD

There was a list of double feature movies. We voted for the Wolverine movie, with Fast and Furious following right after. We had the set up of the four backyard chairs in the middle of the two cars with speakers turned up to awesome. Piper had pulled out her two Mary Poppins' umbrellas to block the wind blowing fro behind us. :P

So here are some movie reviews:

~~~~~

Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

You know, for a movie about character development, this movie is kinda pointless...

We already know that Wolverine lost his memories awhile back in the other two movies. This movie is basically from the beginning of his mutant life, when he figures out he can push bones out of his body, to the point where he loses all of his memories, memories of his lover, of the adamantium in his body, and of how he got the name Wolverine. It also shows at what point in time the X-Men started, (when Cyclops, physically blind, is able to lead the horde of specially picked mutants out of the plant only by mental cues of the Professor), leaving it open ended for yet another possible Origins sequel. Foreshadowing? Possibly...

The beginning montage sequence really reminded me of that of Watchmen, in that it if pushes the fast forward button through some of the boring parts, highlighting only the important parts during some recognizeable time periods. This sequence mainly consisted of James Logan and his brother, Victor, later Sabertooth, battling in the Civil War, WWI, WWII, and Vietnam. It didn't really work in Watchmen on the count of it left the majority of non-Watchmen readers confused, but here it kinda fits with the storyline, seeing as there isn't any valubale information other than Logan and Victor were in those wars.

This movie would really explain why Logan is so withdrawn from people, why he has this grudge against everyone. If only he'd remember any of it, then this movie would be a successful character development story. Seeing as he doesn't remember any of it, it's kinda pointless.

Some of the lines and plot twists are kinda cliched. For example, the last line of the movie, after the credits, was totally predictable. I kinda figured that the lover, Kayla, had the power of persuasion when she had put her hand on the bridge guy in the beginning. I also kinda knew that Kayla didn't actually die, seeing as we've only seen Victor leaving a mark on the car hood then Kayla passed out, with no flesh wounds, in the forest a certain distance away. That part really shows Logan's weakness, his animalist instincts of revenge, but it makes no point seeing as he's invinceable. XP

Weapon XI was kinda cool, but with looking at some of the mutants his powers came from, you'd imagine that his battle with Logan and Victor would've been a lot more interesting. Resulting in yet another pointless rating...

Some Pros: A good storyline.

Some Cons: Utterly pointless.

My Rating: 2.5 Out of 5 Thumbs Up---> See it only if you're willing to come to grips on how pointless the movie is.

~~~~~

Movie Review: Fast and Furious

Letty dies. Cars explode. Vin Diesel.

Rating: 0.5 Out of 5 Thumbs Up---> Watch ONLY for the reasons above.

~~~~~

I went home with free Doritos and soda. XP

Finals and Frisbee

Blog No. 140: Last Day of Finals and First Match of Ultimate Frisbee

I arrived at ARC, after a McDonald's breakfast, completely not caring about the Chemistry final. I knew I would do a decent job if I tried, but I've come to terms with "not passing"... Apparently so much so that I had forgotten my calculator. I had to walke to the stockroom to check out a calculator... But overall, the final didn't seem too bad!... Of course we say this and end up getting something below our expectations, as always this semseter. XP

Then I had a little break after Chemistry. I met up with Susan Surrandon after getting a cup of coffee. We kinda talked about how well we thought we did on the Chem final, but niether of us were worried. We're both taking it again during the fall. XP

Susan Surrandon had left, so I walked over to "The Spot" where Kaitlyn was hanging out and working on her acting dialogue final. I decided to help her out a little, so I practiced lines with her for awhile. We also talked a little bit. Apparently she found "the one" again. She uses this internet/cell phone dating service to meet guys. I'm not too keen into that whole dating with someone you've never seen face-to-face thing. Apparently, this boyfriend goes out of his way to calling her twice a day, even when he's busy. Hopefully this one sticks for longer than 5 minutes. XP

Then I'd figured I should practice for the Piano final, seeing as I needed to start learning the final performance. Well, there wasn't a practice room available, so I kinda waited. Apparently, it was also around the time Dr. Gilman was handing out grades to his final because his theory students were spralled across the hallway. Amongst these people were Rindy, Darius, and the Bowler Hat Guy. Apparently I was invited to Dana's end of the year party, according to Rindy. I thought about it, but I figured the only people I would know there would be some of the people from the Jazz History class I took, and I seldom even talked to them. 

I also helped Rindy kick people out of her practice room, which happened to be Michelle and the Asian chick from Piano, practicing the duet for the Final. Michelle offered to play the duet with me, seeing as my duet partner(s) were nowhere to be found. Ten minutes later, we nabbed a practice room and performed the duet a couple of times. I felt pretty confident because Michelle really knew her part. Now if I had that feeling during class...

During the Piano final, I had to perform:

1. The Haydn piece, Allegro Schizoferraneousmolando or something like that, which was supposed to be performed like 2 weeks ago...
   
2. The Schubart duet, hopefully with a well prepared partner...
3. The Final performance piece, which I had NO practice time to perform...
4. The F# Minor scales test, which I also had NO practice time...

The Haydn dealt with dynamics and articulation, whereas the duet and the final dealt with playing clunky chords all over the place. It didn't help that I got the part of the duet that had a 4 bar, sixteenth note, solo... 

Piper was supposed to be one of my partners, but she did not show up... AGAIN. Heidi was worried, so she had me call Piper to see where she was. All Piper texted back was "I'm not there. DX" So how was I supposed to explain THAT to Heidi? 

"Sorry Heidi, I just got her voicemail. I suppose she's sick! :/"

Very awkward...

Here's how the performances actually went:

1. The Haydn piece pretty much went seamlessly. 
2. The duet could've been worse, but at least we were somewhat able to keep the pace of the song together...
3. Did NOT perform the final performance. I just went up to Heidi and said that "I won't waste your time or put you through that torture. I'll just perform the Haydn instead."
4. The scales tests are always a breeze. XD

Whereas Heidi, the nicest, sweetest piano teacher on the planet, said "I know that Angela's been a little mousy this semester, for whatever reason. But I just want to make sure you know that I don't put you in the same boat as her." Or something along those lines... Then she gave me a hug.

B'aaawwwww. XP

I met up with Piper and Difuentez afterward at the picnic spot, where I learned that the both of them were at lunch with Dr. Hughes during my Piano final... 

Really Piper? REALLY? Leave me in the dark why don't you??? Geez... XD

During the Piano Final, I kept getting a buzzing in my pocket. I kept on thinking it was my mom, so I ignored most of them. But it went over the three buzz limit, (my family and I have this system where one phone call and a text meant call me back when you can! Two calls and a text meant where are you David?! And three or more calls meant dude it's an emergency, PICK UP THE PHONE DX.) So I had picked up my phone during the performance, keeping it hidden from Heidi, to learn that JT has been trying to call me...

I remembered the buzzes after leaving Piper and Difuentez, and listened to the voicemail. He's going to Fanime this weekend, like I was supposed to but ended up not going to, and he's invited a few people to come along and play Ultimate Frisbee before he leaves.

I had thought my mom needed me after school, but instead she took me to Bannister Park for frisbee. XP

~~~~~

Ultimate Frisbee. A game that involves running and frisbee throwing... They made that into a sport?

Well, I had figured I should start playing more sports. I used to play sports all the time up until middle school, where I had the incident of "Prepubescent David Vs. The Human Refrigerator" where I blacked out after the start of a football kickoff because someone literally ran me over. I ended up in a purple arm cast for about 6 weeks...

I guess throwing a frisbee would suffice as a sport in this case! XP

This game really involved running. Granted I did a lot of unnecessary running, but running nonetheless. I'm not used to a lot of it, which in turn made me breathe heavy and lose energy that much quickly...

But no one can say that I wasn't trying!

During the game, I was super close to catching the disc. I jumped up in the air, being in the vicinity of the disc. Then JT comes from in front of me, and we pretty much collided into each other. I rolled on the ground a little bit. We both fell, we both missed the frisbee. XP

After that, I was able to catch a few of the frisbees. I can catch, but not so much throw or run... XP

I met a couple of JT's friends he invited. I had already met Diana from archery. Marshall, Adam, and Jeff seemed to like video games alot. Most of the breaks was spent talking about some Halo games and a nostalgic stroll through the gaming systems throughout the years. Granted, I contributed to this conversation, too, but still they're geeks! XP

All in all, I caught the disc a couple of times, but I need aim and a better throwing technique. XD

After the game, JT took me home. Most of the ride home, we pretty much debated on the kind gesture of paying someone back, because it had sparked from me saying, "what can I do to make it up to you?" 

"You don't need to, I offered to take you home."

"After I asked for a ride the last couple of times you invited me to Ultimate Frisbee."

"I had already figured I would be giving you rides, so it's not necessary."

"But you're going way out of your way to take me home! You are going to Natomas and back; it's not exactly around the corner!"

"Really it's no big deal. I'm indifferent to the distance. I'd figured that once I got my liscence that I would be used as a taxi service anyway."

"But it's a kind gesture you've given me. The least I could do is offer one in return! I'd feel guilty if I was the persistent kind of person. But still, wouldn't it be kind of insulting to turn down a kind offer of returning the favor?"

"IF you were the persistent kind of person? Who was the person who texted me before the semester in all caps 'WE SHOULD TAKE A CLASS TOGETHER?'"

Well, JT can be stubborn at times. :P

...

Blog No. 139: Piano Practice Part 2

Tuesday...

I seriously do not remember what happened...

...

NEXT!

Deep Connection

Blog No. 138: Time for School, or, Piano Practice Part 1

Today, 5/18 Monday, I went to school, not for a final, but for Piano practice. I figured that, seeing as I missed out on a couple of performances in Piano, I should practice on an upright piano at school rather than a old keyboard at home... And I also came to finish the last two labs for Chemistry I needed to turn in.

I found Dustin, sleeping on the table... Rather, he woke up as soon as he heard my voice from another table to signal me over. When I walked over, I saw Matt at another table. We tried calling him over for about a minute, but he still didn't hear us, even after Dustin's high pitched squeals or my whistling. But he did come over a minute after we stopped calling him. Matt's apparently deaf. XP

I finally gave Dustin's shades back to him. Susan Surrandon came at some point to work on the labs with me, seeing as she, too, never finished them. XP

Susan Surrandon and I took a pleasent stroll to the chem lab stock room, where in the hallway there are computers open strictly to Chemistry students. I thought I might as well utilize my Chemistry student priveledges here to finish a lab that needed a chart. At least the teacher understands that doing graphs by hand really suck, so The Weissbart had us pull up an Excel document to enter our data in... TWO pages of data. DX

We stapled the labs and slid them under The Weissbart's door, running as quickly as we could out of the stockroom, back to the cafeteria.

Back in the cafe, we conversed some more with Matt and Dustin. I was kinda waiting for noon to go and practice some Piano music. 

Dustin left.

Then Susan Surrandon, Matt, and I conversed for a little, some of it defining what the term "fake sex" had meant. Then something went on where they said that I don't make a deep connection with people...

Matt, Lomo, and I sharing a "deep connection," whatever that meant. XP

Then Piper came to meet me in the cafe as I was getting lunch.

Dustin came back.

Then Piper and I left, heading toward the practice rooms. Only, when we got there, there were no open rooms to be found. So we walked back to the cafeteria.

An hour later, we went back into the piano lab, only to practice for an hour or so.

My mom picked me up and took me home. And that was that! XP

So You Wanna See My--

Blog No. 137: Reconditioning My Room

That was about as much as I got out before Piper replied with a loud and immediate, "YES!"

The question was "So... You wanna see my room."

To me this was kind of a big step. Absolutely no one goes into my room. No lie. Never. No one never ever EVER went into my room because I've never invited anyone into my room.

Piper was texting to me about how whe wanted to get out of watching pay-per-view wrestling, and I was texting her that I was just cleaning my room. I've decided earlier this year that I would paint my room, but in order to do that I would need a clean room. I find it hard to clean my room because it is always in a state of chaos and flux... XD

Piper has been bothering me about letting her see my room before I leave to Santa Cruz. I kinda felt averted to that, and there was a good reason, too. I see that if someone looks into my room, they would have a look at my soul, so to speak. I guess after all of these years I've been keeping myself in far too long. XP

I examined my room backwards and forwards and reminisced on how I've collected these items over the years. Each little thing has a story that makes me remember how pleasent life has been as of now. In a way, my room is my timeline, of who I was and who I am now. Metaphors! XP

So yeah. I'm going to need to take all those pins down before I paint the walls... There are loads of them isn't there?... Darn... XD