Every pane of weathered glass...

Not dead?

doubtexposed — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:01:18 GMT

I haven't posted in this journal in ... a year. I've read all of my friends entries though, and commented sometimes, but I seem to favour ignoring my own journal.

The school year was quite busy for me, which would explain my lack of posting. I seem to be the type of person who gets "too involved" in things, more things than they could handle. The 2nd semester was a bit of a disaster in terms of time management. Hah, it was hilarious, considering I never went to school for a full week for practically the whole semester because of badminton, track, and band. Hopefully, next year will be a bit more balanced, but I sort of doubt it.

I finally finished summer school. I decided to take the mandatory half-courses - Civics and Careers online over the summer, so I could have 4 options instead of 3. My schedule next year is rather hectic, because I'll have 3 enhanced subjects (science, english, history) and music first semester, thankfully with 3rd lunch. But second semester, I have first/fifth (depending on what day it is) lunch, and German, French, Math, and I fast-tracked Bio, but I might switch to Chem. Unfortunately, I live nowhere close to the school, and going to school late or going home early isn't possible, so my spare/lunch, will have to be a time for... power-napping?

I'm excited for next year already. I don't dread going to school much. There's quite a few things to look forwards to: friends, Prefects, the England trip, and x-country starts soon too. I'm starting to become unsure about my ability of playing french horn (I switched from flute), but I hope I can... somehow pull through music class. The England trip will be phenomenal, I believe we're spending most of our time at the Harrogate Festival, but we're going to spend a few days in London as well. I haven't been to any European country in close to a decade. My family seemed to have done most of their globe trotting before I was 5 (which I'm a little bitter over), so my memory is expectedly iffy.

Piano exam's in .... 17 days. I'm nowhere close to ready, but that's unsurprising. I still have, 3 pieces to memorize (though I'll probably only end up with 4 memorized pieces), and I'm a little worried now.

doubtexposed — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 02:04:23 GMT

Gah... I can't concentrate on anything nowadays, nor sleep. And I really rather miss both of those lovely things. I've spent so much time procrastinating the past few weeks, mhmm... I never seem to be able to get it through my head that doing things earlier is just as good to doing things later? I work pretty well under deadlines, but it's cutting into my sleep time. :(

The whole moving to Michigan thing is still undecided. My mom got an extention to signing the offer, and my dad has an interview there next week. I've told a bunch of my friends, because I don't think I could handle it by myself anymore. And it's been better having some people I can talk to now. I love my friend Jo, I guess she's the only one who's really talked to me honestly about the whole situation so far. Everyone else said to me, well.. exactly what I said to myself - "I'm not moving", but I really appreciated it when she did point out a few pros to moving there.

I've had a great time with everyone the last couple of weeks. I went out with a couple of people for Charlie's birthday to Tucker's. Haha, it was great, I think we managed to scare a couple of the other people eating there. My friend Stefan said really loudly - "Before I die, I want to run through the streets naked in the dark", and a rather elderly woman at the table next to us informs him that it's illegal. Heh.

I also saw Borat, hah.. that's movie was hilarious. Rather crude, but hilarious nonetheless. I think that was probably the funniest movie I've seen this year, so far at least. I loved watching everyone elses reactions to the naked fight scenes.

I actually somehow found time to watch some of the Manchester United vs. Celtic match yesterday, while working on my french poster. It was disappointing, Man. U lost 0 - 1.

I think I'll try to post more often from now on, so my posts won't seem so random.. and.... irrelevant?

The stupidest article ever...

doubtexposed — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 22:15:03 GMT

Men Smarter than Women, Prof. claims

Please tell me this is a joke. I don't know what to think of this other than the whole theory is ridiculous, from the idea itself, to their research (SATs?), or the fact that this article is just another way to tell girls that they should dumb themselves down (because it's more feminine?).

*The paper itself (.pdf)

Oh no... registration.

doubtexposed — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:30:53 GMT

I had registration for school yesterday.
It was rather boring, other than the fact that I went with my friends Eden and Jessica. I saw a bunch of people from my classes last year that I didn't get to see over the summer.. ahhh.. everyone's changed so much. I feel so short now compared to everyone else (I'm 5' 4''). Natasha is now fluent in French after her summer exchange to Switzerland, though I sort of feel bad now because I never got to meet her exchange partner, Thomas (who works in a circus!!!).

Registration itself was pointless, and involved a whole lot of waiting ( number calling and ipod-a-listening). My schedule itself seems pretty good... I have:

French
English
Science
Art

... in the first semester and:

Math
Gym
Music
Geography

in my second. It seems pretty balanced out, so I don't have any complaints. I have homeroom with at least one person I already know (Marcus), and English and Science with some of my closer friends.

And haha... I think I probably looked uber-stoned for my ID pic. I can't wait to see that one *cough*. I'm pretty glad that our first day of school is a half day (ahh.. next Tuesday), since that guarantees that I'll be able to watch the House MD premiere that night (which I'm so excited over).

Ohh... the school seemed to have messed up the bussing for my area (second year in a row supposedly), and I currently do not have a bus, which sucks because I live way too far to walk to school, and according to the transit website it'll take an hour to get there by public transit (and 26 mins of that hour is walking on foot). I'll most likely will have to go to a farther stop on somebody else's bus though.

After registration, Eden and Jess came over to my house and we made a really good pasta for lunch (well.. more like Eden made the food, I washed the cookware and found ingredients, and Jessica watched Arthur). Then I made them watch Garden State (which I absolutely adore), and made them fall in love with it (and the soundtrack which is inexpressibly amazing). Then we took a movie break, went on MSN, compared schedules with random people, went a webcamming, played with Eden's hair (bows are fun), then settled down with ice cream to watch Saving Private Ryan.

I've never actually seen the movie till yesterday, and I'm amazed by it now. We were supposed to watch it in class last year, but never had the chance. Tom Hanks was so believable in the role as the Captain, I think it was probably the best job he's ever done in a movie. The whole movie seems so epic, with so many parts, and though it felt sort of lengthy, I can't imagine it being any shorter.

I have a orthodontist appointment in half an hour. Hopefully, my braces can come off soon. :) And I must remember to make icons for this journal.

Introduction

doubtexposed — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 18:09:36 GMT

Well.. I hope writing a proper(ish) introduction will be interesting to you as well to me. I haven't written a recent one for anything really and it'll be funny to see how I describe myself.

Who am I?
My name's Tina, I live in Ontario, Canada. I'm a teenager, and (thus) a student in the ever interesting high school that I will be going to. I'm Chinese- Canadian (but I probably identify more with Canadian). I was born in Germany, but I can't speak German since I only lived there a year and a half, urh I've also lived in China, but I've been in somewhere in Canada for the past decade. :)

But who are you really?
Hah.. well.. I'm someone who's crazy enough to write a Q&A session with herself.

Mhmm... it's hard to describe myself, and I'd rather not describe myself as "always changing" because... I find it cliche?.. well more because I don't think it's completely true. I think I'm somebody whose personality is obviously affected by their mood. I'm definitely quite happy go lucky, but I do have those times where I lapse into a puddle of thoughts and rants.

I'm not one of those people who are content with being content, I'm really quite ambitious, but I'm also lazy and I procrastinate way too much. But I simply want to do something with my life. I think I'm a passive perfectionist, I can be one at times where I need to be one.

I obviously don't group my thoughts into an easily readable manner, but I write what I'm thinking even if it doesn't quite make sense at second glance. Hah.. at my tender age, I think I'm already beginning to feel like there's never enough time for all the things I want to do, but for someone who thinks in that manner, I "waste" a lot of time on pointless things.

Okay... enough random thoughts... Interests?
Oh dear... I have so many interests so I'll just group them.

Arts
Aiya... I have so many art-related interests... I love love love visual arts, and I take classes in sketching (pencil) and painting (gauche, watercolour, chinese style, doing oil soon) and I tend to draw pencil portraits or I paint still life. I can't say I'm supremely passionate about either, but it's definitely something I wouldn't be able to give up easily, because I do the most thinking while I'm painting/drawing.

I also love to create digital art, I rather wish I had more time to work on this interest, but I still regularly icon. I used to doll, and I had a period where I loved to make wallpapers. I'd love to take up making fractals though.

I do some crafting (mostly knitting and a few clothing reconstructions) but it's more of a new area of interest for me (thanks to LJ).

Music
I'm urh.. a piano player... I'd love to call myself a pianist, but it just doesn't feel like I'm doing that title justice. Hah.. I completely fall into the Asian stereotype here. I play urh.. gr.10, but it hasn't quite sunk into me yet, I definitely don't practise the 3 hours a day that I should be. I love playing the piano but I think I lack the passion that seperates an average piano player from a pianist. I hate baroque music, but I love impressionist and romantic.

Where my heart really lies is probably with the music that graces my ipod. I have really varied taste, and I probably like at least a few artists in every genre. I have quite a love for indie (or just plain out there) rock/pop and have quite the varied taste in that too. I really like sorta folk-sy rock/pop (e.g. Rilo Kiley, Tegan & Sara). I listen to a lot of mainstream music too, but I don't love most of it as much as I love the music I find on the internet.

The Rest...
Hah.. okay.. I'll start off with the "sports" I play. I'm learning badminton and I can't quite say I'm good at it, but I try. I'm a runner... and that I love. I'm not an obsessive exerciser but I do a ... decent deal of it because it makes me feel better and feel less self conscious. I used to do a lot of swimming but I don't really swim that often anymore, I also used to figure skate and dance.

Wow.. that was... not complete but a good start to me. :)

Why would I make a second journal if I never write in my first?

doubtexposed — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:12:46 GMT

I guess this journal is the new actual journal (in which I'll actually try to write in) for pottermaniagurl (which'll now be used as a journal for icon communities/other communities... or maybe I'll just give it up entirely?). I don't know why I felt like I needed a second journal, but I did, and with nothing better to do right now (thank god for summer) and knowing I won't have time to start up a new one during the school year, right now is the perfect time for a new journal.

I'd like to get a layout with a header made by myself, but I'm really rather too lazy to figure it out, but I do like the theme of this S2 layout. Haha.. the title of my journal comes from a Death Cab for Cutie song - We Looked Like Giants... and I have no idea why it's the title but it's one of my favourite songs.

I'm sort of iffy on whether I'll friend all of the RL people I know who have LJs... lol.. (insusurro you're definitely excluded from that list)... it's not a huge problem right now because most of my friends are too caught up with their msn spaces and myspaces (DIE MYSPACE!), but I guess the whole point of having a seperate journal on LJ for me, was so I could write about things that I wouldn't be able to post on my msn space. It seems like lately, most of the stuff I want to post about, I can't post because I'm afraid that people who are involved will read it and realize who it's about.

I'll warn any future readers right now, I'm a "teen", hah... in one part of my mind I definitely believe that the world revolves around me and my problems are important. There'll definitely be times when I come off as bitchy, shallow, self-centered, spoiled, *insert typical suburban teenager stereotype here*. There'll definitely be extremely stupid hormone centered posts, and posts about the stress of school, and pseudo-philosophical, trying to make sense through hopeless metaphors or halfway high due to the lack of sleep posts. (and ... haha.. I almost forgot to mention my fangirly posts... there'll probably be some of those too)

As much as it sounds like I'm trying to turn you off from my journal, I would LOVE it if you friended me, it's always great to have friend's entries to read and comment on, and I don't really mind if you're not much of a commenter.

PS... watch out for a real introduction ... coming to you in 30 minutes if all goes well.