Describing A Place- Tennis Court/Park

The heat of the scorching sun shines in my eyes as I gently toss the ball up and get ready to serve. The ball leaves my racket and lands on the opposite box of the court. I run to the back and wait for my opponents return; but her lack of effort leaves her pointless and I win forty- love. I finally take a deep breath and sit on the Tennis court to take a break. I see my opponents disappointed face; so I tried not to make eye contact and begin to look at the beauty on and around the court. Ten tall columnar trees stretch their branches up and block the sun out of my eyes. Also, the trees overshadow the court and cool the breeze which further cools the court. To my right are overused basketball courts. The nets around the hoops are missing and the outlines are diminishing. Farther from the court is a baseball field deserted, while the nearby soccer field is populated by young children. The green grass is calming over the children’s obnoxious screams. Straight ahead of me is the Tennis backboard which used to be completely useless for me because the ball would either go over the backboard or was to fast for me to hit a second time. Behind the backboard is the park’s playground it is also always overpopulated with people young and old. My opponents arrival back to the court brought my focus back to the Tennis court. The green court outlined in white is the place for.

My Candle

As I was swiveling in my large comfy office chair I began to daydream. As I withdrew from my daydream I noticed two white unlit candles sitting on top of my bookshelf. They are fairly large and used. They both sit in separate green translucent glass holders. I reach up to the top of the bookshelf and grab both of them. For having once been identical they now looked completely different. I began gently stroking the side of the round candle with my index finger and felt the coarse wax. I made a small incision in the candle with my nail and realized that it had a soft core. I sniffed the candle and was intoxicated by its flowery smell. I could not make out what flowers fragrance it was but it placed me into a flower garden setting. I decided to light the candle that was less used to feel the warmth of the small strong flame. With much difficulty I lit the match and the candles. The light of flame made the green holders look twice as beautiful by creating a nice reflection on my table. I got closer to the flame and gazed at it. And every-time I would release a breath the candle light would flicker but would revive using a lot of strength. I cracked a smile and moved the candle to my bed side table and watched the candle while laying down on the bed. That night the candle was the heart of the room.

Reflection on Narration Essay

These past few weeks we have been studying the structure and concept of narrative essays. Narrative essays allows us to share our experiences of how we came learn life lesson. Reading other authors essays, and combining my own personal narrative with a group was a great guide to learning how to write a marvelous narrative.

The essays we looked at are unique and different in their own ways. Each author has their own style and diction. Each piece gave me a different insight of who the author is and what he/she is trying to say. For example when I compare Gary Shteyngart's "Sixty-Nine Cents" to Bonnie Smith-Yackel's "My Mother Never Worked"; both stories are written with unique style and appeal differently. Shteyngart uses "I" throughout her paper and shares her her own feelings and experiences to describe her new life in America. While Yackel writes in a somewhat impersonal way of her mothers life; yet makes it completely personal. While reading her essay I compared my mom to her mother and saw that she writes in a way that almost everyone can relate to. The other pieces have a completely different style like, Martin Gansberg essay "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police." He doesn't write in first person but still writes a good story to make a point using an article he read. Narrative essays can be written in anyway and accomplish what the author wants his audience to know.

The group narrative essay was a challenge, but a good learning experience. Overall my group helped me understand where I lost readers and how to spice up my writing. In this narrative combination essay I got views of my peers on the topic and feedback on my own writing. I learned what type of lifestyle they enjoyed through the television serials they watched, and their writing style revealed a lot about who they were.

I think writing a narrative was easier than other types of essays because I was able to use my own feeling and experiences and no one can prove what I think is incorrect. A narrative is a story of events in an individuals life. Therefore you can talk about the most basic life adventure or you can write about your sudden realization of the world. Your narrative at the end should have a point at the end to give your literature more meaning.

Goodbye Mr. Thompson, and Fifth Period

WOW! I can't believe it's almost summer vacation, only FOUR days left. What a stressful week it's going to be, with finals and all. The end of the school year is making me very sad. The seniors have left, and there are about 5 sophomores I know that won't be joining us next year. I'm already missing them so much!!!! I'm also going to miss my teachers, and classes. Mr. Thompson I'm going to miss your class, and your sarcasm. It has been a fun two years. Goodbye to you, and to all my classmates in fifth period. Enjoy your summer, and see you next year.

Class of 2011 Meeting

On Thursday June, 4th there was a meeting held for the Class of 2011. The whole meeting was positive. I think next years going to a blast, just like this year, but I feel it's going to be much more organized. At the meeting we discussed the T-shirt design for next year- so many beautiful designs we submitted which gives us a lot of choices to choose from. We also talked about fun events, and fundraisers we could have, and we have many ideas, I just hope we follow through with them. The only negative part of the meeting was that there were only about ten people there. I hope next year we continue to have weekly meeting in which everyone is invited to join the meeting, whether or not you're in leadership. :)

Wacko Rain

I remember June being a month of sunshine, so why was it raining this Friday?! I first felt sprinkles while walking in the outdoor school hallways. Then I felt rain again as I was walking to Cahalan Park with my sister to play Tennis. I forced her to keep on going but she continued to argue that it may start to rain harder, and that it's not good to play on wet courts. I told her it was just sprinkling, and it would stop before even got to the park. (Even though I saw thick, black clouds above us). We got to the park and played for 5 minutes then it started raining. My sister, and I made a run for it, however I lagged behind - I was too busy enjoying the rain. We got home laughing, and out of breath.

SAT Classes

For the past few Saturdays I have had to wake up early to go to my SAT prep class. The first Saturday I had the class I took a pre-exam, and I did poorly on it. Then on Saturday the 29th I had the last class and we took a post-exam. I did better on it than the first time. I got a lot out of the class. I realized that time management was exteremely important. And I learned some good test taking stategies for any test, and most importantly I learned how to prepare for the real SAT.
* I also learned I have a lot of studying to do. :)

Psych

This weekend I discovered a new show called Psych. At first I was not interested in it, but as I continued to watch the show I got sucked into it. I watched the first three episodes of season one and enjoyed them. Psych is about a guy named Shawn Spencer who is a psychic -- psych - he just notices small details, and has a good photograpic memory. Shawn helps the police department solve cases by being their "psychic". His best friend Gus joins his psychic endeavors because he has always wanted to be a detective. I love the friendship between the two characters, because it brings a lot of humor to the crime mysteries they try to solve. I love it and suggest you give it a watch. :)

Running

Over the weekend my sister and I played tennis, and went jogging. I lost badly to my sister - the set scores were 2-6, and 3-6. As we were walking home from the park, being a sore loser, I challenged my sister to a race. I tried to show off by starting off extremely fast, however I lost my agility exteremely fast and my sister caught up to me. After coming home, my dad asked us if we would go jogging with him. To our suprise, he could keep up. Fortunately, my sister got tired after a while, and I got my sweet revenge by beating both of them to the finish line.

On a another note, I am so surprised that Nadal lost on the French clay court!!!!

Tennis '09

On Thursday, May 21st 2009 Mrs. Croucher held a meeting for Tennis ’09. It was exciting because it was the first time there was a meeting for next years tennis. The meeting was great. There are going to be some improvements made that I am enthusiastic about. I feel that for the past two years my approach to tennis was just a fun one instead of as an actual sport. I mean I did not care if I won or lost, and I didn’t practice hard. After the meeting I know I will condition, and practice hard and win more than one game. We are also going to have bonding time with our teammates. Something I feel we lacked the past two years. I am also waiting for the surprise summer tennis camp. Our coach won’t tell us where we are going.

Weekend

On Saturday my cousin came over. The first thing he did was turn on the television to a basketball game. It was the L.A. Lakers against the Denver Nuggets. The last time I had watched a basketball was with the same cousins and I really enjoyed it. I was shocked how five seconds was enough to score a point. We decided to watch Marley, and Me and just the end of the game. It was an extremely sad movie I bet dog owners got more emotional than I did. It was a good movie, with a sad ending. After the movie ended my cousin put the game back on. I enjoy watching the end of the game when the scores are close because that’s when it gets heated. The Lakers won.

School Election

This years Gundersons ASB election has been really interesting. It’s really exciting to see so many people running. The posters around Gunderson make our school look spirited, and shows how much the students care about the school. Some people claim it’s a popularity contest, and I know some people treat it as a popularity contest. That’s the only thing I hate about it. I hate running against someone but that’s what makes it a true election.
I think the best candidates for the various positions available in leadership are the people who are actually involved in Gundersons Leadership. Because they know the ups, and downs, the improvements that are needed, and they know what needs to be done to ensure a good year. But then I also think people who have been in other types of leadership are equally applicable for the job because they may bring new ideas to Gunderson.
I am nervous to know the results of the election. Unfortunately we do not find out until Friday the 29th during the last rally. Ahhhh
Good Luck to everyone. :)

Marine Bio Fundraiser

Ms. Buelna's Marine Bio class was fundraising for a trip by selling small snacks. Ms. Bulena needed help so she asked Key Club members, I decided I would help since it did not require too much. I carried the bag full of snacks from one class, to the next. And from class to class it would feel lighter. They were quite popular in the beginning but by the fourth day of sales more and more people decided not to buy. I think a couple of people spent about 10 or more dollars buying snacks between Lorita, and I. LOL. I also ended up spendind at least seven or eight dollars. Each time there was one or two left, and nobody would buy them I ended up buying them. It was laughing when I found out how much I spent. :)

Season Finales

For the past few weeks every time I turn on the television, there are always previews for various shows' season finales. A couple of my favorite shows have already had their season finale, but some will have their finale this week! I love it how the directors end the show so that you anticipate it's return. So many questions are answered but twice as many form. My only problem with season finales is - why do they have to end right before summer vacation? I think they do this every year, just when I have the time to watch TV they give re-runs.

End of Badminton '09

On May 14th 2009 I played my last badminton game! It was so sad. :( It was an away game against Del Mar. Unfortunately I had to play singles because Lorita, and I lost our place as doubles number 3. I played single number 1, and Lorita was singles number 2. I was so proud of myself because I won my game! Just kidding I wasn't proud because I only won because Del Mar forfeited all girls single. Lorita, and I decided to play a JV doubles game. I hated it, the guys we were playing against were assholes. So I decided to watch the girls doubles play instead. It was a sad end to the year because we lost as a school. :(

I had been waiting for the season to end but now that it has ended I'm going to miss it. Everyday rushing to the locker rooms, skipping 5th, and 6th period to go to games, the laughs, and stories we shared, the arguments, challenges we had, and most of all the lovely seniors! I hope they come next year to visit.

Vaisakhi Mela

Today Vaisakhi was celebrated at the San Jose fairgrounds. Vaisakhi is the Sikh new year, it was actually on April fourteenth, but they always celebrate it on a weekend in May. When I got there the first things I heard angered me. There were a group of guys hanging by the entrance and their friend was in front of us, and the first thing I heard was "hey mother******". Then I didn't catch exactly what they were saying but I caught the f*** word a couple of times in one sentence. I almost went up to them to tell them to shut up, and think about where they were, and who was around them. Then another thing that pissed me off about them was their Gangster clothing style! I understand that that's what they probably wear out, but dude your at a cultural festival wear something decent. It's hypocritical for me to say this because I didn't wear any traditional clothing either, a choice I really regret. Overall I enjoyed all of the performances, but I disliked people's lack of support. I mean when someone finished performing there were only about 20 out of 200 people clapping. I think that a persons confidence level rises when they see people are enjoying them. The host was funny and said "I don't think San Jose Punjabi's are much clappers." That's what I disliked about the Mela, what I liked most were the performances, and the food. I did not go all around the Mela so that's all I have to say for now. :)

Ellu

Babies so adorable!!!! Today my moms friend Surti came over with her eleven month year old son, Ellu. In the beginning he would not come to me. He would either go to Surti, or my mom and when I opened my arms to him he turned around. I spent ten minutes trying to get him to know me, and then all of a sudden he came to me. He has to be the one of the most hyper, and smart babies on the Earth. He was crawling and playing all around our living room, and he knew where to stop. He stopped right before he was about to enter the kitchen, or the little hallway. I was scared he would run into a wall or something so I was crawling with him everywhere. The only time I had to help him was when he was trying to stand up using the coffee table, he almost hit his head, but I quickly pulled him back. He's such a trouble maker. While he was standing with the help of the coffee table, he tried to pull the plates onto the ground, Surti saved the food from falling a couple of times. Ellu was much more interesting, I'll continue his biography later.

Homework

It's always shocking when you get homework from a teacher who usually doesn't assign homework, or when some teachers that don't assign homework on the weekend all of a sudden they do. When ever any of these happen I usually end up trying to rush in class to finish it. On Friday I remembered that one my teachers gave us homework who usually doesn't so I finished it on Friday. Also I finished all my homework, and now after this blog I only have one left which I will write after I come back from the Vaisakhi. :) I am so happy!
I found these extremely funny homework excuses (Click photos for better view):

Conquistadors

In my Spanish class we are currently watching a movie on Conquistadors. It is interesting when my teacher talks about it, especially because she tells us how it's different from how it's taught in our social studies class, but the movie is extremely boring! It has been three days since we have been watching it, and half of the time I fall asleep. And  I'm talking about dream mode sleep. I always tell myself I'll only close my eyes and listen but that didn't work. I am really worried because we have to do a essay afterwards. Ahhhhh!

I Wonder

Quite a while back I went to Hope Club with Lorita and I found it really interesting. We talked about love, and about not swearing, and also that you should pray for your enemies, and I don't know if I'm interpreting this incorrectly but I felt they were saying that you should get rid all your "bad" emotions like anger. 

I was somewhat confused so I asked them how can a person not get mad, there's bound to be a time when you get furious. And when I'm mad how can I control what I say? I will most likely say something I don't mean without even thinking, and I may swear. They said that when you're angry you should pray to God. But when I'm angry praying to God is not my first instinct. Then I asked them how I can pray for my enemy. If someone was to hurt someone I deeply love how can I pray for them. By praying for them I feel I forgive them, and accept that their offense as a mistake. How can I pray for people who do malicious crimes? 

**I need some help understanding. 

1989 Toyota Camry

I never thought that I would miss a car. However, on April 29th 2009 I was really sad because my parents sold our 1989 Toyota Camry. The car had been in our family since 1997. I have so many memories linked to it. That's the car my dad used to teach me how to change, and check the car's oil, tires, filters, and brakes, and now he was going to teach me to drive in it. Also it's the car my mom crashed not one, but two times. Once into a rock, and then into our garage door. I remember garage crash day because my dad was in the garage, and he came out looking really surprised, and shocked. It was the car I traveled in, the car that carried my adventures, and trips. Now that it's gone, I miss it! 

**It's true that something doesn't need to be alive to have meaning in your life. You may think that it doesn't matter, but you don't realize it until it's not there anymore. :( 

New Moon

Today my mom told me that in the beginning of the new moon people in India go out to see it, and welcome it. I asked my mom why they do this, and after thinking for a while she said she didn't know exactly why. Then I started laughing and asked her how could she believe something she knew nothing about. She said it was traditional, and that all Punjabi's did this so she did to. Then she said told me she would ask her mother, and then tell me. However she knew that if it rose up it was considered good luck, and is it arrived any other way it was unlucky. The new moon this month is a good one.

Chihuahua Chase

Yesterday my sister, and I went to go play tennis. It had been a while since we had played together. The Cahalan Park is really close to our home so we walked there like always. And as we were walking past an apartment an annoying chihuahua kept on barking, and quietly my sister said "Shut up." Then as we continued walking we were nearing a house and I said "Doesn't that house also have a chihuahua that is always outside?" And as we were walking past the house a dog came barking, and running at the speed of light toward us, my sister started running. The dog was focused on her. At first I thought the dog didn't have a leash, but I saw the leash, and I started laughing really hard as I watched my sister running. I stood in front of the dog laughing then I ran to my sister. We laughed so hard, and I still can't stop laughing!

Harry Potter

I am so excited, and eager to see the movie Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince! However, it does not comes out until July 15th 2009. :( So I'm going to try to reread the book before it comes out.
Harry Potter is extremely important to me. It has been with me since I was seven years old. I remember when I was little my sister, and I spent our summer reading Harry Potter. It was a lot of fun. My sister, and I used to have countdowns for the books, and movie releases. Or we were up until 12 waiting for book releases even though we did not get the book until morning. My sister and I would watch J.K. Rowling's interviews, where sometimes she would reveal secrets which got us more excited to read the book. I feel sad now that there are no more books coming out, but I still await the release of the movies. I'm going to be really sad when the last movie comes out! At least the last book is being split into two movies! :)
The Harry Potter books will remain my favorite books forever. HP is #1!!

Past Summers

It was so hot today! But I love it. It reminds me of past summers. Summer brings back memories from when I was a child. On one of the first days of summer vacation my family, and I used to put down sheets on our living room floor where we sat and watched this Hindi movie called Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya. It's always that movie, we kind of made it tradition. We usually fall asleep where were sitting, but before we went to sleep we told these things called "baats". It's kinda like I am like this, and I do this what am I? But the things are given human characteristics. My dad is the one who said them because he was the one who knew the most. I remember some of the answers I gave, they were so ridiculous, and I never got any right, but my dad used to repeat some so I would get a least one. This is one of my favorite parts of summer. We stopped doing this family movie/baat night thing, but I hope we do this year.

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that is why it is called the present.”
I do not know who created this saying, but I really like these words of wisdom. I can spend hours talking about the past and the things I've experienced, the wrong, and good I've done. I can also have continuous conversations about the future. How will the world end? How's my future going to be? etc. Sometimes I am too anxious about the past, and future I forget about the present, and everything it brings. The sweet, and sour moments of my life which create my past, and hint to my future. Time is vital in a persons life why not enjoy it because time comes, and goes. You can't stop, forward, or rewind it so live, and appreciate all the moments in your life.

Hehe Lorita it's kinda like your moms proverbs! :)

My ceiling

Last night I was really tired and I had a bad headache. So as I laid on my bed and I looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling in my room has tiny rock type things sprayed on the top of it. (It's hard to explain!) I began connecting some of the rocks together which formed shapes, and images of animals. It was interesting. I saw this mouse type animal holding a film reel, and a bunny with a yo-yo in its hand, and I began thinking. I thought that it would kinda be interesting if I drew these images out they would look like images out of a children's book. If only I could draw better. :)

Vaisakhi

On April 14th it is Vaisakhi. Vaisakhi is the Sikh new year. It is one of the most important days of the year. It is hard to celebrate it since my parents will be at work, and I'll be at practice. My parents, and I are hoping to wake up early to make sweets, and salty snacks. Which we will enjoy with friends, and relatives.
However, I am looking more forward to May 10th. On this day there will be a huge mela (festival) in the fairgrounds for Vaisakhi. There we will enjoy listening to music, and watch performances. They have one every year, but we usually don't go. I hope we will this year, I think it would be fun.

Henna- Mehndi

Mehndi is known as a temporary tattoo. In my culture it is used during weddings. A professional, or a family friend who knows how to apply mehndi, applies mendhi on the brides hands, and feet. The person applying the mehndi hides the grooms initials in the brides hands, and the groom is supposed to try and find his initials in her hands. Mehndi settles down overnight, and disappears in about two weeks. It is incorrectly assumed that if someone has mehndi on their hands that they are getting married, but usually close friends get their hands decorated also.

Hindi Movies

Some Hindi movies are really good, but some are just plain boring and very long. Each movie is about three hours long.
My favorite type are Hindi comedies. They're the greatest because they're hilarious, and they have good plots, and jokes not dirty jokes. :) The best part is that I get to enjoy them with my parents. Having a good laugh with my parents is always fun.
I also enjoy watching love legend types of movies like Veer-Zaara. And I also like movies that talk about generations awakening like Rang De Basanti.

Old Freinds

Some of my friends for elementary school, and I met over the weekend. We had a great time, we had so much to catch up on. I saw how much they have changed. Some of them have gone from being brats, to angels, and vise versa. They are all so cool, I am the only one who didn't go to Herman middle school with them, but they kept in contact with me. They are the ones I hung out with at school, and they are the ones I celebrated birthdays with. They are the ones who cried on the phone with me when I told them I was going to Castillero. They were the ones who embarrassed me, and me feel special. They are the ones who know my darkest secrets, they are my old friends forever! I love them all, and I know they know it. They have been there for whenever I needed them. :)

Gunderson's not a bad school

This week I realized many people dislike Gunderson High School. I on the other hand think it's a great school. I don't understand why people don't like it. But I think it's partly because they are not involved in the school events. I really appreciate being in leadership because it has helped me to become more involved at Gunderson. Planning out events like spirit weeks, and rallies may not seem to fun at the time (I do complain sometimes) but after watching the outcome, I feel that I was part of something big. And even if you don't plan it out, be involved in the events. (eg. dress out for spirit week) Sports have also made me enjoy being at Gunderson. Sports is one place to get exercise, and have fun with friends. Being part of sports makes me feel more proud of being a Gunderson student. Another reason I feel Gunderson is a great school is because of the teachers. Yes like everyone, everywhere I occasionally complain about my teachers, but I am grateful for the experiences I am acquiring. So I think people who dislike Gunderson, are people who choose not to be part of it, and who choose not to appreciate it. Gunderson gets a bad rep. because the students give it one, and sometimes that's why students don't like Gunderson. I have more to say, but I really got to go. :)

Badminton Game Against Leland

Today there was a Badminton Game against Leland. Before the game, I was really happy, and excited. I didn't care if we won or lost. I was confident that Lorita, and I would lose our match, since the whole day people muttered in my ear "Are you ready to lose?" The first set was a disappointment the score was 4, to 15. But I was still hyper and cheerful, but I felt I needed to try harder. Lorita and I both tried harder, and that's how we won the second set which was 15 and 3. Our coach was happy, and told us to keep on doing what we were doing. My confidence level rose, and I sensed that we could win. Before we began playing the 3rd set they said that they wanted a line judge. I was surprised, because we only called it out one, and it had been out. Then the people on the sidelines kept on arguing that the Leland team had 6 points. I asked the players how they had, and they said 5. That made them shut up. Then they kept on cheering when me, or Lorita missed the birdie. (You're not supposed to cheer on misses.) I got extremely mad. Then whenever Lorita had a good hit, I yelled out loud "GOOD SHOT" and Lorita did the same for me. Seems funny now. :) But I was happier once some of our teammates came to watch, and cheer us on. I was so angry that set, but Lorita, and I WON!!! 13-15!!!! However they won as a team. :( But I am so proud of Lorita, and myself!

Headaches

Headache- A CONTINUOUS PAIN IN YOUR HEAD!!! I hate it! Whenever I have a headache I can never think straight. All I think about is my headache. Right now I have a headache, all I'm thinking about is my headache. It feels as if my brain will explode any minute. WHY!! I really just want to go to sleep, it would be a dream come true. :)

Freedom in India

When my dad sees pictures, or videos of India, he always says ''That's what true freedom is, no lines to distinguish the way the flow of traffic is, ridding on a motorcycle with more than two people, etc..." Then today we got a call from my cousins, they told us that my dads cousins sister had passed away. My dad immediately called him, he said that his sister along with her husband, three year old daughter, and mother in law had passed away in a freak accident in India. A bus drove over their van crushing them inside. My family is so sad.
It led to My parents talking about all the accidents in India. We talked about one of my moms cousin being electrocuted on an electricity pole, and about other deaths involving insecurities. I noticed that all the accidents that happen are due to India's lack of rules. Had there been assigned times for the bus driver to drive, he would not have fallen asleep on the wheel. Or had my moms cousin had proper equipment to fix the electricity line he would still be alive. I think that a certain amount of freedom is good. However, I feel that in order to have a safe, productive country you need to make rules that apply to all, and can't be bent by anyone! (NO BRIBES) Sorry I'm just very mad.

Things we may never know

I have decided to make a list of things humans may never find out. The questions that have been asked probably since the beginning of time. They are...

1) What happens to a person once they die?
2) Is there a God?
3) What is in other galaxies? Aliens?
4) How was the world created?
5) Who are our oldest ancestors?

Have these questions had answers before, and with time have they frozen away? Just Kidding.
These are just some ideas off the top of my head. Let me know if you know more, and I'll ADD them! :)

Saturday

Saturday March 21st was a busy, long, and tiring day. I rolled out of bed at 7 o'clock, and got myself to school at 8 to help set up for our Sadies dance. I was there until 11, I got home and went to sleep until 12. My mom woke me up because my cousins were coming over. They arrived at 1 o'clock. Since they had recently returned from India they brought over 700 pictures. It was nice to see the pictures of India since I have no memory of it. They left the same time I left for the dance which was at 8. The dance was great. I had a ton of fun. My friends and I danced, and played games. I think that the dance was a hit.

Stanford Blood Drive

On Tuesday March 24th Gunderson will be holding a blood drive. The blood donated at drives saves many people's lives. I do not know what the turn out will be like this year, but I hope many people signed up. I remember last year we had many people sign up and it was busy the whole day. I think it's going to be the same as last year. I thank everyone who will be donating blood this year. I encourage everyone who is healthy enough to donate blood, to donate.

** If you know an adult who would like to donate, tell them to come to Gunderson on Tuesday. It will be held in the gym from 8-2.

First Badminton Game of 2009!

On March 17th I played my first varsity badminton game against Leigh High School. The order in which we played was 1, 2, 3 meaning our number 1 players in girl/boy singles, girls/boys doubles, and the mixed teams played first. Phoung Anh Le and Rachel Tran played first for girls doubles, I cheered (actually mostly clapping) for them. They were amazing!! Then I watched Hannah Tran, and An-Thu play. My hands were red after their game, it such an exciting game. When their game ended I didn't realize but it was my turn to play. My heart was beating so fast. I know when people say this phrase they don't mean it but I swear I was really nervous. Lorita, and I practiced for a bit then our game started. I lost my nervousness once we were in the middle of the game. At the end the score was 15- 5, and 15-1, we WON!!

Badminton

Everyday after school I rush to the locker room to get ready to for badminton practice. I am not sure if me and my partner Lorita will make varsity but I am hoping we do. On Monday I have to play extra hard because there will be challenges held to be on the varsity team. Lorita and I are a girls doubles team, but there are about 3 other girl doubles teams who want to be on varsity. Only 3 of the four teams will make it. I am pretty sure Lorita and I will at least make girls doubles number three because of the four teams, one team consists of two freshmen. Still I am so nervous!!

Monopoly

On Saturday my moms friend, and her two kids came over. (I'm just going to call them my cousins). Whenever they come over I'm stuck babysitting, and playing games with them. I was so mad that we invited them this weekend because I had a ton of homework, and the CAHSEE coming up. However once they arrived my mood changed quickly, I actually had fun with them. First we did a puzzle, and then we played the never ending game- monopoly. We played for about two hours. It took so long partly because my cousins kept on arguing. It was so funny because my 11 year old cousin kept on bothering his 7 year old sister and stealing her money. Then, she would get mad, steal his money, hid it, and would tell him that if he wanted his money back he would have to give her a property she wanted. I laughed so much, but was having some trouble controlling them. Then I kept on landing on their properties with hotels, and was losing money quickly. Then at the end of the game I was losing so badly I had to sneak some cash from the bank. ( I was only doing this as a joke, and I knew they were leaving in 5 minutes). Both of them never got the clue what I was doing, at the end when we were counting our money they were shocked that I had so much money. I told them the truth, and we laughed so hard!

SPIRIT WEEK IS THIS WEEK!!!!!!!

Hey everybody on March 16th-20th it is Sadies Spirit Week.
Dress up and show your spirit!!

Monday- Disney Day
Tuesday- Clover Day
Wednesday- Crazy Day
Thursday- Gender Bender Day
Friday- Battle of the Sexes (Girls
wear white Boys wear black)
And don't forget on March 21st is the Sadie Hawkins Dance!!

Other upcoming events are-

March 24th- Stanford Blood Drive
March 25th- Community Service Fair.
Come and check out volunteer opportunities at various organizations.
March 30th-April 3- Poetry Slam

Dances

I always hear people complain about dances, and their number one complaint is that not enough people going, and when I ask them if they're going they say no. Well then if you were to gather up all the people who were not going to because they thought not many people were going you would get a large number. And if people didn't think that way, and people just went with a couple of friends to have fun then more people would come to the dance which would result in a better dance. I hope more people attend Sadies which is on March 21st.

Punjabi

My parents are constantly trying to make sure that I don't forget my native language punjabi. I always tell them that I know it, and I won't forget it. That's what I said again this weekend but they got the bright idea to test me. They told me that they were going to say some words in punjabi and I would have to describe the word in punjabi. I was a little annoyed but I wasn't doing anything so I let them ask me. I thought it would be kinda fun. In the beginning they asked simple words and knew all of them. I was proud and I began to think to myself "man I know more than I thought" but that feeling did not last long. They began asking me how to say the time, and told me to count to the highest number I could in punjabi. I was frozen, I always say the time in english, and I could only count up to thirty in punjabi. I had an embarrassing moment while my parents had a good laugh. So I think I'm going to ask them to teach me to write, and read in punjabi and this way I will learn more words. That way whenever I visit India I will be able to communicate well there and not look like a fool.

Doctor Visits

Usually doctors visits are very time consuming and boring. Whenever I go to the doctors I know to take a book. But on Friday we got there, waited about thirty minutes, then we were called. We were done in about an hour, that's shorter than usual. However, this time I was actually wanted to be there. It was quite an interesting visit. The wife of my doctor was there, and she being a chatty women struck up a conversation about the daylight savings time. She said "Make sure you turn your clock an hour ahead, or you will be two hours late for work. " Everybody started laughing at first but this little topic lead to a depressing, and awful subject, the recession. I could see this topic brought disappointment, and a sorrowful look upon some of the peoples faces. Then a guy started talking about his job, and how worried he was that he may be laid off since about twenty people had already been laid off. Other people began talking about their work- most of them felt the same way the guy was feeling. Unfortunately I was not there for the whole conversation, but it really hit me then and there on how bad this recession is, and is getting. Everybody is being affected. 

Weddings

In India many of my cousins have gotten married, and I've missed each wedding. And next month my mom's brother's son is getting married and I really want to go. Unfortunately I can't go because of school! This year again I'm going to have to watch the wedding video, which is nothing compared to being part of it. :( Weddings are fun, and they are the perfect time to spend time with your relatives. Indian weddings take months of planning, and 5 days where the whole wedding customs take place. Dancing, signing, laughing, a time where everyone gets involved. I'm just get tired of not being part of my relatives special day!!!

Outer Space

Since I was a little girl I've been interested in outer space. I want to know exactly what the universe is, and what it's made of. I have so many unanswered questions. I wonder what's beyond our universe, more space, plants? And how did the universe come to be? Was it as the Big Bang theory says? I remember telling my parents that I wanted to be an astronaut and that I wanted travel to outer space to see the splendid universe. It just very interesting planets, stars, rocks, particles, ect.

Photography

On long road trips I always love to take pictures from the car as I pass beautiful sites. My cellphone is filled with pictures of the sky, and marvelous landscapes. I like to take photos of places that are not so crowded. I took a couple of pictures of crowded places like traffic, and a soccer game but the traffic pictures were depressing, and the game was not very peaceful. Taking pictures relaxes me, and lets me create a world in those places. Confusing huh? Let me explain, as you can see in the picture to the left that much of the place is not occupied, that's the type of place where I would want to live, a peaceful place surrounded by a couple of houses, and a lot of green.

Cellphones

Cellphones have a tendency to die just when you need them the most. One time I had to get picked up from a tennis game at Del Mar but I had forgotten to give my parents directions, and when I tried to call them my phone died. Thankfully my friend was with me, so I used her phone to call. I always forget to charge my phone. And if my phone is charged sometimes I don't get a signal. Sometimes when I'm in a very important conversation I'll go into a dead zone, and it's very annoying. Stupid Dead Zones!!

Cooking a omelet

Whenever I cook it's either with my parents or my sister. They tell me what to do, and I do it. But today my parents weren't here so I decided to make myself a good breakfast instead of just drinking tea. I took out the ingridents to make a omelet. I got 4 types of bellpeppers, two eggs, a small chili pepper, salt, black pepper, cheese, and some small potatoes. I cut, chopped, and mixed. Then I put everything into a pan. I let it cook on the for about 2-4 minutes, and then I put cut pieces of chesse on top, and placed it in the oven to melt the cheese, and cook the top of it. I took it out of the oven and cut it. It looked really good, but I was nervous. I warmed some bread, and put the omlete in it. I took a bite, and.... it tasted just like my moms. I was so proud of myself.

Group Projects

In my Spanish it hadn't been one day since we finished a project, that my teacher assigned us another. I was very angry. We had a choice to do a written assignment, or a project, I totally went for the written assignment however most of the class wanted to do a project. It was a group project my worst nightmare. The people in my group do not seem like they are very serious about their grade. We did get to choose our groups but there was one person I really didn't want in my group because I know that he's not serious about his grade. And the sad part is it's due on Tuesday and we have barely anything done!!

Homework Overload

I have so much homework to do on this four day weekend. I had been procrastinating for the past two days, and now I am trying my hardest to get everything done so I can relax, and have fun tomorrow. However at the speed I am working at, it may not be true. For math I have to finish a benchmark packet with contains 60 questions. I am done with history but it was a ton of book work. For English I have to write a essay, and blog. And for Spanish I had to work on a project. I am so happy I have no homework for Chemistry, and 3D Design!

Federer vs. Nadal

On February 1st 2009, two of the greatest Tennis players battled to win the Australian Open. Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer played an amazing game. It was a rocky game from the beginning, however the final score was 3-2. Nadal having the 3 wins took home the first place trophy, while Federer in tears recieved the second place plate. Federer was hoping to beat Nadal to recieve another grand slam giving him a total of fourteen grand slams, making him closer to beating Pete Sampras' record of fourteen grand slams. With Nadal in the picture Federer will have to play harder than ever in the upcoming French Open if he still wants to beat the record. Nadal became the first Spaniard to win the Australian Open. He has been showing his real skills these past few years. Can't wait to see their upcoming matches!!!!

Indian Clothing

This year BSU is planning to doing a fashion show displaying clothes from different cultures (or countries) at Gunderson. I'm still irresolute on whether I want to represent the Indian culture at Gunderson. (A couple of my friends are doing it so maybe.) I love Indian clothing, however in different parts of India there are different types of clothing. For example people from North India (like me) are more likely to wear a Salwar Kameez, rather than a Sari which is worn mostly by South Indians. (Both types of clothing are shown below). So I do not know whether my friends, and I will be representing India as a whole, or just where we are from. (Country or Culture??)
Salwar KameezSari