Brace Face, No More!

After almost 3 years of wearing braces, I finally got them off! You have no idea how excited I was when I heard I no longer need braces.

I really like braces because they straighten my teeth but it's painful when they have to be tighten it. Taking care of my teeth and braces was a pain (very hard to floss.) 

So now that I have my braces off, I can finally floss without taking a decade! I mean, I still have to wear retainers but that's different. It's not as painful as braces and not as distracting.

So now I have straight teeth and no braces! Thank you mom and dad! 3 years paid off. Now it's time for me to get rid of all my extra elastics from the orthodontist.

❤The smiling Petpet 

My First Week of High School

I really wanted to talk about my first day but I was busy so I'm just going to talk about my week.

If you want a quick summary of my week, it involves an AP Government teacher who doesn't have the "cleanest" mouth; a land of flatness; public display of affections everywhere; a Taylor Swift look-alike; speed dating; and an ecstatic school assembly.

Interested on some of the details? Alright...

For first period, I have AP Government/Politics. To be honest, the teacher has to be one of my favorites. Not only does he remind me of my 7th/8th grade science teacher but I love his humor. It's cruel humor but not in a hurtful way. He is so honest that you can never expect a "sweet sugar coated" answer. Plus, he tends to swear a bit (which is new since I rarely hear teachers swear during my middle school years) but I just choose to ignore it. Other than that, he's super fun.

For English, I have to read a book called "Flatland." It is such a short book but the complicated sentences and story can make it a hard read. The concept of the land of 2-Dimensional world made my mind blow. It's just amazing yet strange. I've only read the first few chapters but so far, it's very interesting.

Being in high school, you are bound to see couples around the school. For me, I see it every hallway. PDA everywhere. Some couples just hold hands during passing time but some just go all out. I mean, come on. We are in school and there are thousands of people. Everyone knows you are a couple if you hold hands. You don't have to do all "that" in front of everyone, okay? I really don't need to see it when I'm trying to get to class.

One of the highlights of my week was meeting a girl who looks like Taylor Swift. She's in a few of my classes and I'm doing a project with her and another girl named Stephenie. The way Valerie did her hair and makeup on Friday made her look so much like Taylor Swift. One day, Valerie might try to dress up like Taylor Swift just to see how many people would think she was actually Taylor.

My favorite class right now is Psychology. I took the class because I thought it would be fascinating to learn how the brain functions. It became my favorite once I met the teacher. He is so fun and makes you feel relaxed and "at home." Mr. F. told our class that in order for this class to work, we must become a "family." So, on the second day of class, we were to meet every single person in the class and remember their names. What better way to do it than speed date? I was familiar with what speed dating was and I never expected to "speed date" during my 10th grade year! I spoke with 34 people that day. You have no idea how fried my brain was once I spoke with everyone and tried to remember their names. My friend Abhi (he went to previous school with me) asked me what my "method" was during the speed date. (By "method" he meant getting an actual date.) I had no method because I wasn't taking this class activity that serious.

On Friday, I had my first school assembly. It was interesting. At my old school, the assemblies were really boring. We just sat there and listened to people talk most of the time. My high school assembly had live music, dancing, cheer, and more. Sure, it's a high school but the assembly was fun. It wasn't really about the school but the clubs, school spirit, and talents. I would rather sit through performances than sit through a boring lecture.

Well, that was long... but a lot happened on my first week! I already have quite a bit of homework and it's most likely going to get worse as the year goes by. Here's to high school!
♥Petpet

*All pictures belong to rightful owner!! I own none of these!

Debussy Google Doodle

This is just a really quick post...

I was searching on Google.com today and there was a new "Google Doodle." (You know, I really love these because they are so creative and fun.)

Today, August 22nd, 2013, the doodle was featuring one of my favorite classical artists, Claude Debussy! The doodle is so rhythmic, warming, and beautiful. <3 Plus, it features one of Debussy's greatest songs, Clair de Lune. Beautiful song and doodle indeed. (I especially loved how the lights in the background match the song.)

For those who missed out on it....

Now I will almost always remember Debussy's birthday. I hope you do too.
♥Petpet, who is now going to go finish her homework

*Picture and video belongs to rightful owners

Back to School 2013!

Ack. I can't believe my summer is over already!
Good things always have to come to an end, right? Well, I guess it's time for me to go back to constant learning, homework, stress, and drama! (Hooray... not really...)

I'm actually kinda excited to get back to school but that just means I have less time to watch animes and TV shows (I didn't get to watch as many I wanted to this summer.) I've done a lot of back-to-school shopping but it's difficult to know all the supplies I need since it's a new school and new teachers.

I finally "found" a locker partner though! I'm going to be sharing a locker with my guy friend from my old school. We got our locker number on Thursday... but we had (and still have) no idea where it's located. It's supposed to be upstairs in hallway "E." When we looked at our map, there was no hallway "E" at all. That means MY LOCKER IS IN A HIDDEN HALLWAY. Not spooky or confusing about that, right? I'll just have to find it tomorrow morning...

On Thursday August 15th, I went to my school for orientation. Aside from getting my locker number, I also got to go to all my classes and meet my teacher. I had a schedule change so my class schedule's like this now:

A Day-

• American Government/Politics AP
• Mandarin Chinese 1
• English LA 10H Advanced
• Drawing 1

B Day-

• Secondary Math 2 Honors
• Chemistry Honors
• Psychology 1
• Lifetime Fitness

So far, the teachers are really nice and it looks like I'd be able to make friends easily. I will miss my old friends though.

The only problem with my schedule is the location of the classes. At my old school, I was used to going around 2-3 hallways. At this school there are 2 stories with about 10 hallways each and a separate building. I have to run up and down the stairs while going to the other side of the school for almost all of my classes. I don't know where my locker is too so... I think I'll have to carry my books and supplies with me for the first week or so of school.

This will probably happen to me tomorrow:

All I could say is that I play piano and speak Cantonese. If I say anything else (like I'm an Otaku, a Disney fanatic, or writes a blog), I'm probably going to get weird looks...

So, no more sleeping in and late nights for me! School's tomorrow so the best of luck for me. I really need it... 

♥The kind of terrified but excited, Petpet

Poptropica: "Create Your Dream Island" Contest (Information and Tips)

It's time to make your dreams come true! For all you creative people out there, it's time to get your thinking caps on.

We all have our favorite island(s) but sometimes, it's not enough. There's always an island you'd like to play but you know it's not going to happen. Well, now it's your chance to make your dream island come true! The Grand Prize winner will have their idea created into a real playable Poptropica Island! (The 10 runner-ups and grand prize winner will receive a full set of Poptropica Books.)

A great way to get started is to buy the Island Creator Kit which offers great tips on how the creators create the islands. Using the kit, you can have a better idea on how to create your own island. But, for those of you who are on a tight budget (like yours truly) then you need to start from scratch. Even if you don't purchase the kit, you can still enter the contest! I'll give you some tips on how to create your own island without the guide later in the post.

Before you start creating, you should probably know the details...
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Important Information

The contest is for ages 8-12 and residents of the fifty (50) United States of America and The District of Columbia.

You need to print out the official entry form, fill it out, and send it to the mailing address on or by December 24, 2013 and the entry needs to be received on or by December 31, 2013.

Everything has to be original. People want a Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc. island. The reason why Poptropica hasn't used ideas and characters? Copyright. Unless Poptropica has permission, they cannot use these characters created by someone else. If it has anything copyrighted, then the chance of it becoming an island is most likely impossible. Even Captain Crawfish said so:

"No licensed properties

Believe us, we'd love to make an Island in which Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen team up to fight Darth Vader. But it's not up to us. Other people own those properties. For this contest, we can't use existing characters, stories, or fictional worlds -- period. So make sure that everything in your entry is an original idea!"

 (I have to admit, it would be pretty interesting to see Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen team up to fight Darth Vader.)

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Tips From Crawfish

Before I tell you my tips, the Captain Crawfish posted a few hints on how to make your entry stand out:

"A setting we've never done before

It might sound simple, but one of the very best ways to get our attention is to set your Island in a place we've never done before. Sometimes that's all it takes for us to get excited about an idea. Even if you have a great story, if it's set in Old Japan or on the moon, we'd probably pass. But if it's somewhere new, we'll be interested. Look for something that's never been done on Poptropica!

An interesting time period

Another way to catch our attention is to look into the distant past, or the far future. For instance, when we were writing Mystery Train, we started with the idea of a mystery story set on a moving train, but it wasn't until we decided to place it in a historical moment -- the 1893 World's Fair -- that the whole thing came together. The when of your story may be as important as the where.

A twist on a familiar tale

We like genre stories. That's why we often start with time-honored premises: a Wild West story, or a vampire story. But try to figure out what makes your idea different. For instance, Astro-Knights Island mashed up two familiar genres -- knights and aliens -- to make something new and original." 

Take these hints into HUGE consideration. These 3 things are probably what the judges are looking for.
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My Tips

Here are my tips on how to create an island:

Brainstorm
Write down every idea you have. It doesn't matter if they sound crazy. Write it down in case your first idea doesn't quite work. It's always good to have many ideas so you have a variety of choices. The more, the merrier! Remember, it's okay if they don't work out. It's all part of the process.

Use different references
If you are ever stuck on something, try to think back on your favorite island(s). What made your favorite island fun? Do you want it to be challenging with bosses? Was there a feature that you really loved in one island and you want to do the same in yours? Using previous islands as a reference is great to get more ideas but remember to try to be creative as well!

Doesn't Hercules look fabulous?

Do some research
If you are going to do a twist or time period, you probably should do some research. Could you imagine if Mythology Island had Medusa turn people pink instead of stone and if Poseidon was the King of dirt instead of the sea? Know your subject so you can make it accurate. You don't want to confuse the judges (unless you want your island to be inaccurate.)

*I have not looked at the kit so if these tips are in the kit, it was unintentional.

That's all the tips I have BUT if you have questions, I'll be happy to help! (Just comment and I'll see what I can do.)
Good luck to all those participating in the contest!
~Speedy Wing~

This contest has already ended, but please be free to comment what you would have submitted if you could.
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Credits:

10th Grade Registration

School is almost here... Which means I have to prepare for the year.

Yesterday, I went to my high school for registration (I thought I was going another day but my parents decided that the earlier, the better.) There were a lot of people so it was really hot and stuffy around.

We had to do the Online Registration (since we didn't have our passcode yet) and that took about 20 minutes. Next was school fees and information with parking and lockers. Since our school has a lot of students and not enough lockers, we have to find partners for lockers.

You know how hard that is for me? I only know one student in the whole school and that's because he went to my previous school (he's a friend.) I mean, we probably will end up sharing lockers since we both agreed it would be better to share a locker with someone you know than a random s
tranger. I just don't know if my parents like the idea of a guy and girl sharing a locker. I honestly don't mind since I know he won't snoop around my stuff...

I dunno if I should just share with him for the whole year or should I find a random stranger I don't even know to share. I really need some advice here. >.<

Despite my locker problem, I still went through registration smoothly. We had to take school pictures that day (so it was pretty much picture day for me) and receive our student ID card. It's much more efficient to do it like this than my old school.

After pictures, it was time for me to pick up my schedule! I was pretty satisfied with my classes except for a few changes needed to be made.

A Day-

• Drawing I
• Mandarin Chinese I
• Chemistry H
• Psychology I

B Day-

• Secondary Math 2 H
• European History AP
• Consumer Health
• English LA 10H

*Highlighted are the classes I want to change.

Since my school does International Baccalaureate (IB for short), they have certain class courses that you should take in order to take IB. I need to change my history/social studies course to "American Government and Politics AP." It's an 11th and 12th grade course but I'm allowed to take it if I plan to take IB. Then I also have to change my English to "English LA 10H Advanced" for IB as well. 'B'-days will certainly be a challenge with all my tougher courses in one day but that might change depending on how they change my schedule.

I'm kinda excited for school... but I know I won't have as much free time once it starts. Might as well enjoy my last few weeks until then!

♥Petpet

Good to Hear from Friends

I have been so anti-social this summer.

Ever since school ended, I never really had a chance to chat with friends. I don't iMessage them much since I'm always away from my iPod and I can't text. Plus, I don't usually have time to chat on Facebook... so I haven't been able to chat with all of them.

Can't wait for a trip some-what like this

Well, not until a few days ago. All of my friends and I wanted to go to an amusement park together as a big group ever since January. (Yes, we have anticipated it for that long!) So now, with summer slowly coming to an end, one of us decided to take action and start planning. We spent probably an hour in a Facebook chat room trying to plan out everything. It was good to chat with them and just goof around a bit with them. (Even if it's indirect.) After going off topic so many times, we finally figured out the final date and times.

Turns out all of us are going to end our summer with a trip with a group of friends they've been with for about 2-4 years. Before we all go off to high school, we are going to just spend one day together as we always did at school. School starts again on the 19th and we are all going to the amusement park on the 16th. (Hooray for late planning!) I think it's great though. We get to be in our group of friends one last time before the school year starts and we become sophomores.

It's also good to hear from my online friends too. I haven't got the time to chat with them during school since I'm always busy but occasionally, I get to chat with them, even if it's only a little bit.

Okay, I'm going to earn some more money for our trip.
♥Petpet