When I was in eighth grade, Miss Chiu had a saying:
"Everyone must DO mathematics to LEARN mathematics.... Other group members can be an immense resource for answering your questions; but, most importantly, they will help you by giving you many opportunities to help them. You will know the material best when you explain it to someone else."
Honestly, in her class, I was often the person begging for help. I was the one being helped all the time. The people helping me were all immensely smarter; I didn't feel that I was helping them so much.
Fast-forward to now. Last night, I helped a friend review for our precalc final. As we went through the various problems, I actually saw how clearly I understood them. All the horrors of logarithms and trig didn't seem that bad once I was explaining them.
Heh...algebra 2/trig was such a brutal, competitive world, now that I think about it. But it opened up a window to opportunity--the chance to help others.
Claire, if you're reading this, I hope I provided enough support for you to do well :)
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
I admit it
What did I do today? More importantly, what happened to me today?
Fourth period (AP bio) was what nearly set me off. There's this one kid who sits next to me and, every day, makes strange (and often unnecessary) breathing noises. I know he has asthma, but most of my asthmatic friends don't make such noises. To make matters worse, he had gum in his mouth, and every five seconds, he would make a sucking/cracking sound with it.
I told him to stop at least ten times. Every one of those times, he denied doing it. The combination of breathing and gum noises was almost enough to tip me off. I'll be honest--part of me just wanted to smack him in the face. But I didn't. I resisted that urge.
After that period, during lunch, I was still in that same foul mood...and I let that get the better of me. I snapped at people, not thinking of how they would feel. Now that I think about it, I feel sorry, but at the same time, I don't. Maybe it was because I was sick of being called "the end of the world," according to Al Gore (it's a joke that some people interpreted stupidly). Or maybe it was because of the fact that I was upset with a bunch of people in general.
Whatever the case, I did experience some important things today, things that I don't come across very often:
-It's really important to control emotions. Had I not been able to, I could've injured somebody, landed in the RC, or worse.
-There will always be people who will never listen, no matter how many times you talk to them. The easiest thing for me to do was to hit that kid and make him spit out his gum. But who am I to do such a thing? Just because it's easy doesn't mean it's RIGHT.
-It's not a matter of what happens, but how we deal with what happens.
To wrap things up, I really need to prepare for my finals. I just thought I'd let these thoughts out before I go completely insane.
Fourth period (AP bio) was what nearly set me off. There's this one kid who sits next to me and, every day, makes strange (and often unnecessary) breathing noises. I know he has asthma, but most of my asthmatic friends don't make such noises. To make matters worse, he had gum in his mouth, and every five seconds, he would make a sucking/cracking sound with it.
I told him to stop at least ten times. Every one of those times, he denied doing it. The combination of breathing and gum noises was almost enough to tip me off. I'll be honest--part of me just wanted to smack him in the face. But I didn't. I resisted that urge.
After that period, during lunch, I was still in that same foul mood...and I let that get the better of me. I snapped at people, not thinking of how they would feel. Now that I think about it, I feel sorry, but at the same time, I don't. Maybe it was because I was sick of being called "the end of the world," according to Al Gore (it's a joke that some people interpreted stupidly). Or maybe it was because of the fact that I was upset with a bunch of people in general.
Whatever the case, I did experience some important things today, things that I don't come across very often:
-It's really important to control emotions. Had I not been able to, I could've injured somebody, landed in the RC, or worse.
-There will always be people who will never listen, no matter how many times you talk to them. The easiest thing for me to do was to hit that kid and make him spit out his gum. But who am I to do such a thing? Just because it's easy doesn't mean it's RIGHT.
-It's not a matter of what happens, but how we deal with what happens.
To wrap things up, I really need to prepare for my finals. I just thought I'd let these thoughts out before I go completely insane.
SOME people are really forgetful...
SOOOO for our lovely Oedipus Rex essay, I've been asked a number of questions regarding:
1) prompt
2) MLA
3) random stuff
Seriously, some of this stuff was like "flat-in-your-face." As I answered all these questions, I couldn't help but wonder--what did people learn last year?
Apparently, not all the English teachers focused enough on MLA. I even had to teach some people how to format their whole papers!!
I'm going to be honest here--it's good helping people out. But how far does "helping" go until it becomes "doing the work for them"? I mean--I'm here to help, not to do your homework!
I wonder how long my generosity can hold before it takes advantage of me...
1) prompt
2) MLA
3) random stuff
Seriously, some of this stuff was like "flat-in-your-face." As I answered all these questions, I couldn't help but wonder--what did people learn last year?
Apparently, not all the English teachers focused enough on MLA. I even had to teach some people how to format their whole papers!!
I'm going to be honest here--it's good helping people out. But how far does "helping" go until it becomes "doing the work for them"? I mean--I'm here to help, not to do your homework!
I wonder how long my generosity can hold before it takes advantage of me...
Sunday, January 25, 2009
I do stupid things 65% of the time D=
Directions:
Mark which things you have done, then calculate your score by counting the number of questions you marked. This test is out of 100 questions which means that the number you get as your score is also your percentage. Tag all of your friends, and re-post as "I do stupid things __% of the time."
1. [] Forgot to put the lid on the blender, turned it on, and had everything fly out
2. [x] Gotten your head stuck between the stair rails
3. [x] Broken a chair by leaning back in it
4. [x] Had gum fall out of your mouth while you were talking
5. [x] Choked on your own spit while you were talking
6. [] Had people tell you that you are blonde when you're not, or had people tell you that your blonde highlights are going to your head
7. [x] Been caught staring at your crush by your crush
8. [x] Have looked for something for at least 5 min then realized it was in your hand
9. [x] Tried to push open a door that said pull
10.[ x] Tried to pull open a door that said push
Running total: 8
11. [ ] Have actually believed someone when they said that they
knew how to make a love-potion
12. [ x] Have hit yourself in the process of trying to hit something else
13. [x ] Have tripped and fallen UP the stairs
14. [x] Have actually exploded marshmallows in the microwave
15. [ ] Have gotten gum stuck in your hair
16. [ ] Had gum fall out of your mouth while trying to blow a bubble
17. [x] Have had the juice from a mini tomato squirt out and hit somebody else when you bit into it
18. [x] Have had your drink come out your nose because you were laughing so hard
19. [x] Have called one of your good friends by the wrong name
20. [] Have skinned your toe because you were playing soccer or kickball with flip flops on or you were barefoot
Running total: 14
21. [x] Have put a sticker on your forehead, forgot it was there, and went out in public with it on
22. [ ] Have fallen out of a moving vehicle
23. [x] Have run into a closed door (it was my own T_T)
25. [ ] Searched for your cell phone while you were talking on it
26. [x] It has taken you longer than 5 min to get a joke
27. [] Have gotten your hair stuck in a blow dryer
28. [ ] Have gotten your hair stuck in a fan
29. [x] Tripped on a crack in the sidewalk
30. [ ] Said o'clock after saying how many min after the hour, example: 5:30 o'clock, or 6:15 o'clock
Running total: 18
31. [x] After someone told you that there was gum on the ground, you stepped in it
32. [ x] Put on a white shirt even though you already knew it was raining outside
33. [x] Have ever walked up to a stranger because you thought they were someone else
34. [x ]Ever been kicked out of a grocery store/off their property (almost xD)
35. [x] Touched the stove, the curling iron, a hot pan, etc when its on, even though you knew it was hot
36. [x] Taken off your clothes to change into something else then accidentally put the old clothes back on
37. [x]Wondered why something wasn't working then realized it wasn't plugged in
38. [] Put the cereal in the fridge, or put the milk in the cupboard
39. [x] Walked into a pole
40. [ ] Wore two different earrings or shoes by accident/stolen someones shoes by accident
Running total: 26
41. [x] Put your shirt on backwards/inside-out without realizing it then left your house
42. [x ] Tried to take a picture of someone's eye with the flash on
43. [x]Gotten a ring stuck on your finger because you put it on even though you knew it was too small
44. [x ] Walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe without realizing it
45. [x] Went to go do something/go get something, then when you got there, you forgot what it is was that you were going to do (all the time...=D)
46. [x] Picked up someone else's drink and drank out of it by accident when your drink was right next to it
47. [x] Fallen out of your chair while trying to pick something up
48. [] Have poked yourself in the eye (more like people poked me in the eye =P)
49. [] Have gotten in the shower with your socks still on
50. [ ] Melted your hairbrush while blow drying your hair
Running total: 33
51. [] Have done enough stupid things to make a test
52. [x] Have accidentally stabbed yourself with a pencil
53. [x] Have sung the wrong verse to a song without realizing it
54. [x] Have given an odd answer to a question because you didn't hear the question in the first place and didn't feel like asking what it was
55. [] Told someone you were the wrong age because you seriously forgot how old you were.
56. [x] Looked into an overhead purposefully while it was on
57. [x] Got up early and got ready for school/work, then realized that you didn't have school/work that day
58. [x] Forgot your own phone number
59. [x] Have tripped on a cord after someone told you to watch out for it
60. [x] Have ever laughed at a joke that no one else thought was funny
Running total: 41
61. [ ] Done the Macarena to the electric slide or vice versa
62. [x] Said funner then had someone make fun of you for it
63. [x] Have repeated yourself at least twice in the same sentence
64. [x] Brought up an inside joke with the wrong person
65. [x] Didn't do the backside of an assignment because you thought that there wasn't one because you had already looked and forgot that there was another side (I learned the hard way T_T)
66. [x] Did more work than you had to on an assignment because you didn't read the directions
67. [x] Corrected someone's grammar/pronunciation then figured out that you were the one that was wrong
68. [x] Put something in a special place so that you would remember where it was, then forgot where you put it
69. [x] Put ice in your drink after the glass was full of liquid and had it splash out
70. [x] Told a lie then forgot what it was that you had said and got caught
Running total: 50
71. [x] When wearing goggles, you pulled them away from your face and let go so that they would come back and snap you in the face
72. [x] Forgot to make sure that the lamp was off before you replaced the light bulb (ouch...)
73. [x ] Ran into a door jam
74. [x] Told someone that you hardly ever do stupid things, then immediately did/said something stupid
75. [x] Told someone to watch out for something, then you were the one that ran into it
76. [ ] Have purposely licked playground sand
77. [ ] Have purposely and repeatedly flicked yourself with a rubber band
78. [x] Gotten so hyper that someone actually thought you were drunk when you weren't
79. [x] Have been so hyper you actually scared people
80. [] Put duct tape on your body then pulled it off to see if it would hurt
Running total: 57
81. [ ] Put duct tape on your hair/someone else's hair then pulled it off
82. [ ] Put a clothes pin/hair clip on your lip, figured out that it hurt, then did it again
83. [ ] Sat and wondered why men's dress shirts have a loop on the back
84. [x] Made up a code name for someone so that you could talk about them to someone else and no one else would know who you were talking about
85. [] Have gotten a hairbrush stuck in your hair
86. [] Used the straw to blow the straw wrapper at someone
87. [ ] Shaved your tongue because you thought your taste buds looked funny.
88. [] When at a restaurant, you used your spoon to fling stuff at people
89. [ ] Have flung forks at people in a restaurant
89. [ ]Tripped and made the waiter drop the food.
Running total: 58
91. [x] As you are writing, you move your head back and forth with your pen/pencil
92. [ ] Have drawn finger puppets on your fingers then named them
93. [x] Have wrapped someone in a roll of toilet paper (then I got wrapped)
94. [ x] Have used somebody else's toothbrush without even realizing it wasn't yours
95. [x] Have started telling a story and forget what you were talking about or what happened in the story
96. [x] Read a whole book but during the whole book you weren’t even paying attention
97. [x] You have spelled your own name wrong before
98. [] When lying in bed you look for pictures in the texture of the ceiling
99. [x ] Have used your calculator as a form of communication in a class
100. [ ] Have popped a balloon in your mouth
Total: 65
Mark which things you have done, then calculate your score by counting the number of questions you marked. This test is out of 100 questions which means that the number you get as your score is also your percentage. Tag all of your friends, and re-post as "I do stupid things __% of the time."
1. [] Forgot to put the lid on the blender, turned it on, and had everything fly out
2. [x] Gotten your head stuck between the stair rails
3. [x] Broken a chair by leaning back in it
4. [x] Had gum fall out of your mouth while you were talking
5. [x] Choked on your own spit while you were talking
6. [] Had people tell you that you are blonde when you're not, or had people tell you that your blonde highlights are going to your head
7. [x] Been caught staring at your crush by your crush
8. [x] Have looked for something for at least 5 min then realized it was in your hand
9. [x] Tried to push open a door that said pull
10.[ x] Tried to pull open a door that said push
Running total: 8
11. [ ] Have actually believed someone when they said that they
knew how to make a love-potion
12. [ x] Have hit yourself in the process of trying to hit something else
13. [x ] Have tripped and fallen UP the stairs
14. [x] Have actually exploded marshmallows in the microwave
15. [ ] Have gotten gum stuck in your hair
16. [ ] Had gum fall out of your mouth while trying to blow a bubble
17. [x] Have had the juice from a mini tomato squirt out and hit somebody else when you bit into it
18. [x] Have had your drink come out your nose because you were laughing so hard
19. [x] Have called one of your good friends by the wrong name
20. [] Have skinned your toe because you were playing soccer or kickball with flip flops on or you were barefoot
Running total: 14
21. [x] Have put a sticker on your forehead, forgot it was there, and went out in public with it on
22. [ ] Have fallen out of a moving vehicle
23. [x] Have run into a closed door (it was my own T_T)
25. [ ] Searched for your cell phone while you were talking on it
26. [x] It has taken you longer than 5 min to get a joke
27. [] Have gotten your hair stuck in a blow dryer
28. [ ] Have gotten your hair stuck in a fan
29. [x] Tripped on a crack in the sidewalk
30. [ ] Said o'clock after saying how many min after the hour, example: 5:30 o'clock, or 6:15 o'clock
Running total: 18
31. [x] After someone told you that there was gum on the ground, you stepped in it
32. [ x] Put on a white shirt even though you already knew it was raining outside
33. [x] Have ever walked up to a stranger because you thought they were someone else
34. [x ]Ever been kicked out of a grocery store/off their property (almost xD)
35. [x] Touched the stove, the curling iron, a hot pan, etc when its on, even though you knew it was hot
36. [x] Taken off your clothes to change into something else then accidentally put the old clothes back on
37. [x]Wondered why something wasn't working then realized it wasn't plugged in
38. [] Put the cereal in the fridge, or put the milk in the cupboard
39. [x] Walked into a pole
40. [ ] Wore two different earrings or shoes by accident/stolen someones shoes by accident
Running total: 26
41. [x] Put your shirt on backwards/inside-out without realizing it then left your house
42. [x ] Tried to take a picture of someone's eye with the flash on
43. [x]Gotten a ring stuck on your finger because you put it on even though you knew it was too small
44. [x ] Walked out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe without realizing it
45. [x] Went to go do something/go get something, then when you got there, you forgot what it is was that you were going to do (all the time...=D)
46. [x] Picked up someone else's drink and drank out of it by accident when your drink was right next to it
47. [x] Fallen out of your chair while trying to pick something up
48. [] Have poked yourself in the eye (more like people poked me in the eye =P)
49. [] Have gotten in the shower with your socks still on
50. [ ] Melted your hairbrush while blow drying your hair
Running total: 33
51. [] Have done enough stupid things to make a test
52. [x] Have accidentally stabbed yourself with a pencil
53. [x] Have sung the wrong verse to a song without realizing it
54. [x] Have given an odd answer to a question because you didn't hear the question in the first place and didn't feel like asking what it was
55. [] Told someone you were the wrong age because you seriously forgot how old you were.
56. [x] Looked into an overhead purposefully while it was on
57. [x] Got up early and got ready for school/work, then realized that you didn't have school/work that day
58. [x] Forgot your own phone number
59. [x] Have tripped on a cord after someone told you to watch out for it
60. [x] Have ever laughed at a joke that no one else thought was funny
Running total: 41
61. [ ] Done the Macarena to the electric slide or vice versa
62. [x] Said funner then had someone make fun of you for it
63. [x] Have repeated yourself at least twice in the same sentence
64. [x] Brought up an inside joke with the wrong person
65. [x] Didn't do the backside of an assignment because you thought that there wasn't one because you had already looked and forgot that there was another side (I learned the hard way T_T)
66. [x] Did more work than you had to on an assignment because you didn't read the directions
67. [x] Corrected someone's grammar/pronunciation then figured out that you were the one that was wrong
68. [x] Put something in a special place so that you would remember where it was, then forgot where you put it
69. [x] Put ice in your drink after the glass was full of liquid and had it splash out
70. [x] Told a lie then forgot what it was that you had said and got caught
Running total: 50
71. [x] When wearing goggles, you pulled them away from your face and let go so that they would come back and snap you in the face
72. [x] Forgot to make sure that the lamp was off before you replaced the light bulb (ouch...)
73. [x ] Ran into a door jam
74. [x] Told someone that you hardly ever do stupid things, then immediately did/said something stupid
75. [x] Told someone to watch out for something, then you were the one that ran into it
76. [ ] Have purposely licked playground sand
77. [ ] Have purposely and repeatedly flicked yourself with a rubber band
78. [x] Gotten so hyper that someone actually thought you were drunk when you weren't
79. [x] Have been so hyper you actually scared people
80. [] Put duct tape on your body then pulled it off to see if it would hurt
Running total: 57
81. [ ] Put duct tape on your hair/someone else's hair then pulled it off
82. [ ] Put a clothes pin/hair clip on your lip, figured out that it hurt, then did it again
83. [ ] Sat and wondered why men's dress shirts have a loop on the back
84. [x] Made up a code name for someone so that you could talk about them to someone else and no one else would know who you were talking about
85. [] Have gotten a hairbrush stuck in your hair
86. [] Used the straw to blow the straw wrapper at someone
87. [ ] Shaved your tongue because you thought your taste buds looked funny.
88. [] When at a restaurant, you used your spoon to fling stuff at people
89. [ ] Have flung forks at people in a restaurant
89. [ ]Tripped and made the waiter drop the food.
Running total: 58
91. [x] As you are writing, you move your head back and forth with your pen/pencil
92. [ ] Have drawn finger puppets on your fingers then named them
93. [x] Have wrapped someone in a roll of toilet paper (then I got wrapped)
94. [ x] Have used somebody else's toothbrush without even realizing it wasn't yours
95. [x] Have started telling a story and forget what you were talking about or what happened in the story
96. [x] Read a whole book but during the whole book you weren’t even paying attention
97. [x] You have spelled your own name wrong before
98. [] When lying in bed you look for pictures in the texture of the ceiling
99. [x ] Have used your calculator as a form of communication in a class
100. [ ] Have popped a balloon in your mouth
Total: 65
Saturday, January 24, 2009
*facepalm*
Recently, for history, we were supposed to research a given topic and give a presentation on it.
For my group, it was nationalism. We did what every group would (probably) do: meet, research stuff, type it up, blah blah blah
On the day of presentation, one of my group members suddenly asked me, "What's nationalism?"
I was seriously about to hit myself.
Okay, come on. That person wrote a full friggin' page on it and doesn't know what it means???
It reminded me of the Change project as a whole last year...people doing a report on something and not knowing what it means.
All in all, that was a huge waste of time. Next time on a group project, I seriously don't want to work with that person again, even though he's been a good friend since the good old Weibel days.
People do get lazy. Including me. But in a group, think about who ends up suffering.
For my group, it was nationalism. We did what every group would (probably) do: meet, research stuff, type it up, blah blah blah
On the day of presentation, one of my group members suddenly asked me, "What's nationalism?"
I was seriously about to hit myself.
Okay, come on. That person wrote a full friggin' page on it and doesn't know what it means???
It reminded me of the Change project as a whole last year...people doing a report on something and not knowing what it means.
All in all, that was a huge waste of time. Next time on a group project, I seriously don't want to work with that person again, even though he's been a good friend since the good old Weibel days.
People do get lazy. Including me. But in a group, think about who ends up suffering.
Blog Day One
1/24/09
11:40PM
I created this blog because I was bored and from popular demand xD
If you've read any of my FB notes, they will be very similar to what will be put here, although more stuff will be added here that's like...school-related >.>
Now I need to study for finals x.x
11:40PM
I created this blog because I was bored and from popular demand xD
If you've read any of my FB notes, they will be very similar to what will be put here, although more stuff will be added here that's like...school-related >.>
Now I need to study for finals x.x
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