Day 36a: Progression of Final Fantasy Males

Day 36a: Final Fantasy Male Leads FINAL FANTASY VII This was the first Final Fantasy I played, so I guess I'll start here. (Plus the fact that it's the first in the series to move to a Playstation console. ) Well, first off I know what you're thinking. The graphics suck. But, actually this game was considered one of the best graphic games back then. So don't be too turned off. The guy's name is CLOUD STRIFE and he is very famous in the Final Fantasy realm. Back then, the animators tended to create characters very very specific to their gender roles, thus the fact that this guy has very manly features. But, since the game was not graphically advanced enough to add enough detail (persay a mouth or nose) to his form, I wasn't too attracted to him. FINAL FANTASY VIII The next guy's name is SQUALL LEONHART and he is the most attractive male lead in any of the Final Fantasy series. Actually, I think he's the most attractive of any male in the series. Once again, Square-Enix sought to create a character with very protruding male characteristics (yes!) Thus, he is shown to be very fierce in many of his poses. I just chose to select the poses that weren't so fierce, cause then he looks really cute. Hottest Final Fantasy character ever FINAL FANTASY X This guy's name is TIDUS. I have to admit, when I first saw this image on the video game container, I was like "Wow, this guy is cute." Well, unfortunately this is his most outwardly, manly appearance. This character was certainly a deviation from the previous Final Fantasy leads, which all had very gender-specific appearances. Tidus, for instance, has many more feminine facial features, deviating away from the narrow chin and rugged face. He also acts a bit more "flamboyant", especially when he's talking. Talk about hand gestures...... His personality is also a lot more open, which is not at all bad, but it didn't have that "I'm a loner, but I'm tough" kind of feel that the other two [Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart] had. He's a pretty likeable person though, and I think he has the best personality of them all. In fact, he might be my favorite Final Fantasy character...... FINAL FANTASY X-2 First off, let me just say that this game is NOT a good representation of the series. This was quite honestly a sham for the series, so if you're planning to buy a Final Fantasy game, DON'T get this. Not only that, but it DOES NOT have any male leads. The leads are actually three females! These three are just the supporting characters, and even then they aren't too hot. However, this game really allowed Square-Enix to disperse their originality in the characters more, so you could have Nooj, the tough rugged guy, Baralai, the more soft-spoken feminine type, and Gippal, the clowny, cut guy. Overall, however, not enough male leads. FINAL FANTASY XII OH BOY, this is where Square-Enix animators definitely changed their approach to drawing characters. This guy's name is VAAN. Square-Enix animators completely deviated from the traditional strong masculine character, and definitely wanted to emphasize much more feminine characterists. Just look at any snapshot of him in the game or an official wallpaper. For one, his isn't clothed in a traditional "tough guy" uniform, with his vest hanging loosely from his bare chest. It almost makes him look very gay, lol! He also isn't portrayed as very muscular. His hair is definitely a more feminine hairstyle to go with his feminine face. I am NOT SAYING he is a girl, but I'm definitely telling you that the animators wanted to create a character that had major female and male characters, almost to the point of creating someone almost unisex in appearance. Now, you may ask "Why would Square-Enix do this?" The obvious answer is that they want to appeal to a bigger crowd, persay the female gamers. While I do think it's a very clever idea, I don't think it helped too much. Especially since this game didn't sell nearly as well as it's predessesors, but that could be Final Fantasy X-2's fault, so Anyways, I didn't like these characters. They were SOOOOOOOOOOOO generic and 2-D in personality. I mean, there wasn't even a love story!!!! That was the saddest thing about the game. No one was madly in love with the other, and they all just went along like a bunch of strangers on this stupid quest. I really really really didn't like this game, sry The other guy was Balthier; he isn't really a main character, but he's worth mentioning. This guy was pretty cute, although I didn't really like his voice too well, no offence. It's just that I would have preferred him as a sweetheart, not always the wise-alec he was in the game. Idk, he's still pretty good-looking though....

FINAL FANTASY XIII

This game hasn't come out yet, but judging from the screenshots this looks awesome. I need to get it. This guy's name is SNOW. I am so happy that the company is returning to it's more masculine-orientated characters, cause honestly, Vaan was just plain annoying the whole game. He looks like such a badass. What a hottie.

FINAL FANTASY XIV It's amazing how Square-Enix works so far in advance. They're already planning the next set. This guy is TOO hot, omg. I'm seriously swooning over him, and this time I don't feel as weird/guilty cause this guy looks soooooooo real. He almost looks like Chace Crawford, right? Anways, I hope he's involved in some big love story, cause then he might become a very famous male character. ------------------------------------------FINALE---------------------------------------------- Hottest Male Character: Definitely Squall. His really rugged looks make him look very hot, and adds onto his whole ego appearance. Not only that, but he seems to have the ability to switch from being "tough-guy hottie" to "cutest guy in town." I mean, all he has to do is smile and it's like wow, u are soooooooo cute. However, I will say that the guy from FXIV isn't too far from my radar... Best Personality: Definitely Tidus, although only for a lead. (I like Cid and Red XIII's personalities the best.) He is very upbeat, and he's very good at displaying leadership, even if he doesn't fit in as a typical general-guy. I think what he does best is boost morale and encourage everyone, which is nice. Plus, he is such a sweetheart with his lover, vowing to protect her to the very end. It's beautiful. Worst Overall: Vaan. Hated, hated, HATED him. He wasn't a lover, a guardian, etc. He was simply an adventurer with his own dreams, which made me kind of sad. And his personality was so 1-sided. It was always "Let's get from point A to B", but that may be because of the minimal amount of dialogue in the game compared to the others. I just didn't like him.

Day 36: Video Game Hottie

Day 36: Video Game Hottie Can you believe they are already planning Final Fantasy XIV?! The 13th one hasn't even come out yet. But, oh well. I think one of the reasons why he is so attractive is because they really emphasized his manly qualities. I mean, if anyone's played Final Fantasy X (Tidus) or Final Fantasy XII (Vaan), you'd know what I mean. The animators at Square-Enix really did it this time; he is really hot. And I don't feel awkward anymore thinking an animated character is hot cause this guy looks real. It's almost like a picture. Enjoy....

Week (All in One Entry)

Dear Journal, So yeah, sorry I didn't update in such a long time, but I've been kind of "off." I've been kind of stressing with the new approach of the school year. I know that I still have 3 weeks until it officially starts, but I still have sooooooooooooooooooo much stuff to prepare. Green club, ACT study, SAT Subject Bio study, Job Applications, blah blah blah..........and oh yeah, the stupid COMMON APPLICATION that my sister and my dad have been pushing me to do all summer. Basically, it's an application online that many colleges use as a standard for any high school seniors who want to enter their college. So far, I haven't really decided which college I want to go to, and I hope ppl stop asking me!! But, yeah, this week I just got done with my job training at Kumon Learning Center. If you've ever heard of Sylvan, it's pretty much the same thing. Here was my schedule this week: Monday "J" Level Math Factorizations Tuesday "L" Level Math Logarithms, Exponents, Integrals, Determinants Wednesday "K" Level Math Graphs, Quadratics, Cubics Thursday "M" Level Math Trigonometry, Lines, etc. Basically, the manager of the store wanted me to come in every day this week (except tomorrow) to train for higher-level math. It was really really really retarded, cause I had to learn this stuff 2 hours a week and it was HARD. Basically, they threw a dictionary-thick book at me full of these stupid math lessons, and after 2 hours was over, I had to take a really dumb 20-30 question test and get at least 95% (1-2 wrong) to go onto the next section. The only redeeming thing about it was that there was a college graduate teaching all of this stuff, who majored in Mathematics. Her name was Jamie and she taught me and two other guys this higher level stuff. It actually made the experience slightly enjoyable because she was a really down-to-earth girl, so it wasn't so overbearing. As for the other two guys, they were really nice too, although unfortunately I'm pretty sure none of them were gay, either. So yeah, just today I took my last test, the "M" test, which btw was frickin hard!! It's basically all the useless math you never learn in school that they teach you. Jamie was really nice though, and she let a few wrong answers slip by cause she understood the whole tobackle I was in, and cause she knew I WASN'T GETTING PAID! So yeah, after I "passed" I was so relieved and then I went home. -------------------------- Meningitis Vaccination So yeah, on Monday I got a Meningitis vaccination, which wasn't too bad. After I got out of training, my mom drove my sister and I to the clinic, where I got a big needle stuck in my right arm. It didn't hurt too much; in fact, I don't think it even hurt at all. It just had an unpleasant twitch. I then took 5 Dum-Dums out of their candy basket even though I'm pretty sure you're only supposed to take one. ----------------------------------------- Fever And then Tuesday, I woke up with a really bad fever. And I was like, "WTF? Why do I have a fever?" But then a second later I'm like, "Duh, it's cause of that vaccine." So Tuesday didn't go too well, cause I had to go to Kumon Training and do stupid Logarithms and Determinant crap with a fever. It was really really stupid. ----------------------------------------- Back-Ache And then Wednesday, I woke up with no fever, but then I had sever back ache! (I know, I sound like an old man.) And I'm honestly not one to always moan about this and that, but my back really really hurt! That day when I went to Walmart and IKEA, I swear every few seconds I had to twist my torso to alleviate some of the pain. It hurt that bad. When I got home, I went straight to bed and slept for 11 hours, and now I'm fine!!! So yeah, today (Thursday) my back felt way better and I finished my level "M" test, so now I'm officially done with Kumon Training. Jamie helped me out a lot too, so she was a huge help. And I think I'm going to the beach this weekend cause it'll be 90 degrees!! WHOOO!!! But, at the same time, I feel kind of bad cause I'm two of my friends were looking to spend time with me on Saturday. I hope everyone else is doing well; I think if there was one word to describe me, it would be a combo of lazy and busy. Is there such a word?!?!?!? -Sincerely, Kaoru16

Day 34: Summer Reading List

Day 34: Summer Reading List

So I recently went to Barnes and Nobles to buy some books with my "birthday money." (Whoo!) Basically, I bought.....

Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)

Lord of the Flies (William Golding)

A Separate Peace (John Knowles)

Quamut's "How To Go Green" => These two are

SparkCharts "Environmental Studies" AMAZING btw.

My sister got me....

Walden (Henry David Thoreau)

Civil Disobedience (Henry David Thoreau)

Selected Essays, Lectures, and Poems (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Candide (Voltaire)

The Prince and the Pauper (Mark Twain)

WOW!! Those are a lot of books. I doubt I'll have time to finish them, cause guess what?!?! My other cousins from California are coming over. Ugh.....it's not that I don't like them. It's just that I can't handle having so many people over. Plus that means I have to take care of them again, and this time they're really small children. Kids are nice to be around, they're cute; but not for 2 weeks!

Anyways, I have a Summer Reading List that includes some of those books. I've been slacking and haven't been reading much, lol.

Books from Barnes and Nobles

Oh, and this right here is my "To-Do" List, meaning I HAVE TO do these things. It's kind of like my summer resolution. Notice how the first thing says "Plan Recycling Club" cause I'm president next year (not bragging,....)

(Notice first thing on list. I know my priorities!!)

Ok, this is my final final note. I promise. These guides are worth mentioning cause any environmentalist will appreciate them. It basically gives you basic/intermediate tips to make your life eco-friendly. I'll blog about this a later day!

Feeling of Emptiness

The day before my cousins left..... we were all crowded around the dining table. There was me, my dad, my mom, my two sisters, Yen-Lu, Yen-She, and Buo-Re, eight people in total. With eight people, it's hard to imagine that nothing went wrong: a small arguement, people losing their temper, hateful feelings. But, to my surprise, that's exactly what didn't happen. We were having the time of our lives, the day before they were leaving. And it made me really happy, because moments like that are so rare in my life. Reading about shugo's entry "How I Lost My Cousin" reminded me of memories I have that are to say the least, frustrating. I also used to have two cousins I was very close to. There was Charlie, who was like my older brother. He was 6 years older than me, but that never stopped him from hanging out with me. I guess he was a pretty "tough" kid, the typical bad-boy, but he never was like that around me. Always kind, taking me out to see the city; it was very strange for such a young adult to do these things for me. And then there was Jay, who also was my young adult cousin. He was always so excited to see me and take me places. I think he was undoubtedly my closest cousin growing up. Now, everything's different.......it's not complete shit, but I definitely don't talk to them as much. They're not as excited to see me, and I'm not really excited either. I think it's because I changed a lot as a person. Like I mentioned in my very first blog, I drifted away from my happy medium as a small child. A lot has happened to me, a lot of broken relationships tore me up so much I almost lost faith in friendship, but that's for another blog. Basically, times change, and so do people. The other day, I was walking by Northwestern University in the afternoon. The sun was shining soft rays against my rough skin, the birds were tweeting, the trees were swaying with green undertones. There could not have been a more perfect day. Then this soft breeze flew through, and it caressed my face like a person brushing their hand over me. And in that exact moment, I just felt everything was "right." There was nothing wrong, no feelings of despair or loneliness or frustration; only peace. A calm wind blowing over me under the summer sun. I wanted time to stop right there; I wanted that wind to blow forever across my face. I wanted the sun to shine forever, for the trees to never lose their green hue. But the reality is that time can never stop, and so that wind eventually stopped blowing, and the sun eventually went down. Maybe I'm an idealist, call me a madman, but I damn well know what I'm talking about. I know perfectly well why this memory is so important to me. It is what I've been looking for my entire life. The feeling of eternal peace and calmness, where there is no pain. Does such a state of mind, or better yet, a state of place exist? The Buddhists say that suffering can ultimately be avoided with the correct mindset, while the Christians say that suffering is inevititable in this world full of sin. I guess since I'm Christian, the only thing I can do now is wait. Nothing is going to speed up my death, (unless I purposely kill myself), but I'm waiting, patiently for that day when I'll go to heaven. The place where there is no pain or suffering, only peace.

Day 33: My 17th Birthday!!! (YEAH!)

Day 33: My 17th Birthday!!! (YEAH!)

17 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!! The celebration started at 7:40 P.M. My parents, my two sisters, and my three cousins (Buo-re, Yen-Lu, and Yen-Ling) were crowding around the table around me.

I took about 10 pictures of the cake cause it looked amazing. I'm glad my parents got me that cake, cause those are my favorite blend of colors. Anyways, then the lights were dimmed and they all sang me Happy Birthday! Around halfway, I knew I was about to blow out the candles, so I began to think of my wish.

What to wish for.....what did I truly want? Another video game? Another pet? The next instant, I knew what I wanted. What I had wanted quite possibly my whole teenage life. I closed my eyes very tight, and then I whispered it in my head. "I want to meet someone who will love me. A guy who I can love back, and who I can make very happy. I hope I'll find him soon, or at least I hope I find a genuine friend." Then I blew out the candles with a breath of desperation. Then came the darkness, followed by my sigh of relief, and of hope, and then came the clapping and the shouting..... - I really hope my wish comes true, cause it's the first wish I've ever made on my birthday. Either I was too young to even remember my wish, or I wasn't given a cake and ended up seeing a Broadway show instead, or even sometimes I forgot to wish for something. But today, I meant that wish with my heart. And I know wishing isn't everything, but it sure beats no even trying!!!

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PRESENTS

My parents gave me $200. Why yes, I'm a spoiled brat. I even took a picture of it with the camera I got for Christmas.

I think the best gift I got, though, was the four books I got from my sister. It was also a huge surprise, because my present was a rectangular box, and that could be anything.

The second I opened my present, my head felt lightheaded cause I was honestly so happy. There lieing before me was Henry David Thoreau's "Walden and Civil Disobedience". Oh my god. My sister knew how much I loved Thoreau. I was so ecstatic to see the book in front of me. What was even more uplifting was that lieing beneath it was Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Selected Essays." (Emerson, btw, is credited as being the founder of the Transcendentalist movement in his literary piece Nature.) There was also "The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain and Candide by Voltaire. Although I didn't really know them too well, I certainly was excited to read such intellectual books.

I really want to remember this birthday specifically because I know a lot of people gave their time to show me that they love me. And it wasn't by doing something extravagent, like taking me to some faraway vacation spot or buying me some extremely expensive gift (although $200 cold cash is pretty sweet!) Everyone was really nice to me, and put a lot of effort into making this day special.

I hope to remember today, so that next time I get angry or bitter at them for hurting me, I'll recall that beautiful cerulean cake they bought me on July 2nd to show how much they loved me.

Summer Pets: Vegetables, Worms, and Cats??

I Want That Everlasting Love

After we left and my dad was driving us all around Chicago, I wrote this entry:

" I just went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

I'm kind of sad for some reason. Maybe it's the weather, cause it's very gray and rainy. Or maybe because I've been walking around all day and I'm tired. Well, I don't know the cause of my sadness. All I know is that I'm sad and I feel purposeless. Now, I don't know if I feel purposeless because I'm sad, but I just know something isn't right.

Why did I go to this museum? Why am I taking pictures? Why am I here? This feeling has been haunting me for my whole adolescent lifetime. The feeling of despair in the limits, in the emptiness in all things finite, where nothing lasts forever."

I think I felt this emptiness and sadness when I saw the buildings around me while driving along the Chicago shorelines. Here's another entry I wrote:

"It sometimes makes me sad to see new buildings, or new TV's. Maybe it's unconscious greed. But, then again it could be just that I hate to know that they'll disappear in 2, 5, 10, or even a century past, but no matter, they will disappear. It's sad; maybe I could find something happy about this when I'm typing this??"

I'm thinking of Mariah Carey right now. I see her on stage at the 1990's Grammy Awards. Wow, she was pretty amazing. She was a shining starlet, as they say. But, like everyone else, like Michael Jackson, they will all eventually fade. It's true that nothing, and no one, lasts forever.

I think that's what depresses me about the world: how finite everything is. How our buildings, our accomplishments, our latest edition iPhone or what we thought was eternal cameras are all going to disappear someday. Even the people around us will someday be dead, be finite. I want something everlasting!

I want that house that won't ever fall down; I want that person who will love me forever. Where love is not something that comes and goes, that doesn't fade away after 2 years or a single day. I want that person who will live, everlasting, with me.

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I'm walking down the Chicago shoreline by the Adler Planatarium. I feel so alone, so cold. Do you ever feel that way, when you're walking down a wide path, and although it may be 60 degrees or whatever, you just feel cold inside?

Or maybe it's not cold at all, it's just that I'm lonely. I want to hold someone. Yes, I know I'm a 16-year old guy, but it's practically human instinct to be with someone.

I'm thinking about that person. That person who will walk along the shore with me in his arms.

I think that one shining thought is able to penetrate through all the sadness I'm feeling right now. It's comforting to feel love's power even without its prescence.

Day 32: Day 3 @ Chicago (w/ cousins +1 !!!!!!)

Day 32: Museum of Science and Industry

July 1, 2009

I'm MAD cause the Smart House exhibit was closed at the museum. UGH!!!! It was the only one I really wanted to see, cause it featured ways you could conserve energy in your house. Basically, it's this eco-green exhibit where you can enter an actual house and see the different appliances used (like solar panels, water-saving faucets, etc.) to create a more environmentally friendly house.

I am crazy about the environment, so naturally I'm mad about this exhibit being closed. (get the pun...hehe)

There was a very intriging futuristic exhibit that I thought was the most interesting thing in the museum. Basically, there were displays of a bunch of highly advanced technologies being developed, from the indoor farm to paper food.

Now, some of them seemed extremely typical and not-too-promising, like the anti-aging technology. Basically, the guy proposed that he could make humans live virtually forever, which I believe is probably a little more distant than the near future. But, there were some very interesting ones, like the "indoor farm" where this guy was trying to grow crops in a skyscraper in order to eliminate pest and land problems. That seemed actually realistic.

There was also this very very interesting thing where some chef was able to make a piece of edible paper taste like cotton candy. He said it could be used for astronauts, but my only question is: Does the paper have the same calories as a meal? Weird..........

And of course, they had the "Earth Revealed" exhibit which I had to see because I'm an earth freak. My only nail to pick at was the fact that the information given in the presentation was so basic. "Global warming is causing temperatures to rise"...."earth's species are being threatened by developing countries"....I mean, come on? Are we still explaining the mechanisms behind global warming? That's a Kindergarden lesson in the environmental world.

Oh, and btw, there was this really cute guy in a gray shirt that I saw everywhere in the museum. Actually, he just walked with us for two exhibits, but when it's someone hot, it feels like everywhere. Anyways, I kind of got distracted in the exhibits cause I kept staring at him. Just wanted to write that down...

After we left and my dad was driving us all around Chicago, I wrote this entry:

" [ directly from diary] I just went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.

I'm kind of sad for some reason. Maybe it's the weather, cause it's very gray and rainy. Or maybe because I've been walking around all day and I'm tired. Well, I don't know the cause of my sadness. All I know is that I'm sad and I feel purposeless. Now, I don't know if I feel purposeless because I'm sad, but I just know something isn't right.

Why did I go to this museum? Why am I taking pictures? Why am I here? This feeling has been haunting me for my whole adolescent lifetime. The feeling of despair thinking about the limits, the emptiness in all things finite, where nothing lasts forever."

I think I felt this emptiness and sadness when I saw the buildings around me while driving along the Chicago shorelines. Here's another entry I wrote:

"It sometimes makes me sad to see new buildings, or new TV's. Maybe it's unconscious greed. But, then again it could be just that I hate to know that they'll disappear in 2, 5, 10, or even a century past, but no matter, they will disappear. It's sad; maybe I could find something happy about this when I'm typing this??"

I'm thinking of Mariah Carey right now. I see her on stage at the 1990's Grammy Awards. Wow, she was a pretty amazing. She was a shining starlet, as they say. But, like everyone else, like Michael Jackson, they will all eventually fade. It's true that nothing, and no one, lasts forever.

I think that what depresses me about the world: how finite everything is. How our buildings, our accomplishments, our latest edition iPhone or what we thought was eternal cameras are all going to disappear someday. Even the people around us will someday be dead, be finite. I want something everlasting!

I want that house that won't ever fall down; I want that person who will love me forever. Where love is not something that comes and goes, that doesn't fade away after 2 years or a single day. I want that person who will live, everlasting, with me.

Wow, am I crazy? Better question: does anyone understand what I'm saying???!?! Wow, I need to post this in a seperate entry so that when I look back at my entries in 10 years, I'll be able to find it, not lodged under "Day 31: Day 3 @ Chicago"

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Eventually, my mood changed when the sun came out again and I went to this awesome Mcdonald's in the downtown area.

We also ate at Chinatown (Happy Chef, anyone?) which was delicious. That's why we always go to that restaurant and nowhere else.

I eventually got home and went to sleep. Nothing special. I just wanted to remember today for what I realized was a finite world.

Day 31: Day 2 @ Chicago (w/ cousins)

Day 31: University of Chicago.............Northwestern University .............................................Ba'hai Temple

June 29, 2009

So first off, very quick note. I'm sorry I couldn't write a entry in so long, but it's because I've been so busy this past week! And to be completely honest, I missed this site soooo much! I wanted to post all the exciting things that have been happening these past weeks, but I couldn't cause I either got home too late to type anything, I was out of the house way too much, or Buo-re, my younger cousin was on my computer listening to his music. It drove me insane to see that little kid spend so much time on my computer do the most ludicrous stuff, but I never had the heart to kick him off. Once again, sorry for the delay, but hopefully, I can write down all the things that have happened to me this past week.

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So on June 29, our family originally planned to go visit the Museum of Science and Industry, but my final cousin to visit, Yen-She, hadn't come yet. So we decided to save that for another day and just visit UC and NW.

On the way there, I took a bunch of pictures of the city because it was a pretty good day. Actually, pretty good wouldn't be the correct description. It was amazing. You can see for yourself.

Side Note: So here's my little story on my home-city, Chicago. Now, when I was little, my parents and I travelled a bunch of places. Since my dad worked for United Airlines, we had some crazy benefit like 90% off of our plane tickets. So we went everywhere during my school breaks. I've been to Ohio, Michigan, Indiana...........St. Louis, Missouri to see the Arch, San Francisco and Los Angeles numerous times to visit my aunt, Rochester and NYU, New York, Greensboro, North Carolina, Bay Harbor, Maine to visit the national parks.............I've been to Beijing, China for a city tour.....Taipei, Taiwan numerous times.........Tokyo, Japan...................I've been to Ottawa, Canada! There's probably a lot of places I haven't named (I just remembered Atlanta, Georgia), but you get the point.

Thus, I guess the charm of being in such a huge city as Chicago kind of never entranced me; I was always in some new, exciting place. It was to the point where I actually disliked travelling sometimes because I just went to far too many places! ( Oh yeah, I went to Australia; see how spoiled I am?? Can't even remember a trip to Australia)

Well, those "benefits" didn't last long, and soon enough we stopped travelling frequently. Over time, I came to gradually see the beauty in the city's architecture, culture, people. Everything just bubbled out at me, until one day while I was on the shoreline by the Planetarium, I realized just how beautiful the city was. It really is a beautiful city, skyscrapers shooting upwards to the skies above, truly beautiful.

Ever since that defining moment, I came to love Chicago. My appreciation for it has grown over the years, and now, with senior year approaching, I've given much thought about living in this city where there are sooooooo many opportunities. I've come to enjoy this city very much.

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Okay, sorry for that extremely long rant. Anyways............. I went to visit the University of Chicago. Also known as the place "where fun goes to die." Don't believe me? Google it, and you'll see it's true. That's pretty scary, cause I don't want to go to a place all study-oriented. I've already worked my ass off in high school, so I don't want to work like crazy in college as well. I mean, I don't mind working hard. But, there comes a point where you kind of have to live your life, and not have a school live it for you. I just don't think I can handle going to a college where you have to write a 1000-page essay everyday on molecular algae and read 10 chapters of Thoreau's "Walden" without completly cracking.

So although UC is a very very prestigious school, I probably wouldn't want to go assuming it may be too academic for me. And the fact that it's surrounded by an unsafe district, so there's probably not a lot of social places nearby.

Side Note: There's this "myth" that this small garden in UC is supposedly a very romantic place where students fall in love. I saw the garden, and it was pretty nice all right, but it was surrounded by construction sites all around. Not to mention the fact that there are windows all around the garden so there's no privacy. I mean, who could honestly fall in love in a place where there's the clanging of a jackhammer going off and a bunch of students could be peaking at you on your date? WTF? I honestly expected something a little more private, cause it wasn't really romantic.

Later, I went to Northwestern University. I had heard it was a really nice campus, so when I went there I had high hopes.

It actually was pretty nice, but I just didn't feel at place. It was like something was pulling me away, telling me I wouldn't be happy here. Although it was nice walking around, enjoying all the sites, I just didn't feel like I could study there.

We later went to a small cafe on the school's site, and coincidentally, they were serving gestapo ice cream from 4-5 PM for $0.99. How lucky were we? My sister bought a raspberry gestapo, which was delicious. We eventually bought two more, which ended up being eaten mostly by me. I guess I can now remember NW for their delicious ice cream, huh?

NW also had beautiful flower arrangements everywhere, though. I even took pictures of them, which my cousins and sister found ridiculous cause to them they were only "flowers." But, like I said, I'm a huge nature freak and I really liked them.

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The last visit was to the Ba'hai Temple in Winnetka. My dad wanted to show us, but I don't know if he was just curious or he wanted to mock it. After we left the temple, my dad called the place "ridiculous" which I found offensive, even though I'm Christian.

It's not that I accept everything the Ba'ahi faith believes in, but I do believe in something called tolerance. Just cause something doesn't agree with yours doesn't mean we shouldn't respect it; I'm only glad my dad said it in private to me.

It was a very beautiful temple, however, despite my differing beliefs. Inside, it was much like a Christian church, with many chairs encircling the middle. However, I did notice that on the top of the building, there was a symbol of something, probably of God (although I'm not sure...don't take my word for it!) There were also many verses on the sides of the building, which I found very cool cause I think my Christian church would look ten times better if it had verses of "love thy neighbor" or "do good to those who hate you" across our walls. (actual picture I took on the right!)

After that, we went home, exhausted. My cousin, Buo-re, who thinks of nothing else but video games, computer, and fun, went straight to my computer to listen to HM3 music. Ugh.

I did enjoy today, though. From going within the city to see UC's gothic strutures to breathing in NW's entrancing nature to gasping at the Bahai Temple's intricacy, I feel happy experiencing all that Chicago's metropolitan area has to offer. Now, everytime I go to Chicago, I fall in love with it more and more. It is just such a beautiful place.

Day 30: My Cousins Came Over!!!

My Cousins Came Over!!! ------------------------------------------------------- So my cousins from Southeast Asia came over two days ago!!! I don't know their English names, so I'll just call them "Buo-yu" and "Yen-Lu" which is what their Chinese names sound like. Buo-yu is 11. The last time I saw him was when he was 8, and no offence, but I never really liked him. Maybe cause he was a little kid and kind of annoying. He was also a bit spoiled, too. Well, now I like him a lot better. He's definitely a lot more mature, although he's still very young compared to me. It's sad because I don't have any cousins who are anywhere near my age range; they're either 5+ years older or younger than me. He's nice, though. Yen-Lu is 24...25? She used to have black hair and have very Asian glasses (not to stereotype, but...) and she always looked very smart. Now, her hair's golden and she wears contacts. She's gotten a lot prettier, to the point where if I were a straight guy I'd think she was cute, but never mind that. She's also very nice and laughs a lot, which I guess adds to her charm. I like being around her. I actually really like both of them! Well, they came over on Thursday, and I basically showed them the basement, which they really like. We played the multiplayer Spongebob game on the PS2. And we played Brawl together. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Screw U, I'm Wearing that Headband

OHHHH!! That day, we also went to the mall. But, something kind of weird happened. We went into this one store which sold all these girly trinkets and such, like sparkly bracelets and headbeads, etc. And I put on this pink bracelet as a joke, but then Yen-Lu said not to put it on. I asked her why, and she said, "It makes you look gay." That kind of hurt, cause I guess she saw it as a negativity to be gay. But oh well, she's really nice.

Well, my sisters, my mom, and Yen-Lu spent a lot of time looking around. 2 minutes soon turned into 30 minutes, to the point where nearly everyone but my mom and my sisters were just standing around. So I decided to try on this green headband just for fun. It looked pretty good on me, honestly, cause it made my hair spike up halfway up my scalp. My sisters laughed, and Yen-Lu gave me this really cute chuckle when I wore it. She was really interested and told me to try on other ones. My mom laughed a lot too, and then she said jokingly, "What's wrong with you? That's for girls!"

Now, I'm not what people label a "flammer." (I don't like labels in the first place.) I'm well aware I don't fit into every mold that embodies a typical masculine person, but just cause I like other guys doesn't mean I'm a girl.

But, here's the thing: I don't like it how society has these labels. Cause now, since every looks at me and says, "Oh, he a guy", not I can't do stuff like wear colorful bracelets or carry around bags or anything "effeminate." I mean, I'm not going so extreme as to wearing woman's clothing or wearing fake boobs, but come on?!? It's just a hairband! I hate these societal pressures we have to follow in order not to be shunned.

So.............I bought that hairband. I damn well bought that hairband! But, my mom said I had to promise to wear it, and not stuff it in a closet like some of my other clothes. I was really happy, cause now I could actually have an excuse for wearing it. (Yes!!!)

There's a shot of David Beckham with a headband, too...mmmmmmmmmmmm

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Fish Eating Cabbage (The Zoo)

Well, then we went to the zoo downtown, which was very nice. While my parents were having a small arguement, I took this photo of these group of trees that just looked so nice. They were breathtaking.....so often do you see such beauty in nature. I mean, truly, nature is almost always beautiful! But, it's actually taking the time to stop for 5 minutes and look around you, and actually remember what you're looking at, that is really so rare. I love this picture............

Then we went to eat at a Vietnamese noodle shop, which was delicious!!! I took a picture of the food here, along with a mint tree I put in my water cup. Everyone around me was staring at me, but I didn't really care cause I'm pretty sure they'd think this was also the most awesomest thing they've ever seen in a restaurant.

Well, today I spent a lot of time just playing video games with Buo-re cause he loves video games. And Yen-Lu also came to join us, which was very enjoyable cause it's so nice to play with her! At night, we watched Bride Wars, which btw is a huge downgrade from 27 Dresses. That movie was so much better, and James Marsden was way hotter than the guys in Bride Wars. Oh well............now I'm typing up this blog! I'll soon go to sleep in my relaxing icy-cool bed, so until then...GOOD Night!