CE: Typhoon Roke Hits Japan

http://english.aljazeera.net//news/asia-pacific/2011/09/20119217154335987.html

It is unfortunate that although Japan has been hit by two big earthquakes this past year, it got hit by yet another typhoon. I remember the earthquake earlier this year that caused an uproar in the Bay Area. Everyone was concerned that the radiation would damage us in terms of our health and people were scared to go outside. Good thing that it was in amounts that were not dangerous. Luckily, these days, when big natural disasters occur, there are charitable organizations that fundraise and donate to help with the relief. I remember that for the Japan earthquake, my Red Cross Club sold silly bands and Alameda High had a food faire specifically for Japan's earthquake. By selling pasta at the food fair, we were able to earn over two hundred dollars. Hopefully, there will be a lot of donations for Japan's recovery from Typhoon Roke.
I worry that that the Bay Area will be hit by a powerful earthquake or other natural disaster because I question whether we will be able to recover quickly. Even though Japan is so technologically advanced it is still in recovery. I think that there will not be as many casualties if cities were not so modernized. During natural disaster, most people die not from the disaster itself, but from materialistic things. For example, during fires, people have a hard time escaping because buildings are so tall nowadays. Also, during floods or hurricanes, most people die not from drowning but slamming into hard materials.

Response to "Senior Schedule"

"I decided to reward myself of what I would call a dream schedule."- Nathan Wong

http://wongyingjie.blogspot.com/2011/09/senior-schedule.html

This year, I also have 0-4th period and it truly is a dream schedule. In the beginning, I had 1-5th period and now that I changed, I see that it makes a big difference.It is great not having to rush during lunch and 0 period goes by so fast. The best day of the week is Tuesday; when I get off school I still have four hours to myself before tennis practice starts. During my sophomore and my junior year, I took 0-6 and it was so dreary.

I am enjoying senior year so far and I look forward for all the senior events to come. I especially look forward to senior prom and the senior picnic. When I heard the rumor that Ms.Lara cancelled the picnic, I was so sad, but thankfully it wasn't true. Though college applications might not be that fun, I'm sure that I will manage. I pray that I will not procrastinate, especially since I do not have much homework, and not be able to turn in my application because the system broke down.

I really can't believe that this will be my last year at Alameda High. Sigh, time just keeps on going by faster and faster. I am excited to go off to college, but I will definitely miss all my friends. It's sad that even though we have known eachother for so long, yet eventually we have to go our separate ways.I hope that there will not be a lot of drama and that this will be a memorable year for everyone.

Current Event : Djokovic beats Nadal to win US Open

http://english.aljazeera.net//sport/tennis/2011/09/201191303339382653.html

I am surprised that Nadal lost his number one title so quickly. He was known as the king of topspin. He has big advantages such as being left handed and having a two handed backhand; being left handed allows him to put a different type of spin on the ball and using two hands makes his backhand stronger. I am also disappointed that Roger Federer lost in the semifinals. I loved matching him play, especially when he does the tweener between his legs and they end up being winners.

This reminds me of the current event that I did this past week in my sports and entertainment marketing class on Djokovic. Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic used to be known for "djoking" around and his impressions of Rafael Nadal, John McEnroe, and Maria Sharapova. Now he is stepping up his game. This past year he has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He has a 52-7 record for the year with only losses from Rogerer Federer in the French Open and Andy Roddick in the Western and Southern Open.

In the article that I read, it said the key to his wins is his physical conditioning. He found out that he was allergic to gluten which he has laid off. Now, he does not experience fatigue anymore and can play in long matches. I wonder how long his winning streak is going to go until someone else takes the number one title from him. There will hopefully be more current news on tennis for me to write about because it is my favorite sport.

Free Post : Tutoring

During the summer,I took Japanese a Laney College. One day, when I was walking to the bus stop, a lady called at me from an apartment. I went over to her to see what she wanted. It turned out that she was looking for a tutor for her daughter who was going to be in fourth grade. I had nothing to do on the weekends so I took the job. I started tutoring her on the first week of August and I am currently still on Saturdays and Sundays. I do not get paid much but that's okay since they just immigrated from Malaysia and probably do not have much money. At first, I thought tutoring Nancy was fine, but now I have encountered a problem.. .

I think that she might have a learning disability and worry that she will not able to catch up at school. Doing worksheets and reading with her, I realized that her memory is really poor. When I ask her for an answer to a problem and she gives me the wrong answer, I tell her that it's wrong, but like less than a minute later, she says the same thing again. Normally, when kids know the alphabet sounds, they can sound out words, but when she tries, it sounds nothing like what it looks like; she adds a whole bunch of extra sounds that I have no idea wher she gets them from. Sometimes, she even has a hard time with basic math. Right now, her class is learning to round to the millions and she does not even know how to round to the tens.

Everytime I tutor her I end up yelling at her because I get so frustrated. I really don't know how to help her if she learns at such a slow pace and has such a bad memory. I go to her home for four hours each weekend and we barely get anything done. I kind of want to quit but at the same time I feel bad since it's only been a month and I'm sure that they won't find another person who is willing to get paid what I get. I'm not exactly sue what to do at this point. Can someone offer me some advice?

Biweekly :College Prompt

Describe the world you come from — for example, your family, community or school — and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

"Even though you might not live a life for God, I hope you can live a life for others."
That is one thing that my brother said to me that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Growing up in Oakland when I was a child, my family was not rich; we had to live off of food stamps from the government, my sister quit college early to work, and I remember just living very frugally. Compared to that life that I live now, living in Alameda and living a pretty nice lifestyle,I should be happier now. The problem is that I'm not. Through the past years, I always thought that it was because I needed more materialistic things or that because my mom is mental and I would be happier if she just went back to China. However, after much though, I have come to the conclusion that the source of my unhappiness is the broken relationships I have with my family.

When I was little, I used to do everything with my mom.Because my mom somewhat has a mental illness that had gotten worse starting when I was in elementary school, I stopped talking to her and ignored all the questions that she'd ask me. Now that I am almost an adult, I have a bad attitude when my sister minds my business;I sometimes ignore her too. I really need to change my attitude and try to help my mom in pain and get along with my sister who is the one supporting my dad in China, my mom, and me. I really miss the ties that I used to have with my family, like engaging in conversation and eating dinner together every night. This has made me realize that self sufficiency does not lead to happiness.

After my brother moved to Davis and went to church, I have seen an amazing transformation. Now, he is working as a teacher for special education kids. I always wondered why he chose that job when he could have chosen another one that makes more money and is more well respected. It shows that he really cares about other people, no matter what they are like. Seeing my brother live such a selfless life has encouraged me to do more community service, which I have done so much that it became a part of my daily life. I realized that it was a much more meaningful way to spend my time that being alone in my room using the computer.I have made a life goal of pursuing a career in which I will be able to interact other people, especially those in need. That is why I want to be a nurse practitioner. I want to do something meaningful with my life like establishing relationships with other people. Hopefully, working with patients, I will come across people that are mentally ill, and realize that there are a lot of people like my mom out in the world and that will help me cope with my mom better.

Free : LDC 2011

This summer was very memorable for me because I was able to attend Red Cross’s Leadership Development Center once again. This year is was at Santa Clara University, a campus that was beautiful. I was able to be recertified in CPR and First Aid. I was in the Purple Grapes clan, the most awesome group ever. Though in the beginning it was kind of awkward since we didn’t know each other, after the three days, I felt so close to them in a way I have never really felt with others. We did so many memorable things together.

For our clan anthem, we sang “The Grape Life” a modified version of “The Good Life” by One Republic. For our skit, we put a twist to Snow White, where she becomes Snow Purple and instead of the Seven Dwarves, there were the Seven Principles of the Red Cross –Humanity, Individuality, Neutrality, Impartiality, Voluntary Service, Unity, and Universality. During the dance competition, we danced to Lady Gaga’s Edge of Glory. I had an awesome time and the people in my group were just so sweet. I was so touched that each and every single one of us got out of our comfort zone and was able to participate in the discussions and search and rescue, giving their all. After LDC was over, I had a hard time adjusting back to normal day life because I missed my grapes of much that I watched the dance video like thirty times.
I MISS MY GRAPES, CHRISTINE HO, SARAH LYNNE PENALOSA, BRANDON KAN, KEVIN HONG, JOAN BARCELONA, JESSICA HUANG, YUWEN LI, CHRISTINA BELLEMARIPOSA NWABUZOH, CHARISSE MAE SALCEDO, BRYAN CHING, BRIAN ZHANG, JIN MEI, AND SARAAVYA!

Response to Kristen's 9/11 current event

"This growing fear of losing security has made politicians promise things that cannot be done. In my opinion, to improve homeland security would be a HUGE task to handle. You cannot predict people's movements and thoughts, so it makes taking the next step a hard one." -Kristen He
http://kristenhe.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-11.html


I agree strongly with this statement. This makes me question whether the troops in Afghanistan will ever come back. Obama is bringing back all the troops from Iraq, but 66,000 will still remain in Afghanistan, leading to many Americans thinking that Obama was not as progressive as we had hoped for. The war against terror has been over a decade so that even hardcore Republicans are starting to be swayed. Because the war is a matter of morality and U.S. security, Obama was not able to keep his promise of pulling out troops quickly. Dealing with the Middle East is a huge task do to because it involves spending a lot of money, money that the U.S. does not currently have.

It is true that the terrorist's movements are unpredictable, but they are less of a threat now. In a recent Meet the Press news show, Senator John Kerry, talked of a recent plane crash in Afghanistan. It was in a way positive since it was not a large scale attack. This shows that the terrorists are not currently capable of one. Since threat from Afghanistan is dwindling, I think that the U.S. needs to go back to nation building instead of continuing its position as the police power in the world. This also reminds me that the U.S. should also not have involved itself in Libya, that Obama violated the War Powers Resolution, and that once Gadaffi is dealt with, U.S. troops should not stay there for peace keeping.