jueves, 19 de mayo de 2011

Traveling: New York

     Over winter break I went to New York with my family. I have been there several times myself but this time it was special. We went during New Year’s Eve, to see the ball come down in Time Square.  First thing we did when we got to New York was head to the Statue of Liberty. We took a ferry to Liberty Island and spent about 2 hours on the island. Next, we headed to Central Park. The park was full of Snow which did get annoying, and my shoes got completely wet! It also surprised me how big Central Park really is. Next stop was Time Square. We did a little bit of shopping, and time seemed to fly by quickly. Next thing we know, it was already 10pm. We headed towards the place the ball is supposed to drop, but it was complete chaos. Security was very strict, because no one was allowed to bring any type of bag or backpack in. There were police men every were you looked. Time Square itself was PACKED with people. To get from point A to point B, it was necessary to squeeze yourself in between the pack of people.  I was afraid that I would end up lost and all alone in the middle of New York! But luckily we were able to make our way through and see the ball drop. It was a once in a lifetime experience! 

lunes, 16 de mayo de 2011

Traveling: Boston

In addition to going to New York over Winter break, I also went to Boston. I was especially excited for this trip because I used to live in Boston for three years when I was little. I like the feeling of going back to places you haven’t been to in a long time. First thing we did in Boston was follow the freedom trail, which is marked by the red bricks embedded on the ground. The freedom trail would go to places like the site the Boston Massacre occurred, the old estate house, the Faneuil Hall, and other places. After this we stopped by the Quincy market to have some lunch. If you ever decide to go to Boston, I urge you to have clam chowder.  They literally have the best clam chowder ever!  Trust me; you will be missing out on a lot if you do not have any. After lunch, we headed to the metro to go to Harvard Square station. This was where our hotel was. It is also very close to the place I have previously lived in when I was small. I and my family headed to the old elementary school I used to go to. So many memories were flowing back! We also went to Charles River, which was where I would always go when I went for walks.  I never imagined that I would come back to Boston again. It was a truly interesting experience seeing my “childhood” town again. I would definitely recommend to anyone that they should go take a visit to Boston if they have a chance.

miércoles, 27 de abril de 2011

Liking Someone

I am pretty sure everyone has gone through liking a person. Sometimes it turns out to be nothing but a crush. Eventually the attraction towards the person fades away. Sometimes, the person you like coincidentally also likes you, and then you end up dating each other.  Then you go through a phase, where you can’t stand being away from each other… And the best part is, since you guys are dating, you can show almost all the emotions you couldn’t show when you were just friends. BEST PART EVER. But eventually, one of them will get heartbroken. You can never become too dependent on the person you like, because the second he/she decides that they don’t like you anymore, everything around you seems to spiral downward. You feel devastated, and it feels like you have lost control of what is going on around you.  That’s why it’s important to keep a balance in your life, between friends and boy/girlfriends and family. Cause one of those people are bound to let you down from time to time. Just a piece of advice from me.

I always wonder why do humans bother liking a person, when they know that at one point of that relationship, one of you will end up hurt?  I guess this question is better unanswered…

zoxo, Justme

jueves, 14 de abril de 2011

Pros and Cons of Blogging


So far I’ve been blogging for about two months.  Blogs are for writing about anything, ranging from talking about your life or just about your hobbies. While this is one of the pros of blogging, there are always the cons that come along with it.  So that’s why I’m going to make a list of pros and cons of blogging

Pros
1)      You can release your stress through blogging.
Don’t you guys sometimes have those days when everything seems to go wrong in every turn? Well, it definitely happens to me. But blogging never goes wrong. You can write about what you are feeling in the moment, and release all the emotions that were locked up in you the whole day. Of course, blogging isn’t your private diary so you can’t exactly write EVERYTHING you feel, or mention your friends in it. But at least writing a little something about it can be a bit comforting.
2)      Once again, you can write about anything you like.
Just ate some amazing salmon at a restaurant across the street? You can blog about it. Just spent an awesome time with your best friends? You can also blog about it. The range of things that you can blog about is almost endless. I honestly do not get how some people cannot find something to write about! That’s pretty much the beauty of blogging. You can also share your ideas to others, which can be pretty good in many ways. Just imagine, somebody in the other side of the world reading your blog!

Cons
1)    It possible that your friends are reading your blog.
I kind of consider blogging as my own diary. There are things that I don’t mind if complete strangers would read, but there are also things that I would hate my friends to read about me on my Blog. That’s what shrinks the amount of topics I want to talk about. It also causes me to not write about my true self, if you know what I mean.

In general, I love blogging. It lets me explore what I really like and sometimes research about something more to write about it in my blog. I’d probably keep blogging, even if it is not required by my English class. Viva blogging! lol :)

Xoxo, Justme

martes, 29 de marzo de 2011

Book Review: The Hunger Games

Just recently i started reading the book called The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. At first I wanted to just take a small look at the book since my friends seemed to like it a lot. Next thing I know, i ended up reading the whole trilogy!

The Hunger Games was published at 2008, fairly recently. It has many positive reviews from major reviewers and authors. I'm not exactly sure what makes it so captivating, but I think the plot of how humans hunt other humans to survive makes it an interesting book. In addition, the following books Catching Fire and Mockingjay is as interesting and the first book, so i deffinitely recommend that you read the the books following the Hunger Games. 

 The books starts in a country called "Panem", which in present is now the united states. There are 12 districts in Panem, and then the Capital which controls all the districts. In the past, there have been wars against the districts and the capital. As a result, The Hunger Games are made. The Hunger Games assures that the districts do not revolt against the capitol, by electing 2 kids(13-18 year old) from each district and sending them to the Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, the kids have no choice but to go against each other to fight for their lives. Katniss, the main character, faces multiple problems when she is sent to fight in the Hunger Games. There is also a hint of romance in the book, making the story more captivating.


All i want to say is that by the first chapters, you are going to get hooked. Even i ended up staying up all night just to finish the book, cause it was that good! I recommend this to anyone that like books that is about adventure.


xoxo,
-justme

domingo, 13 de marzo de 2011

Traveling: Cusco/ Machu Picchu!!

Hey guys!
About a year ago i went to Peru with my mom to get to know my family that live back at Lima. During my second week at Peru we all went to Cusco, and then by train to Machu Picchu. So anyway Cusco is pretty much a town were the Inca's used to live, but later on over the years got taken over by the Spanish. There are still buildings built by the Spanish that are up today. It's really pretty!!! There is also this other building, where they built a castle like thing over an Inca temple. The city was overall so peaceful, undisturbed by the outside. Kind of reminded me of Barcelona, where it is filled with all the small alleys and white houses.

On the way to Machu Picchu, the sights you see outside the train is already very beautiful. All there was was farms, mountains, and a few animal. Very providence like. Finally we reach our destination, Aguas Calientes. Agua Caliente is a small town on the bottom of the mountain where Machu Picchu is(about 20 minutes away by bus).   The tourist area is on one side of the town and is clean, full of restaurants, hotels and other services for tourists. Machu Picchu itself was amazing. Because there is a limit to the amount of people that can enter per day, we made sure we woke up bright and early to make sure we wouldn't miss getting in. Words cannot describe this place though. Absolutely gorgeous!

sábado, 26 de febrero de 2011

Traveling: Vietnam

Vietnam... Probably one of the most beautiful places i have been. I was visiting the Ho Chi Min city which is the capital of the country. By the way the traffic is CRAZY... Believe it or not, even worse than Caracas. The streets are filled with motorbikes rather than cars. Whats the number killer of tourists in Vietnam? It's definitely Malaria, snake bites, or land minds right? Wrong. According to the US department the number 1 killer or tourists is traffic accidents, mostly crossing from the street.

First of all, the food is amazing. One of the things i ate was a rice paper wrap. It consists of carrots, shrimp lettuce, basil leaves, and other vegetables. It was delicious, and extreamly healthy! If only there was some in Venezuela... That would be pretty amazing.

There is also the commonly known Pho noodles which i personally think aren't THAT great. But my parents wouldn't stop obsessing about how tasty it is, so i thought i just put that out there. 

Second of all, the tourist attractions are very beautiful. An example is Halong Bay. Me and my family went on a boat and rowed through these tall beautiful mountains. It was so relaxing, and i have never went to such a place ever in my life that was as beautiful. We also visited this family that has a house on water... And i mean a house that is actually floating on water!  Crazy huh?
So next time when you're deciding where to go, i definitely recommend Vietnam.  I guarantee you, you'll have the TIME of your life!

martes, 8 de febrero de 2011

Some trouble with school work...

  I have recently gotten my skyward account and the second i see my grades my mind is totally blown. One D, two Bs, and two A's. I think to myself, how was i possibly able to get such grades? I mean i got straight A's in my old school... I know i can do better that. My parents also have high expectations for me.
   Since it's still the first part of the quarter, i still have a chance to bring all my grades up.  So i decided to make a list of things i could do to raise my grade.

-Ask QUESTIONS to your teachers when you are in doubt of anything. It could bring that B to a A by just asking.
-Make sure you are in track of the work you need to do. The best way to do this is to write down all your work on a notebook (which i always forget to do cause i try to rely on my brain rather than writing it down. Not really a good idea...)
-Go to your teachers during breakfast break or lunch break to go over through things for tests and such. It REALLY helps!
-Speak out your mind during class. Teachers sometimes grades you depending on what ideas you contribute during class.(history...)
-Make sure you read the instructions of projects, tests, etc... Trust me it makes a difference!

While I am pretty sure there are millions of things you could do to raise your grade, this is pretty much all that comes to my mind now. Hopefully you'll also find this stuff useful, even though it's all the basic kind of things you need to do.

xoxo, justme

jueves, 3 de febrero de 2011

Book review: The Outliers

  
So the book "Outliers; the story of success" by Malcom Gladwell is basically the science behind the becoming successful. This is a  book that tells the story about how people become successful not because of a single reason, – but usually a combination of a large number of these.


So here are a few things that still linger in my head...


The 10,000 Hour Rule:
According to the book, you can become a master at anything as long as you practice it 10,000 hours. No body can be naturally good at something. People who are "gifted" usually had some kind of practice in the past which makes them very good at that specific thing.  He gives examples and studies to prove this idea. 
The examples include people such as Bill Gates, The Beatles, and many others, making it a very interesting book.


 It is not just the 10,000 hour rule that determines success. Luck is needed when it comes to great success. Gladwell examines when the programming geniuses were born. If Bill Gates was born 5 years later, it would have been too late for him to succeed with computer programing. Instead if Bill Gates was born 5 years earlier, he would have probably been busy with his family rather than computer programming.  


Being smart isn't always the way to success
Sometimes "practical" knowledge is better than book smarts, and Gladwell describes why.
-------------


Sometimes the Gladwell's theory can be a bit hard to understand. Even so, every statement is backed by some kind of data and is very convincing. It has given me a different view of what becoming successful really is. This book is definitely something worth reading.









miércoles, 2 de febrero de 2011

Movie review: Inception

Release date: July 16, 2010 (US)
               Ken Watanabe
               Joseph Gordon-Levitt
               Marion Cotillard
               Ellen Page
               Cillian Murphy
               Tom Hardy
               Dileep Rao
               Tom Berenger
               Michael Caine

Synopsis:
Dom Cobb, a skilled thief, is trained to steal important information from another person while they are in a dream state, when the mind is the most vulnerable. While Dom Cobb's ability to steal information does bring some advantages, it has mostly taken away many of the people he loved including his children and wife. He is then finally offered a job that could bring back everything he lost. The catch is that rather than steeling the idea, the opposite must be done, a idea must be planted to the person's mind. Dom Cobb and his team face various obstacles while trying to plant an idea in a person's mind.




Personal Review:
  The idea of being able to enter a person's dream makes the movie very interesting. I must also admit the special effects was something i haven't seen in other movies and is mind blowing, such as the scene where the city's shape changes, or the fighting scene when there is zero gravity. The actors such as Leonardo DiCaprio made the movie even deeper and more interesting. Because the movie is about a dream which is within a dream which is within a dream, things can get a bit confusing. Also you need to understand some of the back ground information of the characters to understand what is happening.


Overall:
I highly recommend this movie. If you haven't watched this movie yet, go grab a DVD of inception and hit the couch! It will definitely blow out your mind! 


I rate this movie 10 out of 10 

lunes, 31 de enero de 2011

New country, new experiences, new school

Hi there!
   Right now i'm at Caracas, Venezuela, just came here about 6 days ago. Everything is pretty new to me, such as the language, traditions, culture, and school but i am starting to get the hang of it little by little. Today is my 2nd day of school, and I am looking forward to my up coming classes, and meeting tons of amazing new people!

    Let me start by talking a bit about myself. Before I came to Caracas, Venezuela, i used to live in the US for about 3 years. I must say it was a very nice place to live. Before i lived in the states, i have also lived in Tokyo, Japan for about 7 years. Things where very different in Japan compared to America, such as how we needed to use uniforms and classes were more difficult. Before i lived in Japan, i used to also live in Boston for about 2 years. Living in Boston gave me an opportunity to learn English very well, and effects the way i am today.

    So since i just talked about my past, let me talk about my personality, interests, and stuff like that. I consider my self a bit shy at first, but once i am out of my shell I am pretty LOUD and love to laugh all the time! I also consider myself friendly. By the way i love friends! I always spend time with them and talk to them about a lot of things that go on in my life. An instrument i can play is the guitar(I just started a few months ago).  My dad encourages me to practice at least three times a week. I am not that good at playing the guitar yet, but i am starting to improve... My favorite sport is basketball. I used to play in the basketball team in my old school, so i might try out this coming season in my new school. One thing I love to do in my free time is read. I always read books that my dad recommends, which most of the time are very interesting. One book I have read recently is "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell.  I might write a review about the book in my upcoming blogs.

   So anyway that was my first attempt in writing a blog, hopefully it was good! My blog will pretty much be about what comes to my mind, and i hope you'll find it really interesting. Bye guys, and see ya later!

xoxo, Justme