Three sites to check out:

Charlie the Unicorn - http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/280260 ("It's a magical leoplurodon, Charlie!")

Sugar Crash - http://www.pizmogames.com/games/sugarcrash/ 

Also, look up Jet Slalom if you want to play a simple but addicting game.

Not much has happened since my last post. Well, last night at sparring we had a guest from another school come spar with some of our guys, and dang that kid hit hard and fast! At my school, we're light-contact when it comes to sparring (of course, some guys like to do semi-contact sparring, but technically they shouldn't. Just so long as both agree to it and can still be friends at the end of the round), and my head instructor kept telling him to go lighter, and when it became clear this guy wasn't going to do it, Mr. B just told every guy who went with this guest "However hard he hits you, you can match it." At a certain point, the best way to get someone to stop nailing everybody is to start nailing back. So, this guy got to go with nearly every big, hard-hitting person in the classroom, and when he STILL didn't let up, he got paired with Mr. K., the assistant instructor.

Ouch. I thought Mr. K broke some of the guy's ribs several different times, but I think the guy finally got the picture.

It was all good afterwards (Mr. K. explained again why this guy was getting the treatment he was getting), but I think the dude was a little deflated. But maybe next time he'll know.

Anyhoo, aside from that, it's been mostly uneventful.

Check out those sites!

-PierrePressure

Ponderous....

Before I get in deep with talking about other stuff, I want to do this questionnaire (sp?) Lord Joshy put up on his Xanga.

one.word.answers.
no.explanations.

1. Yourself: Complicated
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): Imaginary
3. Your hair: LONG!
4. Your mother: Studying
5. Your Father: Thinking
6. Your Favorite Item: Microsoft Word
7. Your dream last night: Animagus/werewolves
8. Your Favorite drink: Water
9. Your Dream Car: '65 Mustang
10. The room you are in: Windy
11. Your Ex: None
12. Your fear: Rejection
13. What you want to be in 10 years?: Assured
14. Who you hung out with last night?: Fam
15. What You’re Not?: Whale
16. Muffins: Poofy
17. One of Your Wish List Items: Novelist
18. Time: Precious
19. The Last Thing You Did: Breakfast
20. What You Are Wearing: PJs
21. Your Favorite Weather: Snow
22. Your Favorite Book: One!?!
23. The Last Thing You Ate: Cereal
24. Your Life: Straightening
25. Your Mood: Confused
26. Your best friend: All
27. What are you thinking about right now?: Schedule
28. Your car: Boat
29. What are you doing at the moment?: Planning 
30. Your summer: Jumbled!
31. Your relationship status: Single
32. What is on your TV?: Various
33. What is the weather like?: WINDY!!
34. When is the last time you laughed?: Last night 

That was fun. For some reason, though, I couldn't get back to my original font, so I'm just going to leave it on this Sylfaen one (discovered it by accident) for this post.

Really, I can't spend much time writing, but I'll do a little. After all, I have to boast about what I got for Christmas!

Lots and lots of books this year, which was awesome. I'm really excited about reading Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead, and The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins. I've recently become aware that I love reading social studies books, and this one sounds particularly interesting. You should look it up.

I also got three new video games (yep, I'm a geek), two of which I CAN'T PLAY! Parappa The Rapper 2 (weird game, but really fun) and Final Fantasy XII. I was dying to see the opening movie of Final Fantasy XII because the whole game looks absolutely beautiful, but for whatever reason, my PS2 won't load it. In fact, if it's a newly released game of any kind, my PS2 won't play it. Yes, I tried cleaning the lens, but that actually made it worse. Apparently I messed up something and wasn't gentle enough- which I'll believe, considering how hard I made it for myself when I tried to put the shell back on. How was I supposed to know it was that easy?- so I think I'll have to get a new PS2. Or should I wait for several months and get the PS3 when it isn't $600? Decisions, decisions. 

There are other things I received as well, but I'm not going to list them in detail (or do you really want to hear about all the cute clothes I got?). So enough about that.

Changing the subject, a thought hit me last Sunday while I was in church that kind of unnerved me-

"What's the point of my life right now?"

I'm not depressed, I just got to thinking about it and wondering how I'm contributing back to the world. Sure, I'm earnestly trying to be a good Christian, so hopefully people's lives are made even just a little better by some small action I may have done, but I guess I just feel so selfish because it seems like I'm just wasting my days doing nothing, when I could be doing something. Even practicing for karate (yes, my whole world revolves around karate) has gotten hard because in my mind I think, "How is this helping anybody? In the end, will it matter if I master these techniques? Will it matter if I get really, really good?" I just feel selfish. I want to be involved with serving others, but I struggle with finding a place to get involved. I just want to find the thing God has created and equipped me for- I'm tired of feeling out of place all the time. Surely some day it'll be revealed to me.

Oh, and on an almost completely unrelated note (well, not really, when you think about the implications), I'm going to try and go to Japan sometime this coming spring! Hopefully going there will answer some of my questions about whether or not I'm to be a missionary to those people. This has been on my heart for so many years, now maybe I'll find out if this is a potential path for me. It has the possibility to either complicate my plans or simplify them, based on what I find there. Hmm, I think I'm going to need a job if I'm going to help pay for all of this......of course, it could all fall through and not happen at all, but I need to act like it is going to happen in order to prepare.

Alright, now I really need to go.

-PierrePressure

"Wait, if you're REALLY Australian, wouldn't the words on your shirt be in another LANGUAGE?"

Wow. I REALLY haven't written in a long time!

Once again, I actually forgot I had a Xanga. And again, once I remembered, I felt guilty about not writing in it, so here I am, writing.

Let's see, what all has happened? Oh yeah, I made my school's (karate) demonstration team! It's really fun so far. We have our first performance tomorrow. It's a small(ish) crowd, but that's great since we're just starting out. In January, we're supposed to perform at a Spur's pre-game show, so we really need to get used to performing before we go and do that, anyway. Also karate related, I'm going for my red belt this month. Once I get that, then it's red-black belt, and then I can test for my black belt. But that's like a year away, I think. I'll have my red belt for six months, and my red-black for six months, and THEN I can test for black. There's so much I need to do to get ready.

Hmmmm........oh yes, and I met my zany Jew (and wannabe Jew) relatives who live in California last weekend! My second cousin's daughter (so, my dad's cousin had a daughter) Nikki was having her bat mitzvah, and we were invited. It was a really, really awesome party. Nikki's theme was like a red carpet Hollywood thing, and since her parents do very well financially (her mom [my dad's cousin] is a talent agent, and her dad is a fight promoter for boxing), the party was pretty over the top. And (this isn't being racist. I thought it was awesome) add in a lot of very Jewish partygoers who are LOUD and EXPRESSIVE and make lots of OFF-COLOR JOKES and can't dance, and you've got one fun party. Especially if you know Aunt Bobby.

Oh man. Aunt Bobby.

Imagine this: An older woman, maybe in her early-mid sixties (seventies?), barely 5 feet tall (if that), with very short platinum blond hair, blue eyeshadow, heavy black mascara, bright pink lips, lots of jewelry, and fun "older lady" clothes. That's my "long lost, never-heard-of, irresponsible Aunt Roboita!" as she called herself. She's VERY expressive, LOVES to talk and tell a good story (maybe the truth is a little embellished or misunderstood sometimes, but hey! It's always a great story!), loves to throw in the occasional bad and/or shocking word with a laugh, is VERY opinionated and unafraid to "go there", and yet somehow manages to stay very sweet and clearly loves my family. She's not Jewish, but she married a Jewish man, and has clearly embraced the culture and lifestyle. She's my great aunt, actually, and I wish I would have been able to grow up knowing her and hanging out with her. Hopefully she'll fly down for a visit soon :).

What else? What else? Ah! We're moving this month (Lord willing!)! We're not moving too too far, only like 15 minutes or so from where we currently live. The new house is really awesome- it's on a hillside, with a deck in the back with an infinity pool on the edge of the hill! If you don't know what an infinity pool is, it's one of those pools that has no discernable edge on one side, so it looks like the water could keep going forever (hence, an infinity pool). It's two stories, and my room is going to be huge. But we still need to knock out one of the walls so I can have more practicing space. Otherwise, it's perfect. And I've got a view! Hurray! But what really concerns me is that we haven't even begun packing yet........since we're supposed to move in on like the 22nd, shouldn't we be like boxing up stuff? Do we even have boxes?

Oy vey.

-PierrePressure

Several days ago I had the most brilliant plot idea for a romance novel.

It's a secret guilty pleasure of mine to read the backs of cheesy romance novels (aloud, I must add, and in a very theatrical and dashing voice) when I'm bored and stuck at a place like Wal-Mart or H-E-B, so after being so inspired by the soaring tales that tell of the romantic and intriguing lives of the hero and heroine (who might be vampire lovers, or werewolf lovers, or bandit lovers), I aspired to think of my own masterpiece. I had thought much about what my story would be about, and- at last!- inspiration struck while I was drying my hair! (It's all those little ions that come out of the dryer to make sure your hair doesn't get frizzy. Their influence gave me this astonishing plot, I'm sure of it)

So, here it is, in all of it's glory- my plot outline for the novel that will garner millions and the accolades from critics around the world! Of course, by writing this down, I'm risking a great deal, because who knows if someone might try to steal it? But surely, you couldn't write it as masterfully as I could, so what have I to worry?

Without further adieu, let's go over the general plot (I already have a title and everything).

The setting: The remotest corner of Papua New Guinea

The time: Present-day

The place: The small but powerful village of Nbugdugo

The heroine: She's a beautiful princess, and is, of course, fiery and tempestuous. She vows to never love anyone again, because........well, don't all romance novel heroines vow to never love anyone again? So that's why she's fiery and tempestuous and stuff. But who is this tall, dark and handsome stranger who comes into the village and seems so interested in her.............? <------(the question mark is strategically placed there so you'll think about that.....)

The hero: He's a handsome and daring rogue, and will probably be a pirate or something equally bad-boyish. He has also vowed never to love again, because the last woman he loved died somehow (see, so he might seem bad on the outside, but really, he's just hurting on the inside and needs to be healed by the heroine's love!), but he finds himself attracted to the heroine's fiery spirit. He resents her for making him so attracted, but can he really stay away.........? <-------(another strategically placed question mark to make you think)

So, you might ask, where's the intrigue? The suspense? Well, here's the twist:

They're CANNIBALS!

The Nbugdugoins are a cannibalistic tribe! And the heroine's father decides he doesn't like the hero! And the heroine is only pretending to like him because it's a trap and the whole point is for the hero to GET EATEN! But! There begins a real sense of attraction between the two, and she's not sure she really wants to trick him anymore, but then again, it would make her father happy, and he is kind of a rogue, but she's still unsure, SO THERE'S THE SUSPENSE! And he really does like her, but he still resents the fact that he likes her! SO THERE'S EVEN MORE SUSPENSE!

The title for this fantastically deep, well-conceived book, I have decided, will be "Good Enough to Eat"!

I'll sell a million copies before it's even released, and everyone who reads this can say they knew me when.

Like I said, don't even bother trying to copy this idea. There's no way you could infuse it with all of the things I can that will make it successful, so there's really no point. You'd just be wasting your time. Just buy it when it comes out, and learn from the master.

Lata peons! I'm off to pen this baby down!

-PierrePressure

Currently Reading Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence By Rosalind Wiseman see related

Waiting anxiously

I'm retaking the SAT again in like 7 days (June 3rd), and I cannot tell you how excited I will be to have this thing done and over with.

I posted some time ago my scores from the SAT I took in January, with a good report about my Critical Reading and Writing scores, but with less enthusiam about my Math score (370 out of 800. If I hadn't answered like any questions, I think it would still be possible to get a 210 or something. Yikes). Since then, I've really worked hard to study and understand the things I tested the most poorly on, and I'm sick of studying now :). Honestly, today I didn't do so well about the studying thing (the only thing I did was finish an online official SAT I had started yesterday), but I don't know if I did so little because I was unable to do any more or if I just didn't care. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day to try again.

After I got the scores back, I have to say, I was very down about them. I came to the conclusion that I was just stupid and I wondered if I was even college material, but since then, I've thankfully gotten past all that (with much prayer and hard work), and have instead come to the conclusion that the SAT is stupid, and there's nothing wrong with me :). It's a tricky, mean test, and I've even learned that there are certain tricks to taking it, so that just shows you that at least part of your score is determined by how well you take the SAT, not just how smart you are. Also, my score has increased by at least 50 points, but there's a big possibility it's higher than that (the range I was given for my score was between 420-490, and the good news is that these online tests are harder than the actual SAT, so maybe I could get at least a 500.......?).

All that to say, I'm so ready to just have all of this over and done with, that I really don't think I'll have much anxiety come test time. If I start to freak out, I'll just remember, "If I don't do good this time, I'll have to take (and study for!) this monster again. Get it together and over with now." I just want to be FREE.

Since SAT has essentially taken over my life, not much else has been happening in my life recently. Well, I did just do a stripe test last night, and that was........interesting, to say the least. My head instructor got really ticked off last night with this one guy who was just really being a jerk during sparring (kicking too hard and grabbing people's kicks, among other things), and it takes a lot to get my head instructor riled up. He's an incredibly calm person, but wow, he was fuming. So that was frightening and entertaining at the same time. But aside from that, I can't think of much else.

Hopefully my summer will be more exciting.

-PierrePressure