Just the begining

I'm sure many of you are already aware of the protests and marches on March 4th. Sutherland, a handful of his students, and I went to the gathering in Oakland's city hall. I tried my best to try to document everything that stood out or was important to me. While at the same time adding my own thoughts and whatever was running through my head at the time. This current part is straight from my notes that were taken on the day without any doctoring besides grammar and spelling issues. This first blog is just a prequel to the actual happenings of the protest. There is just so much that went down it couldn't all be processed in one night, unlike several newspapers have. This is mainly my own personal thoughts of the morning of March 4 until I get off the bus.
Before: I am really nervous about this whole ordeal. In the back of my head i hear myself saying that it (the protest) could turn violent, that its not worth the risk. It's definitely worth it. A good education is worth ever risk. After all nothing gets accomplished by being passive as events move around you. It's about time I get active in something that will determine how my future will turn out.
This in itself is a whole new learning experience for me. I am so used to reading about such amazing changes, but have never actually participated in anything. I've never dreamed of going to a protest so early in my life, but right now I am questioning why i haven't done so earlier. I'm excited to take in and learn so much from this event. I'll also get first hand witness to observe human behavior (which i am fascinated in) in a crowd of such a mass but also at a youthful moment in life. Overall my feelings are curious and excited, but i also know to be weary and feel a bit nervous.
Bus: I met with what seems to be the group from AHS, sadly it's not an abundance of people as i hoped it would be. I envisioned at least 30 people from our school, it seems as if no one cares. The people who have decided to show up are mainly girls. Although i was not completely alone in gender as one other boy came. From what i can see none of us has brought any signs, banners, or megaphones. Perhaps that's an illusion that movies make?( boy was i wrong. There were actually dozens of clever signs that made me grin or chuckle) We had alot of cameras though, awesome. Hopefully we will be able to catch a lot of what is going down over there, and perhaps inspire other people to get involved once they see what the environment is like. Our group isn't as lively as the raging protesters in my head act. I expect that to change once we get pumped at the rally. I'm curious to hear peoples thoughts and opinions about what is going on. Currently it seems to be a number game with several people mass texting there phone books to tell people to come. I also tried to encourage people to join us, but like many of the others i failed to do so. I'm excited to see the turn out when we reach the actual event.
Next post will be solely focused on the events as seen through my eyes.

Kayak

Back in the day when I was shorter and much younger I was enrolled in a boat camp. And yes you guessed it my favorite part of boat camp was to kayak. It was fascinating to me as a kid. The way you sliced through the water silently and fast, not to mention the simplicity it was to make it move. It was love at first sight. Of course I jumped into a red (favorite color) kayak and frantically tried to learn how to paddle. At first it was weird since there were a whole bunch of kids in a small area desperately trying to move from point a to point b. Eventually we all got through our basics and were able to ride free in Lake Merit (Oakland). At first my friends and I were all about racing and who go the furthest with the minimum amount of pushes. We basically loved the smooth parts of the water.
A couple weeks of this and I eventually got a little bored of the same routine. I noticed, as the wind picked up the waves grew a lot wider and deeper. Curious as to what would happen if I paddled into the newly formed wave I rushed over before it could die out. I plunged down in a short burst but bobbed right up in a fast motion. Surprised I was a tad stunned but it was surprisingly very fun. I loved windy days from then on, I thought that this was the true joy of kayaking. Oh, how I was so naive I then noticed how when a speed boat goes by MULTIPLE deep waves come racing towards you. Seeing this i tried my hardest to go towards it. It was scary and fun I rocked so violently that I could have sworn I was going to capsize. I didn't and it has been a very fond memory, lasting even until now vividly.
Now i hope to go Sea kayaking I would like to ride those huge waves i see. I'm a tad scared of going in fast rafting waters though. Too many rocks for my liking =( . My goal i do have sort of planed out with my mom though is to kayak all the way around Alameda. I think it would be fun and an awesome experience to do.

Build On part 1?

So I have recently joined Build On, as you probably know. For me it wasn't just about the community service hours, although it was a huge bonus. I decided to join because I have a ton of free time on my hands, and i don't want to just spend my time idley on the computer or TV. I decided to get off my ass and give back to my community. Turns out it not even boring but uber (computer talk for super/very) fun!
Last Saturday a group of friends and I went to the Alameda County Food Bank. We got there earlier then we should have so we just spent some time climbing and jumping over stuff (as you might remember David is very into parkour and I am sorta also). When it finally began we were greeted by a bunch of kids from a different school and instantly made a couple new friends. Angela gathered us up and another lady who's name i forget starts to brief us on our jobs and how what we do helps out other people in need. As we disperse we slowly get separated into different groups to do the tasks.
David, Nathan, Nathan, Sean, a girl who's name i don't remember but is in our school, and I were all working together at a plum station. At first the task seemed so tedious, but i soon started having fun throwing the bad plums into the garbage box. I then challenged myself to best my other throws and out-flash myself in the way i throw them. Unfortunately i was the first of the group to throw a plum and miss. =( After filling up countless bags of plums the bottom of our box was finally coming into sight! Unfortunately we had to go take a break before we could clear our whole box.
The Break room was so crowded and i only had a drink, so this is all i will be mentioning about the break.
As we got back to work we got switched to a new station, the potato station. The potatoes were much more fun in my opinion. They filled the bags faster and I didn't have to look for any bad ones since they were all good. We went through the potatoes incredibly fast while having a fun time doing it. Lifting each bag of potatoes individual became yet another contest between our group, I am happy to say i could lift the bag by myself (barely).
Overall i had an awesome experience working with Build On and cant wait to do it again~
Japanese word of the day is Onegai which translates to: Please!

guitarr

I wasn't really involved in music until the 6th grade. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but i suddenly was involved with rock/alternative/j-rock music. It was an amazing experience that made me want to learn how to make such amazing or calming sounds on a guitar. When i arrived overseas in Indonesia in the summer of 5th grade i had to buy a guitar. I had no idea how to make the slightest pattern to make a enjoyable song. I had to wait a year until finally i was in the 7th grade. Being in the 7th grade gave me the opportunity to take lessons during actual school time. So instead of paying hundreds of dollars or being in some boring class i was able to play thsi wonderful instrument. I loved that class so much i took it again the next year and got my basics to a solid. I knew my way around the neck, i knew octaves, and how to read music. As i entered high school my practice sessions started dieing away slowly and only seemed to peak during test times or heavy homework days making it a hindrance. lately i have been trying to play more on the weekends when homework isn't so staked up against me. Currently i have noticed that me coping another songs strumming pattern is the most difficult part of me doing a cover.
My favorite bands to cover ( not necessarily listen to) are Weezer, Muse, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and interpol. I preger playing lead since it has mainly single notes and an easy riff, as to rhythm which has a constant strumming which if you cant catch on or even fumble for a second could throw you off. For soft or slow songs i rpefer playing on my nylon acoustic guitar which Ive had since i could remember. For the more fast or songs that cover all over the neck i use my red Strat which i bought from Indonesia. Playing with friends has become bothersome for me. I don't practice as much as i used to causing most of my friends who like to jam with me to get ahead and im just sitting there bewildered by their awesomeness.
Nowadays being able to play the guitar is standard to most people. It's gettign harder and harder to show off to people by saying "hey i play the guitar" do some tiny little part and getting the reply, " oh that's cool but check this out" and they totally out play you. That doesn't matter too much though it just fun to see yourself progressing on parts and bits of songs.
Japanese word of the week: daisuki = I love/like you/it!
P.S David and Nathan idc you grammar nazi's stop trolling >:[
loove you