Someone cares about me and bought me a finals "survival" kit filled with all sorts of wonderful goodies.
Otherwise I am being such a college kid by eating ramen noodles because I ran out of meals.

Allison: what did you have for breakfast?
Camden: I had a lollipop for breakfast. I found it on the floor of the library. I think it was mine because I was in the library last night with lollipops

You don't want to know how many cookies I ate today.

Hint: over five!

Livin' the dream

WHAT I'M DOING:

Not much. Hiking and singing mostly.

Soooooo this is now a food blog XP

Camden and I decided that since most of our blogs are about food somehow, we should just make this a food blog. Ha!

This is Emily, me and Lynn at Starbucks. We don't go there much but since I had a gift card! That day Emily taught me how to draw and lynn hosted a water-balloon fight

We also went rafting with our church buds. It was hard core! Now I'm just reading books which is what happens when Lynn leaves town.

Bryn and I watched Tampopo, and then we had to go eat noodles.

Poor neglected blog. Last week, I was sick so nothing exciting happened, except for getting a package from my friends David and Bridgette. That package was the best package ever. It had books and tea and candy and googly eyes - the absolute best.

The week before, Bryn graduated and we went to the zoo, but Bryn posted about both of those, actually.

Biking and Rafting

So we are tying to convince a friend of ours how ridiculously tiny his bike is. Here is video evidence:

I also went rafting. It was a graduation present from my uncle to me. He fell in:

San Francisco Zoo

We went to the zoo with our Grandparents from Tennessee. The baby giraffe was definitely the cutest baby animal in the zoo. The bears were pretty cool too because they were fighting:

Boardwalk

Today Paly class of '09 had a picnic at the beach Boardwalk! My grandparents came in from Tennessee and we went out for Mexican food.

Camden and I are working on a super secret high five.

On Saturday I made cake, on Sunday I ate cake, on Monday I finished eating cake. It was a pretty great cake, if I do say so myself. Also I have been watching the first season of Heroes with Jasmine. And my friend David has tried to convince me to make strawberry preserve but the recipe scares me, so I don't know. Lynn gave us rather a lot of strawberries on Sunday. Maybe I can make strawberry muffins!

Here is another picture of Bryn, and Lynn if you look closely:

CAKE!

How about this here cake? How is this possible??? 

Cap Decorating

Today I decorated my graduation cap. The white flower now says, "Thanks Mom + Dad" on it. We also had a good time dancing and swimming and trying not to get sunburned.

BFD

Well, no one in my group brought a camera to BFD and my phone is so lame that it can't send photos to computers. So I will have to describe the lawn of people at shoreline. Yeah Yeah Yeahs were there and the headliner was Offspring, but I went just to hang out with my friends for a solid 12 hours and for the interesting experience(lol!).

Looking up at the grassy area above the seats, there essentially was no lawn--it was all people. We were unprepared along with no cameras, we had no blanket to sit on, we had no sweatshirts when night came, and we all got sunburned. But mine faded already because I'm half asian.

Anyways, I've learned: When you get cold sitting on the lawn->go rave for a while to warm up.

When you go rave->look out for creepers

Bring lots of money for food.

AND

Assume that everyone is on drugs or drunk.

My favorite part was watching crazy people "dance." =)

CAMDEN BAKED ME A PRETTY CAKE BECAUSE I SURVIVED HIGH SCHOOL!!!! 

Oh shoot, I was going to write about cheesecake too because I don't know what else I did. Oh, I watched Buffy. Anyway, two photos.

Here is Bryn wearing part of her costume as Marlow from Heart of Darkness:



Here is Lynn, being patient with us:

Today was my last day of highschool EVER. WeIrD.

Lynn, Camden, Emily, and I went to eat cheesecake and we all learned a lesson: two hours after you each cheesecake, you become incapacitated.

What Time Is It?

Bryn and Lynn just finished their last day of high school!

Yesterday I'd sort of forgotten what I did the day before, so I didn't write anything. But I remembered this morning that I went to my elementary school with Joanna to say goodbye to the principal, who is retiring, and it was as awkward and kind of a huge bummer as one would expect that sort of ceremony to be. I dislike how conformist the school has become. By which I mean: I dislike that there is no labyrinth on the playground anymore, and that they've painted the walls all white, and that the picnic tables are all just brown, and that they've rebuilt the classrooms so there are no lofts for people to fall out of.

A change is going to come, etc.

Yesterday Lynn and Bryn and I colored my table and I ate dinner with my grandparents and my uncle which was good because I had not seen them since I got back from Baltimore.

Yesterday Noa and I taught ourselves to skateboard, sort of. It is going slowly but it is fun. I am concerned that neither of us have wiped out yet because it is, I feel, something that needs to happen before we can learn properly. But I should probably not be complaining.

Yesterday my sister and I made an excellent meal. The kind of meal so basic that it was perfection. Being home is awesome.

My friend Joanna taught me how to drive stick shift. Actually, she only meant to teach one of our friends, but she ended up teaching all of us. Learning to drive stick shift was sort of brilliant and sort of horrifying and there was lots of shouting and cheering and screaming and laughing. At the end of the evening, I found myself very much in awe of Joey, who has driven me all through San Francisco on those horrific hills like it ain't no thang. All when I could barely navigate a parking lot and in fact stalled out before I ever did anything. One of my very favorite memories with Joey is driving home from the Fillmore from seeing I-don't-know-who and we got stopped at a stop light in the middle of the night and we thought we might die because the incline was so steep and the car behind us had pulled up much too close.

We also went to a playground at one of the nearby elementary schools. They had a fantastic jungle gym, where first you are just climbing and then a little bit later you realise you are hanging upside by your elbows and knees and you are perfectly content. The jungle gym is shaped like a very big spider. It was the one at Duveneck with the indescribable chair that Bryn attempted to describe to me once.

but the converse is also true: i am more awesome when i am home

Yesterday I spoke to my friend David on the phone and then I made a nice cup of tea. I am very, very happy to be at home but I do miss my Baltimore people.

We went to church, as usual, and it was Pentecost so everyone was wearing red and there were lots of red balloons about. I can't decide if the balloons have gotten smaller over the years or if I have gotten bigger. I hope it is the former. I also can't remember if I was as annoying with the balloons as the younger youth group members were yesterday, or if I was a wonderful child who never made great chains of balloons and caused general mayhem in church. I am sure it was the former. Balloons are an excuse to cause trouble.

Mom did the scripture reading in ASL and I read it aloud with her.

Omelets-just evidence that life is more awesome when Camden's home.

So, Camden and I decided to make omelets for our dinner for two tonight. We also had biscuits with jam and honey and butter and whatever else.

Yesterday Bryn ran a half-marathon and I took photos of her, but I must develop them first. I was very proud of her. She made running a half-marathon look easy. The race was held on Alameda Island which I have never been to, but it seemed quite nice. Lots of empty used car lots.

I also washed Dad's car because the colour spectrum of bug guts on the windshield was one previously uncatalogued by man. Truly, an intense array of color. It's been nice out.

Half Marathon!

I finished my first half marathon today in 2 hours and 6 minutes! A half marathon is 13.2 miles.

It was awesome sauce! My shoulders are so cramped but luckily my sister is here to pinch them.

I leaped in front of every camera man along the way. The best part was sprinting to the finish with a big crowd cheering for me. 

Free goodies from the race: a champagne glass(with See Jane Run logo) filled with chocolates, LOTS of chocolate, a t-shirt, energy pills/bars/drinks, free massages, and champagne, but I didn't get any champagne.

Then I sat in a cold bath and took two naps. And now I'm getting ready to break my vegetarianism-something I do very rarely.

Yesterday I convinced Dad to buy me sugar-free popsicles, which felt like a small but poignant triumph over adversity, even though it wasn't.

Jasmine and I also drove home from Ashland yesterday. It was a long drive and we wanted to kill lots of bad drivers. Because there are seven hours between Ashland and home, we had the opportunity to make up some good car games. Here are two:
1) Every time you see a US Xpress Enterprise truck, Vulcan high-five everyone in the car and use the time to make many dumb Star Trek jokes.

2) Every time you see a "Yes on 8!" bumper sticker, you must immediately tell the gayest story possible. Ideally this story includes themes such as: gay marriage, gay babies, gay love, gay families, and homosexuals not ruining the sanctity of marriage/the Californian constitution.

Yesterday I fell off a foot bridge but I think it is going to scar anyway. Rubbish. Jasmine and Sereena and some of her friends and I made cupcakes last night as well.

The day before. . .we made brownies!

Purple Lovers

There are certain people in the world who label themselves as purple lovers. My mom's friend Kyle is one of them. That's why I made these fabulous purple tie-dye shirts for her!

Other purple lovers: My mom, Lynn, Cindy 

=D

Yesterday Jasmine and I drove up to Oregon with Sereena to see her house in Ashland. It was about a seven hour drive not including necessary stops for sandwiches and milkshakes.

I am taking lots of photos so Bryn and Lynn can see Sereena's house!

I Miss Camden!

Today is Memorial Day and I miss Camden.

I ran 10 miles this morning and realized that cheering for people is all about yelling louder than they are breathing.

Yesterday was my friend's birthday. I don't know how we entertained ourselves for more than 6 hours in a park. My guess: it was the bubbles. And dancing helps.

I am going to be taking more pictures to make this blog more exciting!

Yesterday I introduced my dad to fmylife and MLIA after he heard me cackling over the mediocrity of life. Then we went for a very long walk and argued about church politics.

I am going to Oregon today for the rest of the week.

Ella: okay why are you going to oregon, that is not a place you go
Camden: i am going to oregon to see my friend that lives there
Ella: UGH YOU HORRIBLE CHILD

So there's that. I don't know if I will update frequently.

Yesterday I walked my friend's dog for her because she went to etd Pop which is a electronic music festival or a very, very big rave. Rave culture seemed very interesting when she was explaining the concept of candy kids (she is not one) but I think I am better off with walking dogs.

Yesterday I watched a lot of television which was odd for me because I don't actually have much patience for television. Narrative tv shows go too slowly and then there are cliffhangers, and reality tv is just sort of uncomfortable most of the time. Yesterday I was trying to catch up with Bones. My friends gave up on me however, and made me watch the finale before I was fully caught up.

Bryn and Lynn and I went to the Creamery with Jasmine and Joanna too.

Today I really did nothing in class.

I ate a heath milkshake, french fries, and french toast for my afternoon snack and I'm still digesting it.

Later, I went to see the production of Young Americans that my friend Daniella partly wrote and costume designed. The song writing was especially impressive! The play was a display of the development of rock music through monologues that were both funny and sad.

I've forgotten how to sleep.

Yesterday my sister woke me up early because she was singing Kelly Clarks real loud over her breakfast.

She also had a band concert. It was an excellent concert - everyone performed very well. It was the last concert of the year. Also, it was her last band concert at Paly ever, and as is tradition in the band, the senior band geeks geek out and dress up and doing all sorts of silly things. The theme this year was video game characters, so she dressed up as Princess Daisy while her friend was Princess Peach.



I also went to my friend Joanna's house and we watched Star Trek: The Voyage Home. I liked that it ended in a pool party in the middle of the San Francisco Bay.

Yesterday my friend Jasmine and I saw the new Star Trek movie with my father and a friend of his. It was the funniest movie I have seen all year. In general, Jasmine and I are terrible people to see movies with. But when you add variables like space, explosions, sexual tension, people who look good, or sexually tense people who look good, in space, causing explosions, I think we become unbearable. I giggled through the whole movie and I think my father regretted bringing us.

We also got bagels and milkshakes earlier in the day and I told her about my Baltimore friends, who I think she thinks are sort of weird. But I'm only mentioning this because I want to start an East Coast/West Coast gang rivalry.

Yesterday my dad and I went grocery shopping which is how Bryn was able to eat her bowl of cereal on the kitchen floor while I made her pull apart Christmas poppers. Bryn explained to me on Sunday that no one in our family knows how to shop for a number other than one or four so that is why there is never any food in the house when I come home.

Also, Bryn did not mention in her post that the paper crowns came wrapped in jokes. Here is the best one:

What lives at the bottom of the sea and shakes?
A nervous wreck!

There were jokes in French too. Here was the one we understood:

France: Ca fait dix jours que je n'ai pas dormi.
Luc: Tu dois être très fatiguée?
France: Non, je dor la nuit.

I'm finding that my room has a lot of toys in it. My favorite discoveries so far are the plush Darth Maul and the toy record player.

When I came home from school today I ate a bowl of cereal on the floor of my kitchen while wearing  matching paper crowns with my sister Camden. My sister is collecting toy instruments. 

At school I performed several experimental procedures on my own spit(DNA).

I've been attempting to clean out my room. Yesterday I did my bookshelves. I own too many books, but I don't like giving them away, especially if I had some emotional connection to them at some point in my life. However, I have managed to get rid of enough to actually fit all my books on my bookshelf which is a very weird thing for me. I don't think that has happened since we moved.

I didn't find any of the books I was particularly looking for (Yann Martel where are you. Julia Whitty come home) but I did find three "Complete Works of Shakespeare" and two "Complete Sherlock Holmes." I put one of the Sherlock Holmes collections in the donation box (the gilt one, because I enjoy giving my books a rough time of it and you simply cannot do that with gilt leafed books) and distributed the other two Shakespeare around the house. I don't know why our family has so many Shakespeares and why they all ended up in my room but I do know that the one thing you don't do is mess with copies of Shakespeare so I put one in my mother's room (it had her name on the inside, anyway) and one in the living room (it was gilt leaf copy).

Cleaning out my room is a bizarre thing because I hang onto bizarre things and then forget about them and then they get all piled up and then I'm left wondering why I have so many plastic dinosaurs on my windowsill. I am halfway through a filing cabinet filled with, primarily, mementos (papers! what is my love affair with paper!) of my middle school years. I don't know why I saved any of it. Middle school was a uniquely horrifying experience. Tomorrow I will try to remember to talk about some of this rubbish; there is something very sweet about the britpop cootie catcher I have got in my hand. But there is also something very wrong about this list of boys my friends had crushes on that I, for some reason, saved, even though I apparently had no great contributions. But that is for tomorrow and anyway I'm only halfway through - who knows what horror of youth I'm going find in a minute.

Wow, today I drove to the beach(Pescadero) for senior cut day with some friends and no one died. We found a cave and spent a good 15 minutes singing overtones in it. Wow, so much fun and so much good food. Truly amazing food. Food.

Then  I played with a fantastic jazz band. A Touch Of Brass. They were really something. Could they play or what!? Just fantastic-I'm still blown away. And I had the honor of playing with them. My sister sat through it as well and my mom and dad and my mom's friend Kyle in the stuffy Haymarket theatre with terrible acoustics.

And I am staying up late to finish papers and work on projects because summer has not really started for me yet. I would much rather be doing yoga.

Yesterday I realised I had maybe become an adult when I turned to these two kids in Sunday School who were kicking each other and said "Could you two stop?" They stopped only to look at me with these wonderfully betrayed looks on their faces. Dad taught Sunday School - he made us write poetry about our relationship to God. The responses were more varied and honest than I had expected. Outright denial through anger and uneasiness to celebration.

My sister and I went to the farmers market after church and a man sold us two quiche for four dollars. But I think he had rather we had bought his almond croissants, of which he had many more.

PWC Concert

I loved the Martes of course, but my favorite piece was Cape Breton Lullaby.

Today Camden and I went to church and drew fruit on the wall of the Sunday school room. We're doing a mural of the fruits of the spirit. I also sang in the choir. I also ran 8 miles. Now I am trying to figure out a complicated alarm clock radio-why do they make these so complicated?

Yesterday I took photos of my sister in her prom dress for our grandmother:



We also went to our mother's choral concert. It was a great concert. Mom had commissioned a piece in honor of her twentieth year of singing with the choir. It was received well, which is good because it was a fantastic song. My favorite piece was called "Dona Ubensa" which not only a solo/duet involving my mom but it was a song that the conductor had arranged himself.

The other things I did yesterday included: jetlag, milkshakes with Jasmine and Bryn, going to a pet store with Jasmine and Bryn, going to a comics shop while Jasmine and Bryn made fun of me, going to my dad's writer's group, taking a lot of unnecessary photos of Bryn:



She's standing in front of St. Patrick's Seminary, which is where our mother's concert was held and is one of my most favorite places in the world.

Tie Dye Shirts

I tie-dyed shirts with my friend Lynn. We gave one to Camden when she came home from college-the one with the most colors.

Yesterday I came home on a airplane and summer started officially. My family picked me up from the airport. My father said, "you look thin!" and then he said "do you want to get some Mexican food?" and I thought, "it is good to be home!"

Our family went to get Mexican food in San Jose and then we went to a pet store because we thought there might be kitties there, but instead, there were many birds and one puppy. The cats were hidden in another room. After that, we went to a bookstore and I looked at poetry and my father bought a hardbound copy of Life of Pi by Yann Martel in hopes that this lovely, illustrated version would compel people to return the book to him after they've read it. He bought me The Art of Reading Poetry by Harold Bloom which I am very excited to read. My sister and mother did not buy anything, but my sister is still in school.

Today Bryn and I set up this blog, but today isn't over yet so I won't report on it.