This summer is going to be somewhat different from the past three summers. Whereas the past three summers have been spent in a classroom, this coming summer I will gain some "valuable" work experience.
As a Tech student at Ilium, I am required to complete a 150-hour, unpaid internship the summer before my senior year. I have brainstormed several different possibilities, and I think that I would merit the most success from interning at some type of web development company. I have a passion for web design, and, considering it a potential career, I'd like to see what the industry is really like (i.e. how much stress is involved, what developers do during a typical workday, etc.). I fear that other internships will be spent filing paperwork. After all, what use is a high schooler with no work experience, let alone experience in the industry? An internship at a web development company would allow me to work on small, web-related projects. I can be creative, I can work at my own pace, I can learn, and I won't be sitting at a desk for five hours a day doing mindless paperwork. I am currently in contact with a company in South Orange County, and if it falls through then I know a lot of people who own companies that would benefit from the creation of a website.
I would also like to get a summer job. Today I created a list of businesses within a five-mile radius of my home that I wouldn't mind working at for a couple of hours each day over the summer. I came up with 85 locations. The chances are, if I personally contact each location, determine who is accepting applications, and apply at every location accepting, then I have a pretty good chance at getting hired. My friends keep telling me I have the next forty-five years to gain work experience, but here is my philosophy: work equals money, and when you're short on money, you either sell drugs or get a job. And, since I'm not too hip on drugs, I've decided to get a job. There are several things I'm itching to purchase (e.g. iPhone), and a summer's worth of income is my solution to the money problem.
That's basically the gist of it: internship and a summer job. I'm experiencing general boredom with school, and an disinterest to continue any of the classes I have. It's that time of year when both the teachers and my classmates are getting on my nerves, and summer can't be here soon enough.
Back Into The Swing Of Things
For the past eight months, I've been blogging here non-stop, and I feel somewhat refreshed now that I have taken a short hiatus. What seemed like a break online, however, was definitely not been a break offline. My life has been so busy. In the past two weeks alone, I have:
- acted as campaign manager for my sister, who ran for ASB at our school. We worked on posters, and banners, and handouts, and the website.
- built two websites. The first one was a birthday present, and since I passed the link around I have been hired to build two others.
- wasted countless hours of my time with California's STAR Testing this entire week.
- set things in motion to begin and lead a Catholic youth group for high schoolers over the summer.
- auditioned, got a part, and began rehearsing for Museum, an upcoming theatre production. We go up next week.
I Ain't the Leavin' Kind
I usually am the leavin' kind. It doesn't matter what type of break - be it summer, spring, or winter - I'm on, but at the very end I'm usually ready to go back to school. My eagerness to return is a direct result of the lack of social interaction with people other than my family or mental stimulation from message boards and the television.
I ain't the leavin' kind right now though. I have no desire to go back to school. I've been thinking about it all day, and have narrowed it down to these reasons:
I ain't the leavin' kind right now though. I have no desire to go back to school. I've been thinking about it all day, and have narrowed it down to these reasons:
- I spent the first five and a half days in New York, and have only been at home for five days.
- There are certain people that I am not looking forward to seeing when I get back.
- My grades are fine. Usually they aren't, and I'm scrambling to bring them up.
The Big Apple
A large, image-based, post coming at you here! If you have dial-up then the loading time is going to be a frakker. I tried to take a photograph of myself in front of every place we saw, so instead of writing something for each day, I'm going to write something for each image. That way I'll be able to cover everything.
Alright, here goes nothing...
We flew out Thursday evening on a Red Eye flight. For some reason, everytime I go on a trip I become another person. This time it was the Frenchman Philippe, which is why you see me in a beret throughout the entire trip.
Friday morning we landed at 5:30 and immediately started our day after a couple hours of crappy sleep on an airplane. The first thing we did was had breakfast in Time Square and had some free time to roam around.
We then headed over to the Rockefeller Center and the NBC Studio Observation deck. I didn't actually go into them, because we had limited time and I wanted some pictures inside St. Patrick's Cathedral.
I went to St. Patrick's alone, so I had to Photoshop myself in this picture. The Cathedral was magnificently amazing. There were statues, and altars, and 24/7 adoration, and priests and seminarians all over. It was just awesome.
We then took a tour at the Lincoln Center, where we were shown the history of music in New York. It was a very interesting tour (though not practical, since most of us were tired and some even fell asleep when we had the chance to sit down), and we even got to see Opera stars rehearsing for an upcoming Sigfried production.
We also had the opportunity to ice stake at the Rockefeller Center for about an hour. I haven't been ice skating in months and my goal was to not fall. In addition to completing my goal, I was actually pretty good. I won't say that ice skating is like riding a bicycle, but the skill did come back to me pretty quickly.
The next day, Saturday, we got some time to roam around Chinatown. My friend and I were trying on tribal masks and hats from the vendors. We'd take pictures of us with them on and then leave. I think we angered more than a few Chinese people that day.
Our director gave us a challenge: see who could buy a Rolex for the cheapest. Seven of us participated and only one was genuine (valued at $1500, purchased for $25). The picture depicts our Folex's.
We also went to Ulysses S. Grant's burial site. I am standing with the amazing woman who directed Fools many moons ago.
And this is me in front of the building where Grant and his wife are buried. We had just come back from singing at Riverside Church (we got third place, by the way!).
That same day we visited Top of the Rock, an observation deck from the top of the Rockefeller Center. The view of the city from the deck is spectacular and if you're afraid of heights, this would be a place NOT to go.
This cool-looking wall was at the Top of the Rock, and my friend, Kristianna, and I took a picture together by it. We hung out during a lot of the trip.
On Saturday I met my friend, who lives in New York City, for lunch at a small French café called Bouchon. He is the former Music Director of The All-American Boys Chorus, and I sand under his direction for a couple of months.
Kristianna also came along, since we were supposed to be in groups of two while we had free time.
And then I lost my cab virginity. It was actually pretty cool, and during the whole time all I could think about was Mohinder Suresh and HRG back in Season 1 of Heroes.
At the end of Saturday, we went on a dinner cruise with a lot of other choirs who participated in Riverside Church's Heritage Festival.
On Sunday, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts after Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. We found this really neat Zen Garden-type area.
And after that we discovered this really neat Mesopotamia-type area. There, we saw a group of blind people. Excuse me for wondering, but what are a bunch blind people doing in an art museum?
And a visit to NYC isn't complete without a Broadway show, right? Right. We saw Chicago. Very racy, but all in all a fantastically good production. Everyone in our group enjoyed it, and I thought that the quality of acting and singing was spectacular. I'm setting my sights on Broadway. One day, one day.
I was surprised by the amount of advertisements outside the theatre, so I figured I'd get my photograph with a few of them. I wanted to show off my new shades too.
That evening we experienced the thrill of Grand Central Station and what it felt like to ride a subway. Of course, I already know, since I rode them all the time when I went to Asia. But it was still neat to ride a subway after all these years.
This picture captures the fast-paced nature of the city, in my opinion.
On Monday, we took a Sounds of the City Tour for four hours. One of the highlights of the tour was Strawberry Fields, a tribute to John Lennon.
This is the big Imagine tile mosaic.
While in Central Park, we had the opportunity to see the Bethesda Fountain, which was built in praise of the new water system in New York City. It symbolizes the clean water.
I thought that these stairs were pretty neat. We were here early in the morning, so the park was deserted, but at any other time during the day, there would be a lot more people roaming around the park.
I found the pillars all around the park extraordinary, since every single one of them was individually sculpted. I laughed to myself when I heard that, wondering how anybody could have the time or willpower to do that, but upon examination, they're all different.
I thought the American flag in the middle of Central Park was kind of neat.
Before technology and civilization invaded Manhattan, the entire ground was covered in this bedrock.
This is by far one of my favorite pictures that I took during the entire trip. On the edge of Central Park there's this big wooden walkway, so a bunch of us posed under it.
We also got to see the actual Secret Garden. Though there's nothing really secret about it. It's just a lot of trees and flowers.
The last thing we were supposed to do on Monday was visit the United Nations headquarters. I can now tell everyone that gives me crap for taking French that the two official International Languages are French and English.
I say supposed to because Jet Blue canceled our flight due to weather (in fact, everywhere east of Chicago was not flying). So we had to stay an extra day.
During that extra day, we went to the American Museum of Natural History, the museum where Night at the Museum took place.
Near the end, I was so pooped out that I was taking goofy pictures of myself in the NMoNH's gift shop. In addition to angering Chinese men trying to make a profit, I angered state employees. Yippee!
So that's New York City, in what you could call a nutshell. Looking back, it seemed like it lasted forever when we actually just skimmed the surface of the Big Apple. Next time I visit New York, I have a list of things that I want to do and a list of places that I want to go.
New York is such a fast-paced city. Unlike southern California cities, it's always on and always going. I could definitely see myself fitting in with that lifestyle. In fact, at some point in my life, I want to live there. Whether it be during school, or taking a sabbatical, or just plain moving there for good. The Big Apple fascinates me, and it would definitely be a change I'd be willing to make.
Alright, here goes nothing...
We flew out Thursday evening on a Red Eye flight. For some reason, everytime I go on a trip I become another person. This time it was the Frenchman Philippe, which is why you see me in a beret throughout the entire trip.
Friday morning we landed at 5:30 and immediately started our day after a couple hours of crappy sleep on an airplane. The first thing we did was had breakfast in Time Square and had some free time to roam around.
We then headed over to the Rockefeller Center and the NBC Studio Observation deck. I didn't actually go into them, because we had limited time and I wanted some pictures inside St. Patrick's Cathedral.
I went to St. Patrick's alone, so I had to Photoshop myself in this picture. The Cathedral was magnificently amazing. There were statues, and altars, and 24/7 adoration, and priests and seminarians all over. It was just awesome.
We then took a tour at the Lincoln Center, where we were shown the history of music in New York. It was a very interesting tour (though not practical, since most of us were tired and some even fell asleep when we had the chance to sit down), and we even got to see Opera stars rehearsing for an upcoming Sigfried production.
We also had the opportunity to ice stake at the Rockefeller Center for about an hour. I haven't been ice skating in months and my goal was to not fall. In addition to completing my goal, I was actually pretty good. I won't say that ice skating is like riding a bicycle, but the skill did come back to me pretty quickly.
The next day, Saturday, we got some time to roam around Chinatown. My friend and I were trying on tribal masks and hats from the vendors. We'd take pictures of us with them on and then leave. I think we angered more than a few Chinese people that day.
Our director gave us a challenge: see who could buy a Rolex for the cheapest. Seven of us participated and only one was genuine (valued at $1500, purchased for $25). The picture depicts our Folex's.
We also went to Ulysses S. Grant's burial site. I am standing with the amazing woman who directed Fools many moons ago.
And this is me in front of the building where Grant and his wife are buried. We had just come back from singing at Riverside Church (we got third place, by the way!).
That same day we visited Top of the Rock, an observation deck from the top of the Rockefeller Center. The view of the city from the deck is spectacular and if you're afraid of heights, this would be a place NOT to go.
This cool-looking wall was at the Top of the Rock, and my friend, Kristianna, and I took a picture together by it. We hung out during a lot of the trip.
On Saturday I met my friend, who lives in New York City, for lunch at a small French café called Bouchon. He is the former Music Director of The All-American Boys Chorus, and I sand under his direction for a couple of months.
Kristianna also came along, since we were supposed to be in groups of two while we had free time.
And then I lost my cab virginity. It was actually pretty cool, and during the whole time all I could think about was Mohinder Suresh and HRG back in Season 1 of Heroes.
At the end of Saturday, we went on a dinner cruise with a lot of other choirs who participated in Riverside Church's Heritage Festival. 
On Sunday, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of the Arts after Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral. We found this really neat Zen Garden-type area.
And after that we discovered this really neat Mesopotamia-type area. There, we saw a group of blind people. Excuse me for wondering, but what are a bunch blind people doing in an art museum?
And a visit to NYC isn't complete without a Broadway show, right? Right. We saw Chicago. Very racy, but all in all a fantastically good production. Everyone in our group enjoyed it, and I thought that the quality of acting and singing was spectacular. I'm setting my sights on Broadway. One day, one day.
I was surprised by the amount of advertisements outside the theatre, so I figured I'd get my photograph with a few of them. I wanted to show off my new shades too.
That evening we experienced the thrill of Grand Central Station and what it felt like to ride a subway. Of course, I already know, since I rode them all the time when I went to Asia. But it was still neat to ride a subway after all these years.
This picture captures the fast-paced nature of the city, in my opinion.
On Monday, we took a Sounds of the City Tour for four hours. One of the highlights of the tour was Strawberry Fields, a tribute to John Lennon. 
This is the big Imagine tile mosaic.
While in Central Park, we had the opportunity to see the Bethesda Fountain, which was built in praise of the new water system in New York City. It symbolizes the clean water.
I thought that these stairs were pretty neat. We were here early in the morning, so the park was deserted, but at any other time during the day, there would be a lot more people roaming around the park.
I found the pillars all around the park extraordinary, since every single one of them was individually sculpted. I laughed to myself when I heard that, wondering how anybody could have the time or willpower to do that, but upon examination, they're all different.
I thought the American flag in the middle of Central Park was kind of neat.
Before technology and civilization invaded Manhattan, the entire ground was covered in this bedrock.
This is by far one of my favorite pictures that I took during the entire trip. On the edge of Central Park there's this big wooden walkway, so a bunch of us posed under it.
We also got to see the actual Secret Garden. Though there's nothing really secret about it. It's just a lot of trees and flowers.
The last thing we were supposed to do on Monday was visit the United Nations headquarters. I can now tell everyone that gives me crap for taking French that the two official International Languages are French and English.
I say supposed to because Jet Blue canceled our flight due to weather (in fact, everywhere east of Chicago was not flying). So we had to stay an extra day. During that extra day, we went to the American Museum of Natural History, the museum where Night at the Museum took place.
Near the end, I was so pooped out that I was taking goofy pictures of myself in the NMoNH's gift shop. In addition to angering Chinese men trying to make a profit, I angered state employees. Yippee!
So that's New York City, in what you could call a nutshell. Looking back, it seemed like it lasted forever when we actually just skimmed the surface of the Big Apple. Next time I visit New York, I have a list of things that I want to do and a list of places that I want to go. New York is such a fast-paced city. Unlike southern California cities, it's always on and always going. I could definitely see myself fitting in with that lifestyle. In fact, at some point in my life, I want to live there. Whether it be during school, or taking a sabbatical, or just plain moving there for good. The Big Apple fascinates me, and it would definitely be a change I'd be willing to make.
NYC09
For the next few days, I will be enjoying the chilliness of New York City. My high school's choir will sing in a festival, and, among other things, see Chicago on Broadway, go on a dinner cruise, browse the Metropolitan Museum, and go to Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.It's an exciting trip that I've been preparing for for a few months, and when I return I'll post a photograph entry detailing my trip. Until then, adieu folks!
April Fools Joke
I knew I couldn't get through the day without pulling a joke on someone. The questions were what would I do and on who would I pull it? After a few hours of asking around, I got my idea.
During lunch, I talked to my math teacher and asked him to go into his online grade book and completely screw up my grade on purpose. He did so, and printed out a grade sheet that said I have a D-. He wrote something to the effect of "Since the beginning of March, things have gone down. Sorry, didn't realize it at Open House," and put a place for my parent to sign.
When I came home today, I gave the sheet to my mother, and stood there silently as she read it. Her reaction was priceless. I played along for a while, and then finally told her that I actually have 92% in the class.
During lunch, I talked to my math teacher and asked him to go into his online grade book and completely screw up my grade on purpose. He did so, and printed out a grade sheet that said I have a D-. He wrote something to the effect of "Since the beginning of March, things have gone down. Sorry, didn't realize it at Open House," and put a place for my parent to sign.
When I came home today, I gave the sheet to my mother, and stood there silently as she read it. Her reaction was priceless. I played along for a while, and then finally told her that I actually have 92% in the class.
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