No Electronics

I haven't been ignoring you guys.  My little brother spent almost an entire day playing video games, so my dad decided to forbid the use of ALL electronics.  For the entire family.  Crazy old man.  Anyways, I'm posting this quickly, before my parents get back from whatever it is that they're doing.  I hope you're all having a wonderful summer, and I'll post again the next chance I get.  Which will likely be the next time my family leaves the house without me.  Which is happening more than usual because my (newer) horse, Pistol (the guy weighs 1220 pounds) stepped on my foot and ripped one of the nails off.  I haven't been to a hospital yet, so I don't know if it's broken or not.  Either way, I can't wear closed-toed shoes, so I can't run.  Or horseback ride.  Or do anything really fun.  It sucks.

Parents are almost home. Gotta run!!

~~Kami Strife~~

Saturday

We woke up this morning, and, after a drive that was at least three hours into Chicamauga, Tennessee, we "enjoyed" a "battle simulation" (*cough* tour *cough*) in the rain.  And, as if that wasn't bad enough, I was wearing a white shirt.  Hard to believe I passed AP US, right?  Anyways, I spent the entire three-hour bus ride back to the hotel in my jacket.

Today we have lectures.  Fun.

~~Kami Strife

JSW (Get some!)

Paintball was awesome!!!!!!!!!  Hell yes!!!!  I actually got a few people out!!!!

I got shot quite a few times, but the paintball bounced off more often than it splattered.  The first time, it just grazed my upper arm.  As I was walking back to our base (with my hands in the air), I was shot in the back.  It bounced off, but that was the first time I got hit by a paintball.  It stung, but only for a little bit.  It wasn't as bad as I had thought that it would be.  I also got shot in the forearm, once more in the back, and my foot (none of them broke).  I was also hit in each thigh and my chest.  I even have this big purple and red bruise on my chest.  It hurts.

Then we went through this Leadership Reaction Course.  We had to get over this really high wall and across a bridge thingie with wire ropes across it.  It was difficult to cross.  We lifted Aaron, the guy who's going into the Marines straight out of high school, up onto the wall.  And damn, that guy is strong.  He lifted me up that wall like I was a feather!!  Insane...

We all got across, and then we learned actual squad movements.  It was fun... until we got into a "firefight" with "enemy forces".  So we hit the ground and crawled around a bit until we "killed" the others.  Yay.

Then we went through a grenade course.  I...wow... I'm not quite sure what to say...  I went through the course pretty well, other than this wall thing we had to jump.  That took me a few tries (but I got over it).  One of the people that worked there commented that I was the most enthusiastic one to do the course (yay me).  So, it was pretty kewl.  I didn't blow anybody up (*sob*), but I did this one bad-ass slide on my back!!  And then I threw the "grenade" at one of the Team Leaders (and almost hit him).  I got a hair full of dirt, though.  No, scratch that.  My entire boy was covered in dirt.  And then, at the end, I did this flip-slash-roll-thing down a hill-like mound.  A friend of mine caught it on video, and, I have to say, it looked really cool!!!  Of course, I got dirt in my mouth, eyes, and all over my arms.  In fact, my skin was two distinct shades.  Lol.

We got the rest of the evening off, so I'm hanging out in my room, posting.  Tomorrow we visit Dobbins AFB and Lockheed Martin.  I'm not sure how excited I should be.  But sometime next week we go paintballing again!!!!

Hope y'all are enjoying your summer!!!

~~Kami Strife

I Kinda Disappeared...

Wow.  June 18th, an entire month since my last post.  I am sooooo sorry, you guys!  You are my wonderful, amazing, faithful readers, and I repay you by not posting.  I'll try to be better about it.

One of my reasons for not posting is that I have no internet connection on my computer at home.  The only way that I can get internet on my Mac is by sitting out in the front driveway of my house.  Which, considering the heat, isn't all that fun.  But that's no excuse.

However, I am currently in an air-conditioned barracks room at North Georgia College and State University, one of six military colleges in the nation.  (It's in Georgia, in case you didn't realize, so hello from Georgia.)  What am I doing here, you ask?  Well, I am participating in a LeadAmerica conference on Defense and Military Strategy: Junior War College.  It's... interesting, to say the least.  There are six girls (including myself) out of almost 100 high schoolers.  I'm the only female in my fifteen-man group (Alpha Team).  In these first two days, I have become a squad commander, in charge of seven other guys.  (I know, it's an Army conference.  Shame on me.)  I have to make sure that they are awake and ready every morning, and that they report to all of the lectures and stuff.  So far, we have listened to two lectures by retired Army Generals, conducted a surveillance mission (which Alpha won), taught everyone else in Alpha how to march and had a drilling competition with the other groups (which we also won), visited Fort McPherson, and established that blood makes the grass grow.

Ft. McPherson was pretty cool.  We drove for an hour and a half this morning to get there (ugh), but we visited US Forces Command (and got to sit in really comfy chairs while being briefed), then USARC (US Army Reserve Command), where we spoke to a woman who just returned from her sixth deployment, and, finally, we went to the Third Army, where I spoke with an Apache pilot (she was kewl), an NCO who works with satellite communications, and a Green Beret (he kept looking straight at me, even though he was speaking to the entire group... it was kinda unnerving, actually).  Then we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial and the National Museum of Patriotism.  We even got to speak to a retired General who had been awarded a Purple Heart in Vietnam.  He told us about how his helicopter was shot down and stuff.  It was interesting.

Intriguing is the best way to describe being one of very few girls among teenage guys.  YOU ARE ALL PERVERTS!!!!  (No offence, you guys.  I love y'all.)  But the guys here are.  I'm tempted to beat them all up.  But I'll get in trouble if I do that...  There is one guy who is really kind.  I don't know his name, and he doesn't know mine, but he smiles at me ever time we make eye contact.

Moving on...

We're paintballing tomorrow.  I've never done it before, but it should be fun.  I'm looking forward to it.

I'll be home in seven days, and then it's off to Hawaii!!!!!!  Adios!!

Worst Weekend of my Life

If the AP Exam was hell, this weekend was the part of hell so deep that it was frozen over. It was much worse than hell. I won't be around for a while; I have a lot of stuff to get done for school, a funeral to plan, and teaching one of my dogs that biting people is NOT okay.

~~Kami Strife

The AP Comp. Sci. Exam Is Over!!!!!!!!!!

And it was hell. Complete hell. As Danny put it, "I lost my AP virginity to that test". In fact, I did two of the four essay questions. The other two, I output the minimum answer that would actually give me a point. Note the singular use of the word "point". Then, with 45 minutes left, I drew a laptop, with a screen and everything. And, on the screen, I drew a google search window, with "failing computer science" typed into the search bar. I think I've finally lost my mind.

On the other hand, I went to look at An Awesome Zip, a really pretty paint horse, last weekend. He's a really good boy, though he's TALL. But he's a sweetie. (*sob*) My parents made an offer, and we're waiting to hear back from the owner. I'm excited!!!

The USAP Exam is on Friday. I have no life right now. I love you all, but I have to study.

~~Kami Strife~~

I REALLY Need To Learn How to Cool Down

I am very, very mad right now. Not angry yet, but I am mad, and it is all the fault of ONE PERSON!!!!!!!!!!! (Not mentioning any names.) I'm trying to just take a deep breath and let it go, but it's NOT WORKING!!! *Sigh* Anyways, I wrote this post just so I could rant about how pissed off I am. See, I was a little miffed when this certain person did something that offended me, but then I had an entire day to think about it and get worked up, and now I am MAD!!!!!!! But I'm not throwing things yet, so that's a good sign.

~~Kami Strife

It's Been A While

I really need to work on how often I get on. Because it isn't often enough.

Anyways, AP exams are just around the corner. I'm not ready.

My dad got told on Wednesday that he has to go to Germany this week. That means he'll miss the horse show this weekend. Great; more work for Mom and I (because my brother just sits on his ass and does nothing).

Speaking of Wednesday, the Spanish 3 and 4 classes went on a trip to UNAM, which is downtown. We got to speak to a group of Spanish-speakers who were learning English. I was a little nervous at first (I mean, what if I made a fool of myself when trying to speak Spanish?), but they were just as nervous when speaking English, so it was all cool. Then we went to El Mercado and spent just over two hours shopping. While on a school field trip. It was great!

I got this random letter in the mail a few days ago. It was from "National American Miss", and I remember thinking "wtf?". I read it, and it was an invitation to an audition for a pageant-thing. I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's basically a beauty pageant for young girls/women. There are different age groups and all that. So, I went to the session and did a photo shoot and an interview, and...yeah. It was...I don't know. Anyways, they'll call by Thursday to let me know if I'm going to the state competition. Also, I met a couple of people while I was there, and I gave them the website of my blog. (I won't mention any names until I have their consent.) If my fellow contestants are reading this, hello!!

Also, I finally got that History DVD made. It has all three movies made by our USAP class, as well as bloopers and rejected photos!!

That's pretty much it for now. I shall go back to playing video games all day, since my family is out and won't be back until late this afternoon. Have a great weekend!!!

~~Kami Strife

AP Exams

I hate to remind everybody, but AP Exams are in a month (less than that for some). AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, I'm done. If you haven't started reviewing already, you should. (Like I'm one to talk. I'm completely and totally unprepared for my Computer Science test. I'm going to fail with, like, a 1.) Anyways, I'm not starting any new video games until after the AP Exams (*sob*). However, that doesn't mean that I won't finish up the ones that I'm surrently playing... Seriously, though, I should study.

My parents won't let me play Crisis Core until all of my grades are above a 95. I have a 93 in Algebra and a 90 in English, but only because my English teacher DOESN'T GRADE!!! Seriously, the majority of her students have a 90. It gets me so MAD!! *Ahem* Moving on, I watched some of the cutscenes from Crisis Core because I could no longer hold myself back from watching the excellent-ness that is Final Fantasy VII. And now I have this entire rant about how they picked the wrong voice actor for Aerith and the perfect voice actors for Zack and Genesis. And about how Sephiroth has every right to insanity (but that last part has nothing to do with Crisis Core). I'll elaborate on that some other time I have nothing to talk about.

And I should really be finishing my History extra credit project, so see you guys later!!

~~Kami Strife

I Don't Really Feel Like Coming Up With A Title

Today is the last day of March. Time really flies. School is out in less than 2 months. Yay.

Nothing interesting is happening. Life is boring.

I finished my Yuffentine. I still don't have a title. Maybe I'll start a new story. About ninjas or something.

Tomorrow is April Fool's Day. Should be fun.

Leave a few comments, will you? I'm starting to feel like I'm talking to myself.

~~Kami Strife~~

Sigh...

Spring Break is over...that's so depressing. Anyways, I had a fairly good Spring Break. The first weekend, I went to a horse show, as you know if you have read my previous post. Over the week, I had fun sleeping in, playing video games, and training for a half-marathon. (Okay, that last part wasn't all that much fun.) The video gaming was, though, because I beat Dirge of Cerberus! Again! For the third time! However, the first time I played it, it took me 12 and a half hours to beat. This time, I beat it in nine and a half hours!!!! Yay!!!!

Also, I got caught up with the Japanese Naruto episodes. Yay! I've now seen up to episode 50, which is where Naruto and Sakura run into Sasuke again. I'm not going to say anything else, because I don't want to spoil the series for those who aren't as far into it.

And I started reading the translated manga. I'm to the point after Hebi is formed, with all four members. I won't say any more.

This most recent weekend, I went to the glider port. Saturday was soooooooooo much fun, because Mr. Jay was my instructor, and he had me fly a high-speed pass!! I was in control of the sailplane while it was traveling in excess of 100 knots...that's a scary thought. Then, on Sunday, I had to do a crosswind takeoff, aerotow, and landing. The takeoff wasn't that hard, the landing was a little challenging, but the aerotow was hell!!! I seriously thought that I was going to die!!!!!!!!!! It's amazing how much a bit of wind can toss around a 700-pound glider like it's nothing!!!!

But, as you can tell, I didn't die, and I've come back to post for you. Have fun back at school, everyone. I love you all.

~~Kami Strife~~

Random Stuff

We got back from the horse show last night. It was fun, and we did pretty good. Monet and I got second in this one class, but only because my shirt goot hooked around the saddle horn (meaning that I ended up getting punched in the stomach...by my saddle). If that hadn't happened, we would've gotten first. Oh well.

Yay for Spring Break!!! I got to sleep in this morning!!!!

I've had this really weird urge recently to watch Naruto. I don't know why. But I was watching the Japanese episodes, and I have decided on my FAVORITE Neji line EVER!!!! It is "Oh, hell no!". Haha, I never thought that I would hear Neji curse... It was near the end of episode 32. Of Shippuuden.

I'm working on my Yuffentine, and should have more for my readers by the time we get back to school. Once I finish that story, I had a good idea for a GaaraxOC oneshot. So sue me; I enjoy writing emotionless/demon-infested/mentally unstable people. *Anime sweatdrop* Guess I'll have to write a NaruHina next. Unless anyone wants to leave me ideas about what else to write about. Although I don't think that any of you know any emotionless/demon-infested/mentally unstable people. If you do, I want to hear about them.

~~Kami Strife~~

SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

w00t!!! It's Spring Break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Video games, here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, though, no school for a whole week! That's hard to beat. The Blackout "Say No To Drinking and Driving" Pep Rally was today at school. We got out of class half an hour early!! Yay!!!!!!!

I'll be at a horse show, without internet access, this weekend, so don't expect another post until Sunday or Monday.

Have an excellent Spring Break, don't drink and drive, and I love you all!!

~~Kami Strife~~

I'm Back!!

I am back in San Antonio after a great vacation!!!  We had so much fun skiing and snowmachining (snow-mobiling, for all you non-Alaskans)!!!  And I managed to not injure myself too badly: a swollen ankle, a ripped nail (not broken, ripped off), and a few bruises here and there.  It was so much fun!!!  I'll bring pictures to school tomorrow!!  I would love to go on and on, but I have to finish all of the homework that I missed.  I'll post again later.  Love you all!!!!

~~Kami Strife~~

Hello From Beaver Creek, Colorado

Hello, everyone!!  I hope that you all had a great weekend, including school tomorrow... which I won't be attending!!!  I'm here at the St. James ski resort in Beaver Creek, CO, and I just got done with my first day.  We left San Antonio Friday night, and drove up here yesterday.  So today was our first official day on vacation!  I woke up around 8:30 (that's 9:30 San Antonio time), ate breakfast, and took my time getting ready to go.  It was about 10:30 in the morning when I finally got out of the hotel room.  Then I had to get the skis, the lift passes, blah, blah, blah.  Anyway, I finally got to the slopes around 12:00 or so.  Seeing as how it's been over a year since I skied last, I stayed on mostly beginner slopes today.  And I only fell once!  (It was Dad's fault; he fell right in front of me.)  Anyways, I skied until about 2:30, and then I decided that it was time for lunch, so I skied allllllll the way down to the bottom of the mountain, where I could catch the shuttle, and get back to the hotel.

At least, that was my intent.  Idiotically, I didn't look at the map that was in my pocket, and I ended up getting lost.  First, I ended up on one hill that was very, VERY steep, which I managed to get down without incident.  Then, I had no clue where I was, but I figured that if I kept going, I'd eventually reach the bottom.  Because I've never been here before, I wanted to stay on the beginner paths.  However, after five minutes on the same path, I started to wonder where the heck I was.  So I stopped, pulled out my map, and found the way that I was supposed to take.  And, 20 minutes later, my little adventure was over.  And now I have another "stupidity moment" to laugh at.

Unfortunately, when I returned to the room, I found out that my cousin Davy (who is in college and an excellent snowboarder) crashed today and broke his right wrist.  Well, it was a hairline fracture, but still.  The swelling was so severe that he just got it bandaged and put in a splint, because they couldn't put a cast on it.  So he has to go back to the hospital in a few days.  But he's happy about it, because he spent most of the time drooling over his female doctor.  Lol.

Then, the friend of my third cousin fell on her right wrist as well, and it started swelling.  She went to the emergency room, and, guess what.  It was broken!  She couldn't get a cast, either.  I fell so bad for the two of them.  That's really gotta suck, I mean, it's only the first day of vacation!!

It's getting late, so I'm gonna go.  We'll try not to break any more wrists.  Have fun at school tomorrow!!!  I love you all.

~~Kami Strife~~

Going, Going, Gone!

Today is the day that I leave for Colorado!! I'm so excited, because I'm going to see my aunt, uncle, and my two cousins from college!! Then, tomorrow, we're driving up to Beaver Creek, this kickass ski resort, until Thursday!! w00t!!

I'll be checking my e-mail while there, so that's the best way to get in touch with me. I'll try to post as well.

I love you all!

~~Kami Strife~~

Poll Results

Well, this poll came out much differently than I expected. Tiger Sharks are the most popular to be attacked by, apparently. You guys are right, to a point. You DON'T want to get attacked by bull sharks. They are arrgesive and aren't likely to give up a fight once they start it. As for tiger sharks, they are the garbage cans of the sea, and will eat anything. The thing about great whites is that, even though they're huge, once they realize "oh, this isn't food", they're more likely to back off and/or leave than the other two. Although, when a 180-pound man is bitten, even if only once, by a 2-ton animal, he's kinda in trouble. It all depends on the circumstances.

Of course, we're not about to go out and put this knowledge to the test. Unless you have some strange desire to be attacked by a shark, in which case, be my guest.

I leave in less than 36 hours!!!

~~Kami Strife~~

THANK YOU, KIND AND MERCIFUL LORD!!!!!

THE TAKS TEST IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That thing is a waste of my life!!!

The prompt was to write about the "importance of doing something you love". I BS'ed the entire thing, of course. I hope that everyone who took it did well...killing brain cells...numbing their minds to write a TAKS-level essay... Okay, moving on.

I leave on Friday, and I still have all of my clothes to pack and homework to get... I have a lot to do. Including my homework that Mr. Andreas believes that I am currently doing.

I love you all!

~~Kami Strife~~

Danny Wins...Sort Of

Okay, congrats to Danny, because he was the first one to translate the Al Bhed, even though he cheated and used an online translator. So I'll make him cookies. Maybe spinach cookies... (that's what you get for cheating!!). I'll start posting random stuff in Al Bhed, if I can't think of anything else to say.

Sorry about the parentheses, and one last thing: at least I don't have to use the translator!!!

~~Kami Strife~~

About the Al Bhed Translation Contest

This goes out to everyone, especially Danny. Trying to find an Al Bhed translator on Google is CHEATING!!! I'm not even sure if it will work.

About my Yuffentine story, I'm typing up the next 10-ish pages, which Danny called dibs on. If you want to fight for the right to read it first...good luck. You'll need it. (Sorry, Danny. I hope that you don't have too many people attacking you before tomorrow.)

TAKS is on Wednesday. IT'S A WASTE OF OUR LIVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*Ahem* Sorry.

Congratulations to Xavier, who took the SAT on Saturday, and to the Randolph Track Team, who had their first meet on Saturday. Good job, guys.

~~Kami Strife~~

Al Bhed

I was fooling around with some weights today (yes, I enjoy taking free weights and tossing them around like those little bouncy balls), when I realized what would be quite a bit of fun to post. Al Bhed is one of my favorite languages in the world, and there are few people who know it. The first person to correctly e-mail me the translation of this will get...I don't know what. Cookies? Yeah, cookies or brownies. My e-mail is xxdaughterofspardaxx@yahoo.com, and here's the Al Bhed: "Oui dnyhcmydat dra Al Bhed! Kuut zup!! E's jano esbnaccat, cu a-syem drec du sa, yht E'mm pnehk oui luugeac. Ihmacc oui tuh'd ku du so clruum, eh frelr lyca E femm keja oui dra naleba vun so cbaleym lrulumyda lreb luugeac. Yhofyoc, ev oui ryjah'd dnyhcmydat drec, ed bnupypmo zicd muugc mega y pihlr uv tnyppma, tuach'd ed? Fro fuimt yhouha ajah dnyhcmyda drec zicd vun y luugea un dfu? Fyed...E tet."

Good luck!!

~~Kami Strife~~

I Hate Sundays...

Sundays suck because you spend the entire day knowing that you have to go to school/work the next day, and that there's nothing that you can do to get out of it. Kind of like on days when I have to go on a run with my dad. Because he's evil. *Ahem*

Anyways, first track meet was yesterday. Not that I was there. But I'm sure that most of you already know that I quit because my father and I got into a huge fight about it.

I haven't played any video games yesterday or today. That makes me so sad...but maybe I'll play some tonight.

I'm leaving on Friday to go skiing - er, for a "family reunion". My aunt and uncle own a timeshare up in Beaver Creek, Colorado (which just happens to be a ski resort), and they invited us to go spend a week with them. We leave Friday and return on Thursday, so I can go to school on that Friday, before getting off for Spring Break. I just love how these things work out. I'll take lots of pictures, so I can post them when i get back.

The best part of that is, my uncle and my two cousins are HUGE video gamers. So we'll spend the time that we aren't skiing playing video games!!! I'm even bringing my PS3. (Potential burglers: this would NOT be a good time to try to rob my house, because we're setting the alarm with motion sensors and everything, plus there won't be much of value at my home. So HA!!)

So, I wish you all an excellent Sunday, despite the fact that tomorrow is Monday. I love you all!!!

~~Kami Strife~~

Something Worth Reading...

...which this can hardly be classified as. I have nothing to say, so I'm babbling on because I promised another post. So I'll put something random here so that this isn't a complete waste of your time. It's Friday!!

~~Kami Strife~~

The Funny Things That People Come Up With

First off, I have no idea why I capitalized all the words. Or do I do that every time? I don't know.

But that's not the point of this post. I was in Computer Science today (not working, as usual), reading Yuffentines on www.fanfiction.net. (I know, I'm such a sucker for Yuffentines. Shame, SHAME!!) Anyways, I've seen it ALL. Lucrecia/Yuffie bi-atch fights, Shelke-bashing, Lucrecia-bashing, and even Tifa/Sephiroth pairings (O.o wtf?)!! I'd have to say that my favorite story (I forget what it's called) is by an author who has a similar style of writing Chaos as I do. I also like "When In Doubt: Become A Ninja". That's a good story. You should read it.

Back to the main idea here, I was reading a high school AU fic, and Vincent was sooooooooo OOC. But it was really good. Vincent's dad was funny. And then there was a oneshot with a drunk Vinnie. Now THAT was hilarious. I will forever be haunted by that image of Vincent slurring his words. Another good one is "Three Cheers for Rubber Ducks, Snowmen and Revenge". Yuffie plays all sorts of pranks on Vincent. Including freezing his snowman. I guess I should explain that, shouldn't I? Okay, Marlene convinced Vincent (and Cid) to help her build snowmen, and Yuffie explained that it's a tradition to knock them down after you build them. However, they had to eat dinner first, so Yuffie poured ice cold water all over Vincent's snowman while everyone was eating, and the water froze, turning the snowman into an iceman. After dinner, Marlene destroyed her snowman, then told Vincent it was his turn. So Vincent charged the "snow"man, only to find that running into solid blocks of ice hurts. So the side of his face is all bruised up, and he actually made a sarcastic remark to Reno about how he enjoys running into solid objects.

And then, my favorite fanfiction-Vincent quote of all time, when Yuffie was bothering him, left, and then promised to come back the next day: "There goes my sanity."

Wow, I get really involved in my Yuffentines, don't I? I'm sorry to all of you non-Yuffentine-ers who believe that this entire post was a waste of time. I'm sure the part of my brain that still relies on logic agrees with you, but that is a small minority, so too bad. I'll post something worth reading tomorrow.

~~Kami Strife~~

Surprising News

I was getting on Yahoo! to check my e-mail tonight, when I saw the featured article. Apparently, shark attacks are on the rise. And "experts" are trying to say how there are more "unprovoked" shark attacks this year than last year, and blah, blah, blah. You know what I say? BULLSHIT!!!!! If humans don't want to get attacked by sharks, they shouldn't enter the ocean in the first place!!!! It's all quite ridiculous. Shark attacks are so easily avoided, but humans are so bigoted that they think they are the highest creature on the planet, and that they can simply ignore the rules of nature. NEWS FLASH: Humans aren't as great as they think they are. The ocean in the shark's domain, and if we could just realize that we have to play by their rules, then the number of shark attacks would significantly decrease.

That being said, there are a few things that anyone can do to decrease your risk of shark attack, so, if any of you plan on going to the beach anytime soon, listen up.
1) Don't wear jewelry, watches, etc. into the water. The light can reflect off of the metal and look like fish scales to predators. (This goes for barracuda and pirahnas, as well as sharks.)
2) Don't swim at dawn or dusk, because this is often when sharks feed.
3) If there are a large amount of birds flying around one area of the surface and trying to get a meal, don't swim. Chances are that a larger predator is underneath, driving those smaller fish to the surface.
4) Don't swim with seals or sea lions. Though it may seem fun, those are two of the sharks favorite meals.
5) Don't swim when the water is really cloudy or murky. Not "I can't see ten feet that way" murky, but "I can't see my feet" murky. In those instances, sharks rely on their ability to sense movement and sense of smell, rather than their eyesight. You could be mistaken for lunch.
6) Don't horse around with your friends overdramatically or take your dog for a swim. Both of those things involve quick, jerky movements, which says to the sharks: "Wounded prey. Come eat me."
7) If you are bleeding, do NOT enter the ocean. Sharks can smell trace amounts of blood from over a mile away.
8) And, for the love of all that is sacred, if you see a shark, DON'T HARRASS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just remember, if you respect sharks, chances are they won't attack you. Not only do they dislike the taste of human flesh, they're big animals. They have to eat a lot to stay alive, so they won't go after something that will take more energy to catch than it provides (in most cases, humans). Besides, most shark attacks are cases of mistaken identity: the shark thinks that the human is a seal or turtle or fish. There is only one time a shark will purposefully eat a human, and that is if said human is dead.

Random fun fact: More humans are killed by flying toilet seats than by sharks every year. Yes, that is an actual statistic.

So if you're going to the beach anytime soon, have fun and be safe. If not, I hope you remember this the next time that you do go to the beach. And please don't be misinformed about sharks. They are no more hostile to humans than dogs or cats - it's just that they aren't as familiar with us. Remember that the ocean is their home, so to stay safe, we must obey their rules.

~~Kami Strife~~

Yay!!!

That vocab test in History was fairly easy. I think I got a 95. Or so.

So, I have no history homework for the rest of the week. NO LECTURES OR QUIZZES!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay, no more sugar for me.

So I'm playing Dirge of Cerberus through again. It's a kickass game. I love how Vinnie's all "..." while shooting people in the beginning, but makes all sorts of remarks closer to the end. It shows character development.

Anyways, I should finish my homework. So bye!!

~~Kami Strife~~

Sorry!!

I'm sorry that I didn't post. I didn't forget this time!!! I was up in Wallis, Texas all day yesterday (from 6:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.), which is out in the middle of nowhere, so I had no internet access. I was flying gliders!! My aerotow has gotten much better, even though I haven't flown in almost two months. (Aerotow is when the powered plane tows the glider through the air to the proper altitude. I'm not very good at staying directly behind the tow plane...) Anyways, I didn't post, and I am very sorry.

Moving on, I'll hopefully solo in the gliders before summer!! I also took my video camera up to the glider port, so I'll get the memory card uploaded to my computer, and hopefully post some videos for you guys.

Also, I'm completely lacking in ideas for my Zerith story. I have a few outline-ish...things. Sort of. But no story so far. On the other hand, I'm continuing my other story (working title: "Untitled Yuffentine"), so all of you people that begged me for more, there's more!!! I'll print out the next 10 pages or so pretty soon.

I'm going to get a chatbox account, so that should be up and running within a day or two.

I have a huge history test today (I seem to have those a lot, don't I? It's because Ms. Burton hates us and is trying to land us in a mental institution by the age of 20 by means of insane amounts of stress), so I have to go study my ass off. (Which I don't think is physically possible, by the way.)

~~Kami Strife~~

It's Over...

I finished Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus. I'm going to cry. The Final Fantasy VII saga has come to a close. (Yes, I realize that it's the second time that I've beat the game. Now be quiet.) That game brings a sense of completion (kind of like finishing the last book of the Harry Potter series) - it's happy because it's a wonderful story, but sad because you know that there is nothing more (like you'll never see those people again). Such a bittersweet moment...

If none of you have played any of the FFVII games, they are THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!!! Especially Dirge, even though Cloud isn't the main character. Anyways, I hope you all have an excellent weekend. I will post again before Monday (and I won't forget this time).

I love you all.

~~Kami Strife~~

IT'S FRIDAY!!

It's Friday again, and I would be singing, if it weren't for a US History AP test over important people in the 1900 - 1920 Era. Here we come, failing grades. Ugh. But Friday is still my favorite day of the school week, because it means that tomorrow is Saturday!!! No school!!!!!!!

I'm going to go home today and completely OWN Nero and Weiss in Dirge of Cerberus. But until seventh period, I'm going to study my butt off. So I'm outta here.

~~Kami Strife~~

TAKS is a waste of my life

We spent the last three days in Engish working on a TAKS packet. Without a doubt, the curriculum in Texas is being dumbed down so students can be taught how to take the test. It's ridiculous. Okay, enough complaining.

My Yuffentine story is on hiatus. Sorry, Yuffentine fans. But I have a serious case of writer's block. To keep myself occupied during class, I'm writing out a novelization of Dirge of Cerberus. Not very original, I know. I'm sorry. However, I did start a Zerith story last night. Here's a little sneak preview:

"The rain was cold, falling to the ground in sheets. A lone man lay on the ground, a pool of blood slowly spreading around his body and mixing with the rain. He knew that he wouldn’t have much longer to live, and his one regret was that he’d never see her smiling face again."

There you go. I hope you liked it. Of course, I'll do the entire story in flashback. Any ideas are always greatly appreciated; shoot me an e-mail at xxdaughterofspardaxx@yahoo.com. I've had a character for a Devil May Cry story in my head for a while now, as well, but I'm lacking ideas for a DMC story. Plus, I'd like to finish my other two before I take on a third. (And I haven't played DMC4 yet. Shame on me. It got excellent reviews, though. Unfortunately, you only get to be Dante for about half of the game. *sob*)

Well, I'm out of here, because my battery is almost dead.

~~Kami Strife~~

I Didn't Forget About You Guys!!

Okay, I did forget to make another post over the three-day weekend. I'm sorry. You can all shun me, if you like.

On a happier note, the Apollo storyboard is coming along very nicely. I hope to have the pilot episode done soon. For all of you that don't know what Apollo is, it's a Flash anime that I'm co-writing. For more information, head over to http://vivablacksheep.blogspot.com/.

Anyways, I'm probably quitting track, because my father and I have been getting into quite a few arguments over it (even more so than usual). Unfortunately, it ended in a huge fight yesterday while on our 4.5 mile run. He even directed the "f" word at me. Hmm. So, I decided that track isn't worth fighting over, so I'm done.

Side note: I was at mass on Sunday (I'm Catholic and I go to church every Sunday), and some lady was doing the second reading from the Bible, and it was something about bringing immortality to life. And the lady said, "...bringing immorality to life." It was pretty funny!! It's because I go to a progressive church. Lol.

Well, class is about to end, so I'm outta here.

~~Kami Strife~~

TGIF!!!

It's finally Friday, free again

I've got my motor running for a wild weekend...

That's a good song...

Anyways, I'm sooooooooo excited that it's Friday!!! (Even though it's 9 o'clock at night.) Yesterday felt so much like a Friday (being Valentine's Day and all) that I woke up this morning and was like, "Why am I waking up at 6:00 on a Saturday??". Haha. I don't know why, but we did very little in school today. And listened to Even Flow by Pearl Jam is US History AP. Just because.

I'm babysitting right now. HOLD IT!!!! I'm not blogging while babysitting!!!!! I promise, I'm not THAT irresponsible. I put the kids to bed 40 minutes ago, and their parents told me that I could do whatever I wanted until they get home at 10:30. So yeah.

I finally got my Yuffentine (which I STILL don't have a title for) typed up, all 21 pages of it. I had three new people read it, and they all like it!! I'm so happy. There is nothing an author appreciates more than compliments on one of her (or his) stories. (That random tidbit of information may come in handy someday. You never know.) I also started another Yuffentine today. This one is only three handwritten pages so far, but I have some pretty good ideas for it.

And, although I love my readers (yes, you all should feel quite special), I'm off to Youtube to entertain myself for the next hour or so. I hope you have a wonderful three day weekend, which I will hopefully post during. Good night.

~~Kami Strife~~

Happy Singles' Awareness Day

Happy Singles' Awareness - er, I mean Valentine's Day to all of my readers!!! Today is the most depressing day of the year for half of the high school population. For me, it's an excuse to bring my friends chocolate and not do any schoolwork.

I really miss those elementary school days when we would decorate those paper bags and then bring little cheap valentines for everyone in our class, and we would run around putting all of them in our classmates's bags. And then, once you were fininshed, you went back to your desk to see your bag filled with candy and stuff. *Sigh* Sometimes, I wish that I could go back to elementary school.

I'm sitting here eating a chocolate bar. It's quite delicious. After two miles of sprinting, I'm going to run another four miles. And then another two miles. And I'm going to keep running until I can't take another step. And then I'll do 150 sit-ups. And 50 push-ups. I'll keep going until I can't move. And then I'll go to bed, and get up and go to school tomorrow unbelievably sore. Yes, that sounds good.

My Valentine's Day isn't completely sucky, though. Because I have Cloud!! (I know that he isn't real, but non-real men are so much better!!) My best friends, Aurora and Cresenne, get me cards from Cloud every year. And I get them cards from Kyo and Kureno Sohma, respectively. So, I have my Cloud Strife. YAY!!!! He's soooooooo smexy. Okay, I'm done with my Cloud fawning now.

I hope that all of you single people have a wonderful Singles' Awareness Day, and that all of you couples have a wonderful Valentine's Day.

~~Kami Strife~~

Track is evil

I have (officially) joined the track team, and, after the first practice, come to a decision. IT IS MASOCHISTIC!!! I don't dislike running. I mean, I run at least four miles, at least four days a week (usually five). So I am a runner. However, when preparing for distance races, one should build up their endurance. This is usually done by running distances far greater than required in the race (for instance, in preparation for a two-mile race, one could run four miles a day). However, for a LONG DISTANCE runner, having them sprint eight quarter miles will NOT prep them for long endurance runs!!!! Okay, my rant is over. I'm sorry. Maybe it's just because I detest sprinting. Ahem.

Moving on, that stupid Karel robot can pick up his own frikkin' beepers. (Although I did finally get the program working.)

For all you video gamers out there, this is important: FINAL FANTASY VII: CRISIS CORE COMES OUT ON MARCH 25!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know, I'm too obsessed with FF7. But that doesn't change the fact that Cloud is bad***. If you can't at least admit that he's cool, you obviously don't know who he is. Or you have no soul.

Speaking of souls, I think that my friend David has had his mind taken over by Ron Paul. We had a history quiz today, and he didn't know one of the answers, so he put "Ron Paul". And he brings in all this Ron Paul campaign stuff. It's kinda creepy.

And, now that I think about it, I have a history chapter to read and tons of Algebra make-up work to do, because I was sick Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. But, of course, I love my readers so much that I post before I do my homework.

~~Kami Strife~~

Why I Detest Java

My mother took my younger brother to the barn, so he could have a horseback riding lesson. I stayed home to work on "homework". If you ask her, I'm currently doing my Computer Science homework. Which, obviously, I am not. I was, but, after two hours of trying to program this stupid Karel robot to run around in a straight line, I was suddenly seized by an urge to bash my head against a granite counter. NOTE TO READERS: DON'T TRY THAT AT HOME. It's painful.

Anyway, here's the document given to me by my teacher:

Requirement: Modify your MyRobot class to have a harvestBeepers method. Use your new method to harvest a field of beepers.

The signature for your new method is:
public void harvestBeepers()

Precondition: The robot is located so that it can move straight down the line of beepers. The line of beepers must be continuous.

Postcondition: The robot has picked all the beepers in the line of beepers, is located where the last beeper was, and is facing in the direction it traveled while picking the beepers.

This method must use a loop of your choice. If the robot is not at the location of the first beeper, then it moves forward to the first beeper and then harvests the line of beepers. This method does not know how many beepers are in the line of beepers. It will therefore have to use the public boolean nextToABeeper() method to detect the presence of a beeper and the end of the line.

I was kind of like, "Mr. Andreas, wtf are you talking about?" But I can't curse at the teacher, soooooooooooo I just nodded without really listening to what he was saying. Maybe that's why I'm so lost...

On the other hand, the school "Winter Dance" was last night. It was...interesting. But I had fun, so who really cares.

~~Kami Strife~~

Welcome

I won't pretend to be an expert blogger or anything.  I have no freaking clue what I'm doing.  But that's okay.  So...here's my first post *cheers and applause*