The Ghibli Manuscripts

Recently I went on a trip to Japan (yay)!  Being a fan of anime and Japanese culture in general, I quite enjoyed myself.  I experienced a whole bunch of stuff like different food, tea ceremony, ryokans (and their public baths!), shrines, and even taiko drumming!  I had a lot of fun with drumming :3

A robot soldier from Laputa Castle in the Sky.

While we were in Tokyo, I went to the Ghibli animation museum.  You're not allowed to take pictures inside, but you're allowed to photograph the robot soldier statue on the roof of the museum.  It was a little overcast and I didn't have time to get a good photo, but if you click the link above, they have better photos.

On the second floor of the museum, it's full of desks with work scattered across the rooms.  It looks the like filmmakers just left their desks for a break when we walked in.  But my favorite room... was a small room that people frequently walked in and out of.  Compared to the other rooms, there was barely anything in there.  It was just a table with some books (with abnormally large pages), and a small wooden chair tucked in the corner of the room.  Seeing this room unusually plain in comparison to the others, I decided to look around a little more carefully (not that I wasn't already).  I picked up one of the eight thick, large books sitting on the table.  I looked at the title... When Marnie Was There.   I opened up the book.
It was a manuscript of the animated drawings.  Like a framework of what the movie should look like.  The reason the pages where so large was because each page had about five drawings in it... each showing the next shot in the movie, yet to be brought to life.  To the right of each drawing was room for notes.  Surprisingly, there was enough English for me to guess what they were saying.
I began reading.  It was a little like a manga, but a lot more open ended for plot.  After a half hour, I realized I was enjoying myself.  A lot.  Which was a little strange for me.

The frustrating thing for me with books is that I can't read them through once.  For every sentence I read, I need to pay attention and process it to understand what's happening.  However, my brain can't do that while keeping up with my reading speed. So I end up reading a page or even a paragraph, stop, and realize I need to read it again since I had no idea what just happened in the last 5 lines or so.
Books with tonnes of detail are hard for me to read leisurely.  I need study every sentence hard to comprehend everything.  My mind kind of blanks and then I keep thinking: "Okay, what's happening here? Maybe this? and this and this?".  And then I realize I'm still reading and I have no idea what just happened in the plot.
However, being a visual learner, manuscripts give a general idea of what I'm supposed to be looking at, but still leave a lot of freedom for me to imagine whatever I like.  And in a way, it's more fun that way.  It might not be the actual story that the writer might have wanted to tell but it makes me feel creative...

I haven't seen When Marnie Was There yet.  But in a way, I have seen it.  I may not know the actual story that is told in the movie, but I do know that I had a lot of fun imagining my own story without having to worry if I've comprehended the provided image.
If I had a library of manuscripts, I could spend forever there.

Austin's Tea Preference Criteria

I was recently asked the question if I preferred hot tea or cold tea.  I never actually thought about it, but I'm a little picky as to what I prefer depending on the circumstance.  So just to see how conditional my criteria of choosing hot or cold tea is, I decided to write it all out.

Hot tea: If it's a cold day, or I'm just feeling down or philosophical, I have hot tea.  Usually green or chrysanthemum if it's available.  When I feel sick I usually like peppermint with honey.  Also, I like hot Chinese or Japanese teas when eating (good) Asian food.  The exception is dim sum places... 

Chinese dim sum like to put all the leaves and flowers in one pot and leave it in there, so the tea gets stronger as the meal goes on.  Personally I like it a little lighter, so I usually immediately pour myself two cups, then ask for water later.  

Cold tea: I live in Canada, and here we have sweetened iced tea.  Pre-sweetened.  Popular brands include Brisk, Nestea (both owned by Nestle), Lipton, Snapple for more hipster people, and Arizona for frugal, addicted high schoolers.  The thing with the sweetened iced tea is that it's really sweet for people not used to it.  I've seen a handful of Americans try sweetened iced tea for the first time... they really didn't like it.  Sometimes, flavoring and sweeteners actually exceed the amount of tea in the drink, which is actually a little gross once I think about it.  

Read more on the wonderful, trustworthy, default resource Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iced_tea#Canada

I like iced tea practically any time I'm not drinking hot tea.  It's my default drink when I'm thirsty and want something sweet at the same time.  However, when I leave the country, I usually don't order it.

Being a Canadian used to over-sweetened iced tea, I always have to remind myself when travelling to America, the iced tea is not sweetened.  And when I forget... I take a big first sip and am met with the taste of cold tea (Duh. Why did I think it was going to taste like something else?).  

The exception to cool tea outside of Canada is Japan.  Most places (even some fast food restaurants) serve cool Japanese tea.  It's usually very light, with a nice subtle taste of green.  And it goes with almost anything.  And the best part: they serve it like water at restaurants; it's free.  You don't even have to ask.  

To Lose Sight

The world is very loud.  Noisy.  Voluminous in thick waves of sound.  But we barely notice it.  The humming of the lights, people passing by, air conditioners, traffic, even our own breathing.  We've all grown up in an environment where we are used to at least a little sound, somewhere, all the time. 

I used to find sound fascinating.  The drastic change in sound as soon as three people started conversing rather than two was something that always amazed me.  The thin air of one voice all of a sudden gained an overlap of another.  It was thickening like layers of honey collecting at the bottom of a cup of tea.  Indeed, the reception of sound is a fantastic thing. 

I recently went to a tourist attraction called "Dialogue in the Dark".  You are given a blind man's stick and put in a series of rooms in pitch black darkness with a guide (all guides are visually impaired).  The whole point is to experience being blind, relying on only touch, smell, and hearing to navigate in the darkness. To be honest, it's not for everyone.  Kids sometimes aren't mature enough for it, or are scared of the dark.  I don't blame them.  However, for me, my problem was the sudden barrage of information to my ears.  I discovered that I relied heavily on my eyes to process auditory information.  If a car honked, I turned to look at it.  If someone spoke, I could confirm it with my sight.  However, as I stood in a lightless room with the sounds of a busy intersection simulated, I couldn't help but be extremely overwhelmed.  Overwhelmed by the seemingly large quantity of information I would have confirmed with vision, but couldn't.  All the sounds I had overlooked with my eyes.  I was a tiny being facing a tsunami of sound stimuli. It was disorientating.  Belittling.  Daunting. My body produced a headache in no time.  I didn't want to process so much noise at once.  It was too much without eyesight. 
Then on top of that... I had to move around.  Navigate using a wooden apparatus that had loose connection to my body.  My headache became worse.  Why was the world so loud?  Why couldn't it just shut up for a while? 
And to think that it was all simulation. 

Afterwards, sound was a lot different.  It was no longer a fascinating concept that I could think to observe attentively.  It was a vast, endless swamp of information, one that I could never hope to process and understand should I lose my vision.  I had developed two things after that experience:
1. A newfound deep respect for visually impaired people.  Especially those who lost their sight after adolescence.
2. A new fear.  Fear of losing sight. I didn't think it would be something I would be afraid of, but after having a taste of the world with only ears...

Side note: I'm not saying Dialogue in the Dark is a bad attraction.  In fact, it's very well done and is unique for a tourist attraction.  It just isn't for everyone.  I'm just a wierdo who is hypersensitive to things concerning sound... So don't think that as soon as you come out you will develop a phobia for blindness.  If you have a chance to go there, it's a good experience!

Chinese Grammar Accent (in Japan)

My parents have a Chinese grammar accent (grammar bad intended).  Meaning they insert Chinese grammar into English grammar. 
Their English is good enough that they don't have an accent.  However, Chinese sentence structure and translation gets inserted into their speech here and there.
For example, when referring to a person in Chinese, there is no "he" or "she".  There is only (literally translated) "they/you".  So when my parents learned English, they had to learn the difference between he and she. 
It's sometimes frustrating when they mix it up and makes the conversation confusing.  But other times, it turns out really funny.

However, on my current trip to Japan, it's been painful to hear them attempt Japanese.  Also the strangest thing to listen to. 
They try to read and pronounce Japanese with English phonetics.  Normal for an uninformed speaker.  But it's the funniest thing (both funny haha and funny weird) to hear them try speak Anglicized Japanese with the Chinese grammar accent. 

*waitress hands over the bill
"How do you say thank you to him?"
"Arigato."
*turns to waitress "Ahreegaito"

*I facepalm

What to do with my free time?

When I ask that question, the default answer is "watch anime".  But as crazy as it sounds, it is possible for me to get bored of it.  Too much anime is actually something that can happen to me.  When the social networks are boring, I don't feel like starting new a new anime, and my work is done, my IP address usually wanders it's way to this site.  I stare at the "new post" button, thinking what I should do.  What should I write?  Research more on anime?  Find something for The Relatable Musician?  Write something completely random?  I have to take a while to decide what I'm writing before I write.  And lately, since I'm quite busy with a giant piano exam, it's gotten harder to decide what to do.

So, I'm leaving it to you guys!  If you follow this blog and know I've written so far, tell me what you would like to see me write next!  There is a poll on the top right of the home page, next to this post if you read it before I post anything else.  If I get good response I'll keep it up for next month.  

You have until the end of the month to vote!  

To my math teacher

Where I live, final year high school math is divided into three levels: 30-2, 30-1, and 31.  30-2 is for students who do not need higher math for university, or simply would like that level of challenge.  30-1 is is the harder course, mandatory for students aiming to be doctors of lawyers.  Math 31 is calculus, essential for aspiring engineers and such.  Being the failure of an Asian I am, I naturally took math 30-2.  A good mark in 30-2 would look a lot better than a barely passing mark in 30-1 on my transcript, so I took the path that would suit me better (despite my parent's protest).

Now you must understand that there is a joke in my school that creates a social divide of -1 and -2 students (well, not quite a social divide, but I think you get the idea).  -2 is always referred to as the "not as smart class".  In some ways, I must agree.  However, I think it's more like the -2 class is less motivated to work.  Maybe it's because they feel like they can't accomplish as much because they are in a -2 class.  Or maybe it's because they simply don't care.  Whatever their reason, the majority of the -2 class I am currently in doesn't take the course seriously.  They joke around, talk while the teacher is teaching, and play against each other in various games on their phones.

My math teacher is a pretty patient guy.  Or maybe a better description is "extremely tolerant".  Most of my classmates clearly don't give a crap about math, and have barely done any work. 
My teacher has never taken anyone's cellphone away.  He's never vocalized his frustration to the lack of attention paid to the lesson, nor the lack of respect.  He's never yelled at any of us.  He's always kept his cool... but sometimes it doesn't work.  The other day, he stopped talking in the middle of a quiz review to try get a chatty group's attention... you know, the "silence-to-get-your-student's-attention" method.  It didn't really work that well.  He stood at the board for a good two minutes (yes, 120 seconds) before it quieted down a bit.  Even after that, he still had to interrupt and ask them if we were good to continue.  Of course, the automated response was given, he carried on, and the students continued chatting.

The poor guy needs a break.  He's not a bad teacher at all; I'm doing well in his class, fully understanding him.  If people would actually pay attention to him, they wouldn't think he is such a bad teacher.  I can't imagine how it is like being a teacher losing sleep over how your students might do on a provincial exam worth half their grade.

So to my extremely tolerant teacher: on behalf of my classmates, I apologize for their irresponsibility.  Your seemingly unending patience is greatly appreciated by at least me, if no one does.  Even though I hate the idea of graduating, I enjoyed working with you this year. 

I have a terrible remember

At school, we have a class in which I lead a band.  Two guitars, a drummer, one keys player, two vocalists, and me, on bass.  A while ago, I was telling a story... Until two out of the six of them said that I told them the story already.  I made sure: "Really?  All of you have heard it?"  Everyone nodded or said yes.  "Well then... I have a terrible remember..."

I instantly got weird looks and a restatement of my last sentence.

From this little anecdote, two things are revealed about me:

1.) I get tongue tied a lot.

Technically, English isn't my first language.  It's Chinese (Cantonese, in case you were wondering about the dialect). But when I went to an English speaking school, I lost all my Chinese.  Now I'm trying to re-learn it.  

Even though I've spoken English most of my life and have no accent, I still have the cursed talent of mixing up words, or even reversing syllables and individual letters between adjacent words (I think I picked this up from my mother).  For example, instead of saying "pots and pans", I would say "pats and pons".  Or I would replace the word "memory" with "remember", hence "I have a terrible remember".  Sometimes I would (somehow) insert a syllable of a (loosely) related word from the next sentence into the one I'm currently saying.  I have no idea how my brain does this.  For example:  "The food smelled good. So I ate it" would turn into "The food smate good... *pause and weird looks from people* smate... *laughter at the terrible abomination of a word I've created*".   I didn't even say "So I ate it" yet.  I somehow extracted the word "ate" before I said it and fused it with "smelled"...

One speech problem that I don't have and my parents do is the difference between "him" and "her".  In Chinese, there is no difference in gender when referring to someone.  They just always use "they" (that's the English equivalent).  Just imagine using "they" in place of "him" or "her" all the time.  That's why my parents mix up "he" and "she" all the time.  

2.) I have a rerrible temember.

This seems to happen with peoples names, faces, stories I've told, and important items and events that I tell myself not to forget.  In the last three days I have been out at public places (mall, church, etc.) around 4-5 people said "Hi Austin" and I just awkwardly said hi back having no idea who they were. My memory for these type of things are simply terrible (or timply serrible).  What was really embarrassing was when one of my friend's mom said hi to me and then continued walking in the direction she was going.  I turned to my friend and said, "I have no idea who that lady is."  My friend looked at me with an "are you serious" face and said, "that's my mom..." 

I remember last year a new girl joined our grade and was in my math class.  We sat close to each other, and introduced ourselves (let's call her Morgan).  That was the first class of the morning.  Six hours later, musical theatre started their after school rehearsals.  My mom was one of the vocal coaches and did one on one lessons with some of the students.  The lessons took place in the band room (practically my second house).  While my mom did the lessons in the practice room, I played piano in the main room, waiting for her to finish.  Morgan walked in for her lesson and when I looked up (no joke) I didn't recognize her.  At least, not as a person I just met.  My first thoughts were, "she looks familiar... where have I seen her?"  *sidenote: I am still giving myself a mental facepalm, even while typing this.*  Since I had no idea who she was, I just treated her like any other stranger: 

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here for the vocal lessons..."

"Right down that hall, the room to your right.  You can wait until the student ahead of you is done."

It wasn't until I looked at the time schedule that I learned where I had seen her before... *sigh*  

My weird habit

Of course everyone has habits.  Some stranger than others.  I happen to have one that seems offensive to people.

When talking to some people, I don't make eye contact.  Obvious enough to make me seem rude.  The exception is when I meet someone new, or I'm talking to an authority figure that could easily influence me, like the principal, police officers, or anyone that I respect a lot who I'm having a serious conversation with. 

Why do I not look at people? Firstly, I think I require a bit more effort for me to pay attention to people than most people.  I'm not a very good audio learner, so listening to someone requires my full attention.  Otherwise I might not actually listen to everything they say.  And one thing that distracts me is actually their face.  The person that I talk to always has an emotion (considering that the "emotionless" face is an emotion) and how it may ever so slightly change is distracting sometimes.  I start to wonder what is going on in their head rather than register and process what they are saying to me.  As a result, I look around aimlessly, not at a specific object, and concentrate on what they are saying.  I saw a video of me doing it once, and it half looks like staring off into space and half actively looking for something (ironic, I know).

For the people who fall in the exception category, they are the people where I thought presenting myself with the best manners possible trumps my strange method of concentration.  Of course, this means that I have to ignore their face while still looking at their face, which is hard.  I usually end up staring at them really hard and completely lose them, or look at them with dead eyes.  If I can't aimlessly look around, I just need to aimlessly look in one place. 
Now the weird thing is that when I say "dead eyes", it doesn't look like it.  To me, I literally do as described above.  But to everyone else who doesn't know, it looks like I'm actively showing full attention and engagement of the conversation. 

Over the years I've gotten better at balancing my attention and face studying. 

If you know me, sorry if I don't look at you when speaking.  I'm just trying to pay attention.

The Skill Room

Yesterday our Sr. Jazz band got up early like usual, and began rehearsal like any other day.  Only one thing... one of our trumpet players couldn't play for a strange reason.  He could barely make music let alone organized noise, and it was like he went back to clumsily playing trumpet for the first time like in grade 7.  Since he couldn't do it, he just sat down, and didn't play.  So while everyone else played, he decided to pass time on his iPad.  Whether what he was doing was important or not, I don't know.  The teacher called him out on it about halfway through the rehearsal.  I could see it took a toll on him.  After he silently put the tablet away, he stared down at the ground obviously frustrated.  And then he started holding back tears.  I could feel it... he was not just frustrated, but confused, mad at himself, and embarrassed.  It seemed to me that the iPad was a good distraction from his frustration and other emotions.  But once that was taken away, there was no hiding it.  And the fact that he was starting to shed tears was all the more humiliating.  As his friend, I whisper-yelled his name and threw my water bottle to him, motioning for him to drink.  After all, drinking water when you're crying helps you stop.  Seriously, it works well.

Why was he feeling all those emotions on a day like any other?  I believe he has hit something not a lot of musicians see or experience... I've asked musicians about this experience that are four (maybe five) times my age and they have never experienced something like the one I described above.
I call this experience the Skill Room (not the best title I know).  Why?  This experience feels like your skills as a musician has been blocked off for a strange reason... like you are locked in a room with no access to your skills.  You don't feel it until you actually try to play.  You just start, expecting to make music like usual.  Then you realize that your playing/practice is under par.  Very under par.  It feels like a few years of experience, skills, and motor memory have been sucked out just as you picked up/turned on/sat down to play your instrument.  You can't buzz, set a proper embouchure, get your fingers to move right, and your focus level seems normal, yet somehow harder to conjure.  It is the one of the most frustrating things I have so far experienced, knowing I could full well play grade 9 (ten grades in my country's system) piano songs with ease but for that day I was limited to a grade 5 level.  It's frustrating enough to draw tears, which was what happened to my friend.

The Skill Room is something I've only encountered twice for the thirteen years I have been learning/creating music.  Both experiences in the same year.  Both of those days started just fine, but after that it was pretty depressing.  When all your skill just seemed locked out of you, you kind of just want to stop for the day.  And that's what I did.
I don't really know how to break out.  It kind of goes away after a night's sleep.  The next day, everything is back to the usual.

I didn't get to talk to him after rehearsal, but it seemed rough.  I hope he's doing okay right now.

I then began to think if other musicians see this room everyday, and if the room would be the reason of why they quit music.  I can only wish that those stuck in this terrible place would somehow either break out, or have someone help them.

The Ultimate Test

I reread my last post and realized something.  According to the guide, Asians always get As....
And are terrible drivers....
So how do Asians pass the driving test with an A when the examiner is praying that they will survive the test?

Mind=blown

By the way, I don't count.  I'm Asian and an okay driver... Only because I'm a failure as an Asian. :P

The Beginner's Guide to Asianess

1. Yoo mus tok rike dis.  No spek engrish well.  All "ah" turn to "er".  (e.g. instead of "tuba" or "honda" you say "tuber" or "honder".
2. No using your eyes for anything.  Use your zen.
3. Despite this, you must still be a terrible driver.
4. Never settle for anything less than an "A".
5. Because you are not a Csian, nor a Bsian.  You are an Asian.
6. You cannot use any batteries that are not AA or AAA.  When in doubt, go with AAA.
7. Kung Fu for morning exercises. (Can do Tai Chi in groups when senior citizens)
8. Homework first, then play...
six hours of main Asian instrument (violin or piano, your choice)
9. A in Math.
10. A in Physics.
11. A in Chemistry.
12. A in Biology.
13. D or lower in English and Social Studies.
14. Eat everything with chopsticks.  That means burgers and hotdogs.
15. That means soup too.  Drink soup with chopsticks.  Forks are for white people.
16. No flyswatters allowed.  Only chopsticks.
17. Should you need to rob a house, be sure to eat all the rice, fix the T.V., upgrade the computer, finish all the math homework available in the house, tune all the available instruments, and utilize all available martial arts equipment.  If done right, the owners of the home should still find you trying to back out of the driveway.
18. You must look like every other Asian.
19. Eat cats.
20. Eat dogs too.
21. It's not your fault if the neighbour's pet goes missing.
22. Cannot exceed 170 cm (5'6")
23. Good posture.  Unless you're a delinquent.  If so, slouch as far as your body will let you.
24. No spending money on makeup.  That's a waste of time.  If you have time for makeup, you have time for studying.
25. 75% chance your last name is either Lee, Chan, or Wong.
26. Love bubble tea
27. Remember, holidays are a good chance for you to get ahead of the class.
28. When in doubt, become a doctor.
29. No taxis, that's too much money.  Just walk.
30. Don't pay full price for anything.
31. Wear slippers around the house.
32. When punishing a child with a spanking, use the slipper.

My brain sometimes likes to exclude important people.

So I was chatting with a good friend when she asked a question: "have I ever been in any of your dreams?"
I immediately was going to say no.  Despite being important to me, she has never shown up in any of the dream I can remember.  As I thought about it more, other people I considered important didn't show up in my dreams either.  All the people I thought were crucial to me have never (if not rarely) shown up in my dreams.  I'll be honest, the majority of my friends have shown up in my dreams, because most of them are not confidants.  My subconscious puts them a little lower on the importance scale.  My parents are an exception, maybe its because they are my parents.  However, they have rarely been in my dreams.  So this person I was talking with who went from good friend to super important person to me in a couple months has never shown up I'm my dreams before.  I don't think time gave space for my head to make one (probably could have happened, just exaggerating). 

I also noticed that the closer the friend that's not a confidant, the stranger the dream.  All the dreams with majority of my friends have been really weird.  One time my friend took my clothes somehow while I was talking to a man and his daughter who was my age (quite pretty to be frank, so it was pretty embarrassing when my clothes suddenly disappeared).  Found out my stolen clothes had been put in the public toilet...
On time there was a lethal paintball war between humans and an alien alliance of races called the Covenant... And the most important thing I had to do was deliver cake to a customer's house.  After avoiding dying a couple times, I arrived at the house to find my friends sitting around the living room, and the cake eaten.  Turns out their mouths teleported into the box and ate while I was making the delivery...
Oh dear my head needs fixing. 

FINISH YOUR WORK!

So there is actually a post in my drafts that I have yet to publish.  However, I am not going to post it.  Why? 
One of my friends (yes, I surprisingly have those) had an essay due.  A WEEK AGO. 
So, since she enjoys reading my posts here, I said that I wouldn't post it (or anything else for that matter) until she was done.  She then proceeded to cry over the internet...

So to my dear friend who has unfinished business... FINISH YOUR WORK!!! :P

Feel free to laugh while I argue with myself.

The while back my Social Studies teacher said something interesting. We had a big assignment coming up, and it was supposed to be quite difficult.  He went through the assignment and gave a few pointers as to what to do just as any other teacher would.  Then he said, "you need to tie all three sources together with an overarching theme.  There is something special you are supposed to point out, but I'm not going to tell you.  You have to figure that out by yourself". 

Okay there are two ways this argument goes. 

It may be a good thing that he makes it difficult to tell what the trick to the assignment is.  It makes us learn our mistakes and how to avoid them later.  Toughens our minds, and makes us think critically.  Preparing us for the upcoming courses in post secondary, or wherever else we may need critical thinking skills. 

On the flip side, this a 30 level course, the course level that matters the most in high school.  Our mark in this course will determine how easy it will be to get into university.  How can you leave us to suffer on such an important assignment?  For such an important course, it is too late to make us struggle and learn the answer that way.  That method of learning for either formative or summative assignments should have been used in the previous two grades of high school.  You can't just make a big risk factor and potentially have most of the class fail when it matters! 
Then again, would that not be survival of the fittest?  Wouldn't society improve because of the smartest minds coming out on top? 
But if the smartest minds that come out of the system are small in number, then what system is there to lead or improve? Wouldn't it be better if a larger number if people came out as the "smarter minds"?  Then everyone can push each other more in every aspect of life. 
Auurrgh I need to stop.  I'm just rambling now haha. 

You know you need to go to bed when you start writing like a schizophrenic...

ugggh scary stuff.

So you know those weird internet posts that would absolutely freak you out? (creepy pastas, abnormal and possibly supernatural activity, screamers etc.)  Well here is one that absolutely scared the living daylights out of me.  I watched it with headphones in the dark at 2 a.m. with no sleep for the past 20 hours... let's just say I didn't sleep for another 20.

http://comic.naver.com/webtoon/detail.nhn?titleId=350217&no=31&weekday=tue#

Oh yeah, there's a health warning.  You should read it.

So on a less entertaining but still related note, I had a really weird phobia when I was younger.  Not sure what the name for it is though.  I used to wonder if I'm mentally retarded without not knowing it.  Like what is people just but up with me, and thought I was super annoying, and that I acted like a 5 year old? Was that why people didn't really like me?

Haha I thought some weird things as a kid.

The biggest time waster

This.  Click the cookie once, and forever spend your days clicking cookies.

http://orteil.dashnet.org/cookieclicker/

Bored bored bored

So guess what happens when you're on the highway, and the tire just decides to go flat?  You get stuck in the rain, waiting for a tow truck. 

I got really bored of waiting, so I thought of playing the game that I posted about earlier when I played with my younger sister.  Each person takes turns saying I've word and this is what we came up with...

Once upon a castle there is nothing but food and ponies.  Unfortunately, the food ran away with the ponies, who had EVERYTHING.  Unicorns fly um, upside up, into the castle, destroying the interplanetary moon.  Then suddenly the grumpy receptionist at summerwood farted, going from toilet to a black hole.  Then, earth's moon spilt like a banana.  Teddy "the destroyer" Roosevelt brought laser chainsaws to life.  He sawed Santa Claus into a blood sausage.  Mrs. Claus hated her dress, so she died.  The ghost, Tommy, revived haggisland surreptitiously to spin happily like little girls.  The little girls then decided to drink liquor um until DEATH! (Who knew little girls could achieve a BAC of .40?)  The Nessie emblem was obsolete.  Braveheart was awakened through enlightenment of Donegal beer, which happened to be mixed, scrambled, and grammatically incorrect.  Perturbingly, Braveheart decided not to eat for 40 centuries to diet on oysters.  Since Zeus slept for 120 oyster lives, The Walrus kookookujubed.  Athena ate haggis, transporting cabbages into mars bars.  Children promote antisocial activity during lunch.  Cabbage is gross.  Cauliflower grew inside the ears of cabbages; nevertheless, children skipped breakfast to hop from hypoglycemia and fainted unexpectedly.  Burritos give gas to motorcoaches as do diesel give power to stars.   Fires dance wantonly, simulating trials for George Washington who also kookookujubed.  Lucanthorpes have Honey Paw seized under pressure inside the pantry despite Braveheart dieting furiously.  Mother Theresa despised dieting, therefore Rapunzel cooked her Rapunzels.  Then Mother Goose said, "SHINDEIRU!!!" and Rapunzel shrieked like will-o'-wisps.  Archery was invented later that day, when Braveheart committed himself to permanent dieting.  My final effort in ending this ends.

Yay for the weirdest stories ever.

This was written with 2 hours of sleep in 30 hours.  My sister and I took turns writing out sentences.   Read with caution.

I once had an uncle, we called him uncle Sam.  Uncle Sam was a strange man... He really green eggs and ham!  He liked to tell us that when the sun hits your eyes, like a big pizza pie - THAT'S AMOR ÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ!  (Lolwut). Then batman came along and ate the big pizza pie.  Wait a sec, he ate the sun?  Apparently. 
OHISAMA WA UTAUYO!  OHISAMA A WA MITEIRU!  ALWAAAAAAYS. Just like that duck that is somewhere, somehow ALWAYS watching you. 

Hey remember grade school?  What's the i before e rule? Um... i before e... Always. Mushrooms.
Once upon a coffee, Garfield decided nothing.  Because mustache.  Your argument is invalid.  Its pre-boarding guys! Cya!

Anime powers that would be really cool to have

So since I'm an anime freak and feeling random I am making a list of anime powers that I personally like and think would be awesome to have.  It contains some spoilers, so I bolded the title of the anime if you want to watch it, or are in the process of watching it. 
So here's my list, from preference of least to most.

Death Note
The death note - A notebook in which whoever's face is imagined while being written down will die of heart attack unless specified otherwise.  Really, I wouldn't want to use a death note but it's good blackmail material for the people who know it's power...
Shinigami eyes - you can see the date of when other people die with the exception of other death note users.  This ability comes at the cost of half your lifespan.
Light Yagami's intelligence - Actually this item should be down by I.Q. 200.  Light's reasoning skills are beyond fantastic... Imagine being able to outsmart anyone but a little kid who plays with toys all day?

Naruto
Byakugan - Simply put, it's x-ray vision.  Would be helpful in the dark, spying on people, or playing hide and seek...
I.Q. 200 - It would be nice yo be super smart.
Chidori - Lightning comes out of your hand.  Need I say more?
Shadow Clone Jutsu - Ever wish you needed copies of yourself?  Yeah.
Sharingan - Optical power that gives the ability to analyze and copy anything after seeing it just once (such as a dance, drawing, or signature). Also can predict human physical movement (making sports and fighting easy) or copy them with barely any lag in copied actions. 

Zero no Tsukaima (Familiar of Zero)
Gandalfr - The ability to be able to use any practical weapon at the level of an expert just by touching it or picking it up.  This means guns, swords, other melee weapons, and big things too like warships or fighter jets. 

Attack on Titan
Maneuver Gear - Steam powered (streampunk item)  harness system that let's you literally swing from building to building like spiderman.  Also has 8 blades.

Sword Art Online
There's no ability from this anime that I particularly like.  I just thought it would be pretty freaking cool to live in the SAO world.  Who doesn't want a virtual reality massive multiplayer online role playing game with swords, accelerated combat, and high level insta-cooking?

Code Geass
Rolo's Geass - Rolo's optical power is the ability to freeze his target's perception of time, making them freeze in the spot for a short period of time.  The range and duration is typically around 6 meters and 10 seconds, but can be expanded and extended if wanted.  Using this Geass extensively with no rest could turn out fatal for the user, though.  I'd be unbeatable at hide and seek with this >:D
LeLouch's Geass - Optical power in which when commanding the target with eye contact, the target will comply with no questions asked.  It can only be used once per person though.  It also reflects off mirrors and works on the user, too. 

Bleach
Fullbringer powers - In Bleach, all things, all matter has at least a tiny bit of soul in it.  Fullbringers can manipulate that soul to their advantage.  For example, they can drink water by making the water flow through the air into their mouth.  They can run faster by using the soul in the pavement to propel themselves forward.  They can even walk on air.  A fillbringer also has the ability to alter the shape of an item that is usually on them at all times (necklace turns into a sword).  This is called fullbring.  And the fullbring I find the coolest is the next item...
The Book of Time - This fullbring is turning a book into a sword.  Whatever this sword cuts, you can insert yourself into the object's past just by thinking it.  So if I went up to my worst enemy and cut them with the book of time, then I can make it so we started as childhood friends.  Then I would have one less enemy.  When someone is cut by the book of time, the person feels the pain, but sustains no injuries or bruises.  They immediately pass out after being cut.   The book of time also works on inanimate objects.  Let's say I'm fighting someone.  If I cut the ground, then I can insert traps that I "set up in the past".  Now my opponent would be surprised to find the area was normal one moment, and then filled with traps the next moment.  One thing to be noted is that the book of time does not alter events altogether.  It simply inserts the user's presence or influence into the past.  It can be used as a brainwashing device.  Also, it does not let the user actually travel in time.  Again, it only inserts influence and presence.

Medaka Box
In the world of Medaka Box, there are three types of people: normal, special, and abnormal.  The abnormals are not prodigies or geniuses.  They are humans in which nature responds to in positive manner (rolling six dice and all six landing on a one, and consistently doing this). Abnormals have abilities called "abnormalities" (go figure). 
Autopilot - Reflex times are next to nothing. 
Analyze - Abnormality that grants super analyzing powers that can be applied.  Whoever has this abnormality is considered the greatest trainer in the world.
The end - The abnormality of abnormalities.  This ability let's the user copy and master any abnormality after seeing it used in combat. 

Problem Children are Coming from a Different World, aren't they?
The power of authority - Whatever you say, goes.  Not just for people, but inanimate objects too.  If you tell someone to shut up, they will.  If you ask for the truth, you will have it.  You can turn on light switches by asking the light bulb to turn on.  If you want your lawn to stop growing because you're too lazy to cut it every week, you can make it happen.

Story time with Austin, oh boy!

For all you Pokemon fans out there. I saw where the admin wanted a story from the fans.  Unlike all the other perverts who was typing out crap, I decided to actually write an impromptu story on my phone (that is also crap).  So here it is, enjoy it or not...

Once upon a time there was a little kid from the Unova region who loved Pokemon.  His family had a long history of Pokemon breeding, but he wanted to train Pokemon and challenge the Champion like many other boys at his age.  When he turned ten, his mother allowed him to have a Lillipup, but the father disagreed.  He said that the boy was too young and needed to wait a little longer so he would be mature enough.  The parents argues day after day on what was best for their son, and it frightened him.  One day, the Lillipup picked up something in the park and presented it proudly to the boy.  It was a ticket to the Johto region! The boy couldn't resist taking the chance, so that night he packed his things and headed for the pier.

When he arrived, he met many trainers who gave him experience, advice, and good knowledge that he could have never found on the Pokemon ranch.  He had caught two other Pokemon, and had defeated the first and second gyms with great difficulty and perseverance.  Now a couple months since he had arrived in the new land, he decided to challenge the third gym.  When he arrived in the city, he say a group of discouraged looking trainers gathered near the PokeCenter.  "What's going on?" he asked.  They told him that the gym had recently been easy to defeat because the gym leader was away and had a temporary replacement.  But now that the gym leader had returned, new trainers found it very difficult to defeat her.  Because of the gym leader's return, the young trainers were sharing strategies trying to think of some clever way to conquer the wall blocking their next badge.  Despite the warnings of the other trainers, the boy bravely stepped in the gym and confronted the feared leader...

Ending 1: Miltank absolutely slaughtered his team.  Despite trying four more times, he had no chance of winning.  On his final attempt, his Lillipup died of over exhaustion.  His dreams were crushed and he gave up being a trainer.
Ending 2: His Pokemon conveniently evolved mid-battle and he somehow defeated Whitney.  Don't ask me how people do that in the middle of the battle... Beginners luck or probably some other bullcrap...
Ending 3:  Whitney decided to neglect the challenge.  "Screw you, I'm going to the beach!"  So the boy just stood there speechless as the gym leader called up Jasmine and invited her to the beach.  Whitney then got off the phone and skipped away ready to pack her stuff (The boy cried at the his first rejection from a girl).
Ending 4:   Miltank got low on health, and used Milk Drink.  However, it had been overfed, and the milk somehow spilled on the boy.  He instantly started burning and died from chemical burn.  Turns out feeding melon bread to Miltank makes it's milk corrosive to humans.  Who knew?
Ending 5:  They all died because their names were written in a Death Note.
Ending 6:  A bearicorn ate the world.

Personally, I like ending 5 the best.  Imagine Kira in the world of Pokemon... 0.o