Jobs

Jobs during highschool seem to be a waste of time. Why work hard unless your family is struggling to support your education. Most kids at Punahou are somewhat well off, though some kids are on scholarships, their parents aren't completely broke. I feel that thinking seriously about jobs is meant for after highschool or after college. The only jobs most people are capable of at the age of 18 are as host/hostess, sales in stores, etc. These jobs most of which pay minimum wage and tips based on what people give after your services. I think the reason people work during highschool is mostly to give out a macho effect or to give themselves a sense of independance. This sense of independance is false in most cases because your parents are still paying for almost all of your other necessities. If the opportunity to be taken care of by your parents in a financial aspect until the age of 18 or out of college, I wouldn't think twice about accepting this opportunity. Working at this age is overrated, though you get experience, most people will not pursue jobs of this calliber after college. Or the people that do choose to pursue these jobs often don't go to college or just love it so much that they go back after college. I would find working at a fastfood restaurant during highschool to be a waste of time because highschool time is when you should be enjoying school and worrying about grades to a certain extent, but having fun at the same time. All this time working could also be spent studying on the books longer, and getting into a better college which could mean better grades. This would result in better pay after college, which is probably way more than you made during those wee hours of highschool spent working.

Three Day Weekend.

Last three day weekend of my highschool career. They sure will be missed. In college, three day weekends are not going to be the same. Here in Hawaii I can go home at 3 in the morning then wake up to the sun shining through my window and the cool morning breeze coming through the window screen. Going to sleep really late and waking up really late in the morning is what its all about. There is no other feeling in the world that I would compare to waking up late on a weekend. This weekend was pretty chill, cruising with friends and not having to worry about sports or anything of that sort. I went crab hunting for the first time in my life in Hawaii Kai. It is really hard to do if you're wearing shoes, and don't want to take them off to go in the water. I ended up having to hold the basket thing with the fish heads dangling it slowly into the water while balancing on a couple of unsteady rocks. By the end of the night, only one person caught a crab which was pretty disappointing. The crab didn't even look edible, and was very small. I think what made this weekend good was just chilling with friends, and not having to worry about school at all. These next few weeks of school are going to be tough because the year is winding down to an end, but this doesn't mean that the fun is over, it actually has just begun.

The Only Ways to Remember...

I was looking through pictures from the past to put onto the online craze called myspace. I realized that once you are old, the only real way to remember your past is by looking at pictures. I was never a picture fanatic, so I rarely took pictures of things I did or places I went. Only recently I have realized the importance of pictures, and therefore took quite a lot of pictures of not only myself but of scenery in Vietnam. Souvenirs from places that you travel to can sometimes be for sentimental reasons, but I find all of the souvenirs I have accumulated over the years to be in some drawer by my desk. They had a big impact on me when I initially bought them, but as the years went by they became less and less important to me. Pictures seem to be the best way to remember things, and by looking upon old pictures I was in, some of them I can actually remember what I did that day. Its amazing what your brain stores from the past, and how quickly I was able to remember the events by just looking at a few pictures. Another way to remember past experiences is to keep talking about them, and telling stories to others. This way is effective, but once you stop telling the stories, then the events will start to fade from your memory. I am really bad at telling stories so I think I'll stick to taking pictures of experiences from now on.

The Big Screen

I've heard from multiple people that Little Miss Sunshine is one of the greatest movies they have ever seen. I recently bought the DVD in Vietnam, and watched it the other day. I already had the mentality that this would be the best movie ever, and it actually was a really great movie. I think that its better if nobody hypes up a movie, then you find out for yourself that it is a good movie. Setting your expectations too high can actually make you think more about the movie, rather than just enjoying it. The newest hit movie which everyone saw but me was called, "Blades of Glory." I had to go to the hospital on that day when everyone saw it so I missed out. I watched a clip of this movie on someone's myspace around ten times because it was so hilarious. I find going to the movies to be somewhat overrated because for one you pay $9, and unless you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, you end up going with like ten other people. Plus going to the movies is not a very intellectual event, basically you watch the movie while sitting next to each other, then talk about the movie afterwards. There are many other more intellectual/fun things to do on a Friday/Saturday night, and I do feel they are really overrated. The prices are pretty outrageous, but no offense to people that do see movies every week.

Pop! Pop! Pop! I'm a Firecracka

Not only is prom a time to kick it with friends, and just go out there and dance, but the week prior to prom, there is an academy dance. This dance happens to be on 4/20, a day which is not significant to me at all, but to a lot of other students, this is a significant day to light it up. If you know what I'm talking about then thats cool, but if you don't understand then don't worry about it. I have no idea why 4/20 is like the national day to "hit it," and most of the people that do participate in these activities probably have no idea either. Some people would refer to these wannabes as "fakin' Jamaicans." Anyways, after the numerous outreach speeches about not jeopardizing our chances of graduating, I hope seniors at school don't make any stupid mistakes. There is only like a month and a half or something like that, and I would hate to see a senior get kicked out at this time. Of all of the days of the school year, why did they plan a dance on not only 4/20, but a week before prom. To the people that set up this dance, that was a pretty rookie move, you're just asking for people to go to the dance all "stoney baloney" then kick them out. If theres any seniors out there reading this, we are so close to graduating from high school, live everyday of high school as best as you can, and just don't get caught doing anything stupid.

Alright...k Sweet.

Florida just won the national championship for basketball, and they are the first team to win back-to-back championships in 15 years. I never really payed any attention to basketball ever in my life, but with the new additions to my life this school year such as fantasy basketball on yahoo.com and NCAA brackets on facebook.com I feel I have become more aware of the sports world. I mean I'm like any other average person in the U.S., i know about all of the main players in the NBA, etc. but I'm not a die hard fan like some people. Next year I want to see big league basketball, and hope that I go to a city where games like this take place. I wondered why so many people that are clueless about basketball thingies on the internet such as the two I participated in, participated in them as well. I have come to find out that activities such as these bring people together, and this is what they were intended to do. My dad's friends still get together since college time like once a week during football season to watch games and just talk story. Sports bring people together, and this is a phenomenon that I have just started to become a part of, and hope to keep at it for the rest of my life.

Day Back

Spring Break is over, bummer. I feel weird writing again because it feels like its been forever. Vietnam was quite a life changing experience because I never really knew how fortunate we are to live here in Hawaii. Vietnam is a 3rd world country under communist rule where people make around 2 dollars a day. You can probably imagine how run down the city must look as well as the type of living conditions the people face. At the orphanages, you see kids who were abandoned on the streets or left at the doorsteps of the orphanage. In Hawaii, we buy food and goods like spoiled rich people. A hot meal is not a commodity that comes about often. Venders on the street have dogs, mice, birds, monkeys, etc. for sale for around a dollar. I was thinking how much UI wanted to have one of those as a pet. Turns out they were to be sold for food. And frogs legs actually taste like chicken. Though I would rather eat chicken.