Autumn Begins

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Indeed, it is officially autumn.  No more scorching summer days and sweaty walks to friends’ houses.  Summer, I used to hate you, but I’m now coming into terms with your heat.

Leaves aren’t exactly falling yet, so I present to you this autumn-themed piece of paper from our public library.  I accompanied my friends to the library today so they could inquire about volunteering during the fall.

Although summer has ended, pain from college-related events continues.  Essays still need to be completed, and the thought of the SATs continue to plague my mind.  They’re all doable, but they become increasingly difficult to manage as the days between right now and the due dates and test dates pass.  I feel overwhelmed, but I can do this.

A Good Sign?

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I have finished both the PowerPoint presentation and the report!  I did the former in the morning and finished the latter about fifteen minutes ago. (Time now – 12:25 am)  I’m so happy that I was able to finish them because it would usually take me until about 2:00 to finish a report or an essay by itself.  (That is, if I decided to do it the day before the due date)  So, perhaps this “success” is a sign of good things to come.  What I might’ve learned with this experience:

• that procrastination is bad
• that focusing can get you anywhere
• that school work should take precedence over fun time

Let’s see if these lessons stay with me.  (Doubt it)

So, the last day of summer vacation.  Although I did occupy myself for most of the day with the PowerPoint presentation (took a long time because it had to be in Italian, hence the dictionary in the picture) and the report, I was able to get away from my house and slightly enjoy the last day of vacation.  My friend had an impromptu pool gathering that I went to, despite the very cool weather.  The water was cold, but I went in for the sake of being in a pool.  A few other friends came, most of whom didn’t go in.  This must have been the first time I was able to go out on the last day of vacation instead of catching up on summer work the entire day.   Maybe I am learning.

So, it is official.  Summer vacation is over, and my time will once again be dedicated to my senior year in school.  I’m pretty glad to be coming back.

I really should end this post with a reflection of my entire summer vacation.  Perhaps a short ponderous paragraph or statement that succinctly describes the amazing time I’ve had.  Perhaps I should.

But I won’t.

Instead, I just want to express my gratitude to all my friends who have made this summer extraordinary.  Sure, I can look back at all the posts of this blog from late June to early September and count how many fun activities I’ve done, but that number wouldn’t mean anything if my friends weren’t involved.  And I think really cool friends were what had been lacking in the past summers, during which I stayed home most of the time.   Sure, I’ve known the people I’ve hanged out with this summer before, but it wasn’t until these past two months that I was able to realize how cool life is with them.

Like millions of other kids say, “This has been the best summer ever!”

Welcome to Summer

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I was invited to go play baseball today, but, knowing that the weather was in the 90’s, I was really reluctant to play.  Bryan, who was the one who invited me, then told me that he wanted to chill.  After having a terrible time at the mall earlier today, I agreed, just to get out of the house.  I was literally tricked into thinking that we were going to hang out, when in fact we were going to play baseball.

We arrived at the park with me groaning inside and outside.  First of all, I was dressed in “chilling attire.”  Second, it was still hot, but I couldn’t run away.  We were already there, so what the heck?  Might as well go with it.

After a few minutes, I just let go of all my reluctance to play.  I really enjoyed it, and I think the only thing that was holding me back from going all out was my attire.  I didn’t want to dive into the dirt with a pair of shorts that I liked.

At one point, as I played in the outfield, I looked up at the sky and thought, “This is summer.”  I felt like a kid from decades ago, who would be itching to play baseball with his friends, with a beat-up mitt, a chipped bat, and a shirt smeared with dirt.  The great American pastime.  I don’t consider myself American, since I was pretty much born and raised in the Philippines, but I felt it.  I can’t truly describe it, but I felt a certain joy as I wiped the sweat off my forehead.  I only wish that I could’ve experienced this when I was younger.

And the picture above is the beautiful bathroom in which I changed after we had a half-spontaneous, half-planned pool party at Marison’s house.  She was with us, along with Michael, when we played baseball.

High Productivity Level

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Should I recount all the events of the day?  Why not?

First, the dream.  It was ten minutes before a formal ceremony I was supposed to attend.  I was standing outside when I realized I forgot to bring something I needed.  When I saw my friend who drives, I eagerly asked him to take me home really quick.  Weird thing was, I ran to my own car and drove behind him.  Then, here comes the fun part.  We were on the highway and I was dying repeatedly.  Crash.  “I’m OK!  Keep going!”  Crash.  “That’s fine.  I’m still alive.”  Crash.  That happened until I finally did die, and I saw my neck broken with a huge gash, blood oozing out.   The next scene suddenly appeared with my friend and I at my house, eating.

Second, volunteered at the library.  Getting pretty boring.  I need to take a picture of this soon.

Third, summer work.  I need to get more done by the end of the week.

Fourth, Jersey City.  I wasn’t really up to going to Jersey City, but I didn’t want to be a downer anymore and keep on declining invitations, so I went, scouring my room for some cash.  We got some bubble tea and went to a nearby mall.  Lawrence, who was in my dream, was with us (me, Bryan, and Marison), and we poked him into doing the escalator trick, in which a person lies down on the rubber parts of two adjacent escalators going on opposite directions.  If done correctly, the person would then rotate on the escalators as they move.  If done incorrectly, you may fall off, like Lawrence did.  Don’t worry.  He fell on the floor, not down the escalators.

Fifth, we went to the tennis courts in my town to play imaginary tennis because we couldn’t find balls.

Sixth, Anthony, Janelle, and Dana passed by the tennis courts, and after getting their attention, all of us began to just talk about the summer, the upcoming year, and college.  We rarely get to see them, so it was definitely nice to catch up with them.  We then went to Anthony’s house to continue talking about school, not about the subjects but more about the funny events that happened in high school.  We’re all becoming seniors now, so it’s something to be expected.

Who the heck throws a stroller into a trash can?

Why Marco Polo?

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Today was very hot, dubbed by some as the hottest day of the summer.  So far.  I initially planned to go to New York along with some friends but already had qualms about going when I discovered a few days ago that the temperature was going to be in the 90’s.  At first, I told myself to just man up and take on the heat, but my sensibility won.  I told my friends that I changed my mind and decided to stay home.

Then, suddenly, a text message came, asking me if I wanted to hang out.  After a series of “Let’s do this.  Let’s do that,” another friend asked us to come over her house to go in the pool.  Without hesitation, I said yes.  With the temperature in the 90’s, who could have declined that invitation?

Hm…when I look at this picture, it reminds me of another picture that I took previously.  What do you think?

About the title.  We were playing Silent Marco Polo when I started to think about why it was called Marco Polo. Here’s my theory.

<loser>

Marco Polo traveled to China.

</loser>

Ok, I had a legit theory before.  But, just as I was about to type it, I realized how dumb it was.