Saturday, December 31, 2005
Alameda

I feel so unAlamedan sometimes.

I was born on the island, raised on the island, and still living on the island. I never stayed on the island that much before. Now I find myself never leaving this damn island except for work and piano. So that comes out to be one-hundred-fifty hours on the island and twenty-two hours off of it. That's not even a whole day!

Before, I'd be in Oakland everyday. Monday through Friday, I'd go to school. Twenty minute drive to school, seven hours and twenty minutes of learning, and twenty minutes to home. Saturdays, I'd have two hours of Chinese school and a few hours of piano rehearsals. And Sundays, I'd work eight hours (and still do). Any parties, get-togethers, and whatnots were also all in Oakland. I can't say I knew Oakland that well (it's a damn confusing place and I swear everything is connected) but I sure spent enough time there.

Then, I got thrown back into Alameda (even though I've always been here). I thought there were only two elementary schools, one middle school, and two highschools. I didn't know Wood existed (and now almost all my friends are from there). I didn't even know where Encinal High and Chevy's were, had a vague idea where the Navy Base was, and thought the only type of Asian at AHS was Chinese. How naive...

So, now I'm here. All my friends are here, I hang out here, I go to school here, here, here, here. And school's only three minutes away (minus the traffic and red lights). It's not bad. I like my current school and friends, but I kind of miss what I had before.

Alameda's nice. It really is. It's just that I don't know a whole lot about this place.

I hate how people think Alameda is just Bay Farm.

When I tell some kids I'm from Alameda but from the main island, they're response is, "Isn't Alameda made from landfill?" And then some kids from Oakland, at AHS for sports, were like, "Ugh. Isn't Alameda made from trash?" Right. That's Bay Farm Island, dumbasses. Just because I live on an island does not mean I live in Bay Farm Island. It's not even a freaking island. I guess it's not their fault for not knowing that there are two parts of Alameda: the main island and the peninsula-made-from-trash.

It's not like I don't like Bay Farm Island. It's nice and all with its trees and lagoons, but that place is a freaking maze. All the houses look alike and the streets turn here and there in curves and lines. It's so confusing.

Hah, but sometimes I love to tell people I live on an island.

This one guy asked where I lived, and I think he expected to hear, "Oakland." But I told him I lived in Alameda.
"Alameda?" he asked.
"It's an island," I explained.
"Whoa! You live on an island??"
"Um, yea."
"You live on an island! How do you get on it? Are you really rich?"
"By car... and no..."
"But you live on an island!"
That was pretty hilarious. I knew he was a skater so he must have been at the skate park in the Navy Base before. He probably didn't know he was on an island though. Funny.

# posted by k*kari | 11:55 AM | 1 comments




Sunday, December 18, 2005
Purple Haze

It has been brought into sharp relief that more and more Asian people now congregate in the hallways with little discretion of any traffic they may be blocking. What the hell man? It's like trying to make it through the Great Wall of China every time I turn a corner. Just the other day I saw a legion of freshman Chinese kids sitting around in a circle, simultaneously eating porkbuns, discussing manga, and selfishly loafing about half the breadth of the hallway. How am I supposed to live with that kind of shit going on? I think it's time for the management to take corrective measures. I can see it: "Every violation of the inalienable right of free hallway passage will result in a fine of one eggroll." I'll have to admit that it's a bit harsh, but this is America: the land of the free hallways. Such were the statutes established by our forefathers; "Of liberty I would say that, in the whole plenitude of its extent, it is unobstructed hallways according to the will of the people," wrote an inspired Thomas Jefferson.

Chris's foot forcefully met with poor Ryan's ding-Dongs. An expression that can only be consummately explained by "Ae#@E!opFg" shot across Ryan's face as he clutched himself and fell over, and the rest of us watched in silent horror and disbelief, and eventual doubt as to whether it would be alright to laugh. Ryan, needless to say really, was not having a great time. He remained utterly speechless for a duration of 30 minutes, sitting miserably contorted in his chair and staring into space. He didn't show up to school on Friday. Chris, I know you're reading this, and I want you to know that you have a black heart (no pun intended). Anyway, Friday was the assembly, and I didn't get nearly as nervous as I imagined - so that was good.

# posted by PlanetRandom | 3:36 PM | 0 comments




Sunday, December 04, 2005
Ms. Finster


What's up with the sharpies?

# posted by PlanetRandom | 8:03 AM | 1 comments