2010-06-29 23:15
It sure was a surprise this morning. When I woke up, my body didn’t want to get out of the bed, and I saw that the room was getting rather bright. I came to my senses and realized that it was already 8:15. So I woke up my roommate and I quickly hurried to get breakfast. But then during breakfast, there was still plenty of food left, so I was okay. Otherwise I could just munch on some crackers or cereal.
Er...I kinda made up that time for this blog post. I was busy reading so I forgot to note down the time I have here. But let’s see, it’s now 00:16, so I’ll speed things up a bit. Or well..I actually spent another hour reading stuff on Graphjam. That’s a good use of time.
Eh...I’m going to say I have an interesting challenge for this week...a composition with non-standard notation.
And also, I have to say while showering, I came up with some possible lyrics to that song I am attempting to write about Camp Royal. And I mean a legitimate song with words, sung at a campfire with a guitar. No one knows about this yet...since this post isn’t published yet. But I have to say that this piece I’m trying to do is probably a hidden desire that I have while here at Westminster College. I’ll give the score to a guitarist to look over, and I’ll be e-mailing Lain, Steve, and other Camp Royal people with my creation as soon as it’s done.
I guess this will be my secondary focus for the rest of this week...since Wednesday is the halfway mark. And it finally cooled down a bit here.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Composition Week Day 2 - ILS landing charts go with with music paper
Dr. Young and Dr. Hemmel are two of our main instructors in composition for this week. And I have to say that atonal music will take sometime for me to appreciate fully. But I will speak chronologically.
We were handed a sheet of paper all with eighth notes. Dr. Hemmel said mark it up, add ties, slurs, articulation, and dynamic markings to make something out of the piece. I thought to myself that the laziest solution to this is to tie all of the eighth notes into one long note. And come to think of it, leaving the paper the way it is would also be a unique rhythm. But I didn’t do that. Here’s my markup (hmm... reminds me of HTML):
[picture]
I have to say that I had this repeating D minor chord playing back in my head as I was marking it up. I also screwed up some counting (since I intended it to be all 4/4 time). But I figured it wouldn’t matter, so I just changed meters a couple of times. It’s a pretty amusing and different way to write music. And with Camp Royal speak, it’s definitely out of my “comfort zone.”
After this rhythm exercise with Dr. Hemmel, my class began to look at some compositions and dissected some of them. So here I am, with basically no knowledge about atonal music (except knowing that it exists), trying to listen to the piece that had a hard to discern melody. But I could see that some of these recurring patterns in the sheet music...I just couldn’t pick them up when I heard it at first. Dr. Young picked apart the piece, much like the way Litvin would do for AP Lang. And for 20 minutes, I understood exactly what was going on, and I was able to see that, say, this tritone is used again here, and that this sequence of notes is inverted, and all that good stuff. After that time, I have to be honest and say that I couldn’t follow with the rest of the explanations about how certain musical ideas were not accidents but planned references to previous material. It’s still hard for me to love listening to this music, but I can really see how much thought a composer (in this case Werbern) put into such pieces.
Then came lunch. Nothing special there...or no, I lie. I took out an ILS Landing chart for Runway 4R at Newark International Airport. I started tracing the ILS feather into staff paper, and plotted VORs in the staves. Then getting an idea from Dr. Hemmel - his piece Var. Zip - I used the radio frequencies as pitches. Like 123.45 would be, on my constructed system, C D E F G, all quarter notes, except a dotted quarter for E. And then I remembered that those radios broadcast Morse code for the airport as it’s identifier. KEWR: dah-di-dah dit di-dah-dah di-dah-dit. That could be use as a rhythmic motif. And so on. When I talked to Dr. Hemmel during my private instruction time, he showed me this honda advertisement video using only a choir:
Yeah that is crazy. And yet, it could be employed for an airplane landing (much more pleasing to my ears than a car driving along the road).
Let’s see, we also went into town, and got a look at Princeton. And I went to a record store. I bought 4 CDs...Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto Nos. 1, 2 and 3 (2 disc set), and Beatles’s Yellow Submarine. That set me back about 16 dollars.
And er... I played my piano concerto to some classmates. Yeah, I made mistakes, and yeah, it sounds more boring with just piano and no orchestra.
Here’s my conclusion for our first day of instruction...if there’s so much my professors can talk about today, there must be an immense amount of stuff left over to go over in this week. I’ll see all of the stuff I can absorb and use for future reference. (for now, Dr. Hemmel’s advice...more inversions of chords, and also cut out sound from video and just recreate it using sound effects).
We were handed a sheet of paper all with eighth notes. Dr. Hemmel said mark it up, add ties, slurs, articulation, and dynamic markings to make something out of the piece. I thought to myself that the laziest solution to this is to tie all of the eighth notes into one long note. And come to think of it, leaving the paper the way it is would also be a unique rhythm. But I didn’t do that. Here’s my markup (hmm... reminds me of HTML):
[picture]
I have to say that I had this repeating D minor chord playing back in my head as I was marking it up. I also screwed up some counting (since I intended it to be all 4/4 time). But I figured it wouldn’t matter, so I just changed meters a couple of times. It’s a pretty amusing and different way to write music. And with Camp Royal speak, it’s definitely out of my “comfort zone.”
After this rhythm exercise with Dr. Hemmel, my class began to look at some compositions and dissected some of them. So here I am, with basically no knowledge about atonal music (except knowing that it exists), trying to listen to the piece that had a hard to discern melody. But I could see that some of these recurring patterns in the sheet music...I just couldn’t pick them up when I heard it at first. Dr. Young picked apart the piece, much like the way Litvin would do for AP Lang. And for 20 minutes, I understood exactly what was going on, and I was able to see that, say, this tritone is used again here, and that this sequence of notes is inverted, and all that good stuff. After that time, I have to be honest and say that I couldn’t follow with the rest of the explanations about how certain musical ideas were not accidents but planned references to previous material. It’s still hard for me to love listening to this music, but I can really see how much thought a composer (in this case Werbern) put into such pieces.
Then came lunch. Nothing special there...or no, I lie. I took out an ILS Landing chart for Runway 4R at Newark International Airport. I started tracing the ILS feather into staff paper, and plotted VORs in the staves. Then getting an idea from Dr. Hemmel - his piece Var. Zip - I used the radio frequencies as pitches. Like 123.45 would be, on my constructed system, C D E F G, all quarter notes, except a dotted quarter for E. And then I remembered that those radios broadcast Morse code for the airport as it’s identifier. KEWR: dah-di-dah dit di-dah-dah di-dah-dit. That could be use as a rhythmic motif. And so on. When I talked to Dr. Hemmel during my private instruction time, he showed me this honda advertisement video using only a choir:
Yeah that is crazy. And yet, it could be employed for an airplane landing (much more pleasing to my ears than a car driving along the road).
Let’s see, we also went into town, and got a look at Princeton. And I went to a record store. I bought 4 CDs...Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto Nos. 1, 2 and 3 (2 disc set), and Beatles’s Yellow Submarine. That set me back about 16 dollars.
And er... I played my piano concerto to some classmates. Yeah, I made mistakes, and yeah, it sounds more boring with just piano and no orchestra.
Here’s my conclusion for our first day of instruction...if there’s so much my professors can talk about today, there must be an immense amount of stuff left over to go over in this week. I’ll see all of the stuff I can absorb and use for future reference. (for now, Dr. Hemmel’s advice...more inversions of chords, and also cut out sound from video and just recreate it using sound effects).
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Composition Week Day 1 - It is darn HUMID here
2010-06-27 23:10
I’m going to keep this post short and sweet. There’s nothing to say yet, and it’s time for bed. I need to get used to this weather. It’s humid, and a lot different compared to the mountain weather I am used to at Camp Royal. Regardless, there have been nice things here. Plenty of space to practice...and plenty of grand pianos in tune (meh, I still kinda miss that broken piano at camp) and a full digital workstation.
More details tomorrow...jet lag is not cool.
I’m going to keep this post short and sweet. There’s nothing to say yet, and it’s time for bed. I need to get used to this weather. It’s humid, and a lot different compared to the mountain weather I am used to at Camp Royal. Regardless, there have been nice things here. Plenty of space to practice...and plenty of grand pianos in tune (meh, I still kinda miss that broken piano at camp) and a full digital workstation.
More details tomorrow...jet lag is not cool.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Composition Week Day 0 - Flight to Newark
2010-06-26 22:48
The time I have listed for the blog post is Pacific Standard Time, as my take off location was San Francisco International Airport.
I am currently on a Boeing 757-300, at 35,000 ft. I brought along a compass, but I don’t believe that I am flying 100 degrees...that needle probably is badly magnetized. The pilot told us we would be scheduled to land on time, on Runway 4R. I’ll pull out my charts when the time comes.
So when I first boarded this 757...I thought, “hey, it looks just like a 737!” Only a lot longer and stretched out. Even the flight attendant told one of the passengers: “this plane is a Boeing 757-300...a stretched, stretched limo.” Plus the wings are longer and higher off the ground. And also, I listened to the whine of the engine as it started up...a different sound compared to the engines Southwest uses for their Boeing 737 fleet. I believe the ones on this plane is something by Rolls Royce. I’ll look it up when the time comes. One more detail I should mention...I am seated towards the rear of the airplane...and I can really see that wing flex.
The take off video I got is here:
I believe I took off from Runway 1R. It was pretty dark and I couldn’t see for sure. And man I forgot how shaky it can be when we are rolling down that runway so fast. But then again, this is a full flight...packed to maximum basically. The only few seats that are open are the seats that you have to pay an extra $79 or $99 for extra legroom. That’s just stupid. I’m glad that I could get a window seat at the last minute...that’s good enough. Like really, I originally was seated for a middle seat, and I’m very grateful for whoever gave up this seat for a different one.
About 10 minutes ago, the flight attendants delivered some pretzals. And now I got a can of Sprite. That should keep me satisfied for a while, and hopefully I won’t need to use the lavatory. One thing I notice is that the tray tables don’t have a little cup holder thing. It’s all flat. I guess that’s okay. However it kinda was very amusing on my British Airways flight to London, when we were served tea for breakfast. Just when we got the tea, we experienced a little turbulence. I should find that video of the tea just shaking with ripples...threatening to spill over at any minute.
Hmm...I just managed to spill soda over my lap. That was very annoying. I probably shouldn’t have been thinking about the tea incident as much...that way I could have been more mindful about how I am handling the tea.
I think I should stop talking about logistics of this flight and finish up some thoughts about the music composition program. I really need to get some rest since this is a red eye flight, and I’ll be dog tired when I get over there. Currently it is 02:30 on the East Coast.
One of the things I definitely want to say is that I brought along my piano concerto and I believe the Camp Royal Waltz. I’ll be using those for show and tell. And of course, I have Florence, but I totally have no clue where the DVD of it is. I’ll just look it up on YouTube and give it to the staff. So I’ll need to worry about that music later.
Hmm... at 35,000 ft, it is a darn clear night. I can see towns and city blocks from this altitude. I still have no idea where I am though. And I assume that I am around Utah or so, since it is about an hour into the flight. I don’t know what the pilot selected for cruising speed, so I’ll just assume Mach 0.80. I should have been able to travel at least 400 nautical miles by now. And there thing that looks weird is that there are these huge completely dark areas. It really looks like I am just in the ocean right now with a coastline.
I’m going to call this a blog post and get some rest. The spill is almost dried up, and falling asleep will help me forget about it. And I need to wake up on time for the landing as well.
The time I have listed for the blog post is Pacific Standard Time, as my take off location was San Francisco International Airport.
I am currently on a Boeing 757-300, at 35,000 ft. I brought along a compass, but I don’t believe that I am flying 100 degrees...that needle probably is badly magnetized. The pilot told us we would be scheduled to land on time, on Runway 4R. I’ll pull out my charts when the time comes.
So when I first boarded this 757...I thought, “hey, it looks just like a 737!” Only a lot longer and stretched out. Even the flight attendant told one of the passengers: “this plane is a Boeing 757-300...a stretched, stretched limo.” Plus the wings are longer and higher off the ground. And also, I listened to the whine of the engine as it started up...a different sound compared to the engines Southwest uses for their Boeing 737 fleet. I believe the ones on this plane is something by Rolls Royce. I’ll look it up when the time comes. One more detail I should mention...I am seated towards the rear of the airplane...and I can really see that wing flex.
The take off video I got is here:
I believe I took off from Runway 1R. It was pretty dark and I couldn’t see for sure. And man I forgot how shaky it can be when we are rolling down that runway so fast. But then again, this is a full flight...packed to maximum basically. The only few seats that are open are the seats that you have to pay an extra $79 or $99 for extra legroom. That’s just stupid. I’m glad that I could get a window seat at the last minute...that’s good enough. Like really, I originally was seated for a middle seat, and I’m very grateful for whoever gave up this seat for a different one.
About 10 minutes ago, the flight attendants delivered some pretzals. And now I got a can of Sprite. That should keep me satisfied for a while, and hopefully I won’t need to use the lavatory. One thing I notice is that the tray tables don’t have a little cup holder thing. It’s all flat. I guess that’s okay. However it kinda was very amusing on my British Airways flight to London, when we were served tea for breakfast. Just when we got the tea, we experienced a little turbulence. I should find that video of the tea just shaking with ripples...threatening to spill over at any minute.
Hmm...I just managed to spill soda over my lap. That was very annoying. I probably shouldn’t have been thinking about the tea incident as much...that way I could have been more mindful about how I am handling the tea.
I think I should stop talking about logistics of this flight and finish up some thoughts about the music composition program. I really need to get some rest since this is a red eye flight, and I’ll be dog tired when I get over there. Currently it is 02:30 on the East Coast.
One of the things I definitely want to say is that I brought along my piano concerto and I believe the Camp Royal Waltz. I’ll be using those for show and tell. And of course, I have Florence, but I totally have no clue where the DVD of it is. I’ll just look it up on YouTube and give it to the staff. So I’ll need to worry about that music later.
Hmm... at 35,000 ft, it is a darn clear night. I can see towns and city blocks from this altitude. I still have no idea where I am though. And I assume that I am around Utah or so, since it is about an hour into the flight. I don’t know what the pilot selected for cruising speed, so I’ll just assume Mach 0.80. I should have been able to travel at least 400 nautical miles by now. And there thing that looks weird is that there are these huge completely dark areas. It really looks like I am just in the ocean right now with a coastline.
I’m going to call this a blog post and get some rest. The spill is almost dried up, and falling asleep will help me forget about it. And I need to wake up on time for the landing as well.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Camp Royal Waltz
Hmm...I should have put this online a bit earlier rather than just on the Facebook group for Camp Royal 2010.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Camp Royal Day 4 - Leaders of the World
(posted 2010-07-09)
2010-06-16 12:31
Chau is giving us the gift of silence. Of course, it is not dead silent as in there are no sounds going on. She's trying - or no - COMMITTING to give us time to appreciate the gift of food from the universe. Through 10 minutes of silence. Since I don't really feel comfortable eating in this silence - I decided to start writing. The silence period is over; everyone is hopefully more mindful of their actions.
2010-06-16 23:39
Alright. I need to distance myself from people a bit today, at least for the night. I've gone through several totally different experiences today that are challenging my mind, body and, well, spirit. As I reflect, I am going to make sure I filter out the "distractions" of my platform. Once frustrated, Number 4 people totally distance themselves from the rest of society.
When I woke up this morning, I felt tense and forced, and no longer appreciative of being at camp so much. And really, once I figured out some kind of routine I get totally bored instantly, even if the day is full of excitement. I dont' know, the camp meals, the bells, the time of the speakers, the comedy (heh, skits), and well, even this journaling. Developing my mind and personality, I am obviously in a time of struggle. Figuring myself for who I want to be.
So the speaker for today was Chau. It is a bit amusing and intellectually stimulating to have her speak to ht ecamp. [She's] Totally balanced in all aspects of life, and if not, pretty close there, kinda like approaching a limit. It is nice releasing stress, but of course, there's always learning her techniques for living life.
However, after that, I listened to a song put together by Chau and her gang. I have to say music is totally my thing. I haven't heard anything so beautiful in a long time I nearly cried giving a standing ovation to the song. This is where composition comes later. This experience with Chau challenged my creative mind.
Just before lunch time I had to go help set up. Yeah, the quiet time was pretty darn amusing. Appreciating the sounds of food being served.
After lunch, I got back to the platform to get my pen and use the toilet, etc. I managed to attempt running all the way up to the theater. It didn't work. I ran out of breath halfway up. Here, I managed to challenge my body.
After Chau's second session, we began to find people nearby us for the service project. It made me realize some leaders are totally more ambitions than others. [The] Group I'm in looks nice. And yeah,we all [are] no more accountable for the project than each other, but some people definitely have a lot more experience. Whatever it is I'm look[ing] for, I don't know. Mental Challenge here: working with others/people skills.
As I walked down towards the piano area, I had no idea that I would embark on a pretty darn ambitions thing. I managed [to] scribble out some music as er, Steven and Young were working on the guitar stuff. Yeah, that would be the music a few pages back [in the notebook]. Mental Challenge here: Creativity.
Come dinner time. New rule for the Pines: drinks must be consumed by using the non-dominant hand and double tapping on the table. Mental Challenge: Awareness and Cunningness. I kept the glass empty and ate with only the left hand, in order to eliminate one possibility.
After dinner...tried to compose more. Sat [at] a table and guy joined me Had a down to earth and real conversation. Mental Challenge: there being a guy to talk to and listen to.
Still later, pleasing people with some music on the piano. Either way, adapting myself so much is getting a bit confusing.
And lastly, as I have done for quite a while...filter out the "boys will be boys" conversations among my platform and focusing on writing. Mental Challenge: Being a number 4 person - secluded.
And now, my challenge is to totally sleep.
2010-06-16 12:31
Chau is giving us the gift of silence. Of course, it is not dead silent as in there are no sounds going on. She's trying - or no - COMMITTING to give us time to appreciate the gift of food from the universe. Through 10 minutes of silence. Since I don't really feel comfortable eating in this silence - I decided to start writing. The silence period is over; everyone is hopefully more mindful of their actions.
2010-06-16 23:39
Alright. I need to distance myself from people a bit today, at least for the night. I've gone through several totally different experiences today that are challenging my mind, body and, well, spirit. As I reflect, I am going to make sure I filter out the "distractions" of my platform. Once frustrated, Number 4 people totally distance themselves from the rest of society.
When I woke up this morning, I felt tense and forced, and no longer appreciative of being at camp so much. And really, once I figured out some kind of routine I get totally bored instantly, even if the day is full of excitement. I dont' know, the camp meals, the bells, the time of the speakers, the comedy (heh, skits), and well, even this journaling. Developing my mind and personality, I am obviously in a time of struggle. Figuring myself for who I want to be.
So the speaker for today was Chau. It is a bit amusing and intellectually stimulating to have her speak to ht ecamp. [She's] Totally balanced in all aspects of life, and if not, pretty close there, kinda like approaching a limit. It is nice releasing stress, but of course, there's always learning her techniques for living life.
However, after that, I listened to a song put together by Chau and her gang. I have to say music is totally my thing. I haven't heard anything so beautiful in a long time I nearly cried giving a standing ovation to the song. This is where composition comes later. This experience with Chau challenged my creative mind.
Just before lunch time I had to go help set up. Yeah, the quiet time was pretty darn amusing. Appreciating the sounds of food being served.
After lunch, I got back to the platform to get my pen and use the toilet, etc. I managed to attempt running all the way up to the theater. It didn't work. I ran out of breath halfway up. Here, I managed to challenge my body.
After Chau's second session, we began to find people nearby us for the service project. It made me realize some leaders are totally more ambitions than others. [The] Group I'm in looks nice. And yeah,we all [are] no more accountable for the project than each other, but some people definitely have a lot more experience. Whatever it is I'm look[ing] for, I don't know. Mental Challenge here: working with others/people skills.
As I walked down towards the piano area, I had no idea that I would embark on a pretty darn ambitions thing. I managed [to] scribble out some music as er, Steven and Young were working on the guitar stuff. Yeah, that would be the music a few pages back [in the notebook]. Mental Challenge here: Creativity.
Come dinner time. New rule for the Pines: drinks must be consumed by using the non-dominant hand and double tapping on the table. Mental Challenge: Awareness and Cunningness. I kept the glass empty and ate with only the left hand, in order to eliminate one possibility.
After dinner...tried to compose more. Sat [at] a table and guy joined me Had a down to earth and real conversation. Mental Challenge: there being a guy to talk to and listen to.
Still later, pleasing people with some music on the piano. Either way, adapting myself so much is getting a bit confusing.
And lastly, as I have done for quite a while...filter out the "boys will be boys" conversations among my platform and focusing on writing. Mental Challenge: Being a number 4 person - secluded.
And now, my challenge is to totally sleep.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Camp Royal Day 3 - It all makes sense now
2010-06-15 13:42
I like how Lain is giving us time to document our "odyssey" right now. Yeah, minutes to just write and reflect on the day's events. I've managed to write a lot more often than I typically do at such a camp, but I haven't been able to get in depth.
So here I am at the front row of the amphitheater. All the campers are busy scribbling words down, surrounded by the mountains, trees, and a great, caring staff. In front of us are inspirational quotes, posted by those trees. I can see how some people are real writers in development and are totally relaxed while completing the task [of reflecting].Some lay down on the stone. Others are cross-legged. Most of us, due to space constraints, are in a seated position. Of course, some people wrote more than others and some people managed with a few sentences.
This kinda brings me straight into my next paragraph about today's speaker. I like how nature managed to send a breeze to turn the page [in the notebook] for me. And yeah. I totally believe I am a knowledge person. It pains me to see other people not know their stuff. Of course, that's not true, and I must think about how to better myself as a visionary leader - as Robii said - in order to benefit Interact, KIWIN'S, Chocolate Club, etc.
Nice one. Lain said 2 more minutes.
I'll think some more music:
[insert picture]
2010-06-15 21:45
Heh, I am in the middle of a totally diverse and downright American group of students, er, campers, er "captains of [aircraft] industry." I was "invited" to join in on a "conversation" with an "Asian" group, and I totally just said, "I want to be a number 4 person [and not go to the campfire.]" Those guys respected that, and I basically got disconnected from the group.
I'll go ahead and contemplate this fact that I am primarily a number 4 person. That presenter, Robii, is an awesome psychologist. Or well, "awesome" is not really a "proper" professional adjective. I'll go ahead and replace that with a worse and "unacceptable" (ACT writing test reference) alternative: BA.
Nah...he opened my mind.
Quickly, I'll say that counselor Joe came right to me, seeing me writing right in here. He noticed the journaling and we stopped and talked a bit about high school. It work[ed] nicely. (Hmm, phrase stuck in my head got blurted out again.) He looked through my notes I took on Alex's presentation today. I managed to say that I am a journalist - which is why I had quotes as quotes and paraphrase as paraphrase. He told me he worked in yearbook and leadership while he was in high school - there weren't many electives since it was a small school he went to. This is where I told him I don't have a leadership class at my school this year since there was a lack of funding. Not sure if this is right, but I told him anyway - that the funding was either for leadership or for sports, and sports "reigned supreme." (Iron Chef America). And Joe concluded that sports are also very important.
This is where I segue into concluding that leadership - at my school - was the right thing to cut. My justification was that the leaders at our school would managed to refocus and overcome the hardship of not having the class. Joe agreed. This conclusion would not have been possible without the help from Robii's insight on the human brain.
I lolve, hehe...I spelled "love" wrong...and there's "lol" in it. Meh, some downright spelling errors are just accidental and will be corrected by the time this stuff gets digitized. And man, at this moment I'm writing, this will take a long time to retype.
Alright, for real this time...I love all these things I'm getting out of this camp. It is just so cool having these fun, serious, humorous, and - in the long run - productive
2010-06-15 23:26
I'm going to finish up what I wrote there from the entry before. I made a list of adjectives but never got to the noun. The noun in this case I wanted to say was "presentation." Or as it says on my name tag..."guest presenters."
These presenters I wouldn't' say changed my view of my purpose in life, but it certainly added to it. Again, it just made too much sense to me about how human nature is like when Robii made his presentation today. He got all of his knowledge and explanations "down to a science." (generic American) I really don't know what to say except that it all makes way too much sense why I am who I am.
It's getting late, and I removed my watch now, so I don't know what time it is. But I can say time does slow down here. Again, being aware of the river that flows down the side. The burs of wind striking my skin, contrasted by warm toes in the sleeping bag. It's just a pleasure writing with only a flashlight in a certain positon. I'm totally going to take a picture of this set up right now. The picture didn't' work well. It's too dark. My eyes can adjust but my camera can't.
Er, quickly about today: Pines/fireside skit. Awesome. I managed to be the "drummer" for the "airband" in Don't Stop Believing. Hypnosis show, too good. Plus, insane entrace to breakfast with the 'We are the Pines" corruption. Got that on video...and I'll be talking to shags more on this later...and I need a Day title.
Goal for tomorrow: do something out of routine. Enjoy myself. But practice structure.
I like how Lain is giving us time to document our "odyssey" right now. Yeah, minutes to just write and reflect on the day's events. I've managed to write a lot more often than I typically do at such a camp, but I haven't been able to get in depth.
So here I am at the front row of the amphitheater. All the campers are busy scribbling words down, surrounded by the mountains, trees, and a great, caring staff. In front of us are inspirational quotes, posted by those trees. I can see how some people are real writers in development and are totally relaxed while completing the task [of reflecting].Some lay down on the stone. Others are cross-legged. Most of us, due to space constraints, are in a seated position. Of course, some people wrote more than others and some people managed with a few sentences.
This kinda brings me straight into my next paragraph about today's speaker. I like how nature managed to send a breeze to turn the page [in the notebook] for me. And yeah. I totally believe I am a knowledge person. It pains me to see other people not know their stuff. Of course, that's not true, and I must think about how to better myself as a visionary leader - as Robii said - in order to benefit Interact, KIWIN'S, Chocolate Club, etc.
Nice one. Lain said 2 more minutes.
I'll think some more music:
[insert picture]
2010-06-15 21:45
Heh, I am in the middle of a totally diverse and downright American group of students, er, campers, er "captains of [aircraft] industry." I was "invited" to join in on a "conversation" with an "Asian" group, and I totally just said, "I want to be a number 4 person [and not go to the campfire.]" Those guys respected that, and I basically got disconnected from the group.
I'll go ahead and contemplate this fact that I am primarily a number 4 person. That presenter, Robii, is an awesome psychologist. Or well, "awesome" is not really a "proper" professional adjective. I'll go ahead and replace that with a worse and "unacceptable" (ACT writing test reference) alternative: BA.
Nah...he opened my mind.
Quickly, I'll say that counselor Joe came right to me, seeing me writing right in here. He noticed the journaling and we stopped and talked a bit about high school. It work[ed] nicely. (Hmm, phrase stuck in my head got blurted out again.) He looked through my notes I took on Alex's presentation today. I managed to say that I am a journalist - which is why I had quotes as quotes and paraphrase as paraphrase. He told me he worked in yearbook and leadership while he was in high school - there weren't many electives since it was a small school he went to. This is where I told him I don't have a leadership class at my school this year since there was a lack of funding. Not sure if this is right, but I told him anyway - that the funding was either for leadership or for sports, and sports "reigned supreme." (Iron Chef America). And Joe concluded that sports are also very important.
This is where I segue into concluding that leadership - at my school - was the right thing to cut. My justification was that the leaders at our school would managed to refocus and overcome the hardship of not having the class. Joe agreed. This conclusion would not have been possible without the help from Robii's insight on the human brain.
I lolve, hehe...I spelled "love" wrong...and there's "lol" in it. Meh, some downright spelling errors are just accidental and will be corrected by the time this stuff gets digitized. And man, at this moment I'm writing, this will take a long time to retype.
Alright, for real this time...I love all these things I'm getting out of this camp. It is just so cool having these fun, serious, humorous, and - in the long run - productive
2010-06-15 23:26
I'm going to finish up what I wrote there from the entry before. I made a list of adjectives but never got to the noun. The noun in this case I wanted to say was "presentation." Or as it says on my name tag..."guest presenters."
These presenters I wouldn't' say changed my view of my purpose in life, but it certainly added to it. Again, it just made too much sense to me about how human nature is like when Robii made his presentation today. He got all of his knowledge and explanations "down to a science." (generic American) I really don't know what to say except that it all makes way too much sense why I am who I am.
It's getting late, and I removed my watch now, so I don't know what time it is. But I can say time does slow down here. Again, being aware of the river that flows down the side. The burs of wind striking my skin, contrasted by warm toes in the sleeping bag. It's just a pleasure writing with only a flashlight in a certain positon. I'm totally going to take a picture of this set up right now. The picture didn't' work well. It's too dark. My eyes can adjust but my camera can't.
Er, quickly about today: Pines/fireside skit. Awesome. I managed to be the "drummer" for the "airband" in Don't Stop Believing. Hypnosis show, too good. Plus, insane entrace to breakfast with the 'We are the Pines" corruption. Got that on video...and I'll be talking to shags more on this later...and I need a Day title.
Goal for tomorrow: do something out of routine. Enjoy myself. But practice structure.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Camp Royal Day 2 - It is darn cold at night
2010-06-14 06:10
I woke up this morning at 04:55. I had been stupid enough to not zip up my mummy-style sleeping bag all the way to my head, and now I have a slight nasal congestion. As a typical journal, this entry will serve as a reminder that it gets COLD out here.
Here's why:
My arms were much cooler to touch compared to my legs.
My face felt like it had been a long day in the sunny ski slope.
And most definitely, my water bottle had ice in it as I was taking some medicine.
This is just COLD.
However, I must say that I won't be stopped by such conditions. Getting sick is not an option for me this week. And I totally will get used to protecting myself from the changing weather soon.
2010-06-14 13:11
So it is now just a few moments before the presentation, so here will be a quick musical sketch.
2010-06-14 17:57
Here, it's almost time for dinner. If there's anything that made my day it has to be that picture of Bar, the camp dog, crossing that wooden plank suspension bridge. So how'd that happen...I'll quickly recap the last hour.
I went down towards my platform, and I saw Corral/Aquarius about to [walk to the river].
2010-06-15 23:16
Reflection time. This was a pretty amusing and wonderful first [full] day of camp. Alex just told us to think about one thing that happened today in camp that we really liked, so that we would forever remember it. I'll think about that and reach some kind of conclusion about my first day.
"When I woke up this morning," I had no idea what to expect out of this place. It was great on the way up, since sitting in the front of the bus allowed me an excellent view of the mountains and the river. That was a pretty good tonic there. I haven't seen nature that good since April, when I last went to Lake Tahoe. And yeah, waking up was exactly the same feeling as going to sleep. I managed to awake to the sound of water rushing by in the river below our platform. As for the night skyline, that was replaced with a pale blue and mostly reddish sky - as far as I remember - since I woke around 04:55. The firs thing I felt was that my nose was very clogged. A nice soft tissue fixed that, and I headed back to bed for about an hour. so next awakening was when the rest of the boys, or er, men, on my platform all had their alarms for 06:00.
So yeah, I'll need to speed things up a bit. Writing by hand is extremely therapeutic, and also very satisfying to my mind. However, with teh amount of detail I want to put into my log, I really would need a computer to get my words down faster.
For my morning activity, I had Chau's Chi Gong lesson. Eh, I'll get the right spelling later. I have to say, breathing is really a pretty darn important thing to remember. That lesson really helped wake me up. I have to say that Martial Arts lesson deserves the status of a purely intellectually stimulating activity. The third one in this year 2010. First being snowboarding, and second being drumming with Mr. Nguyen's band.
Breakfast was nice. Oatmeal, always a nice camp breakfast. Biscuits, so fresh, so flaky, so...everything you get in the store plus more.
Motivational speaker - or hope dealer as he calls himself - Jeremy. Awesome guy Just the kind of guy we need more of in real leadership positions at school. So open, so caring, humorous, and, by popular demand - the ethos appeal of "I made it" after having a totally hopeless childhood.
Lunch - eh, first infraction for me. Not feeling uncomfortable but might as well write it down. I simply forgot to tell Alex where I was...talking to Jeremy. That's okay. I'm only human. Here goes my defense system...I really do get this camp and COSMOS mixed up. I miss being able to just write down where I would be on that sing in/out chart. Amazing experience there and here.
Alright, it was Lain after lunch. It worked out nicely with his activities of being with partners, and then helping the Rotary club check those synthetic hands.
Alright, moving along. Meditation. "Breathe in as you are smelling a flower and blow out as you are blowing out a candle." It works.
And my eyes are tired, my wrist is sore from this frantic scribbling. And I need to respect the guys asleep and turn off my flashlight.
Free time - managed to go to the River, as discussed earlier. It works nicely, despite no time to swim.
"It works nicely" is now my weird phrase of the week or something.
Alright dinner. I forgot...err, meatloaf. I had the veggie stuff. Dessert...cake!
After dinner...speakers, the psychologists. And skis. Totally funny. Now the Pines need to step it up.
In conclusion...great first day, mind is open and ready to accept challenges, fail, then learn.
I woke up this morning at 04:55. I had been stupid enough to not zip up my mummy-style sleeping bag all the way to my head, and now I have a slight nasal congestion. As a typical journal, this entry will serve as a reminder that it gets COLD out here.
Here's why:
My arms were much cooler to touch compared to my legs.
My face felt like it had been a long day in the sunny ski slope.
And most definitely, my water bottle had ice in it as I was taking some medicine.
This is just COLD.
However, I must say that I won't be stopped by such conditions. Getting sick is not an option for me this week. And I totally will get used to protecting myself from the changing weather soon.
2010-06-14 13:11
So it is now just a few moments before the presentation, so here will be a quick musical sketch.
2010-06-14 17:57
Here, it's almost time for dinner. If there's anything that made my day it has to be that picture of Bar, the camp dog, crossing that wooden plank suspension bridge. So how'd that happen...I'll quickly recap the last hour.
I went down towards my platform, and I saw Corral/Aquarius about to [walk to the river].
2010-06-15 23:16
Reflection time. This was a pretty amusing and wonderful first [full] day of camp. Alex just told us to think about one thing that happened today in camp that we really liked, so that we would forever remember it. I'll think about that and reach some kind of conclusion about my first day.
"When I woke up this morning," I had no idea what to expect out of this place. It was great on the way up, since sitting in the front of the bus allowed me an excellent view of the mountains and the river. That was a pretty good tonic there. I haven't seen nature that good since April, when I last went to Lake Tahoe. And yeah, waking up was exactly the same feeling as going to sleep. I managed to awake to the sound of water rushing by in the river below our platform. As for the night skyline, that was replaced with a pale blue and mostly reddish sky - as far as I remember - since I woke around 04:55. The firs thing I felt was that my nose was very clogged. A nice soft tissue fixed that, and I headed back to bed for about an hour. so next awakening was when the rest of the boys, or er, men, on my platform all had their alarms for 06:00.
So yeah, I'll need to speed things up a bit. Writing by hand is extremely therapeutic, and also very satisfying to my mind. However, with teh amount of detail I want to put into my log, I really would need a computer to get my words down faster.
For my morning activity, I had Chau's Chi Gong lesson. Eh, I'll get the right spelling later. I have to say, breathing is really a pretty darn important thing to remember. That lesson really helped wake me up. I have to say that Martial Arts lesson deserves the status of a purely intellectually stimulating activity. The third one in this year 2010. First being snowboarding, and second being drumming with Mr. Nguyen's band.
Breakfast was nice. Oatmeal, always a nice camp breakfast. Biscuits, so fresh, so flaky, so...everything you get in the store plus more.
Motivational speaker - or hope dealer as he calls himself - Jeremy. Awesome guy Just the kind of guy we need more of in real leadership positions at school. So open, so caring, humorous, and, by popular demand - the ethos appeal of "I made it" after having a totally hopeless childhood.
Lunch - eh, first infraction for me. Not feeling uncomfortable but might as well write it down. I simply forgot to tell Alex where I was...talking to Jeremy. That's okay. I'm only human. Here goes my defense system...I really do get this camp and COSMOS mixed up. I miss being able to just write down where I would be on that sing in/out chart. Amazing experience there and here.
Alright, it was Lain after lunch. It worked out nicely with his activities of being with partners, and then helping the Rotary club check those synthetic hands.
Alright, moving along. Meditation. "Breathe in as you are smelling a flower and blow out as you are blowing out a candle." It works.
And my eyes are tired, my wrist is sore from this frantic scribbling. And I need to respect the guys asleep and turn off my flashlight.
Free time - managed to go to the River, as discussed earlier. It works nicely, despite no time to swim.
"It works nicely" is now my weird phrase of the week or something.
Alright dinner. I forgot...err, meatloaf. I had the veggie stuff. Dessert...cake!
After dinner...speakers, the psychologists. And skis. Totally funny. Now the Pines need to step it up.
In conclusion...great first day, mind is open and ready to accept challenges, fail, then learn.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Camp Royal Day 1 - Campfire Stories
2010-06-13 21:20
Let me just say - it is an incredible beginning to such an awesome week. Yeah, I'm very busy right now having fun listening to stuff. Whatever. I shall write later.
2010-06-13 22:59
So here I am, at the conclusion of Day 1 here at the camp. The staff told me I am supposed to hold on to this journal and bring it to the meetings to take notes. I am going to go ahead and make this simple for myself - logistic reasons - I will be writing entries in chronological order. Heh...my counselor just had our group do the call. Just goes to show, this camp is extremely amusing, and it is one of those experiences that is definitely once in a lifetime - as envisioned by the Rotarians that sponsored our trip. Possibly just as much "once in a lifetime" as COSMOS.
I'm going to start with describing my surroundings. It is just nice being able to be in a semi-bare essentials kind of place. There's the water running and we are on these "platforms." And I have to say, rather comfortable and welcoming as my shelter for the next few days. One either side of the notebook - as I am laying down writing - I see darkness, only the paper illuminated by the light. My companions have already retired their lights - but I figured, just like at COSMOS, I should be descriptive. I feel a gentle breeze blowing through my arms. There is the sound of water front eh river to the right of the platform. As I am laying, the sleeping bag is on this mattress thing. There are faint stars out there. Possibly, as what the staff wants us to do - reach for them, and make the best of your time here, discover yourself.
Or, as I shall conclude like I did at COSMOS - or so the RAs (in this case counselors) are trying to brainwash me into thinking.
Let me just say - it is an incredible beginning to such an awesome week. Yeah, I'm very busy right now having fun listening to stuff. Whatever. I shall write later.
2010-06-13 22:59
So here I am, at the conclusion of Day 1 here at the camp. The staff told me I am supposed to hold on to this journal and bring it to the meetings to take notes. I am going to go ahead and make this simple for myself - logistic reasons - I will be writing entries in chronological order. Heh...my counselor just had our group do the call. Just goes to show, this camp is extremely amusing, and it is one of those experiences that is definitely once in a lifetime - as envisioned by the Rotarians that sponsored our trip. Possibly just as much "once in a lifetime" as COSMOS.
I'm going to start with describing my surroundings. It is just nice being able to be in a semi-bare essentials kind of place. There's the water running and we are on these "platforms." And I have to say, rather comfortable and welcoming as my shelter for the next few days. One either side of the notebook - as I am laying down writing - I see darkness, only the paper illuminated by the light. My companions have already retired their lights - but I figured, just like at COSMOS, I should be descriptive. I feel a gentle breeze blowing through my arms. There is the sound of water front eh river to the right of the platform. As I am laying, the sleeping bag is on this mattress thing. There are faint stars out there. Possibly, as what the staff wants us to do - reach for them, and make the best of your time here, discover yourself.
Or, as I shall conclude like I did at COSMOS - or so the RAs (in this case counselors) are trying to brainwash me into thinking.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Last Stretch of Junior Year Day 66 - SAT Subject Test
San Antonio International Airport
If there is anything I should be studying right now, it should be 3D geometry and matrices for Math II, and Newtonian mechanics and modern physics for Physics. Both tests will obviously show how well I mastered the material compared with other students. However, I'll leave it to myself to figure out how much I truly like the subject area.
As my English teacher said, there are no pieces of writing that are purely narrative, as there are elements of reflection as well. For now, I'll be quickly doing a little reflection and evaluation of events that have happened so far this year.
I remember the only reason why I switched from Honors Physics to AP Physics B this year was because I felt the material in honors would be presented too slowly, and I would not be challenged enough in preparation for the subject test. I know very well that History and English are not my forte, so I see no reason why I should bother taking the test. Today, however, I'll see what colleges will think is my overall appreciation of math and physics.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
United Commercial
SD version of the United Airlines Commercial for APUSH final project...HD one will be up at Vimeo or YouTube (haven't decided yet) later.
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