- - May 23, 2008 - -

 

So our design projects are due next Tuesday, and I definitely don't have my project finished. I'm nervous because our exhibition is in a week and I'm not sure if I can finish it on time. It's not my fault really. We had a very small amount of time for this project compared to our other projects.

DAMN YOU NARRATIVE UNIT!!!

That one was too long. I had way too much time during that unit in every class (except maybe Web/Audio, where we had to do a Flash animation for the first time). Oh well, at least my Web/Audio grade is still good. So yeah, my puppies are doing good as well. They're still really small, but they're somewhat potty-trained which is nice. They don't pee in the house (as much) anymore. So yeah, until next time I guess. I'm going to go work on my design project. Woohoo!

 

- - May 15, 2008 - -

 

Somebody save me! There is so much work to do here at Freestyle. We have a little longer than a week and a half to finish our music for web/audio, poetry for english, and the biggest bomb of all, the design project for Ms. P. I'm recording my music at home, because that lets me not be stuck here at school every day. My design piece is really going to take some time, so I'm going to be here during every open lab, which is kind of a bummer, but then again, I have nothing else to do. So yeah, besides Freestyle, I'm also screwed for U.S. History. I have to write a 7-9 page paper that talks about my stepdad's life (mainly while in Vietnam during the war) and also using historical facts to make sure its all accurate. But other than the fact that I might die from exhaustion by the end of the school year, everything is going great.

 

- - May 9, 2008 - -

 

Boy has this week been strange. My family got two puppies over the past weekend, and so this week has been crazy trying to play with and pick up after them. I've also been trying to write all of the music for the film I'm in with Nora D and Marina K. I think I just have one more piece to write, and then I'm finished. But I'll probably write another song so I can mix it for web/audio. I'm kinda sick which is a bummer. I'm not sure if its allergies or something else. Oh well, it's not stopping me from coming to school, so its not that bad. So yeah, other than that news, not much is going on. I've had to film for the movie all this week. Turns out I'm the main character along with the music guy. Pretty sweet. Well, that's about it for now. Check back next week for another fabulous opinion!

 

- - May 2, 2008 - -

 

Our exhibition for the Documentary unit was yesterday, and it went very well. It was held at Los Altos in the cafeteria and the theater. We started it off a little bit differently for this exhibition. We played movies and audio slideshows first and then had a little break in the middle where students and parents could check out the websites, photos, and books that students made for this unit. It was great to see the amount of effort put into this unit. Everybody really stepped it up a notch with their projects. The pictures had a greater sense of focus, and the websites and films looked much better. Also, I'm getting puppies this weekend which is very exciting. They are English Labs, which look like Golden Retrievers but their fur is shorter and lighter. We've even picked out names: Milo and Brinkley. We are very excited to welcome them into our family.

 

- - April 10, 2008 - -

 

Alrighty, my audio slideshow is almost finished! It looks really cool. I programmed it so it is easier to view on the page by giving it a button and all this other cool stuff. Check it out in the next week or so, it really turned out great! I'm looking forward to spring break next week. I caught strep this past Sunday so I haven't been able to come into school for the past 3 days. It was a really strange type of strep that I've never gotten before. It rested in my sinuses rather than my throat, so my throat still hurt alot, but it took alot longer to get rid of. The virus also attacked the lining of my sinus area, so I would get frequent nosebleeds that lasted from two to ten minutes. But now I'm feeling better and I'm looking forward to resting up during spring break, along with looking at colleges down in southern California with my mom, who has planned out a whole trip to check out colleges. Pretty fun!

 

- - April 4, 2008 - -

 

This week sure is crazy! I've had to work really hard to finish my photography book, website, audio for my audio slide show, and my google design for the contest that Google is currently holding. Now it's the end of the week. I've almost finished everything. I think my book and slideshow are going to turn out very well. The book seems to have come along great, and the audio for my slideshow is very compelling and interesting. Now that the unit is coming to a close, I am really looking forward to the experimental unit. I had (what I believe to be) a really good idea for a movie, so I wrote the whole thing out and hopefully the person I'm doing my project with will like it. You'll have to come to the exhibition next quarter to find out what the story is! Alright well, back to work I guess. See you next week!

 

- - Mar. 25, 2008 - -

 

Well what do you know, I made my project 3 website a long time ago, and its the only thing due this week. I don't know what to do now. I could just play with Reason, but I kind of want to be more productive than that. Maybe I'll start with my audio slide show transcript and .mp3, or maybe I'll start building my flash website. Anywho, I had a nice Easter. I went to my grandma's house in SLO and we went to a country club for brunch. It was great. Lots of chocolate covered things, and sugar-coated things. And then the night before Easter I watched three really funny movies. Dan in Real Life, Idiocracy, and Rocket Science. I really liked the soundtrack to that last movie, so I bought the album when I got home on Sunday. Then after I bought the album, I did my homework, and hung out w/ my sister, who was home from school for spring break.

 

- - Mar. 21, 2008 - -

 

Alright, I'm a little bit ahead of schedule, which feels good. I've just got to start making my final transcript and audio clips and then I'm good to go for webaudio. I have a feeling that the audio slideshow isn't going to be so tough now that I've chopped it up into little pieces. In design I've begun my photobook for the studio that I am documenting. I like the look of it so far. It's a little bit plain, but then again, there aren't any photos in it yet. In English, I need to rewrite my paper because I just know that it isn't very good, but I haven't had time to make any changes yet. Other than that, things are looking pretty boring. All my school stuff at Mountain View is going fine, so there's not much to talk about there. And I've already begun my project 4 website, but it isn't up on the web yet. Hopefully you can see it soon!

 

- - Mar. 11, 2008 - -

 

My newest website is up and somewhat running! None of the content is actually up for any of my classes, except for the home page, where I have a small audio slide show playing along with some background music that I created with Reason4.0. I personally think it looks great, and it just makes me even more excited for the next quarter when the entire site is made in flash! I'm pretty ahead of schedule for now in web/audio, which feels really good, but in english i'm getting a little antsy because we have a research paper due this Friday, and I am definitely not close to done. But I have a feeling I will do alright, since we are allowed to rewrite papers in his class. But I also really need to get that done for my website, so I can just put it all up on the web and not have to worry about it. And now in Design my buddy Steven and I are making a photobook about the studio we visited in Oakland. It's looking pretty good!

 

- - Mar. 5, 2008 - -

 

Time sure has flown by today! We have a minimum day, so I have web/audio from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., instead of the usual 9 to 12. And, what's even better is that this is the only class I have today, so I'm officially out at 10 o'clock. Hooray! But anyways, my documentary website is coming along nicely. All I need to do now is put in my javascript, and then insert the content. Check what I have gotten done so far by clicking on the projects button here, and then clicking on the button labeled "Project 3". Well, not much else has been going on. Outside of school, I've just been playing alot of guitar and taking frequent cat naps. That's about it, see you next week!

 

- - Feb. 26, 2008 - -

 

Alrighty, just got back from our week long break, and for the majority of it I was, really bored. Fortunately, there were some good experiences mixed in there. I got to hang out with some cool Freestyle kids, and my band finally had practice. The best part is, the two songs that I was excited about the most and that I really wanted to work on sound great! I think people are really going to like them. One is kind of a heavier song that I really like for some reason. Normally when we have songs like this one I hate them, but this one sounds pretty sweet. Then there's one song that I think I might like a little bit more, just because its very fluid but very diverse. It has a somewhat dark tone to it, but there are soft parts and heavy parts and melodic parts. Its just a giant ball of awesomeness expressed in music.

 

- - Feb. 14, 2008 - -

 

So you know how last time I sad that the exhibition is upon us? I meant that its upon us, RIGHT NOW!! Today is the debut of Wonderworm. I'm really excited to (a) see him on the BIG SCREEN and (b) see everbody's reactions. All the web students have seen it already, and so far all the feedback I've gotten has been very positive. Not only is that exciting, but next week we have ski week! Hooray! I just went skiing last weekend actually, so I'm probably not going up to the snow, but hey, I'll get a good chance to . . . eat more food. Or write some more music. I really want to find a way to buy Reason4.0. The only problem is I don't really have any money and my parents already bought ProTools for me, so I don't really think its going to happen. Oh well, I'll find some way to spend my time.

 

- - Feb. 07, 2008 - -

 

THE EXHIBITION IS UPON US!!! It's right around the corner, which is just fine, because everything that I need to have finished, is finished. Wonderworm is in on time, as well as my children's book page and short story photos. The only thing I'm really nervous about for the exhibition is a movie that I am in for some of the film students. My role is a skateboarder who can't really read and so he gets sent to the military. Kind of a sad story, but hey, if you can't read by the time your a junior in high school, you're not exactly cut out for rocket science, ya know? Anyways, I've written even MORE music, but the band still hasn't practiced yet, which is alright. Luckily I now have a computer with Garageband (and soon Pro Tools), so I can at least record all this stuff that comes into my head.

 

- - Jan. 28, 2008 - -

 

Still working hard to get Wonderworm finished. Steven and I are soooo close; just a couple more tweaks and then he'll be good to go! I've been writing alot of new music lately, which is cool. I've had alot of free time the past couple of days, so I've just been jamming alot. I'm really excited to see what the band and I are going to do with them. The parts I have sound alot different than what I've written before. I like to think that the parts are much more concise and alot more technical. We haven't played a show in a couple of months, so I'm excited to start booking some and show everybody how much we've improved.

 

- - Jan. 15, 2008 - -

 

Alright, the start of a new year! Just got back from a very relaxing two week break and now I'm back to work on my narrative project. Wonderworm is turning out great, and I'm really looking forward to having him in the exhibition. I've gotten alot of compliments so far, so I'm thinking he's going to be a hit. Other than that, life's pretty boring. I've just been sleeping alot, and keeping up with homework from Mountain View as well as my other classes from Freestyle. I've had a chance to look at some of the other children's books that are being made. I'm really impressed with them. Even though alot of people are complaining about the narrative unit, I think it's turning out very well.

 

- - Dec. 12, 2007 - -

 

What a week this has been! I've had to start studying for finals, and make my flash animation, website, and children's book illustration. They aren't due for awhile, but I want to be ahead of the curve so I'm not stuck with this feeling like I don't have enough time to get it done. But outside of school, I'm actually pretty bored. I give guitar lessons once a week, but thats about the only thing on my schedule. So once I finish my homework, I normally just sit around and write music, which is nice, but I also wish there was something else I had going on. Not too much, just so I wasn't SO bored, ya know? Anyways, thats my opinion for this week. Good bye.

 

- - Dec. 4, 2007 - -

 

I've starting recording little clips of songs on Garageband that my band will hopefully use. Its great being able to do that. Before I had my computer, the songwriting process for us was so long and tedious. We would have to sit down with everyone at somebody's house and pitch an idea, then everybody gave their opinion if the part was worth writing a song with. From there, we had to write all of the other parts, and everyone gave their opinion, and most of the time, we had to rewrite half of the song again. But now, I can just write an entire song the way I have it in my head, and if the rest of the guys like it, it stays, and if not, I can still keep it and use it for my own. I really love technology. :D

 

- - Nov. 26, 2007 - -

 

I'm looking forward to Steven and my Wonder Worm project for the narrative unit. Its a pretty interesting first story, and I think it could turn into something pretty amazing. But yeah, other than that, I don't have much going on. Schools been pretty laid back these past few weeks, and I have been sitting around doing nothing. Thats about it for now, more to come later.

 

- - Nov. 5, 2007 - -

 

Marching band season is almost over :(

Lodi is this Saturday and I'm really excited/nervous. This season has been amazing, and I'm really excited to help out even more next year.

 

And now to freestyle . . .

I'm really looking forward to this next unit. Making a flash video sounds like alot of work, but I think it will also be really fun. I like my idea for my photo narrative, and I think my story will really help illustrate the point. I'm not going to tell you what my idea is, so you'll have to come to the exhibition to find out!

 

- - Oct. 18, 2007 - -

 

Exhibition night is finally here!

I've been working pretty hard this quarter to finally get this site up and running. I think it looks pretty good so far, but feel free to make suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

 

This first quarter at Freestyle has been amazing. I've learned so much in such a short amount of time. The best part about this school is how small it is.

You really get to know everybody quickly. It's practically a community, where everybody is willing to help and teach each other.

 

So far, I think I've enjoyed making websites the most. It's something that I feel will help me most when I graduate.

As much as I love taking photographs that should spark imagination, or dissect and analyze short stories and think about what they mean to me, I just feel drawn towards designing and programming a website and then putting it on the web for people to discover and approve of.