My last blog post for this school year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eating in D.C.

On our trip, we had many options for places to eat. From around the hostel, to out by Ford's theatre, we had a lot of times to eat in small groups. Here is a brief summary on each of them and my opinions on them.

Bolt Burgers
This hamburger restaurant had incredibly good food, and was very close to the hostel. It had many good burgers and sides.

Potbelly Sandwiches
This sandwich chain was delicious. I especially enjoyed the pizza sandwich

Subway Sandwiches
Although everybody has probably already been to Subway, it is always a good place to get a good sandwich.

Campono's
A great pizza restaurant close to the Kennedy Center. It has many good pizzas, and has good sorbet.

Starbuck's
Everybody has probably been to Starbuck's but it is always good. I would recommend to get a frappuccino.

Dunkin' Donuts
A very good place to get coffee and donuts. Just make sure you don't throw extra drinks into a trash can occupied by a rat.

Sushi AOI
This place has very good sushi and it is surprisingly cheap for sushi. This is probably my favorite place I went on the trip.

Chipotle
A delicious chain mexican restaurant. I usually always get a burrito.

BRBurger
A good burger chain located at the Dulles Airport. I enjoyed the Californian burger.

These are all the places I ate on the trip. I hope you enjoyed reading the last slice I will write this school year.

The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles
Ray Bradbury

This book is a collection of short science fiction stories about Mars. They are listed in chronological order, from being about the first humans landing on Mars to far future civilizations. I really liked this book. I love Bradbury's writing style, and these are some of the best short stories I have ever read. I would recommend this book for fans of Ray Bradbury and people who like sci-fi short stories. I hope you enjoy my last book blog of this school year!!!!

The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles
Ray Bradbury

The Martian Chronicles is a collection of short stories, all about Mars. The time periods are varied, but all in the 21st century.

I enjoyed this book. Bradbury's writing style is incredible, and I enjoyed each of the stories. The writing is detailed, and takes a long time to read. I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed other Bradbury books such as Fahrenheit 451.

For next week, I will continue reading The Martian Chronicles for the second week.

Poem on lightning

Lightning

The sky darkens

Light drops fall

It thickens

Heavier bigger drops disturb the surface of the water

Pelting everything

Pouring out of the gutters

Splashing onto the grass

Forming puddles on the sidewalk

The sky lights up

Pure electricity and heat zigzagging it's way across the sky

It is gone in an instant

A rumble starts, quickly leading up into a bang

The sound dies off

The sky lights up again followed by a bang

A voice comes up on the loudspeakers asking for us to get out of the pool

More rain pours down

Ready Player One

Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline

When all of this planet's oil runs out, the world isn't the best place to live. That's why most people spend their days in a virtual reality video game called the OASIS. But when the creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves his entire fortune to anyone who finds the Easter Egg he created in the OASIS. Wade Watts has dedicated his whole life to find it. But it is a challenge to find even without his competition.

I loved this book. It is one of the best books I have read this year. The characters are likable, and the story had many crazy plot twists. This book is very and exciting, and during the breaks in action it is very interesting. I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed The Martian. It has some mature themes, so I would recommend this for ages 12 and up.

This week, I am reading The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury.

Swim practice poem

Swim practice poem

Pull with my right arm, and

Kick

Pull with my left arm, and

Kick

I know I've been doing this

Forever

These long sets are

Frustrating                                     Annoying                                     Terrible

But they give me time to

Think

Like how right now I can let my mind drift to

Anything

And no one will

Care

That I'm caught up in my own

World

The world in my

Head

Where I can do anything I want

As long as I'm still

Swimming

When the set finally

Ends

I will be kicked out of my

Head

And back into

Reality

Where I have to

Listen

To find out what I have to do

Next

Until practice is

Over

The Road

The Road

In a dark post-apocalyptic world where nothing grows and food is scarce, a father and son are constantly trying to survive, find food, and keep journeying south where it will be warmer.

I really liked this book. Although it was dark and depressing, the writing style was incredible and kept me reading. I would recommend this book to people who liked sad books such as The Book Thief. The writing style in this book is not very straight forward, so I would recommend it for ages 12 and up.

The road

The Road
In a post-apocalyptic world, a father and his son struggle to survive. On the brink of starvation, they must find enough food and keep heading south to a place where it is warm enough for survival.

So far, I am enjoying this book. Although it is kind of depressing, the writing style is very good and enjoyable. I would recommend this for people older than 11 because it is hard to understand and it is extremely sad and grim. I would also recommend this book for people who enjoy post-apocalyptic novels.

Poem about skiing

Skiing poem

Sliding silently

Fresh snow falling to the ground

Passing trees

I plant my pole and skid to the side

Scattering powder behind me

Turn down the hill

Accelerating

Faster

Faster

Faster

Feel the ground flatten out

Then drop off

I fly through the air for a second

Hit the ground

Cold wind hitting my face

Go of another roller

In the air again

Land

The ground flattens out

The chair appears in front of me

And some people don't like skiing?

The Martian

The Martian

When astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars, thought to be dead, he thinks he will definitely die. After all, he's thought to be dead with no communication, and a limited supply of food and water. But he is not willing to give up. After surviving many things that should have killed him, he manages to get communication with Nasa, and they start thinking of a rescue plan. But being rescued on Mars is just as hard as it sounds.

This book is AMAZING!!!! I could not put it down. This book is everything I would want in a book: It was funny, exciting, and extremely interesting. All the science in the book was extremely accurate. I would recommend this book for everyone, but especially people who enjoyed Apollo 13. This book is appropriate for ages 12 and up.

My feelings on the SOLSC March 31

My feelings on the SOLSC
Here it is. My last slice of the challenge. I have made a piece of writing for every single day of this month. Thirty one days, thirty one slices. This is the last one. For this last slice, I have decided to give an overview of what slices I have done, and also my thoughts on the challenge. These are what I have written these thirty one slices on:
Four book blogs, Skiing, Swimming poem, Snorkeling, Thanksgiving, Snow, Fall trip poem, Samaria Gorge, A crime report, A day in the life of my cat, Travel, Rain, Pi day, Math poem, Analysis of the United States government, Waves, Fish poem, My cats, My dog, The hurricane, Cats, Book spoilers, I don't know what to write, Doughnuts, Cat videos, My pool, Spring, and This post.
My favorite of these was my slice on rain(You can find it in the blog archive gadget). I feel like it was descriptive, a perfect length, and was very fun to write. This challenge was very fun for me. I like the idea of writing every day, I like the idea of blogging them, and I also enjoyed writing these slices. The prizes we get for writing every day was just an added bonus. It was fun commenting on others blogs, and also commenting on blogs from other schools, and even other countries. It also gives me a massive sense of accomplishment, when writing this last one, and knowing I've actually written all of them. Overall, this challenge has been extremely good for me and I hope to do it next year(and I'm also excited for the trip to Starbucks).

Spring March 30

Spring
Spring is finally here. The official start of spring was the 20th, but now that we are on spring break, I really know it's arrived. It's started to warm up, and the grass is starting to turn green. We have already had the first rain, instead of snow, and our crabapple tree is starting to bud. Spring is one of the best seasons. I am a big fan of winter, but you just get tired of it being cold, and dark, and want it to warm up. Spring is a season of colorful flowers and warm, bright, sun. Spring makes you want to get outside and enjoy it. Spring is just as much a feeling as a season. It is a feeling of happiness, cheerfulness, and longing all combined into one. It is the feeling I get on the first day of summer swim team, the day when I get to see some of my friends on swim team for the first time since last summer. It is the feeling of warm rain and thunder. Spring is a wonderful time of year, and it is here right now.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29178489@N00/14682521456">Jardin botanique - Montréal</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

My Pool March 29

My Pool
My pool is the place I have spent most of my summers. I have spent almost as much time there as I have at school. This is the place where I have spent many saturdays at swim meets, and five mornings a week at practice. This is the place where I learned to swim, jumped off a diving board for the first time, and gone on my first water-slide. This is where I have spent hours on end in the hot sun trying to hit a tennis ball. This is where I've qualified for state for the first time. This is where I've spent tons of days playing games like kickball or groundies. I've spent many fourth of julys here, participating in the soda toss, where you have to get sodas out of the pool. I've suffered through many hard practices here, and I've also done my first flip turn here. I've had many pancakes here for the A-meet and State breakfasts. If any other place in the world besides my house feels like home to me, it's here.

Not my pool but it is really cool. Image from Morguefile

Cat videos March 28

Cat videos
Cat videos have taken over the internet. If you type cat into google, cat videos are the fourth option in the I'm feeling lucky bar, under cat, cats, and Cat Stevens. I am a big fan of cat videos. Cat videos express the feeling of having a cat, except it does more funny things in the video. Cat videos show that cats have personalities, and I would guess a ton of cats have been adopted from shelters because of cat videos. They also show that cats are funny, cute, and you can laugh at them. Isn't the whole point of pets to give you something to laugh at when they do something dumb? In this slice, I will show you some of the best cat videos I've watched.

I hope you enjoy these videos, even though some of them might be kind of long.

Doughnuts March 27

Doughnuts
A doughnut (or donut) is an amazing thing. Imagine a roll, deep fried, with a hole in the middle, and covered in frosting. It is the perfect dessert. Feel in the mood for something creamy? Get a cream filled doughnut. Feel like chocolate? Get a chocolate doughnut. Feel like something fruity? Get a jelly doughnut. All doughnuts are delicious. My favorite doughnuts are jelly doughnuts or maple doughnuts. If you are willing to wait in line, you should get Voodoo Doughnuts, because they are complex, beautiful, and delicious. I prefer doughnuts to cake because there are so many kinds of doughnuts and all of them are good. Doughnuts are the perfect dessert, so eat more doughnuts!!!!!!!

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/45323160@N00/1342174991">DONUT WANT</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)</a>

I don't know what to write March 26

I don't know what to write
Everyone has done a slice at some point about not knowing what to write. I always have thought this was not the best idea, because everybody does it and also feels kind of dumb, writing about not knowing what to write. I now know why everybody writes a slice about not knowing what to write. I simply don't know what to write. I scanned a lot of topics. How about the beach? No, I've already done too many of those. How about school? No, I don't know what to write about school. I really don't know what to write. It's like I've written small pieces of writing every day for twenty five days strait. If I had done that, I think I'd be just as stuck as I am now. How about doing a slice about not knowing what to write? I haven't done that before.

I am number four March 25

I am number four

John Smith is an alien. His planet was taken over, and he was one of nine kids who escaped and were sent to earth. Before they left, they were all assigned numbers and a charm was cast on them saying that  they could only be killed in order. He is four. One, two, and three were killed. He has to settle down in a small Ohio town and hide from the people trying to kill him.

This book was extremely good. The plot line was cheesy, but it was extremely interesting, and kept me reading. This is one of the best books I have read this year. This book was exciting, and the characters were likable. I would recommend this book to sci-fi/fantasy fans. This book would be good for ages 11 and up.

Book Spoilers March 24

Book Spoilers

One tiny detail
What does the picture look like
On the back of the next book in the series
Don't want to look
Have to look
I look
See the detail
See the little text
I can't un-see what I just saw
I have to accept it
I have to accept that I just saw a spoiler
And I now know which character is going to die
:(    :(    :(

Cats with pictures March 23

Cats
Cats are awesome. Each cat has a completely different personality, but they all share a lot of characteristics. They all pretend to be extremely fierce, but sometimes end up looking incredibly undignified. They all are adorable, and are playful. A lot of other people agree with me, because cat videos have taken over the internet. Cats also make amazing pets because they are furry, soft, and are not that hard to take care of. One thing I have learned about cats is that not all of them say meow. This is a common stereotype of cats, and I think the noise that they make depends on the personality of the cat. For this slice, I have gathered the cutest pictures of cats that there are on morguefile, which is a free picture site.

The Hurricane March 22

The Hurricane
If this was not bad luck, I don't know what is. For the first time ever in recorded history, the island of Hawaii would be struck by a hurricane. It had to be exactly when we were on vacation. Not only that, it would be followed two days later by another hurricane. The first one, Iselle, was a category four hurricane at sea, and was degraded to category three when it made landfall. When it arrived, we were on the side it was hitting and had to drive to the other side of the island. After being stuck in traffic in Hilo, we finally made it to the other side. Even though the sky was blue, the wind was gusting at really fast speeds, and there was a wall of clouds coming over the island. When we made it to our house, the weather report forecast fifteen foot waves and torrential rain. We watched as massive waves rolled in on the other side of the island, accompanied by wind and rain. In the morning, the wind was gone, and there had been no rain. The weather channel got it completely wrong. Two days later, Hurricane Julio had veered off course and missed the island.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24662369@N07/4922929217">The Roiling Clouds of Katrina</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

My Dog March 21

My Dog

This is Boo. She is a three year old Goldendoodle. She enjoys licking, eating, barking, and chasing squirrels. When she was a puppy, she picked up a dead squirrel and ran around the yard with it in her mouth. When my dad went to throw it away, she came back carrying another one. She looks like a goat when her hair is cut.

My cats March 20

My Cats

This is Truffle. He is a five year old domestic short hair. He is known to enjoy eating fish food. He is known to make noises that sound like a mouse. He is slender, fast, and squirmy, making it hard to catch him. He is shy towards strangers and enjoys hiding under the bed in their presence.

This is Cream. She is a five year old domestic short hair. She spends most of her time sleeping, but also enjoys chewing holes in clothing. She has chewed holes in several scarves, sweaters, and socks. She is fat and is missing a lung, making it easy to catch her. She purrs loudly, and is easy to find.

Fish poem March 19

Constantly
Swimming back and forth
Never stopping
Pacing quietly
A cat
walks up
and spills the fish food all over the floor

I am number four Week one March 18

I am number four week one

This week I started I am number four. This book is about John Smith, a person on the run after his planet was destroyed. I am not that far into this book, because this was play week, but so far it is really good and enjoyable. It is fun to read, and entranced me from the very first page. I would recommend this book to fans of The Hunger Games.

Waves March 17

Waves

"It's time to go!" my mom yells from a chair settled on the soft sand. For the last hour or so, I had been playing in the clear, turquoise waters of Hapuna beach on the island of Hawaii, but it was time to leave to go have lunch. These waves had been stirred up by the hurricane passing by, and had been consistently five feet or bigger. This meant you could do fun things such as trying to swim over or under them. They were way to big to boogie board or body surf on. Sadly, I had to leave them behind. My sister starts swimming towards the shore, and I follow her. I get the to the point where I can stand, and start sprinting towards the warm, dry, sand. The moment my feet hit the ground, I start being pulled backwards by the water in front of me. It gets stronger, and no matter how fast I run, I know I won't get anywhere. I look over my shoulder to see a five foot wave towering over me, constantly growing in size with all the water it picks up. It's now six feet. Seven feet. Eight feet. The front of the wave turns still and glassy, and I know it"s about to break right on top of me. Time seems to slow down. I hear a roar on all sides of me as this massive wave comes down on me. I close my eyes. I don't even know how many times I flip over, or roll sideways. I come to a rest on the sand as the wave retreats back into the ocean. I stand up and walk unharmed over to my family.

"At least I didn't hit a rock", I say to them.

An analysis of the United States Government March 16

An Analysis of the United States Government

I think that the current state of the U.S. Government is pretty good, but it needs to be improved a little bit. The constitution allows incredible freedom, and life is pretty good in the United States. There are also many things that should be improved.

One of the most controversial topics right now is the affordable care act, or Obama care (for those outside the US, This ensures that everybody has healthcare). I think it is a good idea to make sure everybody has healthcare, but I think that it should be provided by the government instead of having the people pay for it. It should come out of tax money, because if you are really poor, you would not want to spend your only money on health insurance.

Another debated topic is fracking. I think that it should definitely be illegal, because fracking is known to cause environmental problems. I will not go too deeply into these problems because this is a slice and not an essay.

One thing that should be completely removed is the National Terror Alerts. These are just meant to make the people scared of terrorism and therefore fund the war in Afghanistan. Ever since they were started, there have been no major acts of terrorism, so they are practically just waisting time for the CIA. I get that we should be aware of terrorism, but it is not good to spread fear about them.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/87830765@N03/14894398531">The White House, Washington, D.C.</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

Poem about Math March 15

Math Poem

Words
Seemingly random words flying around the room
Congruent, Isosceles, Pythagorean theorem
People writing on the board
People who understand this topic
I am not one of them
I
Am
Really
Confused

A Pi Day slice about Pie March 14

Pie
Pie is delicious. No matter what is inside of it, if it is a pie, it has to be good. These are my favorite pie fillings: Cherry, Peach, Coconut Cream, Pecan, Pumpkin, Raspberry, Blueberry, Strawberry Rhubarb, Apple, Blackberry, Lemon, Banana Cream, and Key Lime. I know, that is practically every kind of pie, but it is true. I like every flavor of pie. My sister makes extremely good pies, and she makes pies for special occasions such as thanksgiving or a party. Even though all of her pies are dessert pies, I also like meat pies and Quiches. This is my theory about pies: If you put a filling inside dough formed to be a pie, it has to be extremely delicious.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/79892177@N00/3717261740">Cherry Pie</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

Rain March 13

Rain
I miss rain. I miss falling asleep to the sound of quiet drumming on the roof. I miss having to get out of the pool at swim team because of a crash of lightning, and instead watching videos on a computer. I miss when the tennis courts at our pool fill up with water. If I think about it, I realize how crazy the idea of rain is. Rain is basically small droplets of water falling from the sky at terminal velocity, but it doesn't hurt at all. It is sometimes accompanied by flashes of extremely high voltage electricity, which are hotter than the surface of the sun. No matter how crazy the idea of rain is, it is still incredible, and I miss it. Living in Denver, we don't get that much rain in the summer, never mind the winter. In march here, all of the rain freezes and turns into snow, which will make you cold and wet, not just wet. I am already looking forward to the first time it rains this spring.

Travel March 12

Travel is extremely important. Most of the things I remember for a long time happened when I was traveling. The first thing that I still remember happened on a trip to grand lake. Travel is extremely valued in our family, and because of that, I have been to eleven countries. I remember all of these trips, even the ones when I was two or three. It also is a really cool feeling to see an article about a place and think "I saw that in real life". Travel inside the country is also important. I am much more likely to remember an experience in for example San Francisco then in Denver. Even if you are not going out of state, you will have an unique experience when you travel.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94509941@N00/6302436330">IMG_1194</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

Fahrenheit 451 March 11

Guy Montag is a fireman. One that burns the illegal material known as books. He has never read one, and thinks of them as we think of drugs. His new neighbor, a seventeen year old girl, teaches him of the beauty of being outside and not just staring at a TV all day. When she disappears, he starts stashing books inside his house, and eventually is caught. He has to run from the police and his former collogues and friends.

I loved this book. Ray Bradbury's writing style is incredible, and so was this book. The characters were likable, and this book gave me a vision of a dystopian future. I would recommend this book to anyone.