Idea

I was watching giant shuttle buses (or is it busses?) crawling by and I thought of a little snippet, perhaps, of a new poem:

"If the road is a giant forest,
Then buses are the beasts of the road,"

which now developed into:

"If the road is a giant forest,
Then buses are the beasts of the road,
The Prius is a panda bear,
And the Jeep is the frowning toad,
The sleek towncar is the waiting shark
In the waters off the shore,
The Hummer is a grizzly with its bulky heavy fur,
And I? I am a hiker--a pedestrian, on tour."

My Opinion on Snail Mail

I'm not sure about you, but I always like to receive personal letters. There's something intriguing about a letter--maybe it's the idea that it came from so far away (as most of my letters originate from), or that it takes more time to write and respond to a letter. When I check the mail I'm always happy about three things:

1.) Letters
2.) Netflix (we just received our new movie!) 
3.) Coupons (I think that using scissors to cut them out holds a certain appeal here, besides saving money)

I get a certain excitement from writing, and receiving, a letter that I don't get with email. It could be the stationery--I do have, after all, a lovely pinkish flowered print paper, and another one that's designed to look like a scroll. (My mom gave them both to me for my birthday, or maybe Christmas.) It's very fun to write longhand when you have interesting paper to write on. [Author's Note: I also have a fairly wide collection of pens that range from your typical ballpoint, to ones I've stolen from hotels, and a cherished few I received as gifts. The latter are the most fancy and the least-used, for the purpose of saving ink.] 

Another thing is that there's more anticipation with letters--you have to actually wait for about a week, sometimes more, sometimes less, for the person to receive the letter, read it and comprehend it, and then send a reply. With emails, you send it one minute, get a reply the next. It's instant gratification, and I don't know if that's always good. If anything, snail mail teaches us a set of very important virtues which are sometimes lost in this 21st Century world of typing emails on cell phones and getting instant responses. Writing and receiving snail mail teaches us patience, composition skills, and the very important skill of how to lick an envelope.

My Great American Road Trip

NBC has recently launched a new reality TV show called "Great American Road Trip." I had a concern about the show--who knows what "reality" is any more on TV? Even if you film every single passing hour, you will probably still edit it down to the most "exciting" bits--which will perhaps not present an accurate view of the subject. For instance, if I filmed the entirety of my recent road trip and shared it with you, you would see much film of my sister and I sleeping; staring at each other meaninglessly; sitting silently; eating cookies at rest stops; and my dad talking about basalt formations and ancient geologic stuff (which would probably be interesting to some people but probably not to all of my audience). Thus what we see on TV is not all there is to see.

Instead of criticizing a road trip on television, however, I should probably talk about my own, which was recently concluded. After my mom and I returned from DC, we packed our bags--actually, we just reviewed the bags we had already packed--and set off. My sister Adrianna was attending piano camp in Eastern Washington, so we drove there to see her concert. From there we drove on, on a steep and winding byway filled with occasionally invisible swarming bugs, to Missoula, Montana. A note on the bugs: we still have (available for viewing, as soon as I take a picture) at least a hundred smashed bugs on our car hood. We thought that it was rain, but we then figured out that, in the words of our dad, we had been "comitting mass insecticide." All I can say is that it was not purposeful, and that the bugs shouldn't have been on a desolate road late in the afternoon anyway. We occasionally saw roadkill, and my sister, who, in my opinion, is rather too squeamish about dead animals, gave a high-pitched yip every time she saw any dead animal--including those on our front window.

We stayed at the La Quinta Inn in Missoula (which I would recommend, as it has a nice pool and a continental (or, as I like to claim, "confidential") breakfast. Adrianna and I went swimming. She lounged around in the hot tub, and I shouted that she was too lazy and then proceeded to splash cold water on her, to which she responded by throwing hot water at me. This went on, until we finally decided to explore a novel form of fun in the water--bringing chairs into the shallow end! Actually, the chairs were fine--we had conveniently chosen the ones made of plastic. And then we set off for Bozeman, where we would be staying. The goal of our trip was to see Yellowstone National Park (which we, miraculously, accomplished).

At this point I would like to talk about a few highlights of the trip:

-The Bozeman Hot Springs

The Bozeman Hot Springs were intensely relaxing. I say intense because I was constantly going from the main pool to the steam room to the sauna to the ice-cold pool to the hot tub back to the cold pool and then to the main pool to do rapid swimming and then hopping out again to complete the cycle. That sentence, by the way, is probably a run-on, and was meant to be read rapidly in order to display the hurriedness of my actions. The entire complex has 19 pools--18 of them indoors, and one outside. Inside, it did smell slightly of sulfur, but otherwise it was a very enjoyable experience indeed. And I would have to get used to sulfur for my next trip--

-Yellowstone National Park

We saw quite a wide variety of things at Yellowstone. We started, of course, with Old Faithful. We were quite lucky and we saw it just a few minutes after we had started watching. Then, we saw a geyser called Giantess erupt. Giantess apparently had not erupted since much earlier in the year, and so it was rather special that we were able to see it. We saw it erupt from the boardwalk, another interesting feature--the raised wooden pathway to keep people from stepping on thermally active and dangerous ground. There was a geyser that was quite active--I am not sure if it was Giantess or something else--and many people on the boardwalk were actually splashed by the water coming down. My sister insisted on "joining the fun." To fully enjoy a large erupting geyser, I think that one must have a generous tolerance of sulfur--which, I am afraid, I lack--and so I felt more than a little sick as a giant sulfurous steam cloud passed over us. Both my sister and I got wet, but surprisingly, the geyser's water was cold, apparently because it had gone through the air. We also saw the Artist's Paint Pots, some mud pots, fumaroles, the Mammoth Hot Springs, an infant geyser, bison and buffalo, and too many other things to remember.

-Museum of the Rockies

I was very glad to be able to visit a museum during this trip--vacations feel more proper to me when I've seen a museum. Museum of the Rockies was a very interesting museum; it contained lots of interesting things regarding dinosaurs, and also the history of the Earth. But my favorite was the living farm. It had chickens and a wide variety of vegetables, and a two-story historically furnished house. One is able to go throughout the house and touch most things (luckily for me!) Also, you can try on clothes in a certain room, and write on slates, play with rag dolls, etc.

-Gingko Petrified Forest

We were driving back home and noticed a state park sign for "Gingko Petrified Forest State Park." My dad figured that we would probably not come that way again, and so we entered the park. Not only did it offer beautiful, scenic views, it also had an interesting interpretive center about the history of the gingko petrified forest, and an explanatory video called "Trees of Stone" about how the trees were petrifid.

-Eating in General

Some of the culinary highlights of my vacation were: eating ice cream at Yellowstone (I particularly enjoyed the raspberry flavor); eating ice cream at the Big Dipper ice cream parlor in Missoula; eating delicious pizza and "pesto lodgepoles" in Bozeman; and finally, eating at The Noodle Boat Thai restaurant in Issaquah before we finally drove back home.

I hope that you have enjoyed reading this epic description. I hope that, with all the dividing, uniting, low points and high points of any extended trip in a car, I have painted an accurate picture of my Great American Road Trip.

Adora's Elluminate Presentation: A Kid's Eye View of an Innovative Classroom

On May 14th, 2009, eleven-year-old published author Adora Svitak presented her program, "A Kid's Eye View of an Innovative Classroom," to over 140 teachers from places as diverse as Amherst, Massachusetts to British Columbia, Canada; London, England; and Brazil and Portugal. Adora's presentation focused on "innovative classroom tools" that teachers could use in their classrooms to get kids interested in reading, writing, and learning. 

Speaking through the online interactive web-conferencing system Elluminate, Adora was able to talk into a microphone headset connected to her computer, highlight important points on the interactive whiteboard, and answer teachers' questions while streaming live video from her house in Washington State. The response was generally positive. One viewer said, "Very engaging and inspiring"; Joseph M. from Pepperdine University said, "Thank you and keep up the good work."

The link for viewing Adora's session is available at: https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/event/playback.

Just click on Adora's presentation title, "A Kid's Eye View of an Innovative Classroom," at the top. 

Reading Incentive Programs

A free personal pizza…a tub of Whole Foods ice cream…a box of doughnuts…a backpack—if I offered all these items to you for free, you would probably assume that I was kidding. But these are just a few example items that grade-school kids can get by…community service? Charitable donations? Paying money? Nope. Reading.

Many libraries, including my own local Redmond Regional library, offer reading incentive programs, often funded by philanthropic arms of companies such as Pizza Hut. You get a sheet on which “reading coaches”—parents, teachers, or guardians—sign their initials and the date to prove that you have read at least 20 minutes.There’s nothing wrong with the libraries that set up the reading incentive programs; understandably, the libraries want to get more people (especially the new generation) to read. What makes me angry is that kids do need incentives to read. The Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) website listed a few common complaints kids have about reading: “It's boring[…] I don't have the time[…] It's too hard […] It's not important […] It's no fun.” When kids complain about the food on their plates, we tell them that there are starving children in Africa. How are books different? Many people across the world do not have the chance to access reading material. We need to impress upon kids that the ability to read, and the presence of books, is a privilege and a great opportunity for them to learn.

One of the reasons kids may not embrace reading as much any more is that they have many other forms of recreation to distract them, from texting on cell phones to video games and sporting events. However, a big part of life is prioritizing. We need to compare the value of, say, Kung Fu Chaos, an ultra-violent “brawler game” (Xbox.com) to The Grapes of Wrath, an American classic that eloquently depicts the struggles of Depression-era people. Which one do you think sounds better?

Emails from Viewers

Recently, I was one of the kids featured in a documentary on England's Channel 4. I received a giant wave of emails. Some of these contained questions. I decided to answer a few here on my blog.

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1.) Q: Do you agree with the advice that you should always write about what you know?

A: Not really. When you're writing "realistic fiction," it sometimes is best to stick with what you know, because otherwise your story might not ring as true with readers. However, you can always do research--and I have found research immensely helpful. Also, how could authors write fantasy stories if they only stuck to what they knew?

2.) Q: Have you ever read the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel?

A: I have read the book Life of Pi. It was a very interesting book, and I would recommend it to others.

3.) Q: Have you thought about reading more about chinese history / folklore and [then] coming up with an interesting fantasy novel?

A: I do enjoy reading about Chinese history and folklore. So far, I have not written a story about either, but I think it would be a fun idea. Thanks for suggesting!

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I also received many questions not related to the Channel 4 documentary. Here are a few.

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1.) Q: Where are you from?

A: I was born in Springfield, Oregon, but I currently reside in the town of Redmond in Washington State. If you haven't heard of it, don't worry. It's pretty small. Oh, and it is the headquarters of Microsoft.

2.) Q: How do you get started writing a story that will become a good book for people to read?

A: It does depend on your definition, and your reader's definition, of a "good book." To get started, I would advise you to first think about three important things: your story's characters (the people/animals in your stories), your story's setting (the place and time in which your story is set) and your story's conflicts.

3.) Q: Are you in the middle of writing any stories right now?

A: Not really. However, I am in the middle of editing my novella, the Pickpocket Princess.

4.) Q: How many books have you published?

A: So far, I have published two books, Flying Fingers and Dancing Fingers. I will be publishing two more books soon, Yang in Disguise and the Pickpocket Princess.

5.) Q: How many siblings do you have?

A: I have one older sister, Adrianna.

6.) Q: Have you moved a lot?

A: It depends on what you call "a lot!" I was born in Springfield. Pretty soon after that, we moved to an apartment in Bellevue, but that was only for a couple of weeks. By the way, I was really young, so I don't remember any of that part. Then we moved to Renton, and that's when I began remembering things! My dad works for Microsoft and it was sort of a long commute from Renton to Redmond, so we moved to Redmond. And I don't think we're going to move again for a little while.

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I hope that you've enjoyed reading this post. Best wishes to all!

-Adora

Things I've Learned Recently

Alas! I haven't updated the blog for ages. Here's my new post about things I've learned:

In history, I've been learning about the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. The Reformation refers to the movement that pushed for reforms in the Roman Catholic church. In the 1500s, the Catholic Church needed reforming in many areas.

Firstly, some Renaissance popes lived like kings. Pope Sixtus IV was guilty of nepotism; he gave many important church positions to family members. Julius II was one such family member. Also known as the "Warrior Pope," Julius built himself lavish new palaces after deciding that the papal apartments were not good enough. He was famous for leading papal armies into battle against defiant city-states. The picture shown depicts Julius II.

Of course, there were some "grassroots" problems in the Catholic church as well, starting with nuns and monks. If you came from a noble family, you might live in lavish apartments, with "worldly goods" around you. In fact, the saint and nun Teresa of Avila, who later founded the Discalced Carmelites, at first lived in a spacious suite with its own kitchen in her convent, thanks to her noble birth. This picture of a sculpture by Bernini depicts Teresa of Avila having a vision.

The problems of the church became more apparent when Pope Leo X started actively marketing "indulgences." Basically, if you paid enough money for an "indulgence," you could skip purgatory (where sinners were "purged" of their sins) and go right to heaven. Obviously, this idea appealed to a lot of people. However, one monk and theology teacher, Martin Luther, thought that the sale of indulgences was wrong--and said so. Martin Luther posted what he called his "Ninety-Five Theses" on a church door. The "Ninety-Five Theses" criticized the Catholic Church.

Of course, it was dangerous to criticize the church. In fact, a monk named Jan Hus who had criticized the sale of indulgences in the 1400s had been burned at the stake. The Catholic Church gave Martin Luther a chance to recant, or take back, his Ninety-Five Theses, summoning him to appear in a city called Worms. Martin Luther met with church officials and refused to recant the Ninety-Five Theses. The meeting was known as "The Diet of Worms." However, as far as I know, no worms were eaten. The picture at the side depicts Martin Luther (in the habit, with the shaved head) at the Diet of Worms.

Martin Luther's ideas spread. Other reformers began spreading their own ideas. John Calvin helped to spread Protestanism, which was created as a protest against the church. Slowly, the Protestants began gaining support.

All of this worried the Church. Between 1545 and 1563, Pope Paul III held a series of meetings, called the Council of Trent, in the small city of Trent. The Council of Trent attempted to answer basic questions about the Church and their policies, and to define what it meant to be Catholic.

As a result of the Council of Trent, some church members were inspired to lead more pious lives. The Archbishop of Milan gave up many of his worldly goods, and, when the plague spread through his city-state, he stayed behind (and later died) in Milan. People like Ignatius of Loyola, who led an order of priests who became the Jesuits, and Teresa of Avila, who encouraged nuns to give up worldly posessions and distractions and live simple lives dedicated to prayer, led the charge.

But the Catholic Church used more macabre methods to intimidate "heretics." They set up courts of Inquisition, which tried people for heresy or blasphemy against the church. If suspected "heretics" did not confess, they could be tortured.

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I hope that you've enjoyed reading my post. Feel free to leave comments!

Essay written about the election

Most of the historical events of my lifetime have occurred while I was watching TV. For instance, on November 4th, Election Day in the U.S., I was bouncing on top of the comfy leather couch in my mom's room, watching the elctoral map closely. When Barack Obama was declared President-Elect of the United States, I was actually checking the time on my computer.



"ADORA!" my mother bellowed. I rushed to the TV. The first thing noticed--"Barack Obama Elected" in the corner of the screen. I shouted loudly and jumped on the couch. I was relieved that Obama had kept the election from John McCain's clutches--and by a glorious amount, too.



At the same time, it was very depressing to hear McCain's concession speech. It would have been easier if he had acted ingracious, angry, and more Bush-like, because then we could have been more joyous about Obama's victory. Unfortunately, McCain was gracious, sad, and resigned to his fate.



Obviously, the outcome of this election was extremely important to me. As a shamelessly partisan Democrat, I did not want to imagine a McCain administration. That was made even more frightening by the idea of Governor Sarah Palin becoming vice president.



Although I can understand why the historical aspect of this race has great importance to many, I believe that this election is historically significant not just for the color of the candidate's skin, but also because of the practical fact that a Democrat will be our next president. At the same time, I believe that this election has shown that we have made large steps on the path toward racial equality. Despite your own political affiliation (and I hope that I have not offended too many people), I think that, in such interesting times, this election is of humongous gravity no matter what.

Fake ad I wrote for a made-up medicine: Protorvia

I’ve been a cell-phone gabber my whole life! I’m a chatterbox sort of girl. But Type 2 musclodesklegenerative disorder, brought on as a result of excessive cell phone use, can make it hard for chatterboxes like me to keep their routine going. That’s why I was excited when my doctor told me about Protorvia. Protorvia is the once-a-month pill that will keep me on my cell phone for a whole month!

Quieter, fast voice while showing distracting images: Do not take Protorvia if you have allergies to peanuts. Do not take Protorvia if you have risk factor for excessive sneezing, as Protorvia may affect your nose and esophagus. Do not take Protorvia if you take statins. Some common side effects of Protorvia are bloating of the stomach, hair loss, migraines, sleep-boxing with amnesia for the event, strep throat, typhoid, tooth loss, mental sluggishness, slowed blood flow, heart attack, and full body paralysis. Death has been reported. Do not drive, walk, or breathe until you are sure of how Protorvia may affect you. Call your doctor immediately if you experience any sudden loss of life.

See how Protorvia can make the one-month difference! Do what I did. Ask your doctor about Protorvia today.

Musical Preferences

When giving presentations via videoconference I am sometimes asked what my favorite kind of music is. At those times I will usually start off by listing the types of music that I dislike. This, for me, is a great deal easier than listing the kinds that I like. I will list for you here some types of music I dislike, in order of most disliked to "I guess it's sometimes okay" position:

1. Rap. I'm not even sure if rap can qualify as music, but anything that a majority of the United States teenage population likes probably isn't intelligent talk radio. I've taken to doing rap parodies to annoy people, namely my older sister. Whenever I come into the room she blasts Soulja Boy on, high-volume, in order to annoy me back.
2. Pop. As in today's pop, like Avril Lavigne and the Jonas Brothers. I would describe it as "high-pitched wails, clashing vibrations of shallow idiocy, and altogether unpleasant." I know that I'm probably offending quite a few people here.
3. Country. Country music may have been okay in the past when the subject matter actually seemed realistic to the time period, but now it's not so great.

By the way, I am aware that I'm probably offending quite a few people here, just in case you were wondering.

Menu for my Imaginary Country

The Promenade
Restaurant and Winery
188 Orient Avenue
Penthouse, the Crimson Building

Appetizers

The Promenade Special: Gourmet cheeses accented by wine of the day and organic apples with salad. $10.92

A Rustic Flair: Biscuits and smoked salmon. $6.38

Summer Delight: Sliced orange garnished by goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes. $6.00

Verandah Crunch: Mixed nuts with plain yogurt. $6.00

The Alleyway: Pumpernickel bread with honey-brie cheese. $9.99

Entrees

Catch of the Day: Halibut, salmon, mackerel, or tilapia, grilled to perfection. $32.60

The Clam Shack: Fresh clams lightly breaded with honey-coated multi-grain. $28.00

Pasta Canasta: A variety of noodles with ravioli and tortellini, complimented by basil tomato sauce and Shiitake mushrooms. Salmon on request. $29.95

Countryside Platter: Organic veal, pork, and lamb, with parmesan cheese and rigatoni. $36.34

Wind of the Sea: Salmon teriyaki with clams, oysters, mussels, and dulse. $29.99

Vegetarian Variety: Platter of fake meats and breads with one salad of your choice. We do not use cows’ milk, eggs, or other animal products. $23.98

Three-cheese pizza: Our pizza features goat cheese, mozzarella, and gorgonzola, with sun-dried tomatoes. Our cheeses use vegetable rennet. All of our pizzas are baked in our traditional wood ovens. $34.99

Vegetable pizza: A variety of vegetables with mozzarella cheese and deep-dish crust. $38.99

Side Dishes

Potato slices: Accented by rosemary, basil, paprika, thyme, dill, and oregano, our potato slices are baked a golden brown. $11.99

Rice Variety: Black, brown, white, and purple rice. $11.00

Small breads: Multi-grain, white, potato, and cornbread in miniature size. $12.30

Soups and Salads

Farmer's Pride: Butternut Squash soup with cilantro. $18.22

Fisherman's Best: Genuine clam chowder with vegetables and breadsticks. $19.99

Mushroom Lovers: Cream of mushroom soup with herbs. $16.00

Sweet Salad: Mixed fruits and vegetables garnished by grass. $17.99

Multitask Salad: Meat, seafood, fake meats, fruit, and vegetables. $37.00

Keep it Simple: Lettuce and cabbage garnished by grass. $10.00

Desserts

Dark chocolate and mocha ice cream bar $27.00

Island Sorbet (orange, lemon, lime, and coconut flavored sorbets) $30.00

Fudge squares with chocolate chip ice cream, garnished by assorted candies $29.99

Chocolate cheesecake slice $23.00

Tiramisu cake slice $23.99

Chocolate hazelnut cake slice $23.00

Coffee cake $22.76

Assorted fruit with whipped cream $18.67

Plain sponge cake slice topped by fresh fruit and sugar glaze (gelatin-free) $23.00

Variety ice cream (chocolate-chip, fudge chocolate, vanilla, vanilla-chocolate, raspberry cheesecake, dark chocolate, huckleberry, blackberry, strawberry)

Beverages

Cognac (aged 12 years) $210.00

Chardonnay (8 years) $156.99

Cranberry cocktail $52.99

(For full list of our wine selections, ask your server)

Non-alcoholic: Fresh orange/grapefruit juice, iced cranberry juice, any of the former with carbonated water, bottled water, mineral/vitamin water.

Vietnamese Cuisine

As I will be going on an Asia tour this November through Hong Kong, Beijing, and Vietnam, I am doing some research on Vietnamese cuisine--just in case some if its not-so-savory sounding foods (dog meat, for instance) disturb my semi-vegetarian diet during my stay.

According to http://www.geocities.com/vietnamrp/french_influence.htm, a website I would strongly recommend for research on Vietnam, the French had a large influence on Vietnamese food because of their colonization of Vietnam. One obvious influence is French bread.

According to www.reference.com, one popular dish, with noticeable French roots, is the "Vietnamese baguette, French bread containing paté, Vietnamese mayo, different selections of Vietnamese cold cuts and deli (a large variety, most commonly with ham, head cheese, and a Vietnamese bologna), pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber slices. Often garnished with coriander, black pepper."

Another influence on Vietnam's cuisine was neighboring China. There are many similarities between Chinese food and Vietnamese; rice is a staple part of diet, there are a lot of vegetables, and many people eat meats like chicken and pork. China's "baozi" inspired the Vietnamese Banh bao.

Some of Vietnam's more "exotic" meats include fertilized duck eggs (eating a nearly-developed embryo), snake, soft-shell turtle, and goat. Some of these are, however, according to www.reference.com,

"cocktail delicacies" with alcohol, and are not considered typical everyday
fare."

According to Wikipedia, "Its [Vietnam's] characteristic flavors are sweet (sugar), spicy (Serrano peppers), sour (lime), nuoc mam (fish sauce), and flavored by a variety of mint and basil."

Vietnam is also famous for its noodle dishes, which are acclaimed around the world.

And although dog meat and fertilized duck eggs may sound strange, keep in mind that American monstrosities like hot dogs and French fries probably seem weird to a lot of people!

Phrases of my Imaginary Country

Phrase: One hobbling crook is better than ninety-two strong monks.

Definition: One "bad" person who is too weak to do anything is better than ninety-two "good" people who are strong and zealous.

Origins: After the reign of Voledads' first duarchy, a religiously devout sister and brother pair, the Trinansitic archbishop took control of the country and installed harsh rules against those opposed to the Trinansitic faith. Monks were the new "bad guys" in their violent searches, secret surveillance systems, and total control of the legal system.

Phrase: Hag's Revenge

Definition: Hag's Revenge means a medicine that does more harm than good.

Origins: Alternative medicines became popular in the 1970s with the rise in buying of foreign goods and "exotic" objects. Alternative medicines, which were also known as "Hagfood" for the alternative apothecary stereotype (generally old women in the popular imagination), were soon at the center of a nationwide scandal, due to toxic elements found in some alternative medicines.

Phrase: Cutting cupboards

Definition: Conserving space

Origins: As cramped immigrant tenements, stylish condominiums, and massive villas sprouted up across Voledads, conserving space became a neccessary part of life. Cupboards, the traditional Voledadian storage unit, were usually heavy wood pieces of furniture, with such ornate decorations and add-ons that took up a great deal of space. The cupboards often stored less than they weighed, so many households in urbanized areas began "cutting cupboards."

A Trip to Whole Foods

The familiarly large "Whole Foods Market" sign in green loomed ahead of us. How an unobtrusive, material green sign could remind me of an hour's worth of delicious samples and galloping wild through the aisles of delicious everything! We walked less-than-demurely inside to be greeted by large bouquets of flowers. My sister Adrianna and I snooped about the samples. There was something rather sneaky about eating samples.

Eating ice cream from Whole Foods seemed somehow more justified than from some other store. Perhaps it was because most were boldly emblazoned with "Organic." Perhaps it was because of Whole Foods' reputation as a healthy store gave ice cream this reputation as well. Perhaps it was because Whole Foods ice cream was most often very good. Simply looking at ice cream made me giddy with anticipation, thinking of mouthfuls of chocolate chocolate-chip...being in the ice cream section melted away all the day's worries, temporarily at least.

After all our shopping was done, I hopped back in the car, weighed down with all the bags to carry, but feeling as though I could levitate off the ground with satisfaction.

Focus of Expertise: Chinese History

Imagine yourself in a land of red-tiled buildings with sweeping roofs and gardens at every turn, your footsteps pressing the ground where the Emperor might have walked. Who could resist entering the Forbidden City of Chinese history? As my new "Focus of Expertise," I will be studying Chinese history and posting updates on my blog.

My topic will span some of the country's development through the years. I chose Chinese history because I (most ashamedly) know little about it, because China is a large and growing world power today, and because, of course, I am half-Chinese.

From various biographical and historical fiction readings, I have some understanding of Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution, as well as (less so, however) Ancient China.

The following questions are some that I hope to answer and that I hope possibly that some of my readers will be able to answer.

How and when was China settled by humans? How did the first emperor come to be the first emperor, and who was he? What was the Chinese people's attitude to different rulers over time?

Third-person perspective of my day

It was a day much like any other, except that it was a weekend day and Adora and Adrianna were anxious to line up in the kitchen, should they just barely miss the introduction to 60 Minutes. Adora ate very little but did cram a grape leaf most rudely into her mouth. She also took a fearsome swig of cranberry-raspberry juice before departing to lounge on the carpet.

Before this, the morning was bright and cheery and fresh. Sunlight streamed through the two windows in the bathroom/bedroom. Adora had slept here for the last two nights. The bed was of dark and creaky wood that gathered dust with its infrequent use. It groaned and squeaked as she rose sluggishly off of it to dress and put her hairpins in order atop her much mussed hair.

The family sat down to a large Sunday breakfast of waffles with sugar-powdered raspberries. Despite the splendor of the day outside, the house remained an inferno of papers and pants strewn all about, sharpener-shavings embedded in the carpet, pine cones littered about the downstairs floor...

All of this, of course, needed to be changed, and what a better day to ruin with the loud and droning Vroom-vroom-vroom of the vacuum than a beautiful weekend?

This is a parent's point of view.

The children begged to differ.

PART II OF THE DAY

After a long time spent in cleaning--or, as the case might be, hiding from those who were doing the cleaning--the family set off (most exhaustedly) ambling away in the pill-buggish minivan for the week's shopping. Among some of the items bought:

Almond cheese

Jarlsberg cheese (much to the children's chagrin)

Monterey Jack cheese

Bread

Bagels

Potatoes

Laundry detergent

Tissue paper

And so on.

Comfortably propped up in bed against a blue faux-fur monster of a pillow lay a girl preparing to turn off her computer...

A Trip Crabbing

Last weekend we went crabbing with our aunt and uncle near the Canadian-Washingtonian border. We started out in our aunt and uncle's golden car, which always reminds me distinctly of a fat pill-bug. We piled our things in the car haphazardly--my backpack rolled around at my feet in front of a keyboard-print pillow and a large green cooler, while our uncle bombarded us with math questions pertaining to the number of days it would take to drive so many miles, etc. These questions were successfully answered, and we soon settled into a long discussion about various types of food.

Ah...food! Our first stop was at the Bellingham's Farmer's Market, a large and busy place, smelling of kettle corn, herbs, and cheese sticks. Some of the booths were more homogeneous, lined up in much the same way with the same white canopies stretched over the poles. Others were more conspicuous, shading some creative artisan behind hat-stands or sculptures or jewelry. We purchased some fruit and vegetables (not to mention a temptingly sweet bag of sugar-coated pecans, and a cheese stick). The sugar-coated pecans had the texture of an obstinately hard vitamin, the crunchiness and crispness of an overbaked cookie, and had the same filling taste as a gulpful of sweet lemonade.

Our next stop was to start crabbing. Our other aunt and uncle were there, as well as our maternal grandparents. The crab-nets were heavy and bothersome. I watched (entranced) as our gloved aunt put a raw chicken leg into a small cage inside the nets as bait for the hungry crabs. Our other uncle threw the net, like a frisbee, into the murky water, where it splashed like a skipping stone. We waited expenctantly over a delicious lunch.

My aunt was at the epicenter of this lunch, chopping tomatoes and cucumbers while talking loudly in Chinese, watching the lines of our crab nets until she determined they were ready to pull, and laying out tasks for her minions (our uncle and me) to complete. Namely, putting cheese and/or ham into the sandwiches. Our grandmother's lunch seemed to be made up entirely of peanuts and watermelon, although I could be wrong.

We caught a great deal of small crabs, one of whom seemed to be in raw-chicken-leg paradise, having managed to get halfway into the cage and feast upon his reward. We threw him back. My sister's official role was to prod the little crabs who got stuck on a bit of the dock that protruded out beyond our reach, with a chopstick or popsicle stick or whatever struck her fancy. I helped, and felt a feeling of satisfaction afterwards, as though I had saved the world. (It is a simliar feeling when one gives an ant struggling with a bread-crumb a lift in your palm back to its home.)

Every so often I would observe the number of crabs lounging in the tepid water inside my aunt's hat-shaded bucket. I thought it was over six, although I never would know for sure.

Thrice-Told Tales of the Big Apple

Having sadly neglected my blogging duty, I again take keyboard in hand and proceed to tell this audience of today's events.

I was invited to the "Big Idea" program on CNBC recently. Today we boarded the plane at a pitiful seven AM to charge through the clouds at New York City. This is my fourth time in the Big Apple and I must admit, I hope to no offense, that I did not anticipate the plane journey with much happiness. Neither did I feel particularly reasured when we took off, leaving bloomingly bright Seattle-Tacoma Airport behind us.

It is currently, I believe, seventy something degrees in the humid weather, but no hot weather is pleasant with the sound of a suburb sprinkler replaced by honking horns, the smell of a summer's freshly cut grass forfeited for the exhaust of a limo. And, of course, overshadowing all of these petty complaints, no summer day, not even one bedecked in cookies and cream, silks and satins, could be as pleasant without my sister, and my dad alongside us.

Speaking of Adrianna, my older sister, I came up with this the other day (believe it was Monday)--

"The woodpecker is to tree as Adrianna is to me."

This quite accurately represents sibling rivalry, although how do you like this one:

"The woodpecker is to tree as Republicans are to democracy."

Okay, a little bit offensive, and probably not true (in some cases.) But what else rhymes with "tree"?

In any case, back to business. Speaking of which, we're in the business room in our "cosmopolitan and contemporary" NYC hotel, Flatotel. My mom pronounces it "Flotel". While it's seven nineteen PM right now, it's four nineteen in Seattle, I think.

More updates later.

ADORA

I do love "dw" words immensely, though, at the moment, I can only think of two, "dwelling" and "dwindling", both of which I use quite a bit. The word "dwelling" seems to conjure in mind an image of a a moss-covered cottage, hidden by the thorns of long-long ago, and "dwindling"--well, dwindling food supplies, perhaps, and a warehouse riddled by a trillionaire's greed. Speaking of conjured images, today we did a project in class focusing on writing about a time in which we imagined ourseves as something else when we looked at something. I looked at a map and immediately imagined myself as a cartographer shut up in a tower drawing with a feather pen on a sheet of vellum. (As a cartographer, this is rather heavy on animal products. Adrianna would cringe.) I copied and pasted mine into here (by the way, it's third person. "She" is myself):
She looked at the map inquisitively and an image came into her mind, a sage of sorts bent over a sheet of fine vellum like that of the days of the lore of gods, a sheet like that from the days when maps were drawn by hand by sages in sepulchers. She was the sage, in a robe crinkled with the use of an eon, layered in a film of dust like sand on a mussel’s shell. She wielded a pen of ink from a river of thought, thoughts so sharp that a sword of Hephaestus’s make could not compare. Slowly the Mongols crept across the wrinkled vellum border; slowly the ink filtered through so Luxembourg, Andorra, lived; the blue Danube waltzed its way across in ink of blue jay-blue; the pilgrims inched across to Plymouth Rock, and slowly, Lewis and Clark made their way past the prairie dogs. New Lands of centuries; deserts of millenniums; names upon the sepia vellum in a spidery script. The map was spread across the table, the table’s wood fine but insignificant to the wise, with jaded minds; all the lands and all the men that maps had turned to mimes. The map progressed like a sage’s action, not so quick as thought, and, quick as a sage’s action, the sage turned to face a weather-beaten table marked by a day of scratches, faces she knew to be of no recent renown, and the map upon the wall that had conjured the magic.

We forced our teacher to write one as well. Hers was quite funny; the image sprouted from a flawless flower planter, exploring a world of TV microwaved popcorn dinners and stark banality. In class, I won the Review Quiz for the third time in the row. At the moment we are studying the Civil War and its many characters. My favorite, so far, is General Winfield Scott, otherwise known (my preferred title for the man) as Fuss n' Feathers. His name is of much debate in our classroom. We are unsure of whether it is spelled Winifred or Winfield, having seen it spelled both ways. We went on a walk today after dinner, with our mom, dad, and Adrianna, and played a merry game of Tag in the "safer" boundaries of Nike Park (namely, the playground). Adrianna, disobedient soul she is, brought her bike despite protests, and was forced to lug it back down (mostly rocky terrain, and too dark for pleasant riding). It was sunset, beautiful in its piercing red (though as we trudged back, grinning soldiers from a warfield looking forward to rewards, it was much later, dusk), red like the strawberry popsicles we licked triumphantly back home. Sadly, the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train, a slow journey through picteresque landscape on train, will soon be closed down ("why doesn't King County buy it and make it a commuter train?" our dad says, pounding his fist upon the table in a fit of intellectual rage), to make way for a highway. In any case, it's ten thirty seven PM.

The Larabar

Ah--the blanket of paradise-like plastic adorned beautifully with anticipation falls to the "oohs" and "aaaahs" of the assembled audience, followed by awed silence like that in a cathedral. The Holy Grail of sweet tooths, the treasure chest of health advocates, the gourmet chef's dream. The snack for the sweaty commute across inner city, the outdoor lunch on a backyard equestrian dream. Play-doh for the babies not yet graduated from incoherent goos and gahs; wholesome broth for the graybeards.

LARABAR.

Go to www.larabar.com to see more of my reviews and info about Larabar.
To learn more about the nine-year-old author of this review, go to www.adorasvitak.com .

A "Letter to Jamie"

The following is part of our Civil War role playing game. Our family is Confederate middle class in Augusta County, Virginia. "Ezra", my older brother, is played by my sister Adrianna. My character, Caroline-Edwina Lillian Emerson (Carrie), is writing a letter to Jamie, our dashing oldest brother who is a Confederate soldier.

Dear Jamie,

I am doing very well. It is very hot and I know the blood of battle must make it even harder, but the glory is refreshing. I envy you. If I were a boy I would go to fight and drive the Yankees out too.

Father wanted us to donate all of our animals to the war effort. Aunt Alice sent Ezra and me to take the animals to the military post. Ezra likes the pigs, and I like Thunder, the black stallion with the white mane. Ezra, in any case, took action to save the pigs from the soldiers' pot.

Do you remember the abandoned house down in town? Ezra pushed the pigs in through the window of the house. The heaviest we put in a shed. I wished to save Thunder, so we had Robert guard Thunder at a post and then we went off to the military post. It is lodged in a grim old Georgian manor with dark shutters, a dusty interior that smells of dust and solemnity, and it looks like a funeral parlor. Surrounded by the dust and filth of the town it stands out as an immense structure and makes us insignificant humans feel small in comparison. It is not a good feeling.

I would in reality pick Thunder up from the post after coming back from the manor, but I would tell Aunt Alice they had diagnosed him with a leg problem, although he had been at the post all along.

The lieutenant was not a very respectable figure and quite portly. His wife was a sour lady, and wore such a number of pins on her dress that she would have sunken a ship. We handed the horses over.

When we came back out, Robert, a lazy fellow, had, of course, gone to sleep under a tree, as though guarding Thunder had been the least important thing in the world. And, of course, Thunder was nowhere to be seen when we returned from the garrison. A rebellious servant is already an annoyance, but a lazy one is a hindrance. There are a great number of lazy fellows in the world. I wished I could have scolded Robert well but we were forced to be polite to him instead. Ezra's doing. Ezra is so polite I wish I could choke him sometimes; he insists on nodding and bowing in a most sickening way to every single person, even my bosom enemy, Arachina Morton. The girls are gathered around him like leeches on one's skin, and it makes him a perfectly despicable little man. Have you met any pleasant ladies, Jamie? I do think you should devote most of your love to the war.

Again, I cordially command you to defeat Billy Yank!

Your wish-she-were-a-boy sister,

CARRIE

"Happy News" Questionnaire

Google Docs & Spreadsheets
"Happy News" Questionnaire

ADORA SVITAK

-When did you get involved in writing and reading?

I started my writing journey at the age of four, writing longhand with help from my mom. My mom bought me a black Dell laptop when I was six. The secondhand, somewhat weather-battered computer allowed me to organize my thoughts effectively in stories and poems, compared to time-consuming longhand writing, as I was able to learn how to type very quickly. My dad read to me and my older (eleven-year-old) sister, Adrianna, at bedtime when we were little, and we loved reading from an early age. When I began reading, I often read "advanced" books that were in "higher" grade levels.

-Why do you enjoy reading and writing so much?

I believe writing is a great way to express your thoughts to other people. Writing also gives us the chance to communicate and understand each other, making a better, less conflict-ravaged world possible. I also like writing because it gives me the chance to organize my thoughts and "empty my mind", making it easy to remember things of the past (for instance, a memorable vacation) while still having enough "brain space" to observe the present carefully. Writing also gives me the chance to have fun while utilizing learning skills. Writing is really an enjoyable, interesting experience because I actually live with my characters; it's a break from everyday life. I love reading because this gives me the chance to understand other people and get different perspectives on issues, different views. This gives me the chance to learn more about the world and other people. Reading also gives me the ability to learn while enjoying myself, and reading allows me to "live with the characters" while still being surprised at unexpected twists and turns. Reading brings me to different places while I'm still comfortably propped up against an infinite number of fluffy pillows. I'm able to meet thousands of new people, make millions of friends, live a countless number of lives. Reading can give me experience, knowledge, and personal enjoyment.

-What do you like about each one?

Note: Included in previous question's answer.

-Why do you feel it is important for people, specifically younger people to read and write?

I believe it's extremely important to bring reading and writing into the household, and introduce reading and writing to children at an early age. It's never "too early" for learning. Babies in the womb, according to studies, are observing sounds, etc., even before delivery. Children continue to observe and learn through childhood--even some 'older' children, after all! Reading and writing helps enhance this learning experience and opens eyes to thousands of perspectives on countless issues, while, through writing, providing effective ways to share one's own perspectives with a wider audience. Reading and writing are useful tools in the learning journey, and provide enjoyable ways to learn new information (reading), while providing ways to express opinions and use skills learned (writing).

-What would you say to someone who is young that says he or she doesn’t like to read?

I would list my own reasons for liking reasons to the particular individual. Reading gives me the chance to explore faraway and fantasy places and meet people we would be very likely unable to meet in real life--after all, we hear about people like Queen Elizabeth I, George Washington, and JK Rowling all the time; reading gives us the chance to actually see these people in front of us with our own eyes, not on the TV screen. Reading adds to my store of knowledge; I learn new words effortlessly through reading; instead of toiling away at blunt, continuous lists of words and words, I'm able to quickly look words up on my computer/in a dictionary. I'm also able to learn new facts and see matters from different perspectives, helping me learn more about people. For the normal public school student "struggling in social circles", reading provides an easy way to advance on the school popularity ladder, impressing friends to the envy of enemies with interesting knowledge. Last, but certainly not least, and a great way to sum up all these reasons-- reading is FUN!

-How would you go about inspiring them to read?

Note: Included in previous question's answer.

-What types of writing do you do? How many books have you written?

I have written over four hundred stories, but I've only published one book, Flying Fingers. Three more books are currently in the works (already written but being fine-tuned) and I write poems avidly (one hundred to two hundred poems so far). I occasionally write historical fiction (an example might be "Agymah and the Amulet", a short story, located in Flying Fingers), but fantasy tends to be my most widely-explored genre, as I'm able to use my imagination for creative names while still using my knowledge of history and human nature to create my own worlds.

-What other interests do you have outside of reading and writing?

I really love cooking with my eleven-year-old sister, Adrianna. My mom and dad are both very supportive of our culinary pursuits (despite stunning evidence of gross negligence regarding the urge to clean up after oneself, supposed to be morally inserted in our conscience), and, while I must admit our products (healthy snacks like strawberry-yogurt-with-apple-chunk muffins, extravagantly unhealthy "decadent chocolate" butter-filled brownies, and more "typical dinner fare" like cheese-with-don't-know-what-the-heck-that-healthy-veggie-is pizza) do taste good, I'm still--gratefully--amazed our parents continue to consent to let us enter the kitchen. Other than cooking I love drawing. I hope this does not sound like a bragging attempt, but I have advanced somewhat in what I call "imaginative portraiture" (portraits of stiff-faced, regal people from my imagination). While I call this stuff imaginative I do sometimes use real models--I placed a no doubt disgruntled but younger George Washington, very respectfully, in Bank of America headquarters (whatever Bank of America looks like) accompanied by a gold box of snuff and those ever-present "Bank Lollipops" (free for the picking). Another samples of these types of drawings of mine would be a Queen-Elizabeth-the-First-like-character, disapproving expression on face, in front of our own living room window. The window looks out onto our neighbor's house, and the towering trees beside it, which looks unintentionally like some sort of ski resort lodge. As I am an innocent, perfect little nine-year-old doll, I shall maliciously bog you down with technical descriptions of my sadly unprofessional equipment--a "Dark Wash", thick, very, very black pencil, which I use for outlines and roughs, and a somewhat-sharpened normal pencil with a flat eraser, for facial details and delicate parts. I use what I can to erase, most often a blackened, worn-down eraser, sometimes a mutilated eraser from a broken pencil, and, while many "erasing skids" are clearly displayed, this system gets along pretty well. Drawing makes up perhaps fifty percent of my time? maybe less, maybe more, on different days. A lot of my audience ask about me regarding sports. I love ice skating (although I don't get the chance to do it much, the nearest ice skating rink is thirty minutes to an hour away from here, and we've been too lazy to make the drive). I also love swimming, although, again, between my mom's vicious health concerns and Seattle's vicious weather, I don't get the chance to do it that much. Last summer I (finally!) learned to jump off the diving board (I can't really dive well, with the arm over head thing, but I can do a cannonball and a twist in the air and all that), and I swim in the deep end, etc. I don't swim particularly fast, but I don't tire very quickly, and I go underwater easily, and I don't mind opening my eyes underwater, either, although I know I probably shouldn't. More sports--I love biking. I have a shiny-new dark purple Magna bike, bedecked in an infinite number of glittering "Stardust" stickers. Perhaps it's not classified as new anymore--when I first got it, it had training wheels, but now I'm comfortably out of that training sphere. Unfortunately I have a tendency to veer too sharply, knocking me off my bike, and sometimes when I ride I do zigzags and I have difficulty keeping to the path, sometimes riding into soaked grass, mud, stones, and City Hall shrubbery. And while "playing outside" can't really be considered a valid hobby, perhaps mud-making is? Adrianna and I produced a large vat of mud for future use in the summer (we made it in the winter with rain accumulation and slug-infested dirt). We have a club in the backyard which was formerly called the D.A.M. club (most of us are so thickened with age we can't remember what it stands for), and Adrianna and I formally changed the name of the club to the "Ontario Club", a name I proudly picked myself. It sounds like it's by the Great Lakes or something. Also, I like photography and blogging. For Christmas my mom bought me a digital camera (in return for my promise to continue writing poems and blogs faithfully.)

-Why is it important for girls to not be portrayed in negative light?

Women are an essential force in today's society, and have been essential forces in the world throughout history. Women today serve in many prestigious roles with great skill and capability, like politics, the media, business, science, etc., while many women continue to provide a gigantic helping hand at home. Women have for centuries shouldered duties men were incapable--or too lazy--to do, and continue to shoulder many of these duties. In some countries women continue to manage family finances. Women have influenced the course of history and gained power through their own merits; this is why it is important for the modern-day individual to respect this rich history and realize women are capable in many fields, not cut out just for housekeeping and childbearing, and deserve to be treated like any other citizen of this world. Unfortunately companies like Disney treat women as helpless damsels in distress. While some despicable women in history have been specimens like these, overall women are strong, intelligent, and resourceful. The kind of "damsel in distress" Disney puts forward as models for another generation of women are anything but beacons of light in darkness--do we want to be raising wailing Cinderellas waiting for the fairy godmother without a thought of her own? Is this generation of parents going to be comforted by their fairytale princesses being swept off golden unicorns into reality and Sadly Ever After endings? This is why women should be portrayed in a more realistic light than at present, as determined, clever human beings instead of shallow damsels in distress.

-What is your goal with having the Web site, writing books and giving presentations? Are you sending a specific message? What would that be?

My goal is to spread a message of worldwide literacy. I believe it's never to early to learn, and this is another one of the messages I wholeheartedly believe which many of my presentations spread. I also show viewers how technology like Microsoft Word and the World Wide Web can be used positively to enhance students' educational experiences. I believe technology is a great help in education, a tool which should be made available to every student. In my presentations, I inspire my audience (mainly public school children) to read and write; I help children express their ideas with clarity and fine tune existing writing skills. In some of my presentations I also teach vocabulary. I wrote and published the book Flying Fingers because, 1) I just wanted to get my thoughts out and express my feelings clearly so other people (namely my family and friends) could understand me better, and 2) I published the book because I wanted my writing to reach a wider audience, to both help other people understand me and my life, and to spread a message I realized was relevant and neccessary in today's world. My website, www.adorasvitak.com, is a way for people to understand me and my message better; it has some of my early drawings (I don't draw nearly so bad now!), poetry, etc.

-How many places have you given presentations too? What states, countries have you been to?

My presentations have taken me across the U.S., from Redmond, Washington (where I live), to Orlando, Florida, from NY, NY, to London, England. I've given presentations to mainly often low-income public schools, but I've also participated in events like the Verizon Family Literacy Conference, the Keller Williams Inspirational Breakfast, etc. I also presented at Stony Brook University's Charles B. Wang Center in Long Island. Every time I learn new and interesting techniques which allow me to improve my future speeches.

-What are some famous people you have met, and what talk shows have you been on?

The most prestigious talk shows I've been on include Montel Williams, Good Morning America, and Oprah (video clip). I was also featured on NBC's Making a Difference, a major TV network in the U.K., "Sky"; I was on the BBC (radio) in the U.K., and Voices of America as well. I've been on a number of major newspapers and other publications, including U.K.'s popular "Daily Mirror". As for famous people I've met--Montel Williams, Bill Cosby, James Earl Jones, and Tom Vilsack.

-How did you like the TLC series on the Discovery Channel on kids that you were on?

I really thought BBC America's "My Life as a Child" series was very excellently designed and organized. This show gave Discovery/TLC viewers a chance to see the lives of twenty very different children, with footage from the points of view of the children themselves. Videocameras in the children's power followed their families' every action, giving an accurate view of life to eager viewers. You could feel the anxiety of going to that first major performance, whoop along with delighted--and excited--children, etc. While some scenes were stormy, it was all family-friendly, and definitely an educational experience for the TV audience. Personally I had a great time filming for "My Life as a Child". The videocamera was small and easy to transport to destinations like Europe and New York, and while there were some blows (mistaking a tape cleaner for a tape and losing an hour's worth of footage to a useless piece of plastic), etc., it was an overall great experience for the entire family.

Letter to a Taiwanese Friend

Dear P,

Life is getting on very well, but my days of lazing about at room temperature eating potstickers are over. I am now concentrating on editing Yang in Disguise while the heat in our house seems to drop. I have a cold, although it's getting better. Weekends are hardly breaks, and--well, probably enough complaining. After all you are busy in school with homework and tests. What do you do on weekends? Adrianna has her violin, I do last-minute Chinese homework, we both do Chinese class, and sometimes go biking. (Saturday). Sundays are sleep-in days of boredom. The most exciting thing on Sunday is Sixty Minutes, the TV program. Speaking of TV we watched the Oscars just now. Did you watch the Oscars? The "pre-Oscar" time is extremely boring. They claim the Oscars begin at four, but that's just when everybody's getting seated and obnoxious reporters interview rushing nominees. They drone on and on about spectacular gowns. A typical conversation between the reporters would be--"And the new trend with jewels on so-and-so and bare shoulders, so-and-so's dress is Calvin Klein, so-and-so is taking a note from so-and-so and wearing diamonds, so-and-so's dress is Versace with some great beads, so-and-so is wearing..." And it goes on in that vein for some time. My mom wanted me to watch it anyways. Watching the actual awards was alright, though. Some of the commercials were quite good. Weather has taken a rather nasty turn. It is quite rainy, foggy, and windy. What are you doing in Taiwan? What is your everyday life like? Is school harder, easier, or about the same? What are you studying right now? How did you like the Taiwanese book? Also, forgot to ask you. What did you do for Christmas? Did you celebrate it? What did you do for New Year's? (Chinese or otherwise.) I attatched a photo of our aunts and uncles on Christmas Day. I hope you'll be able to see it. I took the picture with the mini Lumix digital camera I recieved from my mom as a present. I also recieved a Santa hat, a lot of candy canes, a fifty dollar Barnes and Noble gift card, and a porcelain kind of vase shaped-thing for holding pencils, pens, and erasers. It was a pretty great Christmas. We ate a buffet breakfast in Todai, Redmond Town Center. By the way, we made bedding for "The Ontario Club" (also known as the "DAM Club"). My room is covered in soft bedding. So is Adrianna's. I said hi to K for you. Oh, by the way--guess what? We didn't get any homework for the weekend!!!

Please reply soon!

Love,
Dory

Journal

Journal (Handwritten at an earlier date) January 27th, 2006--I mean 2007--obviously, right?

Well, time passes quickly, whether you're having fun or not. It seems only a few moments ago that I was crouching in Benaroya Hall's Safeco Founders tier, and tomorrow we'll be heading to San Diego on an almost red-eye flight. I was in Benaroya Hall listening to Bill Cosby. To be honest, I might have rather gone biking, since it was a nice day outside and all (it was all dark when we came out though)...ah well. Daddy isn't coming with us [to San Diego] which is a shame since I think he definitely would have liked SeaWorld and the [San Diego] zoo. I desperately hope we won't have to write a report about San Diego [in class]. We faithfully sent emails to Beastie throughout our entire Europe trip, and yet!-alas, we had to write an entire report. I usually despise Alaska Aairlines [airlines], since last time when I got on an L.A. flight the hallways were narrow, the plane was pretty stinky, and overall I don't like planes, or airports.

I'm glad everything is packed for San Diego, but I'm still nervous about a lot of things. By the way, I just thought of Bush's call to "support the soldiers". Are we exactly supporting them when we send more of them into harm's way? I thought Bill Cosby's "Is there any way to buy out the president?" joke was pretty funny. Somebody really ought to look into it. However, I bet Cheney would steal the money and either dispose of Bush or keep him as a puppet president. My mom took pictures of it all (the Green Room meeting with Bill Cosby, etc.) and then got into a big fight with my dad since she thought the pictures hadn't been taken, etc. I desperately hope we will have a good time in San Diego.

Sincerely,
Adora

[A note to the reader--all inserts in brackets were observations typed up by the author (me, otherwise known as ADORA SVITAK. Including this one.]

I just thought of a large mausoleum for some reason. Here is a description (this is my imagination, not real): It was a huge, towering mass of marble with granite making up the floor that led to the jeweled entrance. There was a serpent of gold, with sapphire eyes, that guarded the mausoleum, a wolf of silver with emerald eyes guarding the Inner Tomb, and lastly, the coffin itself, covered with amulets, so that you could barely see the rich mahogany lid or the oak bottom or the bronze hinges. The sides were of sturdy oak as well. The body inside, whether by witchery or some other strange art, had been preserved, and was pale and waxy.

To be honest that was more of a description of some sort of pyramid but I think it still ought to be a mausoleum.

My Rambling Journal Continued

I often imagine my villains to look like the host of Deal or No Deal. Not all people are like this in the real world, however (well maybe some filthy rich CEOs). Anyways...we're not supposed to use filler words like "Anyways", I guess, but sometimes it's unhelpable. That is a word I made up myself as well. I am rather scared of the dark unless I have some sort of protective shield--for instance, my lumpy, bulky blanket. I am scared of three things--my lamp, under my bed, and the window, as our garage outside light is always on and looks most ghastly illuminating our front yard. I suppose I am not afraid of the dark, just what it transforms other things into. My innocent furniture made into officers ofdarkness, of course, when other people are about, it isn't so bad. K, Adrianna, and I often go on romps about the downstairs dancing room during breaktime, Dune6 or some other creepy music cranked high (possible Slavon or something) and we go about making screeching noises. We also act the parts of machinese. I am the chopper, masher, grinder, smasher, in eternal darkness, K is the mixer, spinning herself silly, and sometimes falling down, and Adrianna is Task Manager who shouts at us when to stop and sometimes controls the music. We always turn off all the lights and try to scare each other but more likely we scare ourselves. There are no casulaties, although sometimes we might get too caught up in our monstrous acting (we pretend to be horrific monsters for Dune6) and actually start roaring and all, instead of just closing our eyes and slamming walls. Speaking of class my favorite subjects are literature and history. We have an enormous "Lit" book for literature and a geography textbook as well. The "Lit" book almost is a history book--history of writing, anyway. It is an "Elements of Literature" book. [To be continued].

My Rambling Journal

January 3rd, 2007 11:46 a.m.
[Typed and Blogged at a Later Date].

Today--the pig day! [meant to be "big" day, accidentally wrote pig day in the longhand version]. After writing a bunch of business letters, I have been given a "time chunk"--as I call it--of free time, to write in here. K, apparently, shall come to class in her pajamas, most like her but also because her outlandish school, RE, is having another one of their ridiculous parties with chips and food during classtime--how scandalous--and not one bit of learning, I should suspect. Most children have their brain cells deadened in there, for sure! Just coloring and breaktime and unhealthy food is all that makes up the school system there, in my opinion. Yesterday's Netflix (maybe day before that, actually) would have been nice except it was a despicable French one. All those foreign films...I can't understand one bit of it. I wish my mom would stop ordering movies only she can understand! I'm in a fairly good mood because my favorite Italian noodles other than tortellini are cooking . I'm not sure what they are called. Marco Polo went to Asia and brought noodles back to Italy, I believe. Adrianna is lately a vegetarian and says things like "Hmm...should I eat duck...wouldn't be fair to the chicken?" I think that some meats are indigestible but I love teriyaki chicken, steak, and salmon, so I'm obviously not a vegetarian. Our sometimes-crazy mom is making girlled cheese sandwiches on the waffle maker. Knowing her, that's not exactly very odd. I hope they taste good. One time, many times actually, she put a great deal of flour in the brownies to make them less sweet. And a great deal less sweet they were, ah! I prefer following directions but I'm no good with measurements. [LATER] I'm masticating the last remnants of my cheese sandwich right now. "masticate" was one of our vocab words yesterday. We also learned about Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison, I think more about Hamilton. I hope we don't have mental math. A bunch of decimals, percents, and fractions, a jumble of numbers as I never saw. Demanding word problems, Beastie's too-fast math voice, me getting zeroes and decimals mixed up and accidentally erasing a right answer...eurgh. Mental math is an instrument of Lucifer. It is, of course, exciting in a bad way. I probably score Cs, Bs, and As in everything else. Yesterday we wrote articles about increasing values of resources in our pretend countries, which I enjoyed immensely. I wrote abaout iron, a "consumer report". Adrianna wrote about evelantum, which she made herself. It was some sort of soft metal. It's not real, and I thought it would be harder to write a made-up one so I just did iron. Olus I didn't have any made up resources on my map of my country (Voledads). Can't wait until classtime; I'm even a little tired so I can't wait until nap, either, which is extremely unusual. Usually naps to me are hours of boredom thinking about things better I could be doing but cannot at the moment, because I'm napping. I have continually fought back the temptation to read during naps, as my mother's wrath will overshadow a few moments of forbidden naptime reading pleasure. She is of the opinion naps are beneficial to one's health. Of course, as we sometimes watch Saturday Night Live or Jay Leno, she might have a point, but we don't do that very often. I think Jay Leno's Headlines are the funniest. I also liked Jack Black's King Kong song on Saturday Night Live as well as the "Lazy Sunday" (Chronicles of Narnia) song on Sat. Night Live. Those who have not watched either Sat Night Live or Jay Leno may be completely befuddled at this, and still others may think that it is bad for a child of my "tender years" to be watching this, but I think that it's absolutely fine. Better than watching "Deal or No Deal", anyway! That person, the host, looks smirking and evil. He is also bald and has a goatee, which is sometimes an "evil" characteristic. [To be continued. My hand is getting tired!]

A Blog About Blogs

Now that it's 2007, we're beginning to look back on 06. "2006 YouTube's Year" CNN screams. NPR asked the general public what their 06 was like. We also look ahead. 2008 will bring lots of good things. Bush leaving office main among them, as well as the 08 summer Olympics.

Sure, YouTube was a big name on "the internets". YouTube was also a big name on "the Google" when Google bought YouTube for a fortune (not sure of the exact numbers but it made YouTube's founders pretty rich!) But what about MySpace, Blogger, MSN Spaces, and a variety of other major blog sites?

Blogs share info with other people and creates a "together" sort of feeling with people from all different countries. However, that's not always a good thing. Remember basic internet safety rules!

More people get to know each other and share their ideas without worrying about formalness or correctness, just expressing themselves.

With anything. Pictures, animations, videos, text. Blogs vary in color, type, and tone almost as much as accents or food. There are political blogs, "This, like is, like so, like wrong" teenager blogs, picture blogs, which I think could also be called pictablogs, rambling blogs, optimistic blogs, pessimistic blogs, flashy blogs, drab blogs.

I'd love to hear your comments about the blog. That wasn't one of Bush's quotes, by the way.

Homework

Homework-the word that inspires dread in students across the globe. Hours, days of misery cramped in your room or some other place doing an assignment from class when you could be doing something else. Skateboarding or ball for the sporty people, reading a novel or writing for the reading-and-writing sort of people, leisurely lounging around for the lazy people, building stuff for the building people. Cooking for the chefs, playing heavy rock or classical music for the music people...anything except HOMEWORK. The very word is stuffy and seems to carry the air of an uninteresting classroom about it. The procrastinators do it a few minutes before classtime or late at night, while the early-birds do it as soon as they get it. Either way, it's miserable for many people. Sure, it's a time spender if you have nothing else to do. (That's one of the purposes homework carries for me now I'm done a lot of my editing work on Yang in Disguise and I find it easy to write business letters). But homework drains your energy. When somebody asks "Wanna play a game tonight?" or "Wanna go to the _________?", many are forced to reply, crestfallen, "I have homework to finish". I'll write more later.

I have homework to finish.

The photo with a person in it is my older sister on her computer (researching guinea pigs, no doubt) in her messy lair beside her fierce stuffed tiger, named Tiger. The picture on the left is my room. Back to the picture on the right! My sister has a sullen look on her face, as she often does when I take pictures of her. She is currently looking over my shoulder and making comments about every word and censoring some others. She has quite a variety of posters, artwork, torn-off calendar pictures, cut-outs from magazines, and miscellaneous objects dotting her walls, not to mention all the thingamajigs on her shelf. I have quite a few things on my wall as well, but they are hung up in near-perfect normality (if there is such a word), while my sister's posters are hung up in many strange ways for effect. Her room is, in my opinion, cramped and bright, while my room is the spacious, dark, room. Not really dark--I have three lights in my room (my bedside lamp, my usually-never-used by-the-closet lamp, and the regular ceiling lights) that are all in working condition. But have a look at my curtains, which are dark, imperious green (my favorite color other than crimson), and then move your view to my green, cushioned chair with a foot-rest. It feels like it is made of velvet or some sort of luxurious material. In the picture of my sister's room, you can just barely see the seat of a chair with wheels that is blue and shoved into the small gap between the end of her bed and the wall. There are national and international maps in my room instead of a "Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras" and a movie poster (from England), and instead of a dark wood shelf, I have a white deskshelf (it has desk space but it also has drawers and cupboards), with gold paint. I admit that a great deal of the posters in my room are also dedicated to my own glory. There are posters saved from speeches at various places, certificates, etc. There are also bookmarks and postcards hung up on the wall (my mom doesn't approve of "wasting stamps" on postcards, so I usually hang 'em up, and we hardly ever use bookmarks anyway, so they're taped up to the wall), and some of my artwork. In any case, I feel that I have compared our rooms thoroughly and I hope you find this interesting.

Sincerely,

Adora Svitak

Eating at Todai (Redmond Town Center), Christmas Day 2006

This Christmas we went to Todai, a resturant at Redmond Town Center, to eat. My mother said things like "It doesn't open until 11:30, what's the big deal?" while we looked at each other and thought in unison, "We're bound to be late". My dad's birthday was on Christmas day and he got the free birthday deal.

To start from the beginning of my Christmas Day. My sister, Adrianna, woke me up at eight thirty or so, shaking me from my strange but interesting dream about being in jail in outer space with a spoiled brat. I was quite groggy and wanted nothing more but to go back to sleep. I was cold, as my covers were falling off, and I was grumpy--I hadn't slept very well.

I didn't want to bother to get dressed, as I assumed I would be going back to sleep, and scurried downstairs (doing our best to make sure the stairs didn't creak, without success) with my sister. I insisted on staying in our classroom under the heater (which was located on the ceiling), warming up my freezing toes, while my sister fetched our presents.

I recieved a Santa hat from my fifteen-year-old cousin, a card and five dollars from Adrianna (I gave her ten), and a shirt, also from Adrianna, which I had worn before anyway. But all the presents were insignificant in the face of the present my mom gave me--a digital camera! With this productive present I was to snap picture after picture and blog about them, every day.

Right now I am in bed under my lumpy, bulky covers at 11:17 p.m. The Winter Solstice (or whatever it's called) is said to be the shortest day of the year, or something, but Christmas Day seems like the shortest day. Sometimes I wish it were like the old days with weeks of festivities. Remember the song "Nine Days of Christmas"? (Maybe it was six days, I forget).

http://cyberfaith.blogspot.com/2006/12/interview-with-adora-svitak.html

This is a link to another blog which has posted an interview with me.

Happy reading!

Kittens

My sister and I were fortunately allowed to take care of our aunt and uncle's kittens (Zena and Sophie) over the week. They are sisters. Zena is the thinner and somewhat smaller--and smarter--kitten. They have become well acquainted with the downstairs area of our house and know their way to the litterbox. They do, however, have a tendency to jump on our kitchen table/counter, or the electric piano in the large room, at which we immediately shout "Zena" or "Sophie" in loud voices.

Just thought the cat lovers out there would like to know.

Sincerely,
Adora

The Christmas Time

THE CHRISTMAS TIME!!!
What Santa's Ho Ho Ho Means To A Lot
Of People. Partially written, and assembled
By Adora Svitak.

FOOD
Written by Adora Svitak
Thanksgiving is sometimes thought to be the more "foody" holiday, but it varies. Christmas can be quite a "foody" time as well. After all, if you're having a large Christmas with almost all your relatives coming to your house, you'd like 1), your house to be presentably clean, 2), your kids to be presentably well-behaved, and for kids, your parents to be presentably well-behaved (or bad-behaved), and 3), you'd like to have enough for everyone to eat. TV talk show hosts blather on and on about "how to keep thin for the holidays". In my opinion, if it's a once-or-twice in a year thing, it's fine to eat as much as you want. Especially of dessert.

THE CHRISTMAS TIME!!!
What Santa's Ho Ho Ho Means to a Lot of People.
Assembled and partially written by Adora Svitak.

THE TREE
Written by Adora Svitak
The majority of Christmas-celebrating citizens in the US get Christmas trees, dig up those dusty Christmas lights from the basement, and hang kind, grandmotherly-looking ornaments on their tree. Some people may have small trees that fit in tiny pots and can barely be seen from the window, while others have brobdingnagian show-off trees that reach from the floor to the ceiling. I love having a tree around the house and the wonderful smell, and I love the excitement of putting up lights and ornaments and putting presents under the tree, but I am very worried about two things--the mess to clean up and the effect on the environment. When your tree starts drying up, the pine needles fall to the floor and it's quite bothersome to pick them out. And for the environment debate, I'd like to point out if almost every family who celebrates Christmas gets a tree, every year, and there are thousands of families who do this, then it seems quite dangerous. I have struck a deal with my mom that we will get a Christmas tree this year, because we haven't for about...two, three years, but we will only get it every other two years. How's that for a plan?

BUYING PRESENTS
Written By Joyce Svitak
I don't have the statistics to back up my claim, but I have observed that more and more products produced during Christmas time are solely for the purpose for people to buy them as presents. Most people won't buy such products for themselves, but they can always find somebody else who may enjoy them, or they find that the products present well and impress lots of people. When products are given out as presents, the utilitarian characteristics are not as important, the statement such presents can make is more important. If you browse Costco or any other retail stores, you will find endless items that make impressive presentations when you give them as gifts, but you find little practical use.Buying and giving presents in today's world has expanded its meaning, or has it? We give presents to show our love and to fulfill our obligations, to show our respect, to express our gratitude, to make sure that we are following tradition, to avoid feeling embarrassed in case presents are given to us, but we don’t have anything to give back; to connect with people so we won’t be forgotten.The problem here is most of us already have too many material goods, personally, I’d rather buy my own presents if I really needed something. I’d rather people who spend their time shopping for me to spend time for themselves. Time is more precious than any material goods anybody can get for me. Show your love with a focused and sincere ear; show your respect with a promise you made; show your desire to connect with thoughtful words; you don’t have to do things because of tradition or expectations.

Go to http://www.wonderofthegreatminds.blogspot.com for more of Joyce Svitak's great articles.

To Be Continued In The Next Issue of:
THE CHRISTMAS TIME!!!

A Blog Recommendation

For those of you who have not yet visited my mother's excellent blog on parenting, miscellaneous thoughts and ramblings, the evils of gift wrapping, etc., I would sincerely advise you to go to her blog at http://www.wonderofthegreatminds.blogspot.com . You can also see excerpts of some of her articles here.