Test-free week

This week has been relatively easy. I have had no test in any of my classes. I don’t have a test on Friday either. 15 days of school left until summer vacation starts. The final stretch begins next week. Finals begin at the end of next week with Spanish written. Time for me to buckle down and finish this school year off strong.

On the Dodgers’ Jumbotron following Matt Kemp’s Home Run, which landed two rows behind me

Caught on the FOX Cam following Matt Kemp’s home run. National TV!!! I'm the guy at the aisle seat wearing the blue shirt and turned facing the back.

Dodger Game

Last Saturday (May 22), I went to the Los Angeles Dodgers-Detroit Tigers game at Dodger Stadium. It was a special day for the Dodgers as they devoted the day to Taiwan. Saturday was “Taiwan Day” at Dodger Stadium. With the Taiwan Day festivities, the Dodgers had two Dodgertown Taiwan sections in the upper deck. Sitting in those two sections were a lot of jubilant and excited Taiwanese fans who received free T-shirts, thundersticks, Taiwanese food, and most importantly a lot of nationalism pride.

My family made the decision on Friday night to go to the 4 PM nationally televised game. We bought left field pavilion row C aisle seats tickets on stubhub. On the way to Dodger Stadium, we were stuck in the L.A. traffic and therefore arrived late as the bottom half of the 1st inning was about to begin. When we got in, the fun had just started. It turned out to be the most special and unique baseball game I have ever attended.

We got to see Dodgers pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo and Detroit Tigers pitcher Fu-Te Ni pitch. Ni pitched 1 1/3 inning and Kuo pitched 1 solid 7th inning. That was really special, two Taiwanese pitcher pitching on Taiwan Day. When Kuo came out to pitch, the Dodgertown Taiwan sections were rumbling and rocking. All the Taiwanese fans seated up there were all excited. Next, during the 7th inning stretch, Lin Yu Chun sang “God Bless America”. Lin Yu Chun gained fame back in April as he sang a wonderful rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” on a Taiwanese reality talent show. He appeared on many talk shows in the U.S. Besides singing God Bless America, Chun sang “Taiwan Touch Your Heart” and the U.S. national anthem before the game. Unfortunately, I missed the first two songs. Lastly, we got ourselves on national TV. In the 5th inning, Matt Kemp hit a home run that landed two seats and two rows back from my seat. I saw the baseball come at me and I knew it was going to be near my seat. This old guy caught the ball and it really changed the feeling of the game. When I got home, I searched online for the FOX broadcast and the highlights and I saw myself on TV. The FOX camera caught me turned towards the guy that caught it. In fact, my whole family was on TV. In addition, I saw myself on the jumbotron on that home run replay. I could never imagine myself on TV, especially this being on national TV, broadcasted to the whole nation. 

For the game, Dodgers won 6-4. Casey Blake hit a home run, Matt Kemp hit a home run, Blake DeWitt had a triple that scored two runs, and that was pretty much  the game. Got to see Jonathan Broxton pitch the final inning to earn his 10th save of the season. But this game meant a lot to me. As a Taiwanese, it was great seeing Dodgers celebrating and marketing Taiwan. Seeing Ni and Kuo pitch was awesome. Hearing Lin Yu Chun’s beautiful voice made it even better. Taiwan was represented well on Saturday. In fact, the FOX broadcast team even made mention of Taiwan Day. It’s really touching to see Taiwan getting recognition. 

This baseball game was fun. Sitting in left field, I really understood why baseball is so fun of a game. 

Go Dodgers and Taiwan!!! 

Davis and Berkeley

Last weekend, I went to both Davis and Berkeley. Friday to Sunday, I was at UC Davis for a MUN Conference. Then Sunday afternoon, my parents picked me up from Davis and we went down to Berkeley, where my cousin was graduating on Monday. Those 4 days away from home were a breather. I was able to relax and not worry about a lot of things. And getting to see the campus and towns around UC Davis and UC Berkeley gave me a first impression of the school.

We totally dominated the MUN Conference at UC Davis. Our school, Cerritos High School MUN, won the best school delegation award as 37 delegates represented various countries. That award was the goal for us going into the conference. We won many commendations and outstanding awards and one gavel. In addition, we won a lot of research awards. I won a research award for my position papers. My committee was WTO and my topics were Global Financial Crisis Impacts on Multilateral Trade and Effects of Trade Policies on the Environment. In committee, we had 7 Cerritos delegates so we backed each other up. The chairs did not care about us at all whatsoever the first day as our chair was tracking a San Francisco Giants baseball game and was on Facebook. He called this one delegate like 5 times in the first session alone! I made moderated caucus speeches and comments but wasn’t really that aggressive. Saturday was the worst day. We had 3 sessions of committee, totaling about 9 hours. Sunday was much better as we only had a 3 1/2 session committee to close out debate.

Besides being in committee, I got to see what the city of Davis is like. When we arrived at our fancy Hyatt Hotel, I thought were in the middle of nowhere as all I saw was farmland. UC Davis has the largest square area of all the UC’s. Our hotel, Hyatt Place, was really nice. It was built last year so everything was new. In our room, we had a HDTV, a couch, granite marble counter tops, new restroom, and free Wi-Fi. The hotel also provided us with free continental breakfast that was plentiful and abundant. Since we had to eat four meals by ourselves around Downtown Davis, I went to restaurants that were delicious and had high reviews. Friday night, I dined with two other people had “Sophia’s Thai Kitchen.” We had a 30 minute wait but it was worth it. It was the best Thai food I have ever eaten. I ordered chicken beef and spinach with peanut sauce and it was tasty. Saturday night, I ate with about 10 people at “Crepeville”. I ordered seafood alfredo along with chocolate crepes desert. Those were nice too. For Saturday and Sunday lunch, I just ate it with a few buddies at this Japanese restaurant and Korean Restaurant since we had limited time. Man Downtown Davis is so small and so easy to walk around. All the streets are straightforward. I have Downtown Davis memorized in my head. At night as we were walking back to the hotel, Mr. Mustard led us in walking on the riverwalk nature trail. It was pitch black but we were able to find our way back to the hotel as the girls were all scared and freaked out. It was actually quite fun. Davis is a nice school and a nice town. My impression changed a lot ever since we arrived on Friday and I saw all the farmland. 

Sunday afternoon, my parents picked me up from Davis after awards ceremony and we headed down to Berkeley. I accomplished a lot in the one night I stayed there. Sunday night, I stayed at a hostel. Now the word hostel, I had never heard that word until this year in Spanish class when it was a vocab word but never quite understood what it was. So here’s what a hostel is: It’s basically a house where they rent out rooms for the night. The bathroom is shared by all the people who are staying at the hostel. I had a pretty good night sleep Sunday night. It was a cool experience. Monday morning, I dined at the “Cal Dining Hall”. That is the place where Berkeley students eat their meals. My graduating cousin got us in and it was a pretty cool. The dining hall serves all kinds of meals and it is “all you can eat.” After breakfast, we went on a campus tour of UC Berkeley. We walked around the campus and saw a few important and meaningful buildings, such as the chancellor’s office and the library and the science building. Berkeley gave me the feel of those east coast colleges. Its buildings seemed really old but yet unique. That big tower was cool. After our tour of Berkeley, it started raining so we took shelter in the student store, where I bought a Cal T-shirt. In the afternoon, it was graduation time for my cousin. Her department, sociology, had their graduation at the Zellerbach Hall, where Dali Lama, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton spoke before. My cousin is so special. She was a valedictorian when she graduated Cerritos 4 years ago and she graduated in the honors program. She was a honorable mention for this one award. There were many speakers giving the commencement speech. They each spoke about how sociology matters to us. Some were funny, others were boring. The commencement ceremony was amazing and impressive by the way it was run. My cousin is so awesome. Afterwards, we took a lot of pictures with her and then went home. Got back home Tuesday morning at 12:30 AM.

Congratulations Annie on graduating from Berkeley! I had lots of fun. It was a great 4-days up in Northern California.  

A 4 Day Weekend

I’ll be having a 4-day weekend in a few days. On Friday, along with 39 other CHS MUN Sophomore delegates, we are traveling to UC Davis for the Davis MUN Conference. It’s going to be a long 7 hour bus ride in a charter bus but it is going to be fun. This will be the first long distance conference for most of us. We are staying at a brand new Hyatt hotel that was just built in 2009. I looked at the pictures and was impressed. HDTV’s in every room, free wi-fi, complimentary breakfast, and a lot more cool features. Conference will run til Sunday afternoon and I will not be coming back with my school. Instead, I’m heading down to Berkeley, where my cousin will be graduating on Monday. This weekend is going to be a fun one but I have to get all my homework done! I must be at school on Tuesday as I have to present 2 projects and have a chem test on Tuesday. But it’ll be a nice 4-day getaway….

I took one of these graduation trips in May of 2008 as during Memorial Day weekend of that year, I took 2 days off school and went on a 5-day east coast trip to Boston, Providence, and New York. My cousin graduated from Brown and we went to Providence. I caught a Red Sox game before that and it was a fun game. The Red Sox hit 2 grand slams and we still got to see their closer pitch. After Providence, we went to New York for a night. I saw yankee and shea stadium that were both demolished to accommodate the new ballpark. I still remember fondly of my trip 2 years ago. It was fun and exhilarating. 

First AP Test Ever

Today, I took my first ever AP Test this morning at school.  AP Calculus AB. I woke up extremely early on a late start day as we had to be at school by 7:15. It was a great first experience as I got a taste of what an AP Test is like. To me, this AP Test was like a practice one. Even if I don’t do as well as I desire on today’s test, next year’s Calculus BC will cover the AB Credit. The test was about 4 hours long and it was tiring and dreadful.

I walked into the gym expecting it to be like the CAHSEE. We go in and get our booklets and start the test. But no, it wasn’t quite like that. I walked in and got placed in a seat number. After everyone got seated (both calc AB and BC people which took a long time), we got started. Ms. Silber went over all the steps and I kind of got lost; I didn’t know what to do with the booklets. Somil, who was sitting right next to me, helped me out and aided me on what to do, such as placing the AP student number sticker on the test booklet and answer document. I couldn’t quite understand what Ms. Silber was saying on the instructions. Everything seemed so formal, kind of like a SAT Test.

We began the test around 8:45 and Part I of the multiple choice non-calculator began. 55 minutes. I skipped 7 questions as I didn’t want to take any chances in guessing. Immediately right after that 1st part was done, we began Part II, the calculator section. I had to think thoroughly and for a long time on 3 questions and in the end, skipped only 1. I was aggressive in answering my questions. After a brief break where I ate a light snack, Part III, the FRQ section began. It is divided into two 45 minutes sections with 3 questions each. The FRQ were weird. I understood the concept of doing the problem but had a hard time in analyzing the problem and what to do with it. I think I did ok on that part. Probably got at least a 6 on each question. So that was it, the AP Calculus AB Test. We ended testing around 1:00 PM. About 4 hours of testing. I was exhausted afterwards and had to show up to 5th period for 5 minutes.

Many upperclassmen left right after the test as they submitted notes to the note box excusing them from leaving school after the AP Test. I didn’t know that and now I know. Next year, for sure I will bring a signed note from my parents that will enable me to leave right after the AP Test. I don’t see a point in sticking around for the rest of school especially after sitting through 4 hours of AP Testing. I’d probably go home or go eat lunch. That’s my plan for May 2011. In fact, on the days before some APs, I might even take a day off to study. That’s all next year.

The total amount of points is 99. 28 MC + 17 MC + (9 points each x 6 FRQs). We only need a 68 to get a 5. I think I got at least a 4 on the AP Test. O well, I’ll find out in July. But today was a good first-time AP Test experience for me. Now I know how to do things, such as the AP Student Pack, filling out the circles, etc. APs for me are over now and I can breathe a sigh of relief. 

2010 Golf Season

Tomorrow was scheduled to be the Suburban League JV Golf League Finals at La Mirada Golf Course but apparently it’s not going to happen. For some reason, this year, we only had 2 league matches and it was all against Mayfair and we only had 12 matches overall. So that means my second golf season has come to an end.

This 2010 season, I elevated and improved my game a lot from freshmen year. There were a lot of ups and downs for me. I broke 50 a few times this year compared to none last year and was a lot more confident. I felt part of the team more as my score was included in the scoring this year in almost all of the matches. Coming into this season, I set a goal for myself to be number 1 on JV and accomplished that in a match vs. Gahr on April 13. I shot a 38 which was the best of both teams. That was a result of my hard work and diligent effort during spring break, in which I practiced almost everyday and played a few rounds of golf. It paid off as the Monday we got back to school (April 12), I shot a 50 at Lakewood against Mayfair. That is my PR at Lakewood.

One thing I lacked this season was consistency. When I was playing really well and on a roll, I couldn’t sustain it. I would play really well in one match and then have really bad matches. Two weeks ago in a match vs. Bosco, I shot a 56 which was pathetic. I should of broken 50 that day as my drives were horrible and my short game sucked. I was 11 over through 3 holes and never found my touch.

I figured out my driver halfway through the season as the match vs. Downey at Los Amigos on March 24, I hit about every fairway. My drives were straight down the fairway and I shot really well that day, a 47. I’d call that match my best of the season on the long courses (par 36s) as I two-putted every hole but one.  But I lost that touch of my driver the last few weeks as the driver has been my Achilles heel. I’ve been hitting my drives to the right and it has been horrible.

We finish 10-1-1 on the season. The only loss was to Long Beach Poly on March 12 by two freak’in strokes. I got hit by a golf ball that day while searching for my ball under the trees. A teammate of mine teed off from the next hole and the ball bounced and got me on my thigh. The tie was also against Long Beach Poly, on April 20, was one I’ll never forget. It rained hard and viciously the first three holes which made playing conditions tough at Big Recreation Park. I was soaked and wet and the third hole was the worst as we teed off with the rain blowing right in our face. The rain stopped after we finished the third hole. Despite all that, we tied them. If I had made my 3-foot par putt on hole 5, then we would of been the victors. The wins, we beat Long Beach Poly  by 5 the first match of the season, St. John Bosco twice, Gahr three times, Downey twice, and Mayfair twice. Overall, a successful season. Our team goal was perfection and we almost achieved that.

Personally, my goals for the off season are to improve my game to bring my stroke down on the longer courses, especially Lakewood. I’ve already pretty much mastered Ironwood as I shot a 6 over par (35) last Tuesday, my best round ever there. That 6 over was a good redemption for the first match at Ironwood, in which I shot an embarrassing 48 (March 17), followed by a respectable 38 (April 13), then 35. I want to develop my consistency. That means drives that have a right-to-left draw, 2 putts on every hole (if not less), chips that are great, iron shots that I don’t shank, and many more objectives. I plan to play a lot of golf before the 2011 Golf Season starts, especially on the long courses. All that experience will only benefit me. I’ll continue to go to the driving range to work on my game. My goal for next year is to make varsity. It’s going to be tough but it’s possible if I keep working on my game.

Good job to all JV Golfers for this year. Dilan, Kris, AJ, Victor, Patrick, and Scott, it was fun playing with you guys. Thank you Coach Daniel and Patrick for the wonderful support and advice you gave me. It was a great and successful 2010 season. I had a memorable second year of playing golf for Cerritos.