School Social Updates Weeks 14, 15, and 16
I was going to wait till the end of the semester to write the final six weeks, but what's the point of just going straight from any point in the semester to the end? Where's the drama? Suspense? Build up? Yes I know no one reads these anyway, but I've decided to write these three weeks with no cut, no lock because I want these to be out there because I've been really emotional these past few weeks.
Week 14: April 20-23
Coming back from Spring Break I was not sure whether things would be as good as they were going into the vacation, or whether I would be stale or other friendships would lag a bit. The "Spring Break hangover" as I called it.
It turned out that the latter would happen but it wasn't really my fault. School resumed on 4/20, so a lot of people didn't come to school. I didn't talk to any of my classmates during/after class but I talked to a few classmates during Lunch time and that was kind of it until Biology class. Don't remember doing much there either but I talked to my friends Janneth and Mary which has become a regular occurence lately so that's been a little cushion during Mondays and Wednesdays, where I know I will have a good time.
It wasn't 4/20, but things didn't get much better on Tuesday. I didn't talk much during English or Voice, but I supposedly talked to somebody during Speech class (planner), but I do not recall such an event! Oh well. I probably had a conversation with Salim about our group speech project and some other talk came up. Pretty sure I didn't talk to any of the girls in the class but who knows.
After school, I watched the Sharks beat the Ducks for only the first time in three tries, and then listened to Depeche Mode's Sounds of the Universe by the Lake and had a great time and it was a great album!
Wednesday things were picking up. I went out of my way to talk to Leslie but I was able to. I took advantage of her and another guy wanting to talk to our Music History teacher about atonal music. So I exxagerated my interest (I was interested but I didn't really want to stay after class) and joined them and had a nice lecture about atonal music and the "table" (don't remember what it's called) used to make compositions. So I talked to Leslie about her break and ballet stuff. Fun times, but to date, that was our last conversation so far.
Choir started to pick up as a few people came back, and I talked to a few of them. Biology was a rare slow day as I didn't do much talking at all, though I penciled in a plus point in my planner because while I was sitting next to Janneth she dropped her eraser and didn't notice, and I kind of had to go out of my way to get it for her. I swear I overheard her call me cute, but I could be wrong. I started to maybe consider that I had a good shot at her, even though she appeared to be taken (had a ring on)
The only interesting moment on Thursday was during the World Music Series concert with North African music. I believe I saw my former Guitar teacher and we talked about a Youtube video one of my former classmates put out which featured pictures of the class from last semester with music from our own play-arounds. It was really sweet!
Not much happened after that...
Week 15: April 27-30
School started off with a Music History Listening Test which I aced 25/25, but in a disheartening consistincy Mondays have fallen off the chart. I used to have a lot of fun in the Music History, Choir, Biology and Jazz History classes, but only Biology had social moments. I don't know what happened with Choir but I probably didn't have much chances even though all my friends showed up. They probably all left or something after class. Actually I remember now, Gabriella and Kate were sitting on the grass after class, and after I decided to sit with them, the sprinklers went on! They got wet and ran off, it was kind of funny. I decided to just go to Laney.
Basketball is becoming even more of a chore since the pick-up 21 games have stopped and I don't get chosen for any of the pick-up games, but I'll probably force the issue sometime soon and sign up for my own team.
Prior to Biology I was having aches and stress attacks and as I walked out of the PC lab after reading my e-mails I saw Pricilla on the 2nd floor. She's a former classmate of mine and is currently at UC Santa Cruz. What was she doing here? I don't know, I tried to catch up to her and she saw me and waved at me. That's it? A wave? Come on, I haven't seen you in almost a year! Maybe next time.
For all of post-Spring Break I had a beard on, but sadly with the Sharks season ending Monday night, I was clean shaven for Tuesday. Fortunately, I look damn good clean shaven. I remember that I did a skit with a few people in English to practice fallacies.
For Voice class I sung one of my own compositions "Carry" which was enjoyed by my classmates. I didn't get the undying love and affection from all my classmates though, which is what happened last semester when I sang "Around the World" for the class.
During Lunch I ran into a cute girl from Biology (don't know her name at the moment, but I'll update it if I do) and we talked about the class for a bit.
I don't know what happened during Comm class but apparently some fun stuff happened after class. I believe I talked to Marc, who saw me sing "Carry" and we talked about that and he told me one of the cute girls in the class "liked" me! Well, I don't know about that, but it's always nice to have more chances.
Wednesday was LANEY DAY. People from high schools around Oakland visited for some Open House, there were free concerts and events and a lot of fun stuff. But I had class and missed most of the events, though I was able to catch some of the plays that were going on and some of the free shows. I also remember during the concerts I danced in the center of the courtyard because heck, I'm graduating, if I look silly I won't see these people anymore and I want to go out of Laney swinging and having a fun time.
But it wasn't all that fun. I remember leaving Music History class and I was right with Leslie but Mocet (don't know how to spell his name) talked to the both of us and asked us how we were doing. I responded to him but I remember Leslie being quite silent. She doesn't have a problem with him, was she trying to get away from me or was something wrong? This would get worse later. I felt bad because I didn't get to ask her an important question about the May 7 Choir performance I'm doing.
But I managed to rebound and did some fun stuff in Biology involving Agar dishes and bacteria we accumulated on Monday. However, it didn't really work out for me and I couldn't see my bacteria through the microscope.
English has somewhat ended as class is mostly just for meetings and asking the teacher questions, instead of lectures about stuff. So Thursday I walked in and shortly after walked out. After Voice class (which had some good singing!) there was a Student Recital which had some great music, but I wonder why no one tells me about these things so I could sign up? Well it's too late now because I won't be around anymore. It makes me sad that I've never sung a solo song for the school in any fashion, and I've had chances to.
I talked about this with my Piano teacher (also my Choir teacher) and had a long conversation about Cal as I had just found out I was accepted, and he was telling me how the school would miss me and appreciated my loyalty and time at Laney. It was an emotional conversation and he even considered having an Alumni Recital so I could sing something.
Week 16: May 4-7
Music History has now become a social void rather than the guaranteed fun times it used to be. So it's not a shocker anymore that nothing happened on Monday at all.
Basketball is a sure void. I should just stop showing up.
Choir was fun though, it was starting to get back to normal with the conversations with JQ, Gabriella and Kate. I also talked to Marc I'm pretty sure and I remember talking to Sophia as well. Sophia is a cute but shy girl in my Music History and Choir classes. I said hi to her and she reluctantly said hi back. I'm thinking I should talk to her more. I've kind of gotten a new crush on her. We've never had a real conversation in the two semesters we've taken classes.
Biology had some nice moments at the end. I talked to Janneth, who is also in my Jazz History class, what she does inbetween Bio and Jazz (one hour break) and she said she studies in the library and offered me to join her. I said (almost in a flirtatious tone) that I was interested, but that I would go out and eat dinner first. I did eat dinner but I didn't go back and study with her because I came back a little late and she was already studying with some of her friends. I sat around and studied for the test that day and I think I did fine. No notable conversations happened during class. I did run into a former classmate before class, which was nice. Janneth left after the test.
Another pretty good Tuesday. It was Cinco De Mayo! Some performances were going on during lunch class and a very memoral moment occured when some dancers were looking for volunteers to do a dance with them and I opted to do it. I got to dance with one of the cute girls and it was a great time but I didn't talk to her after the dance. One or two classmates saw me and a bunch of people took pictures but lord knows if I'll get to see any of them.
English and Comm had some nice moments which was good because they used to be very boring for those things.
After my classes were over I stayed over for the Tuesday Choir and had an interesting surprise when my Jazz History teacher visited for an unknown reason. He is the BCC Choir director so it was a little awkward that he saw me with another Choir but whatever, I think the Laney one is better anyway, lol...
Wednesday things got a little ugly. I put a water bottle in my backpack but didn't close it all the way and as a result my notebook, binder and planner got very wet and they're all essentially no good. I still have to use the planner for the remainder of the year and although it's dried it's still hard to write on. The notebook is going away at the end of the semester but the binder had my Choir music. Tough break.
It got worse. After Music History I had basically one chance to ask Leslie (I couldn't ask her at the last minute could I?) about Tuesday's performance and not only did she ignore my calls for her, when I did go ahead and ask the question anyway she kind of condescendingly answered "I can't." I've known her for two years and I've never seen her act that way, towards me or anybody. I started to worry about her. Is something going on? I'd like to find out and hopefully it's not about me. I hope she's alright. I questioned my agression as I really tried to talk to her despite her brushing me off multiple times. I think it's good that I don't give up on things though.
After Choir I lied down in the grass and watched as my friends, who were still nervous about the sprinklers going off, warn me but eventually decided to join me. It didn't last very long (a month ago we were on the grass for over an hour) but we had some nice nerdy times and Gabriella talked to me for a minute about anime. It was a nice way to continue the day after what happened earlier.
When I got into BCC I bumped into Analisa and although we didn't have our first conversation of the semester, she saw me and waved at me. Not something she usually does, usually she'll avoid me but I guess that time it was a little difficult to? Actually, we were far enough that she could have avoided me easily. So it was a nice thing to see happen. Unfortunately, I bumped into her again and this time I tried to start a conversation but she wouldn't have it. I guess maybe it was a little too good to be true.
During Biology a few things happened. My friends and I have a tendency to take forever to complete Biology labs as we're out a good 20-30 minutes after the other 16 people in the class. We talked to the teacher about it and he joked that the other students "pay attention" and get their work done faster. We made excuses like "Oh we just want to learn more" and "It's a good bonding experience" but it kind of did make me thing about whether I really was that great of a student in Bio.
Oh, and I confirmed Janneth was married. So much for that.
Thursday I was nearly a half an hour late for English 5, but there was hardly class anyway. I talked to some people about the debate we're having on Tuesday, and I think I can do a good job but I'm not yet finished with my arguments for legalized prostitution. Something I will have to work on today! After exercising I ran into some of the people from the class and a short conversation about pimps and exercise, I walked to Voice class. Voice class hasn't been a real source for socializing all semester, despite having two or three cute girls in the class. I talked to Amanthis for a second about the fact she was learning Japanese (I can see her writing) which I thought was cool, but nothing came out of it. In fact, I think she avoids me now. I think I'm reading into her indifference a little too much.
During Piano class I asked the teacher about singing a solo song for the Choir performance and he declined, which made me sad but we still had another conversation about leaving the Choir and how fun the last few years were.
After I class I ran into Marc and he offered to walk me home. So we talked for 20 minutes or so about school, life in Oakland, religion (eh) and girls. It was fun to be able to freely speak out about things going on in my life without worrying about a negative reaction, so that was great. It may wind up being my last Piano class because I have a dinner this Thursday and Graduation the Thursday after that, so I'll talk to my teacher about it.
Week 17: May 11-14
Important events include the Choir performance and the final day of Voice class, where I will sing "Lascia ch'io Pianga" by Handel.
It'll be interesteing to see how I handle my last days with the people of Choir and Voice. There are a lot of people to say goodbye to.
Still three weeks left in most of my other classes, but only 10 days in all, so not a lot of time to bond with my Bio and Jazz History classmates, or my Comm and English classmates who I don't talk to much at all. We'll see what happens. Also, what will come of the situation with Leslie, and Sophia, and Analisa, and so on and so on... all stuff I can't wait to find out today!
Week 14: April 20-23
Coming back from Spring Break I was not sure whether things would be as good as they were going into the vacation, or whether I would be stale or other friendships would lag a bit. The "Spring Break hangover" as I called it.
It turned out that the latter would happen but it wasn't really my fault. School resumed on 4/20, so a lot of people didn't come to school. I didn't talk to any of my classmates during/after class but I talked to a few classmates during Lunch time and that was kind of it until Biology class. Don't remember doing much there either but I talked to my friends Janneth and Mary which has become a regular occurence lately so that's been a little cushion during Mondays and Wednesdays, where I know I will have a good time.
It wasn't 4/20, but things didn't get much better on Tuesday. I didn't talk much during English or Voice, but I supposedly talked to somebody during Speech class (planner), but I do not recall such an event! Oh well. I probably had a conversation with Salim about our group speech project and some other talk came up. Pretty sure I didn't talk to any of the girls in the class but who knows.
After school, I watched the Sharks beat the Ducks for only the first time in three tries, and then listened to Depeche Mode's Sounds of the Universe by the Lake and had a great time and it was a great album!
Wednesday things were picking up. I went out of my way to talk to Leslie but I was able to. I took advantage of her and another guy wanting to talk to our Music History teacher about atonal music. So I exxagerated my interest (I was interested but I didn't really want to stay after class) and joined them and had a nice lecture about atonal music and the "table" (don't remember what it's called) used to make compositions. So I talked to Leslie about her break and ballet stuff. Fun times, but to date, that was our last conversation so far.
Choir started to pick up as a few people came back, and I talked to a few of them. Biology was a rare slow day as I didn't do much talking at all, though I penciled in a plus point in my planner because while I was sitting next to Janneth she dropped her eraser and didn't notice, and I kind of had to go out of my way to get it for her. I swear I overheard her call me cute, but I could be wrong. I started to maybe consider that I had a good shot at her, even though she appeared to be taken (had a ring on)
The only interesting moment on Thursday was during the World Music Series concert with North African music. I believe I saw my former Guitar teacher and we talked about a Youtube video one of my former classmates put out which featured pictures of the class from last semester with music from our own play-arounds. It was really sweet!
Not much happened after that...
Week 15: April 27-30
School started off with a Music History Listening Test which I aced 25/25, but in a disheartening consistincy Mondays have fallen off the chart. I used to have a lot of fun in the Music History, Choir, Biology and Jazz History classes, but only Biology had social moments. I don't know what happened with Choir but I probably didn't have much chances even though all my friends showed up. They probably all left or something after class. Actually I remember now, Gabriella and Kate were sitting on the grass after class, and after I decided to sit with them, the sprinklers went on! They got wet and ran off, it was kind of funny. I decided to just go to Laney.
Basketball is becoming even more of a chore since the pick-up 21 games have stopped and I don't get chosen for any of the pick-up games, but I'll probably force the issue sometime soon and sign up for my own team.
Prior to Biology I was having aches and stress attacks and as I walked out of the PC lab after reading my e-mails I saw Pricilla on the 2nd floor. She's a former classmate of mine and is currently at UC Santa Cruz. What was she doing here? I don't know, I tried to catch up to her and she saw me and waved at me. That's it? A wave? Come on, I haven't seen you in almost a year! Maybe next time.
For all of post-Spring Break I had a beard on, but sadly with the Sharks season ending Monday night, I was clean shaven for Tuesday. Fortunately, I look damn good clean shaven. I remember that I did a skit with a few people in English to practice fallacies.
For Voice class I sung one of my own compositions "Carry" which was enjoyed by my classmates. I didn't get the undying love and affection from all my classmates though, which is what happened last semester when I sang "Around the World" for the class.
During Lunch I ran into a cute girl from Biology (don't know her name at the moment, but I'll update it if I do) and we talked about the class for a bit.
I don't know what happened during Comm class but apparently some fun stuff happened after class. I believe I talked to Marc, who saw me sing "Carry" and we talked about that and he told me one of the cute girls in the class "liked" me! Well, I don't know about that, but it's always nice to have more chances.
Wednesday was LANEY DAY. People from high schools around Oakland visited for some Open House, there were free concerts and events and a lot of fun stuff. But I had class and missed most of the events, though I was able to catch some of the plays that were going on and some of the free shows. I also remember during the concerts I danced in the center of the courtyard because heck, I'm graduating, if I look silly I won't see these people anymore and I want to go out of Laney swinging and having a fun time.
But it wasn't all that fun. I remember leaving Music History class and I was right with Leslie but Mocet (don't know how to spell his name) talked to the both of us and asked us how we were doing. I responded to him but I remember Leslie being quite silent. She doesn't have a problem with him, was she trying to get away from me or was something wrong? This would get worse later. I felt bad because I didn't get to ask her an important question about the May 7 Choir performance I'm doing.
But I managed to rebound and did some fun stuff in Biology involving Agar dishes and bacteria we accumulated on Monday. However, it didn't really work out for me and I couldn't see my bacteria through the microscope.
English has somewhat ended as class is mostly just for meetings and asking the teacher questions, instead of lectures about stuff. So Thursday I walked in and shortly after walked out. After Voice class (which had some good singing!) there was a Student Recital which had some great music, but I wonder why no one tells me about these things so I could sign up? Well it's too late now because I won't be around anymore. It makes me sad that I've never sung a solo song for the school in any fashion, and I've had chances to.
I talked about this with my Piano teacher (also my Choir teacher) and had a long conversation about Cal as I had just found out I was accepted, and he was telling me how the school would miss me and appreciated my loyalty and time at Laney. It was an emotional conversation and he even considered having an Alumni Recital so I could sing something.
Week 16: May 4-7
Music History has now become a social void rather than the guaranteed fun times it used to be. So it's not a shocker anymore that nothing happened on Monday at all.
Basketball is a sure void. I should just stop showing up.
Choir was fun though, it was starting to get back to normal with the conversations with JQ, Gabriella and Kate. I also talked to Marc I'm pretty sure and I remember talking to Sophia as well. Sophia is a cute but shy girl in my Music History and Choir classes. I said hi to her and she reluctantly said hi back. I'm thinking I should talk to her more. I've kind of gotten a new crush on her. We've never had a real conversation in the two semesters we've taken classes.
Biology had some nice moments at the end. I talked to Janneth, who is also in my Jazz History class, what she does inbetween Bio and Jazz (one hour break) and she said she studies in the library and offered me to join her. I said (almost in a flirtatious tone) that I was interested, but that I would go out and eat dinner first. I did eat dinner but I didn't go back and study with her because I came back a little late and she was already studying with some of her friends. I sat around and studied for the test that day and I think I did fine. No notable conversations happened during class. I did run into a former classmate before class, which was nice. Janneth left after the test.
Another pretty good Tuesday. It was Cinco De Mayo! Some performances were going on during lunch class and a very memoral moment occured when some dancers were looking for volunteers to do a dance with them and I opted to do it. I got to dance with one of the cute girls and it was a great time but I didn't talk to her after the dance. One or two classmates saw me and a bunch of people took pictures but lord knows if I'll get to see any of them.
English and Comm had some nice moments which was good because they used to be very boring for those things.
After my classes were over I stayed over for the Tuesday Choir and had an interesting surprise when my Jazz History teacher visited for an unknown reason. He is the BCC Choir director so it was a little awkward that he saw me with another Choir but whatever, I think the Laney one is better anyway, lol...
Wednesday things got a little ugly. I put a water bottle in my backpack but didn't close it all the way and as a result my notebook, binder and planner got very wet and they're all essentially no good. I still have to use the planner for the remainder of the year and although it's dried it's still hard to write on. The notebook is going away at the end of the semester but the binder had my Choir music. Tough break.
It got worse. After Music History I had basically one chance to ask Leslie (I couldn't ask her at the last minute could I?) about Tuesday's performance and not only did she ignore my calls for her, when I did go ahead and ask the question anyway she kind of condescendingly answered "I can't." I've known her for two years and I've never seen her act that way, towards me or anybody. I started to worry about her. Is something going on? I'd like to find out and hopefully it's not about me. I hope she's alright. I questioned my agression as I really tried to talk to her despite her brushing me off multiple times. I think it's good that I don't give up on things though.
After Choir I lied down in the grass and watched as my friends, who were still nervous about the sprinklers going off, warn me but eventually decided to join me. It didn't last very long (a month ago we were on the grass for over an hour) but we had some nice nerdy times and Gabriella talked to me for a minute about anime. It was a nice way to continue the day after what happened earlier.
When I got into BCC I bumped into Analisa and although we didn't have our first conversation of the semester, she saw me and waved at me. Not something she usually does, usually she'll avoid me but I guess that time it was a little difficult to? Actually, we were far enough that she could have avoided me easily. So it was a nice thing to see happen. Unfortunately, I bumped into her again and this time I tried to start a conversation but she wouldn't have it. I guess maybe it was a little too good to be true.
During Biology a few things happened. My friends and I have a tendency to take forever to complete Biology labs as we're out a good 20-30 minutes after the other 16 people in the class. We talked to the teacher about it and he joked that the other students "pay attention" and get their work done faster. We made excuses like "Oh we just want to learn more" and "It's a good bonding experience" but it kind of did make me thing about whether I really was that great of a student in Bio.
Oh, and I confirmed Janneth was married. So much for that.
Thursday I was nearly a half an hour late for English 5, but there was hardly class anyway. I talked to some people about the debate we're having on Tuesday, and I think I can do a good job but I'm not yet finished with my arguments for legalized prostitution. Something I will have to work on today! After exercising I ran into some of the people from the class and a short conversation about pimps and exercise, I walked to Voice class. Voice class hasn't been a real source for socializing all semester, despite having two or three cute girls in the class. I talked to Amanthis for a second about the fact she was learning Japanese (I can see her writing) which I thought was cool, but nothing came out of it. In fact, I think she avoids me now. I think I'm reading into her indifference a little too much.
During Piano class I asked the teacher about singing a solo song for the Choir performance and he declined, which made me sad but we still had another conversation about leaving the Choir and how fun the last few years were.
After I class I ran into Marc and he offered to walk me home. So we talked for 20 minutes or so about school, life in Oakland, religion (eh) and girls. It was fun to be able to freely speak out about things going on in my life without worrying about a negative reaction, so that was great. It may wind up being my last Piano class because I have a dinner this Thursday and Graduation the Thursday after that, so I'll talk to my teacher about it.
Week 17: May 11-14
Important events include the Choir performance and the final day of Voice class, where I will sing "Lascia ch'io Pianga" by Handel.
It'll be interesteing to see how I handle my last days with the people of Choir and Voice. There are a lot of people to say goodbye to.
Still three weeks left in most of my other classes, but only 10 days in all, so not a lot of time to bond with my Bio and Jazz History classmates, or my Comm and English classmates who I don't talk to much at all. We'll see what happens. Also, what will come of the situation with Leslie, and Sophia, and Analisa, and so on and so on... all stuff I can't wait to find out today!