Tuesday- The Exam!

  Tomorrow is the exam and I have been studying since Saturday. I believe I am ready, however I also have a French exam to study for. My French exam is in the morning and my ICS exam is in the afternoon. I have been studying so much it's not even funny! I finished 2 of my exams yesterday and they both went by in a blink of an eye! I hope this is the case for the 2 exams I am doing tomorrow! 

Friday- Ate so Much!

  I have such a bad stomach ache! I ate so much cake, took one for the team I guess! I also ate a lot of cookies and chips, what a unhealthy lunch! I have to run for like hours on end to burn all this fat off my body. Aw well, I am going to the YMCA any way so I guess I can burn off all the fat that I have consumed today. I start playing basketball at 6:30 and stop at 11:00, therefore I will be running for 4:30 hours! Yes, I will be burning off at least 2000 calories, which is good for me!  

Thursday- Printed my Advertisement

In my opinion they should change the alcohol with coke 

  I made an account in Staples and printed my pdf, advertisement with it. I went to pick it up after school and luckily, even though I came early they gave me the laminated sheet that I had wanted. They said it takes 6 business hours to created the laminated sheet, however I came to pick it up in 4, oops! Thankfully the man was nice and printed my paper. I watched how one laminates a piece of paper. They first take 2 sheets of plastic, putting one on each side of the paper. Then they cover it with a plastic folder. After that they put the sheet covered in the plastic into a machine that melts the plastic onto the sheet. 
  Whoa, that was a long explanation, any way tomorrow is the party! Mr.Arkin said he is bringing something that is in need of plates, I wonder what it could be? I love parties, there like my happy place away from all the work I have to do. 

Wednesday- Making Webpages Takes a Long Time!

   I am trying to create my webpage for the culminating activities, however it is taking so long! I forgot how long it took to create webpages. Yes, webpages, not only do I have to create one web page, I have to create 3! One for the Testing Report, One for the User Manual and the last one for the advertisement. Speaking of the advertisement I have to print it! I have so much work to do by Friday. So much pressure and the main reason for this is that I procrastinated, thinking I would be able to finish everything in 1 weeks time. 
  I have finished all my other culminating activities, for my other subjects. I presented my French culminating today, my Music culminating on Monday and my English culminating on Friday of last week. Now I can put all my focus onto my ICS culminating. 

Tuesday- Forget to Blog!

  
  Due to all the stress from the culminating activities and now the exams I forgot to blog for one whole week! I feel ashamed just typing this blog, I can't believe I forgot to blog. Any way, on Tuesday I finished up my User Manual and my Testing Report. I decided to put everything up on touque.ca, then add a link to Wikispaces, so that Mr.Arkin can mark my game. I also created an executable for my game. Nonetheless, I have taken off the music component from my game because, I do not want the user to have to download a folder so that they can play my game. This making it much more convenient for the user. 
  Mr.Arkin also informed us about a party on Friday. I have decided to bring cookies as my contribution for the party. I am hoping everyone brings something so that we can have a great party! At the moment I just want this month to end, because that would mean  I would have finished my exams and I would be starting a new semester.

Monday- Drawing Closer and Closer AND CLOSER!

  The culminating deadline is drawing closer as I type. The only things I have to do now are, finish up the user manual, finish the testing results and creating a webpage for the two. I also have to make an add, advertising my game. OH MY GOD! So much work to do! This culminating needs to be absolutely perfect, because it is worth 15% of my mark. I believe the hardest culminating activity I have had so far is this one. Mainly because of the time it consumes. So far I believe I have been working my very hardest to get the best game that my abilities allow me to make. I have decided to take out the meteors and instead add in decoys. These decoys will try and divert the users attention from the stars that must be clicked. The user will have 3 lives which will be based on if they click on the decoy or not. If they click on the decoy they lose a life and if their lives reach 0 they will inevitably lose. 
  As I type I am trying to figure out ways on how to make my game more efficient and how I will be planning out the user manual and the testing results. Today we also got our Mosaic projects back, oh my god! Mine actually looks professional because of the background. Me and my friend were have having a debate on who's was better. Of course we left it as an open ended debate. 

OH MY GOD! I've said this phrase way to often, here's where I get it from :


OMG- Usher feat. Wil.i.am

Friday- Successful Swim Meet!

Hey thats my stroke!

  It was an extremely nerve racking swim meet, mainly due to the fact that I had to go up against seniors! I went to the swim meet and there was well over 100 people there, however no junior did the event I was in, the 50M fly. Therefore, I had to go up against the seniors and came in second, behind an 11th grader from my own team! So Vic Park took both second and first! I had 2 other events, the 50M free and the 200M Medley Relay. In the 50M free I came in second! I hate this, because my regular time in the 50M free is a 28.5 seconds, however this time I had a 30 second time! I went to the swim without any energy and I don't even know what was the cause! In the 200M Medley Relay, we lost because, 2 out of the 4 people who regularly do the relay did not show up!


  Today as Mr.Arkin had announced he was not present. In class I learned how to add music files onto my game. I added the song dynamite by Taio Cruz. My game is looking very promising at the moment and it is fully functional. I have added buttons in the menu. These buttons include, Start, Instructions and Quit. I have also made a button for the difficulty levels. Here is the song that is in my game:

Thursday- Swim Meet Tomorrow!

  Tomorrow is the swim meet, I'm so nervous. This is the last tournaments and to regionals for me! Here is what I listen to before basketball games and swim meets; there is actually 2 :

 FIRST: HIGHER TIAO CRUZ


SECOND: MORE USHER


These songs just get me pumped up, there morals are to either go higher or get more. These both relate to sports. For the song more, it was in the all-star game. These songs have great rhythms, that is the reason why I love these songs and why they get me pumped before a game. The difference is great, between listening to music before a game and not. I played a game without music one day and then with music another game. With music I was faster and more vigilant and without I was slower. 
  The difference struck me as something amazing and I never thought that something like this would change my game so much! Anyway, in ICS, Mr.Arkin told us that he will be away tomorrow! That made me nervous because, what if I have a question and I can't ask Mr.Arkin! I will be making my game summary tomorrow because, I have finished my game ALREADY and it is amazing, if I do say so myself! I believe the exam and culminating activities will be able to boost my marks to the 90's or the high 80's (I hope). My other subjects it was the same as usaul, presentations, culminating activities and getting ready for exams. The day exams are over is the day I will be finally free! 

Wednesday- SO MUCH SNOW!!!

Impossible Is Nothing!

 
  Today, unluckily there was tons of snow on the ground and I had swimming practice in the morning!! I had to wake up at 6:30 am so that I can arrive at school by 7:30 am! Luckily there was no traffic because, it was early in the morning. I believe there was at least 10 cm of snow on the floor. When my father was driving it felt like the car was dancing, due to all the slipping and sliding. With all the snow and slush on the floor, my day didn't look so promising. 
  Nonetheless, it wasn't as I had expected, due to all the fun I had in all my classes. In English I laughed a lot due to an inappropriate joke one of my friends made. In ICS it was another accomplishment day for me, because I enhanced my game. In Music I finished my culminating activity and finally in French I got to play basketball. This is mainly due to the fact that we were rehearsing our play for French. It is basically based on ones talents. My talent I choose was basketball. My group mates decided to use musical instruments, therefore, I decided to dribble to the beat. It was actually quite hard at first then when I got it, it felt like I was doing the impossible! 

Tuesday- Game is Looking Good!

 
  Today I decided to make a menu for my game. The menu has two choices, which are to start the game and to go to the instructions manual. The user will select by using the mouse, which is the cool part. I have also decided to make a boss level, which if passed will give the user 30 points. Points are used at the shop to buy objects to help the user win the game! I made the shop today, therefore today has been one of my accomplishment days! The game is around 400 lines of code and 100% is mine. I learned how to use, clock and the mouse with the file Mr.Arkin sent to us in the beginning of the programming unit! I never knew that something like this could be so useful. When the user loses, they have a choice to continue or quit using the keyboard! I believe Turing is a great program, that show early programmers the steps to success. 

  Through the file that Mr.Arkin had sent us, I have learned over 20 new key words, procedures and functions. From randint to buttonwait, Mr.Arkin has helped me a lot, in both my educational journey and as a whole. I have also started to study for the exams, WHAT A BORE!!!! I am so nervous about the exams, I feel like my heart is trying to free itself from my chest like a cages beast!!!!

Monday- SO TIRED!

I know how he feels!

  Today was the in my perspective, worst day of the week. I believe this because, one comes back a weekend, enriched with fun and enjoyment and is then required to wake up early and go back to work! The only problem I have is the waking up early, otherwise I am okay with the work. Waking up early has never been one of my fondest moments, unless I am looking forward to something. In ICS today Dropbox stopped working, therefore I could not work on my game! Instead I helped a few of my peers with their games, because I'm just such a nice guy! 
  On Friday I have another swim meet! This is the last swim meet until the regionals! I have been looking forward to the regionals from the beginning of the season! The regionals is basically the only swim meet that counts. How one does in the regionals will ultimately decide if one goes to cities or not. Cities is the competition that is composed of the best swimmers in the city. I am aiming for cities this year and my coach believes I can do it. She said if I don't make cities she is going to make me swim so much I won't be able to breath afterwards. I guess the weight of the word is bestowed upon my shoulders AGAIN! 

Friday- SUCCESS!

  Today was the swim meet and as I had wanted I came in first for all my events! Actually I tied for first in the 50m freestyle, with 29 seconds. I tied with a 10th grader from Victoria Park. That basically is stating we KICKED BUTT! I also came in first for the Jr.Men 50m Fly because there were no juniors, however due to that reason I had to compete against the seniors. It was quite embarrassing because, I lost to a senior girl from A.Y Jackson High School. However, what made me feel good is that she was is OFSAA for the 50m fly. 
      OFSAA is a competitive swim competition that one must qualify for. This is not easy, because the qualification times are very fast, for Jr.Men 50m fly the qualification time is 32 seconds and at the moment I am at 35 seconds. If one wants to win in OFSAA they must be atleast 3-4 seconds lower than the qualification time. Therefore, if I wanted to win in OFSAA, I would have to have a time of approximately 29 seconds. This is the time I had for my 50m free and the 50m free is much faster than the 50m fly. People who make OFSAA are amazing swimmers and those who win are superstars. In our own school there is a 16 year old swimmer that is 5th best in Canada for he's age, therefore when he went to OFSAA he came in fifth in the nationals. He came to the swim meet and got 22 seconds in the 50m free and he told me that he wasn't trying! That is a crazy fast time not to mention that he wasn't even trying!

Thursday- Swim Meet Tomorrow!

I got talent!

  HAHAHAHA I get to skip class tomorrow, whoa..... I mean, shucks I wish I could go to class tomorrow! As I was saying, I have a swim tomorrow at AY-Jackson. The only problem with this is that the school is a 45 minute drive, if one were to hide the bus! This basically means that I am going to freeze before I reach the meet! There is also another problem, I forgot to tell my teachers about it! Therefore, I have to wake up early and tell them about it. Oh my god, I am looking forward to tomorrow, however at the same time I am not. 
  Some other things that happened to me are, I had an English supply teacher. He was a nice guy and the funny part was that his name was Mr.Small. For music, I started to play my music onto a computer. This is for my culminating activities. Last but certainly not least, in French we made a group for the culminating project. The project is based on our talents, therefore we show off our talents IN FRENCH! What I am going to do is either bring a basketball in or play my bass guitar. 

Wednesday- Beautiful Mosaic Project

Song stuck in my head!!!!!!!!!! :(

  
  Beautiful Mosaic project, the beautifulest Mosaic project in the world, it got me in denial, in denial, when doesn't get validated ohhhhh!..... COOL! I just rephrased a song to make it sound like my own. Anyway as I was saying, my Mosaic project looks amazing! I love it mainly due to the fact that I have enhanced the design of the project with the CSS. Things I have added to the CSS are, indentations, hover (changes colour when one hovers across link) and a border. My Mosaic project is about the effect Tachyons have on computers and society as a whole. By the way the song I was singing is Beautiful, by Akon.
  Regarding the other things I did in school today. I went late to swim practice so I was locked out! :O Luckily I am still doing my events, which are, Jr.Men 100m IM, Jr.Men 50m fly, Jr.Men 200m Free Relay and Jr.Men 200m Medley Relay.  Therefore, if one were to calculate how much I am going to swim for the swim meet, it would add up to 250m. The swim meet is taking place on Friday and I'm so excited! However, they only bad part about this is the timing. You see, on Friday I have a basketball game right after my swim meet. Therefore, I am going to play basketball with great fatigue (HORRIBLE IDEA!!!). The last time I did that, I couldn't stay up right for a few seconds. The only thing I was looking forward to was dropping on my bed and taking a nice long nap! 

Tuesday- I'm Going Solo!

What I felt like today!!!!!

  I feel so special! Today Mr.Arkin told us about the larger project for the culminating activities and as he explained to us what we were required to do I felt like the news of my life had been given to me. This is mainly due to the fact that, the larger project requires us to chose one of many topics. One of those being a game making project. This is good for me because, at the moment I have created 3 games! These 3 games are all fully functionally, therefore my plan for this project is just to modify my game(s)! I think I am either going to modify my Guitar Hero or my Wack-A-Star game.

  Anyway today was one of my great days for another reason! This was music, in music we have to choose a song and transpose it to our own instrument and play it as a solo, both as a computerized file and as a live performance! What I decided to do is the famous classic "In the Hall Of the Mountain King". The song has a great vibe and rhythm to it, therefore making it a great solo! 
  Hey I'm doing a solo and I'm going solo, what a coincidence! This reminds me of the song "I'm Goin Solo" by Jason Derulo, I'm goin solo, I'm goin solo, I'm goin soloooooo....... Sorry I was singing to myself again! It's a great song anyway..... now the song's in my head! Oh my god! 

Monday- May the Culminating Activities Begin!

It's Hard Work!

  Today is the first day back from the holidays and I couldn't believe I was in school. It was a profound feeling that took over me as I walked into the school, however the feeling was replace with fatigue, due to the fact that I had swim practice in the morning. However, after the practice not only did I feel fatigue I also felt rejuvenated, my father always says, swimming in the morning is an irreplaceable feeling. Today the culminating activities also began, therefore, I had to do a lot of work today! Even though it was the first day back, we had a lot of work put for us. I have finished my computer science website, it is about tachyons. Tachyons are subatomic particles that exceed the speed of light. However, in computer science I have another activity to do, which is much larger than the website I have just completed. It's a new year and a fresh start and I am looking forward to making the best of it!

Friday- Successful Music Concert

  It was as I had expected a very successful music concert! My music teacher, Mr.Gelbloom, said that everyone who saw the concert had said that we were fantastic. When all the songs were played I took a breath of fresh air and felt extraordinarily good. I was so nervous and it paid off, Mr.Gelbloom says, if you are not nervous before a concert than you are either dead or there is something wrong with you. Another fact that made me very happy was that, my previous bass had been under repair, however today I got to play with it! The strings, the bass, the EVERYTHING, felt perfect and I think I sounded better with this bass, than with other basses. 

Thursday- Oh No Late Post!

Me playing the bass, OH YA!!!!

  My apologizes for such a late post, I did not notice that I had not posted Thursday's post! The truth is I made the post, however made a childish mistake and did not post it! Anyway, on Friday I have a music concert, I play the base, therefore I play the rhythm. Nevertheless, the bad part about this is that I do not get to rest, while the melody is resting during the solos, I must play the rhythm. Therefore, without me the soloists would not have a steady beat. Hahaha, I'm just kidding, however my job in the band is to keep the rhythm for everyone else, this meaning that I am the foundation of the band! I feel so special and excited for tomorrow's concert, I know everyone is going to do well, because when I hear us practice, we do not play as individuals, we play as a unit. This is key to a successful band, and concert, I just hope everyone shows up!