Applying to TOO many colleges

So, many seniors are applying to college during these upcoming months, including me. But do you know what really pisses me off? The prevalent competitive attitude among many of the people who apply. Many people are applying to way too many colleges. I hear people applying to 15 schools, and some are even applying to 20 or more! Do you know that you can only go to one of these schools? Frankly, applying to a couple schools, between 5 to 10, is probably the most practical. I understand that one needs to have the dream schools, the reach schools, and the safety schools. But 20 schools? By applying to this many schools, you actually deny some kids to go their dream schools. Take for example, you apply to Standford, Harvard, Yale, Northwestern, Columbia, University of Chicago, Cornell, Princeton, and most of the UCs, just to name a few. But do you realize that you only get to pick one? Just one! So why do you want to screw other people? (don't take it literally) I believe that most kids do this just so they can brag to others, "cool, I got into Stanford, Harvard, Yale, and Northwestern! I'm so awesome." Simply put, MOST of the kids who do this are prideful, competitive, and selfish! Lets say, a very brilliant kid applies to 15 different schools, most of them the top notch, and he also applies to the UCs. He gets into most of the higher tier schools, and decides to go to one of them. Then what's the point in applying to UCLA or UC Berkely? You just screwed me over by taking my spot, and now you're not going to go there? You also screwed many of the kids who applied to the same top tier schools as you did. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the competitive nature, in fact I believe it leads to a stronger and prosperous future. But come one, there is a limit - 20 schools? Wouldn't it be great if everyone knew which college they were going to? As great as this sounds, I believe it will never happen. So what I am trying to say is to only apply to the schools that are your safety, some schools which are a bit of a reach, and then lastly apply to 2 or even maybe 3 of your dream schools. By doing this, I believe you can actually increase the percentage of kids who go to four year universities.

Another uncontrollable factor is the terrible economy. Many of the "smartest" kids are up to the Stanford or Harvard "level." But because the economy is so bad, their parents actually want them to go to the UCs or other less expensive schools. This actually sucks for some kids like me. Honestly, I think I am around UCLA and Berkley level, and most kids are. But because of the economy, many of the more brilliant kids are "forced," in a way, to take our spots. Now, I'm not say this is always the case, because most of the top tier schools offer financial aid, but usually it is similar to this.

Now I know it sounds like I'm whining or making up excuses. In some way, this might be true :], but think about it. Isn't there some truth to this?

Update on the house

So we finished the remodeling, and I must say, it came out pretty sweet. At first, when we installed the black and white and gray granite counter top, my mom and I were a bit skeptical if it was going to match our reddish mahogany floors. But, much to our surprise, it matches pretty well!
Here are some pictures, and sorry for the mess in the kitchen :D






Enough about the house, more about me!
Lately the school work load has been minimal. I haven't had any tests, and homework is quick and simple. My English teacher is super cool. He understands that we have college essays to write so he is giving us almost no homework for the entire Hamlet unit.
College essays are seriously a beezy, I just finished both my UC essays and already I feel that I may need to rewrite them both, ughh.
Overall, the last couple of weeks have been pretty chill, but that's how it is. Its like an oscillating graph. The graph reaches maximum height, representing the highest workload, on test days. And after test days, the graph reaches minimum height, representing the lowest workload. This may sound a bit nerdy, but right now, it feels like theta equals 5pi/3 on a sine graph. Not funny? I know I'm lame :] My current position indicates that in the coming week I will have a gov test and a calculus test at IVC - freakin sucks! Well, be glad I took some of my time to write this post, those of you know who you are ;D

Remodeling

For the past couple of days, we have been remodeling our house. It has been very dusty, loud, and extremely inconvenient because my mom cannot cook.
We have been eating out for almost a week! yuck..
It all started with a pipe leak behind one of the walls. The water from this leak ruined our wood floors. My parents thought it was about time to remodel, so what the hell, let's do it!
We just installed the new granite counter tops in our kitchen, and we will be getting new wood floors in a couple of days.


The plumbers had to pull out some of our original wood floors.


Here is the granite counter top, its freckled with black, gray, and white spots.

And this is my favorite part, this sink is so cool!

New scar

It freaking sucks! I can't shower for a couple days, and I have to be careful when I sleep.

I got it from playing basketball. I ran in to someones forehead, and only I got cut. But its okay, I'll have a pretty badass scar.

Weather change

For the past couple of months, it has been pretty hot. The temperature would range at mid 90's during peak hours, and drop down to the high 70's and low 80's. It has been like that for a while now.
Thankfully, the Santa Ana winds are blowing in. The temperature is very cool - I even have to sleep with two blankets now!
Although its nice and chilly, it is a bit too dry. But I think that will change.
-Matthew

Another horror flick

Alright, so I just came back with some friends from the movie theater.
We watched the movie Quarantine.

Let me just tell you that the movie is pretty damn scary.
But lets be clear, it isn't one of those movies that freak you out psychologically, this one is a straight up thriller filled with much screaming, weird noises, and graphic scenes.
What really was different about this movie was its "home video" style.
It is similar to the shooting style of "Cloverfield" where one guy is holding the camera and filming the events. I believe the producers chose to shoot this movie in such a way because we get the feeling that it is real and what they saw is what we see.
So the movie starts off with a woman named Angela at a fire station with her reporter. The firefighters immediately get called into action, and Angela and her camera man follow the crew.
They arrive at an apartment center, where the caller tells the crew that he heard a loud and unusual scream coming from an old lady. Already, I could tell that this movie required some vision blockage and audio dampening with my hands.
So the story continues with the old woman spazzing out and foaming at the mouth. After trying to calm down the lady, the firefighters and a police man get attacked by her. She bites and attacks two people. Everyone is freaked out now, and Angela constantly reminds her cameraman to "film everything!"
Basically, there is a disease, similar to rabies, which is spread through the contact from blood and saliva. If you're bitten, your effed. Everyone is frantically running around, staying in the first floor where it is "safe." Everyone is shouting, people are cursing, and I am freaked out.
A group of three people, the firefighter, Angela, and the cameraman run around the house; they encounter numerous zombies, probably around 6 or 7 and surprisingly kill them with a big ass hammer without getting bit. At the beginning there were around 15 to 20 people, but towards the end, most of them get bitten and become zombies - ultimately 2 people are left: Angela, and the cameraman, of course.
What is very strange about the story is that supposedly, the government knew that this infection originated in this apartment complex, so they sealed all the doors and windows and guarded them with snipers. They didn't want the virus to spread to the outside world.
Angela and the cameraman try to find ways to escape, and eventually...
I won't ruin it don't worry.

Probably around five or six times I jumped in my seat, shouting out "oh shit!" or "oh my god!" and maybe some variation of the two and other curse words slipping out. I must say, some parts got me good. I even hit myself in the eye, because I tried to cover my vision, but my hand just moved too fast. Everyone, my "friends" included, in the theater probably thought I was the biggest girl in the whole room.

Overall, the movie had its "jumping" moments which were pretty scary due to the sudden creams and creepy faces. I couldn't say that I was not afraid. The biggest setback though was the story. It was very typical, and the ending sucked, period. However, the "home video" style did add a nice effect, despite the occasional blur and jerky movements.

Would I recommend it? Uh, you should probably watch it online or on a DVD - it's not worth the ten bucks. But it wasn't horrible, definitely entertaining.
-Matthew

My first blog

So I just made this blog, and this can be my first official entry.
Today was a busy day.
There was a garage sale in my community this morning,
but I probably only saw one or two houses selling things.
Two weeks ago, a friend of mine rear ended my car.
Both of us are fine, but our cars are not.
Mine is actually still drivable, it just has a slightly crooked bumper and a broken light.
My friends car had to make a visit to the auto shop.

Anyways, today was the perfect opportunity to sell my car, a 1991 Mercedes 420 SEL.
So my dad and I cleaned it up, waxed it for about an hour, and detailed the interior and engine bay. We got out the "for sale" sign and listed it for 900 hundred dollars.
Yea, 900 hundred bucks isn't that much.
Thankfully, our insurance gave us 3k because they were not willing to fix the car,
for the cost of repair exceeds the value of the car.

A guy named Walter drove through our street.
He asked if he could take a look at the car.
He got in, asked some questions, and drove it around.
He liked it, I could tell. His kids were already playing in the the rear seats.
He gave us a down payment of 20 bucks and took away the for sale sign.
I thought that was clever.

This car is awesome.
It sucks that I have to sell it.
He will pick it up sometime this week - I really wish he didn't.
But then, that also means I might get a new car :]
-Matthew

-edit-

Yea, so as the title says, this is my first blog.
I've made a xanga before, but I never really used it.
Hopefully, good things will come out of this one.
I just hope that I don't waste too much time.
-Matthew