The San Diego Auto Show

            I visited the 2011 San Diego Auto Show with my dad and brother. Located in the Convention Center in downtown San Diego, the auto show was not exactly what I expected, but it surprised me in a different way. There were tons of car dealers, more than I could count on my fingers and toes. All the car dealers were showing off their latest models, and I could tell all the dealers were really trying to hype up their economic cars. Here is a picture of one of the "Economy" cars.

I think this is the Nissan Leaf

         There were also a few sections with luxury cars and some old cars. There was also a small section with movie cars. They had Herbie from Herbie, and they had K.I.T from the car series "Knight Rider". They also had my personal favorite, the DeLorean from "Back to the Future".

Back to the Future DeLorean

         One of my personal favorites was this stick car with gears and cogs.

Stick Car

            There must have been hundreds of cars in this one building, as you can see from a shot I took from one end of the Convention Center. 

 San Diego Car Show

         There was a new Volkswagen Beetle, I had not seen one before the show, and I must admit, the new Beetle looks a little more sporty. This is a picture of me inside of one, a nice bright yellow one, definitely not my type of car.  

The new Beetle

          Overall, the car show was a success, I enjoyed the cars, and while a little disappointed with the lack of old classic cars, I enjoyed the full supply of new and debuting cars. The huge expanse of cars tickled my car bone, and I enjoyed every moment I was there.

Dissecting Quotes #13

         This is the thirteenth edition of the series "Dissecting Quotes", where I choose a quote and briefly describe what I think the quote means and how to apply it to our everyday lives. I hope the insight a high schooler can provide can help brighten a day or get you thinking.

"Every gift which is given, even though it may be small,

is in reality great, if it is given with affection."

-Pindar

         You either love Christmas time or you hate it. Personally, I love the spirit of the season, and the way most people are more joyful. I know a few people who do not like the holiday season, and with all my trying, I cannot see why they would not like it. Some of these people who do not like Christmas argue that nowadays, everyone is selfish and they only think of Christmas as a time to receive what they want. This is understandable, but not everyone is like this. Some like to give thoughtful presents to friends and family, brightening the recipients day. This quote suggests something similar, that if an individual puts thought and care into a gift, it can mean more than any material thing. Recipients of gifts desire thought, not necessarily expensive gifts. These gifts dramatically outweigh the gifts given without thought, the gifts that are picked up and bought at the last minute. With this in mind, though Christmas is a few days away, try to give gifts that are given in love, with affection. These gifts may be the best gifts the recipiants may ever recieve.

White Elephant

         A few days ago I attended a Christmas party with a White Elephant gift exchange. For those of you who do not know what a White Elephant gift exchange is; it is an activity where everyone brings a gift, and one by one, a person grabs a gift from the pile or chooses to steal what another person has. It is really fun and sometimes the gifts received are funny. I wondered why it was called a White Elephant, so I did a little research, and this is what I came up with.

        A long time ago, in Southeast Asia, white elephants were praised for their beauty and looks. I didn't know elephants came in white, so I found a picture of one.

White Elephant

         So back to the story. These white elephants were praised and sought after because of their beauty. The owner, who would pay a great price, would not use the elephant for work, just for show. So now in the modern times, the phrase "White Elephant" was meant to mean an item not used too often. Participants were encouraged to bring something they hardly used, so as not to be too devastating of a loss. Now, some people still play the old way, bringing unused items, but the majority of gift exchanges are with low cost items, sometimes things people buy. This Christmas season, if you find yourself playing the White Elephant gift exchange, now you know what the real reason is.

Christmas Statistics and Unknown Facts

          Well, it is almost that time of year when Christmas is in the air. Christmas can be a magical time, or it can just be a nightmare. Either way, here are some fun facts and statistics about the holiday season.

          -Many people think Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is the busiest shopping day of the year. It is only the fifth to tenth busiest day; the busiest is the Friday and Saturday before Christmas.
          -The average household will mail out 28 Christmas cards and receive 28 Christmas cards.
          -Christmas trees can be eaten. If for some strange reason a bomb went off on Christmas, families could eat parts of the trees that are edible, such as the needles or even some bark.
          -Many retailers make 70% of their yearly income on the weeks leading up to Christmas.
          -7% of mall Santa's have a criminal background.
          -The amount of money generated by pictures with Santa is around $2,255,750,000.
          -If Santa was to visit every house in the world, he would be making 842,000,000 stops and would have to travel 4,796,250 miles per hour.
          -The amount of presents in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is 364, one less than the amount of days in a year.
          -In the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Visa cards are swept almost 9 times per second in the United States.
          -50% of Americans wear holiday themed clothing during the holiday season.
          -Christmas lights were introduced in 1895.
          -20% of Americans finish their Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve.
          -28% of Americans re-gift their presents.
          -Each consumer this year is estimated to spend almost 800 dollars.
          -December 21st is the busiest delivery day of the year.
        
          I hope this holiday season is the best ever, and even though some of these statistics are a little strange, some are truly interesting to share with family and friends.
       

Dissecting Quotes #12

          This is the twelfth edition of the series "Dissecting Quotes", where I choose a quote and briefly describe what I think the quote means and how to apply it to our everyday lives. I hope the insight a high schooler can provide can help brighten a day or get you thinking.

"A people free to choose will always choose peace"

-Ronald Regan

         Many people have thought about world peace, about why it is so hard to achieve it. Peace is a precious thing, and even though many people do not work to see peace, deep down they really desire to have peace and there not to be any strife. Without any other people telling them what to do, humans really want peace, the only reason they go to war is for peace, which is ironic in itself. We should think about what we would choose if we didn't have anyone over us telling us what to think, or what to do.

Short Story #1

           This is the first edition of the series "Short Stories," where I write a short story about anything. The topics can range from sci-fi to a real story that happened to me. I hope these short stories brighten your day and keep you occupied with a dying form of entertainment, literature. This specific story is a true story, something that happened to me when I was about 12 years old.

          I had awoken to the crash of waves, feeling the cool spray of water. I ate a breakfast, a feast of sorts, with pancakes and bacon. I enjoyed the day down on the beach, riding powerful waves until my face was red as a tomato. I made my way up to our camp, and now changed into clean clothes, got ready to leave for the train station. I was going to take the train down the coast on a hour ride, where my dad would pick me up, and then take me to baseball practice. My mom bought my ticket for me at the train station, and I walk to the train. I pick a good seat, one by a window. The train starts up and the ride flys by while I am lost in the wonder of being on my own in the real world.

          Before I know it, the train reaches my stop. I hop off the train and look for my dad. Being young and naive, I did not stay where I was, like I should have. After looking around desperately and not finding my dad, I walk to the train stop and change a dollar into quarters. I find a call booth, but not knowing how to use one, was not able to call anyone. Worried I would not find my dad, I run to the train which is just getting ready to leave. I dodge a lady and just as the doors start to close, I enter the train. I sit down nervously, worried no one asks me for a ticket, because I do not have one. The train arrives in downtown, and I notice people have on baseball jerseys, because there is a game downtown tonight. I am distressed and worried, because I have nowhere to go and nothing to call my parents with.

          All of a sudden, I have an idea; my aunt lives in one of the high-rise condominiums near where I was. Hoping I could somehow get past two security doors and a elevator, I walk to the side of the building. To my unbelief, the door is open a crack. Happily opening the door, my heart sinks when I realize I have to get past the second door also. I approach the door when a woman walks out. Luckily, she does not close the door all the way, and I am able once again to open the door and move on. I walk inside, rejoicing that I was able to get inside. Now I only need to activate the elevator to get to my aunts floor. I pretend to get a long drink of water while waiting for another person to activate the elevator. Eventually someone comes along who has the key for the elevator, and I follow him into the elevator and push the button for the floor I need.

          I arrive at her floor, and walk to the door where my aunt lives. Hoping she would be home, I knock on the hard wooden door. I wait for her to open the door, and just when I think she may not be home, she opens the door. Exasperated from my journey, I walk into her apartment and collapse on her couch. She asks me what happened and when I try to tell her, I realize I am crying. I wait until I calm down, then tell her what happened. She eventually finds out what happened, and she comforts me by giving me some gatorade. I call my mom, who in turn calls my dad, who comes to pick me up. From this tramuatizing experience I learned more about the real world, and also if I am ever lost, to stay put.
       

Dissecting Quotes #11

                This is the eleventh edition of the series "Dissecting Quotes", where I choose a quote and briefly describe what I think the quote means and how to apply it to our everyday lives. I hope the insight a high schooler can provide can help brighten a day or get you thinking. The quote today is an quote requested by a friend of mine, and I will try to dissect the quote best as I can.

"Be more concerned about your character than your reputation. Your

character is what you really are and your reputation is what others think you are."

-John Wooden, NCAA Coach

         Some people get all worked up on what other people think of them. I know I was really concerned about appearance and about reputation. I got better on it, but even now I still worry about what people think of me. John Wooden related this to sports by saying, "Be more concerned about your character than your reputation." This means we should worry more about who we are as a person than who others think we are. We sometimes get caught up on how we are viewed in the eyes of others, but I think we should focus more on our own problems and own self than others. This does not mean, however, it is okay to be a jerk to others because you do not care what they think of you. The second part of the quote just further explains what a character is and what the reputation is. I think we should all realize reputation isn't everything, and that in order to have a good reputation, we need to focus on our character.