new family car!

So my parents bought a new Lexus RX 330 while I was at school. Imagine my surprise when they picked me up from Berkeley in their new ride!

Because our 1988 Volvo 240 was becoming unreliable, my parents had been looking for a replacement for some time. However, they decided to jump the gun after the engine died in the middle of the road the other day. Though we didn't have much time to carefully consider the choices, the RX 330 is really nice. I don't have any complaints so far.

Mom gave the Volvo 240 to charity because we didn't need that many cars. The Volvo has served us well for over 15 years and will be missed. On the other hand, the donation should save us a few hundred dollars in tax deductions. :-)

R.I.P. Grandpa :-(

The week ended on a sad note as I found out my paternal grandfather Bien-Chuan Chia had passed away from liver cancer last month. He was 80 years old. Dad was afraid it would affect my mood and didn't tell me until I asked him about Grandpa.

For those unaware, liver cancer is one of the worst forms of the disease. The prognosis is generally very poor. Though the doctor gave him two months to live, he passed away just a few weeks later. I didn't see Bien-Chuan often as he lived overseas, but we had many good times together. One of my favorite memories was lighting fireworks with him during our second trip to Taiwan. It's hard to believe I won't see him again.

I'm going to miss Bien-Chuan for sure. Rest in peace, Grandpa. :-(

first day of college!

The big day has arrived. I moved into the dorms at Berkeley this afternoon, and so begins a new chapter in my life.

One thing for sure is that college is very different from high school. I was nervous at first but am adjusting pretty well. I've met my roommate Scott - he's a cool guy from Southern California. The other six people in our suite are really nice too. Oh yeah, and hot chicks are everywhere. ^_^

Classes don't actually start until the 30th, but new students are encouraged to attend Welcome Week to get a feel of the school. The schedule is filled with activities, including a dance on the 27th. I'm pretty excited.

In other news...

Summer ended on a good note as the Lu family invited us to dinner at HomeTown Buffet on the 20th. Everything was delicious. I had a great time hanging out with Thomas, Connie and Jenny at their house afterwards. Of note is that the Lus agreed to meet on Friday instead of Saturday because I wanted more time to prepare for the move. I truly appreciate their consideration.

Currently playing: The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions

Historical note: Pictures from Move-In Day are available here.

the anxiety is killing me...

I'm moving to Berkeley in six days. The transition to college is no doubt one of the biggest changes in my life. This is really exciting but also scary at the same time. I'm definitely a little nervous. I'll have to admit - the past few days were so stressful that I had an anxiety attack just after returning from Alaska on the 10th. :\

All that having been said, I'm sure everything will be fine. After all, almost everyone goes to college!

In other news...

1. I finally got to try the chocolates I bought in Alaska. They were delicious and worth the price.

2. Because I'll be away from home, my parents recently got me my own cell phone. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Currently playing: Hoyle Puzzle Games (2003 edition)

done with high school

I've officially graduated from Los Altos High School. It's hard to believe how fast time goes. Class of 2004 forever!

Graduation report

The commencement was held on the athletic field. The band played "Pomp and Circumstance" as we filed in. The school officials and valedictorians then spoke about our achievements and our future. After everything was said and done, the seniors were called to the stage to collect their diplomas. This was the moment we had all been waiting for.

Of note is that there was no senior prank this year. Because some past pranks have gone too far and resulted in disciplinary action, our class decided to play it safe and ditch the idea altogether. Though several people blew up a beach ball and passed it around during the speeches, the commencement was overall uneventful.

Looking back

On the whole, my favorite part of high school was Mr. Shaull's choir class. I never knew it could be so much fun. One of my regrets is being so reluctant to take it when I first had the chance. I'll also miss our physics teacher Mr. Randall and his sense of humor. He certainly knew how to lighten up a bad day and make a difficult subject enjoyable.

Another great memory was when our English class threw a surprise party for Ms. Bang in 9th grade. Some of the girls had found out her birthday and decided to bake her a cake. Everyone then wished her a happy birthday as she walked in the door. She still gave us homework afterwards. Go figure.

Outside of academics, the dances were pretty fun too. Though I only went to the non-formal ones, they were always something to look forward to. The back-to-school dance in August was my favorite. There better be dances in college. :-)

One nice thing about LAHS is that bullying was rare. Even the guy who picked on me all the time at Egan generally left me alone. I'm guessing it was just a phase for him. To be fair, teenagers don't always have the best judgment.

Speaking of which, I got in trouble myself on more than one occasion. During my freshman year, Mrs. Roth sent me to the office for saying "shit" one too many times. The assistant principal said I could have been suspended but only gave me a warning as we knew each other fairly well. It's good to have friends in high places. *grin*

Another time was when I showed my friend Scott a complaint generator during a world literature workshop. In my infinite wisdom, I entered Mrs. McClelland as an example. The timing was unfortunate as she just happened to walk past us. Awkward.

There was also an incident with the net send command. I was bored after finishing an online exercise and decided to advertise RuneScape to my chemistry class. But what I didn't realize is that the message went out to every computer on the network and not just those in the classroom. Imagine my surprise when Ms. Bradley told me what happened. I still can't believe I only got a stern warning from her. Good times.

Perhaps the worst thing that happened was getting kicked out of Spanish III during my junior year. I was afraid I wouldn't get into a good college, but things turned out otherwise. It's nice to know schools don't just look at grades.

All in all, my four years at Los Altos High School went extremely well. I'm going to miss everyone for sure.

The obligatory celebration

The day ended with a school-sponsored party called Grad Night that runs from 8 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. I decided not to go as the tickets were about $100 per person. Instead, my family had a nice dinner at Sundance the Steakhouse in Palo Alto. I loved the Australian lobster tail that Mom ordered. It was very expensive - $42 to be exact - but turned out to be the best part of the meal. I definitely can't complain.

Currently listening to: Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition soundtrack - "Departure" by Lee Jackson

Historical note: Our pictures from the commencement are on Flickr. The official pictures have been removed from the LAHS website but are available at the Internet Archive.

R.I.P. Grandma :-(

Uncle Harrison just called with some bad news: my maternal grandmother Pi-Tan Yang has passed away from complications of pneumonia. She was 84 years old. I can't say this was totally unexpected because she had been very ill for the past few weeks due to heart disease.

Pi-Tan was one of those special people who have touched our lives. I'll never forget her gentle spirit and non-confrontational attitude. Visiting my grandparents on weekends always made for wonderful family time. However, my favorite memory was when we took them to a Mexican restaurant in Saratoga called Chicken Salsa for lunch. That is something I'll always cherish.

Though my grandmother's passing wasn't a complete surprise, the news still hit me pretty hard. There are difficult days ahead, especially for Mom. Your support and prayers are truly appreciated.

Rest in peace, Grandma. You'll be greatly missed. :-(

In other news...

On a more positive note, my cousin Cathy just turned 12 years old. I'd like to wish her a happy birthday and hope this won't be too hard on her.

Currently playing: Shrak

so I'm legal now...

I just turned 18 years old. In other words, I'm now legally an adult. Of course, that doesn't mean I'll stop listening to my parents - after all, they can kick me out of the house anytime. :P

As for celebrations, my family went to Pizz'a Chicago for dinner last weekend. Though we hadn't been there in several years, the pizzas were really good as always. It's hard to believe how fast time goes.

In other news...

I reached 1,200 skill total in RuneScape two days ago. You can see the screenshot here.

Currently playing: RuneScape

wisdom teeth removed

I just got back from the surgeon's office and am now in recovery mode. Despite my reservations, the procedure went smoothly — more so than I expected.

An anesthesiologist put me to sleep to spare me the gory details. I must admit I felt like a condemned man about to die. It's probably because I was worried about complications. Luckily nothing happened to me, but that must be some powerful stuff as I was knocked out in seconds.

Everything was done when I woke up. Although my mouth is still numb, that should go away in a few hours. However, the hard part is that I can't eat any solid foods for two weeks. Looks like I'm going to miss out on our New Year's Eve dinner. :\

Currently listening to: "The Twelve Days of Christmas"

on turning 16

I'm officially 16 and old enough to drive. However, this isn't something I've given much thought to. Because school is within walking distance, there's no reason to get a license at this time. Although I do plan to eventually get one, that's to worry about later. You can only do so much without a car.

Of course, no birthday is complete without presents: my aunts Jill and Cynthia gave me red envelopes containing $100 each. I'm blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. Jill and Cynthia are both very generous. But damn... this makes me feel guilty because $100 is no pocket change.

first day of high school

So I started my freshman year at Los Altos High School this morning. I was obviously pretty nervous as high school is quite different from middle school. Mom had heard all kinds of horror stories about high school, such as people doing drugs and freshmen being forced to give seniors blowjobs in the restrooms, so she was also a little worried.

Much to our collective relief, the first day went fairly well, and there was no indication that LAHS was an unsafe place. The nice part was that I got back in touch with many of my Egan and Springer classmates. But the bad news is that Alex (the guy who loved to torment me at Egan) is also attending LAHS. I just hope he won't give me grief for another four years. *crosses fingers*

The other thing is that I'm taking a 0th period biology class that is held before regular school hours. The class starts at 7:20 a.m. and meets every day except Thursdays, meaning that I have to get up early in the morning almost every day. I'm definitely not excited about that. Just who the hell came up with the idea of 0th period classes?

On the bright side, I live just one block from school. This means I won't have to deal with the traffic and worry about being late. I could probably even go home for lunch every now and then. :-)

Oh yeah, and there's the back-to-school dance in two weeks. It's a great way to start the school year for sure. Count me in!

Currently playing: Raptor: Call of the Shadows

Happy 1999!

I hope everyone had a great new year!

Anyway, last night totally rocked. The Liang family invited mine to their New Year's Eve party, and everyone had a great time. Although I mostly played Super Mario Land and Star Wars on my Game Boy, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the party. As midnight approached, we participated in the countdown to 1999. Happy New Year!

But the party wasn't over just yet; my parents and I were having so much fun that we stayed for almost another hour before leaving. This was my first time celebrating the new year at someone else's house, and I had never gotten home from a party so late early before!

1998 in review

In a sense, 1998 was my "coming of age" year. The most significant event was probably when I transferred to Springer as a full-time student. That was a very important milestone in my life; my parents had feared that I would remain in a special education program indefinitely, but it turned out otherwise. I also gave up Easter egg hunts, trick-or-treating and annual birthday parties on my own power. Those weren't easy decisions, but I guess it's safe to say I'm not a little kid anymore. :-)

The best part of 1998 was when we visited Yellowstone National Park in August. That had to be one of our best trips ever. It's hard to say what my least favorite part of the year was, considering that things generally went very well. Chances are that it's one of those arguments I've had with my parents over some trivial shit, but I guess that's one of the things about being a teenager. :P

In any case, I'm looking forward to a great 1999. Rock on!

Currently playing: Star Wars (Game Boy)
Release date: November 15, 1991

no more trick-or-treating for me

One year ago, I donned my Batman costume and raided the neighborhood for treats. I got several bags of the good stuff, and it was definitely lots of fun. But one thing I noticed was that most of the people that dressed up were much younger than me. I realized I was becoming too old to go around knocking on doors and asking strangers for sweets, so I've decided to stop trick-or-treating this year. That's right, I am calling it quits.

From now on, I'll probably stay home on Halloween and pass out candy instead. In all honesty, giving up trick-or-treating wasn't too difficult because I had already made a similar decision to stop going to Easter egg hunts this year. Come to think of it, each year's candy is pretty much the same anyway.

I'm officially a teenager + new computer!

Well, I just turned 13. In other words, I'm now officially a teenager. I'm aware that 13 is considered an unlucky number, so here's to hoping I won't have too much bad luck for the next year. *shrugs*

Speaking of which, this birthday was a little different. I figured I was getting too old for annual birthday parties - not to mention that my mother was getting tired of always having to invite people over - so I did not have one this year. After all, parties aren't the only way to celebrate a special occasion; I'd imagine a night at the movies or a dinner at a nice restaurant would be just as fun. But that doesn't mean I'll never have another birthday party again - I just might save one or two for those very special ages.

On the other hand, I got a brand new desktop PC in the evening. The computer has a 400 MHz Pentium II processor, 8 GB of storage and 64 MB of RAM. It came with a nifty wireless mouse, too. Pretty impressive, don't you think?

I should mention that the computer was never intended to be a present. I'm not that spoiled, mind you. Rather, Dad had ordered it a while ago, and it just happened to arrive on my birthday. It's funny how things tend to work out. Perhaps I won't have so much bad luck after all. ;-)

Oh yeah, and my friend Moonway's mother knew I used to be an avid map collector, so she gave me two high-quality maps a few days ago. One is a world map, and the other is a map of the United States. Thanks, Angela!

Currently playing: SimCity 2000

first day of middle school

I started 7th grade at Egan Junior High School this morning. This was my first day at a new school, so I was obviously pretty nervous. I had been in a special education program for almost six years because of my autism, so the transition was especially challenging for me.

On the other hand, there are many exciting things about middle school. One thing for sure is that it's a great place to make friends. I'm a bit embarrassed to say this, but there are many hot chicks at Egan. It's kind of awkward to talk to them, though, so I hope the other kids won't make fun of me for doing so. :P

All of the teachers and staff are extremely nice. I'd like to give props to the counselor, Mr. McClain, who was very helpful in addressing my concerns; he certainly made my transition to Egan a lot easier. Oh yeah, and the 7th grade science teacher, Ms. McLaughlin, is totally hilarious. I can't wait to be in her class again tomorrow!

Although this was only my first day at Egan, I really like it so far. However, it goes without saying that the 8th graders love to make fun of us "sevies." From what I've heard, one of their traditions is to put us in trash cans. I'm not sure I like the sound of that. *shrugs*

One odd thing about Egan is that each class period is normally 46 minutes long. You're probably wondering why the school didn't choose a more "rounded" number, such as 45 or 50. To be honest, I have no clue either.

In other news...

We invited Mrs. Carrie and her husband Ron to dinner at Chef Chu's last week. She did a lot for me when I was in her 6th grade class at Springer, so my parents and I thought this would be the best way to show our appreciation. I had really missed Mrs. Carrie, so it was nice to get back in touch with her.

Currently listening to: Deep Woods, Deep Waters by Douglas Wood

just transferred to Springer

I'll start by saying a little about myself: I am autistic as a result of an oxygen deficiency at birth. Due to my learning disabilities, my parents had trouble finding a school for me when I was younger; every place I went to would kick me out after a few weeks. I was eventually taken in by a special education program called the Morgan Center. Because most of its curriculum was very basic, I had missed out on many learning opportunities during my six years there.

However, my parents were able to arrange for me to participate in a regular math class at Springer Elementary School starting in 5th grade. That went very well, so we did the same for this school year. It wasn't long before I was cleared to take additional classes at Springer. After numerous meetings with school officials, my parents finally managed to convince them that I could handle a normal learning environment. That was one of the most important milestones in my life.

So back on topic: I "graduated" from the Morgan Center yesterday afternoon, and this was my first day as a full-time student at Springer. It definitely feels great to be a normal kid again. I'm also extremely lucky to have a teacher as kind as Mrs. Carrie; she's very understanding of my situation and always gives me the help I need. The workload is indeed a lot heavier, but I'm sure it's nothing I can't handle.

From what I've heard, I was the only "student" of the Morgan Center to switch back to a regular school. You could say I'm a pioneer; this accomplishment is certainly one I'm proud of. On the other hand, I'm going to miss all of my friends, especially Brian, Drew and Chelsea, as well as all the teachers there. One thing I'll never forget is Cheryl's sense of humor; our head teacher always knew how to turn a bad day into a good one. It was also sad to say goodbye to the folks that work in Jim's afternoon program. The people of the Morgan Center will always hold a special place in my heart, and I hope to visit them sometime. :-)

last Easter egg hunt ever?

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. There's nothing more thrilling than trying to grab as many of those goody-filled eggs as possible, or searching for them in obscure places where they may be hidden.

But let's be honest here: I'm getting a little too old for this stuff. Since two years ago, I've started feeling out of place at Easter egg hunts because most of the children present were much younger than me. Therefore, I've decided to stop going to them from now on. I did go to the egg hunt at school earlier this afternoon, but that will probably be my last one ever.

To be clear, I did not give up Easter egg hunts because my parents told me to; it was my own decision. I'll have to admit, this wasn't an easy thing to do because the egg hunts are what make Easter so much fun. But I guess we've all got to grow up sometime, right?

On second thought, maybe I shouldn't say I'll never participate in an egg hunt again... I'll just be hiding the eggs instead. *evil grin*

All that having been said, I'd be happy to attend an Easter egg hunt if someone were to organize one that's catered to older people. Surely I can't be the only one with that idea...

In other news...

We'll be leaving for a two-day trip to Eureka tomorrow morning. There's no better way to spend the Easter weekend than with a family vacation. :-)