Ifagalz

It’s official, in about four months, I’m going to be completely done with my high school career. Am I excited? HECK YES. Nervous? More so than ever before. Sad? Nah.. ok.. a little. Aside from that, I’ve been trying my best to not let Senioritis- A SERIOUS HIGH SCHOOL DISEASE (lol)- get the best of me. But I have to admit, it nearly got the me first semester. I got a little off track and stopped focusing on high school and all I could think about was getting out of that place. It wasn’t that high school was scary, or horrible, I was/am just ready for something new. Anyhow, it didn’t hit me to really raise my grades until the last six weeks of semester. Within that time frame, I managed to raise two failing grades to and A and a B, and although I’m content.. I know I could have done better (next/final semester!)

Heres the throw down for me, guys. I have an A in Cambridge History Tutoring, Leadership, and Pre-Cal. Two B’s for AP-English Lang./Lit and AVID. And I won’t have an official grade for my Physics class until I take my finals, two weeks AFTER semesters over (it will go in as an “I” which isn’t good b/c it looks like a failing grade even though it’s not.)

Although my physics teacher says he’s adjusting our first semester grade, after we take the finals, some seniors (including myself) can’t help but be nervous. I can only hope for the best, and study for my physics finals which will be in two weeks. I’m also waiting on my English teacher to input our essay grades, which she said should bring my grade to an A for first semester. I’m crossing my fingers.

As for everything else, I haven’t really focused on my social life.. but it’s senior year and I’ve been more focused on leaving than staying. My dad has been a huge help with college and I honestly haven’t seen him more excited for me than now It’s a roller coaster applying for college, financial aid, scholarships, but I know it’ll pay off in the end. I’ve been admitted into University of Idaho, and I’ll be visiting it in 56 days

that’s all for now, I’ll be back later C:

signing out,

Jane.

Hello there! Its been quite a while since I’ve been here. The last thing I posted… oh well, it’s in the distant past, now, eh? Anywho, moving on. For many who are reading this, you may or may not have experienced the life changing events of being a freshman. Now, don’t serenade me with questions, asking me why I said Life Changing. Theres a reason behind this, and I will eventually get to it. So pay close attention when I type out this hopefully, lengthy blog. Here, I go !

Entering the Freshman year was no easy task. Walking through the halls of an unfamiliar territory is as frightening as walking through a crowded store, trying to find a family member. I remember scanning the walls, the people, the way they talk and walked and wondering if I could fit in so easily as they did. The first week of high school seemed to last forever. We were constantly pushed into activities, work and spotlight that threaten to “make” or “break” us. Some saw this spotlight as an opportunity to up their social standings, others avoiding it at any costs.  As for me, I leaned more to the others avoiding it.

By the time the week went by, and to my relief, we were as good as forgotten. I remember feeling lonely the first week of school due to different lunch times with friends. But that changed when my schedule did. Along the way, came obstacles that you should probably be cautious about when you enter highschool. There are three things I’ll tell you. One, being close to your teachers is a definite up and totally helps you when it comes to grades! Two, try not to involve yourself in so much drama, and avoid people you KNOW you won’t get along with. And three, enjoy your years in a proper manner. Don’t go partyparty over everything but don’t be uptight either. Learn to enjoy, but still be able to compromise those last questions on the homework. Another thing is, keep your eyes open and your ears attentive, there are so many opportunities in the world, you don’t want to miss them.

FIRST TEN RULES YOU SHOULD KNOW

1) There will always be obstacles. The best you can do is, face it head on. Avoid it later and it’ll pop back up.

2) Be careful with what friends you make, and be sure to have one close friend you can ALWAYS rely on.

3) Boys. Girls. SCHOOL WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU, LIKE THEY WILL.

4) Dress appropriately, or at least how you feel or want to be treated. If you want to be taken serious, at least make an effort to look serious.

5) DO NOT PROCASTINATE. It will come back to bite you in the butt.

6) Don’t get involved with problems. or drama. or anything you know will get you into trouble.

7) Listen to the upperclassmen(SENIORS MAINLY.)

Find the best bathroom and drinking founting.

9) keep your schedule with you, the first week of school.

10) Know your goals and don’t share them ! (:

Hello again everyone and good morning from I-hop in Federal Way, Washington. Just wanted to congratulate you all for every success you have made in your life this past year and wishing each and everyone of you a very successful 2012.

There is really nothing important to share with our group, it is just that I was so busy I haven’t had the chance to stop in to say Hi. We are doing alright here in the state of Washington, at least now that the SNOW has melted and the roads are cleared up and the power came back within 24 hrs.

To our Ifalik Students, let me remind you of several important things. January is really a busy month for a lot of students for a lot of reasons. And most of the time, students forget the importance of renewing or applying for Financial Aid in January, even if you or your parents have not filed the 2011 taxes. I must say February 15th is the absolute latest for you to turn in your FAFSA. Why? Because it places you on a priority listing of students that can be awarded financial assistance including scholarhips. Most students failed to file on time causing them to loose out on some aids like SEOG, Work Study, and some state funded aids. So I urge you to complete and/or prioritize filling out your FAFSA!

And for High School seniors or transferring students, do not forget that colleges use the same deadline for scholarship priority placements too. So I urge you to get off Facebook Now and finish filling out the forms. .

Just so you know, I waited too long to help my daughter Jayjay apply for colleges within the state and I am regretting it now, so please do not make the same mistake that I did. Jayjay, my second daughter, got admitted to the University of Idaho but it could have been much better if she got into the University of Washington so she can stay with me and go to college. But it’s too late now.

I still got her FAFSA done way ahead of time and all scholarship forms ready to be mailed, but not meeting the application deadline for the University of Washington was something I regretted. I have already done her scholarship apps for the Yap State as well as the Chuuk State and FSM scholarships, but I missed some deadlines on some other very important scholarships that she could have applied to.

My Summer fun plans were all out the window now that I have to take my daughter to Idaho for her orientation as well as getting her ready to move into her dorm. On top of this, my old boy Junior was selected by his school to represent them in the PEOPLE TO PEOPLE forum in Washington DC. Jun will be in Washington DC for 6 days this summer, probably the same time I will be in Idaho.

Please Uncle Martin and Senator Jerry, give us updates on our Ifalik students. I really want to get in touch with them if only to give them a few words of advise. I may be corny most of the time, but my passion for getting our youngsters educated can pierce the skies. lol !

What can we do about our future leaders who are still in school now? This is our good future if we are looking into helping our students now. What happen today is no one is there for this student to help them out. This means NO MAN IS AVAILABLE TO HELP.

Pls help us with this concern.

Yes, Yes, Our students needs a lot of help in terms of mentoring, commitment, dedication and encouragement but not limited to financial needs. Here recently, I can see that we are down in the abyssal hole, and not oriented in the academic world view.

Us in the islands, our students performance is downhill. No support from parents, community, and the staff as well. Most of us men are talking to ourself about not committed to what we are doing in the schools as well as in the community. There are few students that are trying their very best to tackle only what is on hand now but no vision to see what are the outcomes of what they are actually doing.

The students are very proud of themselves as grown up students but not on what they are accomplishing. So, who and what  is the problem here?

Here in Yap Colonia, The students who are taking classes in the schools are looking down at the tip of their toes for they are in despair for their education in the coming days ahead of them when graduated from the schools. This problem in Yap, who will take care of them when in terms of their educational pursuit. This are some very frightening issues the students are having as their nightmares over their idea of schooling….

Can we share some possible suggestion on how to come up with some good plan for our students future educational pursuit plan of action.

Thank you very much for your time.

Henry Yangireitig

The following is an excerpt of a Letter Written by FSM Congressman David Panuelo… I just simply added the pictures of my Nephews here to show that we do have our citizens serve honorably in the US Armed Services… Just out of our little island of Ifalik, with a population of maybe 500, we have more than 15 serving… Just a little piece of info for your consumption. Enjoy it!  “As a citizen of the Federated States of Micronesia, I have been very saddened to read recent reports of negative attitudes and discrimination directed at our fellow Micronesians by some on the United States. We hear stories about Micronesian schoolchildren being singled out by bullies, Micronesians families being discriminated against by landlords, and Micronesians crowding homeless shelters. Perhaps more disturbingly, this stereotype of Micronesians as victims, scapegoats, and scroungers has been fueled by politicians characterizing Micronesian migrants as a drain on government resources, in what has been described as a “Compact Impact problem.” Having recently received an email from a cousin of mine, Hainrick Panuelo, who is on the U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan asking what we are doing about the criticism that are being directed against Micronesians in Hawaii, Guam, and elsewhere in the United States, this issue is very personal to me. Micronesians are on the front lines of war zones, fighting alongside American citizens and defending the same freedoms and rights that Americans value so much. There is a disconnect between the United States government’s honoring of our fallen servicemen at the Pohnpei International Airport and the talk of “Compact Impact problems” from American citizens and officials alike. I also have personal experience of the compromises we have made in voting to support the national interests of the U.S. at the United Nations at the expense of our relations with other developing nations. So, here I say today, where did our real friends go?

Why such a short memory? Micronesia and the United States have a unique and special relationship, following the U.S. trusteeship of the region. Our Compact of Free Association with the United States permits our citizens to enter, work, and reside in the United States, and grant similar rights to United States citizens wishing to live and work in our islands. While the Compact Impact costs is a mere speck in the totality of the U.S. economy, the immigration provisions of the Compact are a lifeline for small island economies like that of the FSM. Although some may choose to focus on the benefits Micronesians receive from the United States, the totality of our relationship is more complex. The Compact gives the United States government veto powers over the nearly one million square miles of Micronesia’s water and air space. The U.S. can no more unilaterally create a bottleneck for FSM citizen’s right to freely travel and work in the United States, than the government of the Federal States of Micronesia can revisit the defense provisions of the Compact. Aren’t the veto powers over the waters and air space of the FSM that the two counties agreed in the Compact a security and strategic lifeline for the U.S.? As a student at the time of the Compact was signed and as a congressman now, I have always believed that is a fair exchange. And so Micronesia shouldn’t be looked at as a charity case. I am not denying that the reliance of some Micronesians on social service programs in the U.S. is a valid concern. The reality is that some of our citizens are not prepared to enter the competitive U.S. job market. Every new migrant group faces this kind of hurdle. Our Compact negotiators on both sides early on foresaw this issue and include compensation provisions in the Compact for the U.S. federal government to reimburse U.S. territories or States affected by the kind of Compact Impact we are talking about today. So, why such a short memory? But we are mostly hearing negative reports about the impact of the Compact. By contrast, every time I travel to the U.S. it makes me proud to see just how many Micronesians are working hard at U.S. airports, in the U.S. tourism, and service industry, in the manufacturing industry, in the fields of Maui and on farms elsewhere in the U.S, in the fast-food industry, and in nursing homes caring for seniors citizens. In fact, a great number of our citizens are productive members of the U.S. workforce contributing to the U.S. economy.

Just among my own circle of friends and acquaintances, I know many FSM citizens who are succeeding in the United States. Len Isotoff from Chuuk is currently the general manager of Matson Navigation Co. for Guam and Micronesia, and the chairman of USO in Guam, a non-profit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military. A cousin of mine, Walden Weilbacher from the island of Pohnpei, is the head of the secretariat of the Association of Pacific Island Legislatures based in Guam and an active member of the FSM-Guam community. Aren Palik, from the States of Kosrae, is the president and CEO of the Pacific Islands Development Bank base on Guam, which was established in 1989 to help accelerate the economic and social development of member countries. Viladino Raatior, from the State of Chuuk, is currently assistant director at the International Program Office at Santa Clara University in Northern California and has sent to more than 105 study abroad program locations in more than 50 countries. Mr. Raatior also has a successful home-based web design business. Rocketchun Holden, an FSM citizen from the island of Pohnpei, employs around forty people in the courier business he started fourteen years ago in Idaho, and another twenty in his expanding chain of sushi restaurants. Mr. Bruce Musrasrik, an FSM citizen from the State of Pohnpei who in June 2007 was promoted to hotel manager for the Ohana Islander Waikiki, which is part of the chain of Ohana Hotels and Resorts.

I also have many well-educated FSM citizen college classmates and friends, too numerous to mention here, living across the United States in gainful employment and contributing to the U.S. economy in their respective professions and skills. Most of these friends have lived in the U.S for a long time with their families and children. A am encouraged and feel hope for your our future as a nation when I see and talk to their well educated children. Together with our real friends in the U.S., we need to do more to promote the positive impact that our relationship has on both our nations. I hope that together we can begin to create a climate where American officials and citizens can focus on the benefits, and not just the costs, of the Compact. One of our founding fathers, the late John Mangefel, said it well during the negotiations when he said, “You cannot put a ship on a canoe, but you can put a canoe on a ship.” In other words, when there are challenges to be faced in our relationship, the shop of the United States has more capacity to address then than the FSM canoe.”

This is just off the wire coming to you from the home of the Seattle Sea Hawks and the Seattle Mariners, that the girl’s Team had tapped deep into their line of chefs, this time recruited a new and unknown chef to help them get ahead. She showed up from the jungles of Meseyong Island in Chuuk, fully versed and well equiped with the cooking recipees of Faaluul Iyefang on Ifalik atoll- this newbie has brought some great excitement and some new challenges that the boy’s team will have to face.

Rosie Gonzales is the new addition to the Girl’s team and is exciting to watch as she tossed the flour all over the place. Her roots into the Mexican Tijuana Culture had helped her in her creativity trying to get the enzymes flared up so they can get the flour out of the mixing bowl and into the oven. Amazing what a girl of this background can do…

A mixture of many cultures of Uman, Chuuk, Ifalik, Yap and Tijuana Mexico, you cannot go wrong in what she can accomplish in this competition. So far, all she had added is excitement. We are still waiting to see what she can do…

Calson was already trying to give up thinking that the boy’s team cannot compete with a newbie like Rosie . I cannot wait to see really what this newbie can do. One thing I notice though is that she just woke up and head straight for the flour bowl, leaving her pacifier in her crib…. lol.

Ifalik should be proud to have a great Chef in this girl. Same goes to Uman for they have finally produced a chef of their own, not to mention those folks down in Tijuana, Mexico. Happy Cooking day!

Shown in the picture on the left, the newby is busy mixing her flour and in the process painting the entire dining table white. I can see that she can fit in the bowl herself… Hahahaha…. Sorry Rosie.

Reporting to you live from the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington is yours truly. lol. ! Have fun everyone!

Ever wandered how to add depth to your characters? Then just ask yourself some questions and answer them so you can create your own characters for any kind of story. Below is just an example of what you could possible do. Thanks squiddooo for the questions (:

1. Name? Eimi Souma
2. Age? 15
3. Approximate height? 5’2″
4. Approximate weight? 119 lb
5. Hair colour? light honey coloured
6. Eye colour? soft brown
7. Skin tone? light beige
8. Do they speak with an accent? nope
9. Where are they from? Okinawa, Japan <3
10. Where are they now? Tokyo, Japan
    Who are their parents? Mother; Haruna Souma, Father; Ken Souma
11. What is their earliest memory? Watching her mother leave, and a few minutes later her father’s family picks her up.
12. What did they want to be when they grew up? Didn’t care about what would happen later on. Eimi didn’t want to think about it.
13. What did/do their parents want them to be? Her father(who dies) wanted his daughter to be happy. Her mother also wanted this but was selfish.
14. Do they have siblings? Older or younger? Brothers or sisters? None whatsoever.
15. Do they have or have they ever had children? How many? In the future she has three kids!
16. Do they or have ever had a significant other? Are they still with them? Why? Why not? When she was younger, and was with the Souma family she meets a boy from a daycare. That boy is her first love who she often bullied! She doesn’t realize that she meets him at her new school.
17. What were they doing right before the story starts? ….. don’t get this question lol
18. Up until now, what’s the most noteworthy thing they’ve done? To them? To the people around them?  She ran away from the Souma family when she was 8 and ventured around for 3 hours before she was caught by her body guards.
19. What was their education like? Ever since she was taken to the Souma family she has had a large amount of highly advanced education.

basically thats all you do! So creating a character can be made easier if you find more about them (: Using questions are a very efficient way to find more depth in your character, and it also helps you be more organized and perhaps prepared. Good luck on your stories!

Maybe about 10 years ago, in coral reefs you would find so many different colors and species but today there has been dramatic changes, corals loosing their colors and more gray spaces can be seen throughout the coral populated areas in the world than it has ever been, this is what scientists called it “BLEACHING”.

Coral bleaching is caused by global warming, changes in the ocean temperature becoming more warmer and obviously devastating for these poor organisms…

The bleaching has caused much devastation in the water that we, humans, rarely noticed. Once the corals die,the small fish that clean the corals by eating algae, have no home to lay their eggs, they must search for new locations or just die out of malnutrition. Another result is that the small fish will become extinct and the bigger fish have no food. If there is no food for the bigger fish, they will leave their old homes, near the islands, to look for food and in the process be killed by the bigger and stronger predators.The islanders that use fish as thier basic daily meal will have a harder time catching them, also even bigger fish will die off because sooner or later fish food will be scarce.The end result is that corals,and fish will die if the corals keep bleaching at the rate they are going, that means no more fish to eat for islander.

Some ways to help the corals and other sea creatures survive are: Riding public buses,or using your bike, dont pollute the ocean with trash, Conserve the power you use at home, and more.

Thinking about Coral Bleaching and hearing my Dad talked about it, it causes me concern for my people back in the islands because for sure they will not find it easy to catch fish anymore. It would take the men longer to fish and cause a lot of headaches back home. Not only that, islanders may find it necessary to move to other places for survival.

I think the bigger nations have a huge obligation to the islands and must find ways to limit their contributions to this horrible man made phenomenon. I already said several things that we, as humans, should do to at least slow the progress of Bleaching or hopefully reverse it.

I heard my Dad talked about Guam and Hawaii reps to the Congress introducing more legislation to limit Micronesians from migrating to the US and that is sad because islanders must be afforded that opportunity to come here and go to school or work for survival. America and the bigger nations owe a lot to the poor islanders so they must stand up and help them when they need help.

Thank you for reading my post,and please, sometimes use these tips to save the sea creatures.

Today I went to Tacoma and saw a lot of pollution in the ocean, so I stopped by and took a couple of pictures with my dad. The pollution came from all sources. The ocean looks more polluted than last friday. There were pollution everywhere, mostly from the factories lining the coastal part of the City we were at. Even on the other side of Tacoma where I thought there was going to be none.

To stop pollution some day, everyone must play their role in controlling what they use and dispose of non-usable materials properly. There must me stringent regulations on factories or everyone on earth would regret it. Polluting the ocean can lead to a lot of bad things including affecting the fish we catch because they may not taste as good.

In the islands, the oceans are really amazing. The water is crystal clear and the sands are pure white. Why is that? Because there is nothing to pollute the water. Islanders live and depend on nature. They respect what’s given to them by God.

Up here in Washington it is really rainy all year besides Summer. So the run-offs may bring all the pollution into the Puget Sound water way. It is why when you look out into the water, it is very muddy looking.

The air is much cleaner here in Washington than in Corvallis, Oregon, the city that we came from. Corvallis is in a valley so the air was not circulating as much. Here, there is the water, lots of mountains and the breeze just blew the air all over circulating it which makes it less concentrated than if there is no wind.

Still Washington and Corvallis are both better if you think of the rivers I saw on news in China. They look much more polluted and ugly looking. I am lucky to eat fish that are from the oceans here. But those Islanders are much luckier!  THANKS FOR READING!

Well, remember that competition we had a few days ago? Right, the donuts or bread making competition, yes. That’s what I am talking about. Since then, I had been perfecting my bread making techniques. And for better or worse, I am already sharing my findings with other people. Guess you can call me a rookie Chef. No not that, a Wannabe Chef, I think is more fitting. lol.

Tonight, at this very hour, 2:58 in the morning, I just finished finalizing my techniques and the results were amazing, at least to my taste. I know you can blame me for thinking that I have the eyes of everyone, but that is not what I am talking about here. I am just sharing what I personally think of what I did. I have evidence since my toy, a Rebel T2i Canon is doing its job collecting them for me, so you can judge and let me know what you think. There is that facebook like button at the end of this blog, so go right ahead and hit it for me. Willya? lol.

While everyone in my house was busy dreaming and snoring, I was pretty busy preparing the dough and raising the Yeast enzimes, melting the pretty yellowish butter from my favorite state of Oregon, while eyeing the clock ensuring that the timing is just about right while listening in on the cricketts roaming my Garage.. I can even tell that my years of  raising a few kids helped in figuring out the temperature of the milk and water as I was comparing it to the times one of these kids would steam-off the cold and flu… . It is why experience matters! lol.

As you can see in the pictures provided, the results of my labor was a success. I burnt the most precious ones though, which was sad cuz I was reserving those for thy Chef Wannabe. They were overcooked but still yummy and soft and everything on the top. They were so delicious. Amazingly delicious I might say.

So, if you ever have a question or two about making a bread roll, you now know that you have an Island Chef Wannabe that can be called upon for help. It will only cost you a Like Button! lol. And I pray and hope that my best friend in Portland found my technique amazingly useful and easily applied. May God bless guys and Good Morning from this corner of these United States of Micronesia…. Ooops. I mispoke again… the United States of America! Yes indeed.