Adell

I had a best friend, let?s call her Nikki. Nikki was my best friend back in high school. She still is a good friend, but now that she?s in California (or Texas, I?m not so sure), we barely have contact and we rarely get to chat online because of the different time zones. During high school, I felt that she was my only real friend because the other girls I hung out with were insincere. When she left, I stuck to hanging out with guy friends since they were easier to be with.First off, Nikki was supposed to be our batch?s valedictorian, if she hadn?t left for America that is. She was like a ?super student?? wait, no, she was THE ?super student?, having high grades in every subject without even trying ? and without even cheating, like a few other students on the honor roll that I know of; she was a genius and everybody liked her. Well, no one could hate her really, because she was good and humble towards everyone and she was like the tough baby of the batch (being the youngest, because she skipped a few grades). She was truly a spectacular gal.She was just another brain to compete with in the first few months of school, but by the second quarter, we became friends ? not best friends yet, but friends nonetheless. I was ?best friends? with this Japanese girl who?ve I?ve known since the fifth grade and Nikki was just another friend I could hang out with during break time. But then, I got to know her more as the weeks passed and soon ? we were virtually inseparable. We both like anime, computer games, reading, cooking and a lot of other stuff. We basically had the same hobbies and a lot more in common. When we found out that we lived so near to each other, it was a great revelation and we would visit each other and sleep over at each other?s house almost every weekend.She was practically the best friend I was looking for ? I mean, look at it from where I stood; my Japanese ?best friend? was an egotistical diva wannabe, who had no respect for others and only talked about herself. I was nothing but a ?sidekick? to her and it was all about her, her and her for the past four years. During our recess time, she talked about her morning, during our lunch break, she talked about her afternoon and before we go home, she talked of her plans that afternoon; it was all a monotonous and dreadful cycle where the day revolved around her and she didn?t even bother to ask ?How was your day?? If she DID talk about someone else, it would usually be in the nature of nasty gossip and things that would probably hurt someone else. Who wouldn?t get sick and tired of that? Who wouldn?t want to break free from that horror? Nikki was that big break from being just another of Sara?s (let?s call her that) ?sidekicks? and aside from being my big break, it was also a saving grace that opened my eyes and told me; ?What in hell have you been doing all these years with that friend abuser?!? and ?What the hell have you been thinking?!?By the end of the year, we were practically sisters (not in a girly way), since we hung out a lot both in and out of school? we were with each other almost 24/7 and yet, we never had a dull moment together ? we never got tired of each other?s company. Whether it was burning our fingers on a video game console, watching anime on television, reading books that were five hundred pages long or making a huge mess in the kitchen, it was never boring. We would always find something to do or something to talk about ? not some mindless, girly chat like others do though (we were like total tomboys anyway). We would talk about big things like our dreams and our plans, or we would talk about small, trivial things like what movie we should watch or about a joke we had heard. Every second together was fun, even more fun than the years I had with my Japanese ?best friend?. If talking failed, she would take out her guitar and I would start drawing ? It was a blissful sort of silence.?Why do I keep pointing out the good things about this?? some people ask; ?There must be a downside to this.? But I really can?t point out anything bad that has happened when we were friends and I believe that that is the point. When I?m friends with and especially when I am the best of friends with someone, it makes me forget about their faults and what they lack. It doesn?t matter if they were a bit dumb or had a bad habit I didn?t like, because if we were real friends ? and I mean really, REALLY real friends, it won?t matter as much anymore. The moment I look at someone and not judge them for their flaws, that is the moment that I know; ?This person is a real friend and someone I can trust and rely on.? And that?s how I am with Nikki. I do not think I can name a single aspect that I don?t like about her.I really, really, REALLY miss Nikki now that I think about it. During the days when there are no classes, I would stay up really late just to see if she was online, so we can catch up and chat. If there was one thing I wish that hadn?t happen, I wish Nikki hadn?t moved to America.

To understand what I'm talking about, you may research Jack Connor's Will Spelling Count? Jack Connor is not your typical English teacher ? and no, I am not going to reveal that he is actually the real Superman?s alter ego nor does he have superpowers. He is just an ordinary and everyday person who teaches at Drexel University for a living in a rather different way. In his first few years of teaching, he is the laid back and fun professor everyone wants to have but nobody really listens to. Mr. Connor was ? he said and I quote; ?convinced that to have a significant effect on my students? writing, I had to demonstrate that I was not the stereotypical English teacher?. This shows him using the tactic of ?reverse psychology? on his student where he cares less for the students to probably care more? But this tactic quickly backfires and explodes in his face with rather bland and mediocre results from his too laidback students. He as quickly as the tactic explodes in his face just as fast realizes his mistakes and decides to shape up (or probably ship himself out and forget about teaching altogether). He adopts the total opposite of his previous little act and dons the intimidation tactic, which makes him the devil students so hate to see, but get slightly better results when it comes to their output, the worse in him bringing out the best in them. ?Will spelling count?? is how our essay opens up and it brings our attention to look for the answer. This is mainly because this is not a question you really just ask in an everyday situation ? most of us jump to the conclusion that when it comes to an English or a composition class that, spelling does count; but this essay throws Jack Connor in our face and he tells his students ?No. Of course it won?t? and we get to think ?Why?? It grabs our attention in a rather strange way. He tells us through time, helping us see how this man, Jack Connor, relays his experience as time passes and how he had changed overtime. He points out the difference of his ways in his first year of teaching freshman composition and how he went through his weekly classes. It goes on like that through his second year of teaching, then his third and until four years of teaching have passed where he finishes his narration until ?last year? (which would be 2002 if this was written in 2003, etc.) This chronological unraveling is clearly pointed out when he states things such as ?In my first year of teaching?, ?So, in my second year? and so on. Meanwhile, as commonly as the chronological approach is utilized in this essay, Jack Connor also utilizes rather simple yet effective modes of development such as narration, illustration and comparison and contrast. The narration is most likely the easiest and the most effective (as well as the most eye catching) form of development any writer (whether amateur or professional) can use. We can easily relate to a story rather than any explanation of quantum mechanics a genius may try to tell us. The use of quotation indicating the use of speech is the easiest way we could spot the use of narration (although this is not always the case), something really evident mostly in Jack Connor?s first, sixteenth and last paragraph. But of course, narration would not be the only mode of development utilized by our writer. He also illustrates examples of how his tactics had affected those who he had taught. Situations where his authority over his students was lax and ignored led to poor outputs from his tutelages, while a stricter and more aggressive front had them scratching their pens on papers like there was no tomorrow for even a decent grade resulting in better work. And just like how he had illustrated certain situations and certain outcomes, he had compared and contrasted those two different events ? his initial tactic of reverse psychology and his more recent intimidation tactic. He had told us how each and every action he had done had affected it ? both situations garnering different results. So to speak, he had shown simple causes and their simple effects, as quoted previously. Then we have the notoriously strange paragraph fourteen. We see a list of questions and followed with Jack?s answers to said questions and I find myself laughing at how silly yet how serious the answers are. We find the man?s rather subtle sense of humor, though his students must probably found him to be uptight. It would take a true genius to even think of doing a syllabus such as this (or so I believe). But, when comparing that paragraph with the rest of the essay, we see that the inevitable question; ?Does spelling count?? does not appear in the syllabus, prompting one of the student?s to ask it. It could have been done on purpose on Connor?s part. Finally, we get to the last paragraph and when we do a once over of the whole essay, we see that the introduction and the conclusion, we see the similarities and the differences. ?Will spelling count?? and he replies ?No. Of course it won?t.? or ?Yes. Of course it will.? and we see how greatly the change of two words (Yes or No and Won?t and Will) affects practically the whole idea of the content itself. It leaves us (or at least me) to wonder which one he felt was truly correct. I just want to read it again and again, just trying to figure out which is which and I could probably never get any closer to ?his? truth because it is his. I guess, when it comes to the importance of spelling, you?ll have to ask that question to yourself, won?t you? It probably does for me, but it?s a little instinctual on my part. ?Will spelling count?? Yes. No. Maybe? I could still never figure out what Connor?s was truly trying to say even if I had read it about a couple dozen times, which may mean that I am being rather dense or that was how he intended it to be. He might have intended it to be rather open ended ? a question floating in the air, just right there in front of you, but you can never grasp wholly. But I guess it does really take a true genius to write up something that keeps you wondering, doesn't it?

When Japan went against the Western powers, specifically America, it was a great shock to those who were watching the world events as they happened. They weren?t expecting Japan to attack this super power, especially when these two were technically ?allies?. How did the West view Japanese ?imperialism?? What were the preparations made by the Japanese to go against the Americans? What were the reasons of Japan?s engagement of war with the West? What was the aftermath of the behavior of Japan as an imperial power? Perhaps, to the Americans, Japanese ?trying? to be an imperial power as a silly joke to them; the Westerners had all the power, whereas Asia was all but a hunting ground for them. They probably viewed Japanese ?imperialism? like they would a child who was throwing a tantrum and taking toys from other children. But, they could have also viewed it as a threat ? Japan was a very patriotic nation and their armies were forces to be reckoned with. Japan, with its long history of war, knew that they would not stand a chance with Western powers during a long term battle, but they had an opening in a short term one. So, while planning the battle out, they were said to take over certain parts of China and Korea, in order to have more resources and territory to give up if ever they lost ? war was a zero sum game of land and money after all, sometimes even more than just those. Nationalism?s focus may be the closest we can get to understanding why the Japanese had fought against these Western powers. The Western were considered great and powerful and if they were to win a war against them, that would make them equal in ranks with these super powers. America, Europe, Russia and other countries had power, prestige and wealth and they saw war as an opportunity to take these ? But they had to gamble some of their own as well, thus the taking of lands from China and Korea (and soon after the Russo-Japanese War, they got control over Russian territories as well). When they would win, it would bring in more opportunities for them, most likely in the economic sector. Japan trying to be an imperial power and taking territories from China, Korea and Russia was a good thing? Going against America and probably initiating World War II was a bad thing. Not only did they lose a lot of their territories, but they are now under American rule and such. They are not allowed to form a military power and do a pre-emptive strike nor can they wield nuclear weapons, like most other current super powers of the world today. Needless to say, the aftermath of Japan?s actions had been a downfall for them. How about you? What do you think was the reason Japan attacked America?

Have you had any experience teaching little devils? A whole bunch of them? I have, and I don't think I would become a teacher... EVER.Teaching at a nearby barangay?s Day Care Center has been an eventful and a promising experience; never have I before done actual civil service nor did anything that was outside of my comfort zone ? which teaching kids was.I, being the eldest sister among three siblings, I have experience dealing with children ? but not a whole class full of them? it was really overwhelming.Children of day care age are tricky little imps that are hard to manage. Their attention span is as short as it can ever be for a human being and their tempers are unmanageable if given the reason to spark. They are volatile things in a small bundle that I dare not to try and break (not that I would try).I taught kids along with classmates for two semesters as required by the University (although I am not taking Education and we got the easier of the tasks given to classes as others were tasked with more manual labor). With the aid of the kid?s teachers, we could manage to go through the three hours without any ugly results. I am happy to say that I had gotten through this ?obstacle?.Me being part of the story telling group, our usual routine would consist of an opening prayer, having the kids use clay or paper to create an object ? with which we would create the story from. Myself, being a writer of horror and gore (and all the other dark topics you might be able to think of) had a hard time adjusting to the younger audience, my readers usually being people of my age and older. I found that making stories for children was not my forte (nor anyone else?s from our group)... My German classmate even tried to "brainwash" the kids and taught them politics, although they really did not take him seriously.We, of course, did not have that routine all the time ? because it was a case-to-case thing. During Valentines Day, we had the children make Valentines card for their parents while our last day together, the children were practicing for their graduation so we took to watching their song and dance numbers.I am honestly? still not very fond of children and the only little kid I can truly tolerate and love is my younger sister, although this experience may have taught me to tolerate them a bit more (even by just a little).Moving on to other experiences I had during my time at the Day Care Center, I learned to respect teachers more. They have such a hard job taking care of and teaching kids (I bet high school teachers have it worst). The teachers at the center were very helpful to us during our ordeals.Aside from that, there were times where we went to the center, ready to teach and found that the students weren?t there because they had no classes. They really should have informed us before hand because it is troublesome to travel to there (especially to those with homes far away) and find that we came there for nothing. There were times that the minutes seemed to pass so slowly and there were times that an hour felt like a minute. It is always a different experience. The children were? tolerable during the course.All in all, I wouldn?t mind teaching kids again, but I probably won?t be volunteering for it either. I?m just happy I got through this. :3

I've been browsing the forum and all that, when under Entertainment I see the words 'Naruto Forum & Game' and I immediately clicked it because I am a Naruto fan, so I was curious as to why Naruto has its own category. Turns out, it's not a category but a link to an entirely different forum.So, bells were ringing in my mind and I asked myself if Xisto affiliated with other sites?So, I want to ask how and what are the requirements to be affiliated with Xisto?I know it's somewhat ironic when I hate people who advertise, but affiliating is a totally different thing. Advertising is parasitic, but affiliating is a mutual give and take relationship, so I am interested in affiliating with Xisto.

One thing about that reply that pissed me off, if you think Post 4 Host is so 1995 and it's so outdated, then WHAT IN HELL'S BLAZES ARE YOU DOING HERE ANNOYING US WITH YOUR POINTLESS ****? If you love those free hosting so much, get out of here, get their services and leave us be, we like it here. All you're doing is offending a forum that you're new to, dissing it and advertising other hosting places, REALLY, it's annoying. I would understand topics like this and the other topics related to this that you started from an old customer of Xisto and Xisto who tried this for a long time and other free hosting because they actually COMPARED the two, but you're a new person who just got here and you're already "complaining" about the services. I'm new here, and I've had their service a for a few weeks and I have to say it's been great. The prices are understandable and their customer service is fast, so no complaining from me.

D: Gaia = Hate They banned me and accused me for being a bot, that's why I usually tell people that "I am a living and breathing human being" and they banned me after I just payed some dollars for the stuff there (which is very expensive because my 50 of my currency is equal to one US dollar), but this is not a rant thread on how I hate Gaia Not to mention there are a lot of lurking perverts there. Again, not a rant thread about Gaia Online and its hidden evils so I'll shut up about that. @deadmad Bit.ly is for making long urls shorter? Cool, I've been looking for something like that. @webdesigner You use the Google Translator for studies?

You know I have a funny story. My grandma was addicted to Farmville and played it twenty four seven for a year (YES! My grandma.) But I think she realized her addiction, so you know what she did? She made a mini "farm" in her backyard and plants herbs and vegetables she can actually use for cooking. Moral story? Farmville can actually teach people to farm... lollllllllll I do like sunsets though (not in the romantic way but taking photos of them - my family is a very "photographic" family, we all love taking photos and my parents invests in cameras since we also use them for the family business, although I'm more into editing the photos). And I like the beach (again, not in the romantic sense but because I love the water!). But I don't dance in the rain, I'll get sick D:

I used to play a lot of MMORPG like Ragnarok Online, MU, Tantra, Gunbound, ROSE and everything that was out there during 2000 until 2006 or so, but I ended up being an addict and spending so much money that sometimes I skipped meals, that's why I stopped. It was fun back then, but now that I look at it, the money I spent could have been used for something more worth it. (On estimate I spent 50k of my currency or 1000 US dollars? So horrible) I still do play, sometimes, on the free Ragnarok servers like DarkRO, but not so much, I'm sticking to console games nowadays... (I have a PSP, our PSX, PS1 and PS2 are now broken so I'm looking forward to buying a PS3) Busy with Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Little Big Planet on PSP. My little brother plays Modern Warfare when he's at our uncle's house, since we're still saving for a PS3. And I don't watch the anime anymore, because my net is as slow as heck so I just stick to the manga which is just awesome (no fillers!). I usually just spend extra money on cosplays nowadays. (I cosplayed all the Akatsuki members and I'm looking forward to get enough money to cosplay a Munak). Oh, sorry, I talked too much, keh. And yeh, there are a lot of interesting topics here (old ones anyway, the quality of topics has been decreasing lately *cough*). The first semester at my university is almost done (15 more days) so I'm trying to think of making a debate topic somewhere here for the fun of it.

Actually I think it's after ten posts, not six, since I got mine after the tenth post (or was it eleventh? - Oh well). Anyway, judging from your introduction, you'll do fine here and you won't crash and burn like the other guys who join to advertise their own stuff. xD Again, welcome. Any interests aside from music and building a site about it? You know, things we could relate to, like do you like a certain movie or actor? Do you play video games and stuff? That'd help, that's usually what I ask first so I know I can click with a certain person.

That sounds really interesting Illustrious musician-san. I've been into art music lately (since it's one of the classes I'm taking in the University), so I guess we'll get along fine. You are the concertmaster of what orchestra? I have recently seen the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra with their Maestro Olivier Ochanine during Sayaka Kokubo's stay here in the Philippines, so I'm slightly interested in orchestras nowadays.But, anyway, welcome to Xisto - let me be the first to say that, and we hope you enjoy your stay here. If you're looking to get webhosting services from here, I think the first thing to do would be to sign up at Xisto in order to get MyCents for your posts.

Hello windy-san and let me be the first to welcome you to Xisto. I don't know what exactly you are expecting to find here since searching for a forum on 'PCs' is a very general thing, but we'll help you as much as we can, alright? Now, if you were searching for a webhosting site, I suggest you sign up at Xisto in order to gain MyCents and such, but anyway, yeah. We hope you feel comfortable here and all that.

I just want to ask, because I really think the homepage/s tell/s a lot about a person. Here's the first thing you see on my laptop if you open Firefox. So, I've got my Deviantart Site there, Countless - A Pokemon Roleplaying Forum (the one I purchase from Xisto), Ninpocho Chronicles - A Naruto Roleplaying Forum, my Facebook, Xisto Forums and my Yahoo! Mail. Maybe a lot of people have Yahoo or Google as their homepage, either because that's the first thing they really go to or their lazy to change their homepage. So... My Deviantart Site - I just love drawing and writing, but I also want to see what people think of my art, sadly, so few comment because I'm not one of the best artists out there. Countless - It's new, I'm running it with friends so I have to look after it, aye? Ninpocho Chronicles - I'm Admin there, so I have to watch over it too. Too many troublemakers there. Facebook - Hey, who doesn't want to see what's new on their Facebook? (Although I rarely update mine.) Xisto - It's this place, yeah. I have to watch this place too or I'll soon find myself running out of credits and I don't want Countless to poof! Vanish and all that. Yahoo! Mail - I get like 100+ emails a day on notifications from Facebook and from fanfiction.net alone, so yeah.

rpgsearcherz is right. I'd be more afraid to give out even the smallest and most trivial information to people I see in real life because they could actually and physically do something about it. People I'm talking to on the net could be a hundred million miles away from me and even if I give them small information, they can't be able to do much about it.And Facebook is a different thing altogether. You should only add people YOU KNOW on Facebook since its really open and there are privacy settings there, whether you'd like to show whatever you post to friends, friends of friends or to the whole world.

Well, because of school and such, I'm loving Wednesdays because I don't have any classes on that day. Saturdays won't compare to a Wednesdays with no classes, because my parents aren't here to nag on me on Wednesdays. (except, maybe via phone and/or mobile)I don't like Mondays because they're usually the busiest day of the week. I have classes nine in the morning until seven thirty pm, so yeah. It also means more classes.

First off, I'm a girl, haha. Why does everyone think I'm a boy anyway? lawl. That is always my number one problem online. And, well, I can't tell, yeah, but I can say that I'm in Metro Manila - well, not for long, since our petition for the US of A is almost done and we should be moving to California by next year, more or less. Yeah, I know its like 00:07 in the morning right now, but we're having a party. Celebrating surviving Ondoy, amirite? Pasta, pizza, roasted mallows and PS3 is awesomesauce. Well, they're still playing on the PS3, I stopped about ten minutes ago to finish papers for school, so yeah. xD

It is irritating that you try to preach me this in my introduction topic. Now, this is just irritating. The information I gave were harmless and was only given in order to find other people with the same interest, so buzz off, please? There is no harm in telling others your favorite actor is there? And these information are posted in my deviantart account too. What the heck is your problem? I've shared this with others before, and being an Admin in another forum, people in that forum know this and it hasn't done any harm to me or anybody else whatsoever. So stop preaching. =/ Like rvalkass said, I'm not some kind of idiot to post my phone number or home address. The information I had shared in my introduction topic (and a lot of other places) are trivial.

Now, this is just irritating. The information I gave were harmless and was only given in order to find other people with the same interest, so buzz off, please? There is no harm in telling others your favorite actor is there? And these information are posted in my deviantart account too. What the heck is your problem? I've shared this with others before, and being an Admin in another forum, people in that forum know this and it hasn't done any harm to me or anybody else whatsoever. So stop preaching. =/

Hey, hey, hey! Fellow Filipino! Welcome to Xisto. Call me Adell, yeah. I see you like Naruto too.

People would repair their computers based on the problem, so since you didn't say what the problem was, I'll show you steps on how to repair your computer in general.How I repair my computer:1. Turn off computer2. Dismantle it3. Put it in the trunk of the car4. Ask dad to drive me to the mall5. Ask dad to take computer to the repair person6. Ask repair person to repair computer7. ???8. PROFIT!

Hello my dear Romanian friend! I think everyone here has "computer related" hobbies or we wouldn't be here, right? xDBy sharpening your international vocabulary, do you mean improving your English or learning languages in general? The net is an awesome place for that, yeah? If you want to improve your English, joining a roleplaying forum that uses English as it's medium is a good way to do so (if you are interested in writing stories, that is).But anyway, welcome and we hope you enjoy your stay.

Cool, but the link isn't working for me. Oh well. And I enjoy sunsets, walking on the beach and dancing in the rain too! Omigod! We have so much in common! *sarcasm* ikr? But... I don't think farmers hang around on the interwebz much. If they do, they prolly go to Harvest Moon sites, lol *is shot*. Anyway, welcome to Xisto (I can't shorten it to KS because I know another site which has the initials K and S). I'm new too, but you're newer, duh, so, welcome.

This is a rather serious problem all over the net, and there's hardly any way to actually stop it unless some sort of police force watches the entire internet 24/7 and immediately catches creeps like this. The best thing to do is to report this to an Admin. In fact, I just recently had problems with creeps like these. I am an Admin in a site and one of the permabanned creeps asked if we could reconsider his ban. The chat went on like this (with names and site name edited) Permabanned_Pervert was asking Me if I could "take his case" to the_site's Admin, after asking several of the other admins for the umpteenth time. We, the Admin, not wanting a repeat of the event did what was best for the_site's community... by not allowing him back into the_site because he had a very, erm, colorful history. So, like I said before, as soon as this happens, report to your site's Admin. Notice from rvalkass: Chat put into Quote tags as it is copied-and-pasted.