Kyler's Blog

Last Saturday, we played a baseball game and the game itself was terrible. It wasn’t until the last inning until really good things happened. There were two outs and it was the bottom  the 7th they were going to call the game anyway, it was about 12-0 so maybe we could start a rally and get one run. I was just swinging as hard as I could, I was 0/3 for the day already, and I pitched terribly, it couldn’t have gotten much worse from there. No pressure, is all I thought, I couldn’t make an impact on the game no matter what. Strike one swinging, then I fouled one off, then two balls were throw off the plate for two called balls. I then saw one come right on the inside half of the plate, I swung. The metal pinging sound rung across the whole field, the ball travelled to deep right field, there was no fence, but it was so far out. I ran as fast as I could around the bases and I scored. We still lost by so much, but after the game, I went on to Google Earth to check the distance, it was about 280 feet.

This month I read Heroes by Alan Gratz. This book is about two kids named Frank and Stanley, going through the before, middle, and after of the Pearl Harbor bombing. Many lives are lost and many heroic actions happen. These two boys have to step out of their comfort zone to help save the city.

What I loved about this book is the suspense and the character change throughout the book. Frank had a big change and it was very nice seeing him as a stronger and braver person. The suspense had me on the edge of my seat. I never knew when something big was about to happen. Alan Gratz did a great job slowing down the moments to make them more suspenseful.

My favorite character in the book was Stanley. He had a character trait of tough. A quote to prove this trait is on page 15, “Things were spiraling out of control, and fast. Arthur threw a punch on the side of Stanley’s head, and Stanley staggered back and kicked at Arthur’s shins. Johnny tried to get Stanley in a headlock, and suddenly it was two on one. This shows toughness on Stanley, as he wasn’t afraid to pick a fight because of bullying. This instance shows how tough Stanley is.

My favorite line in the book was on page 176 where the sailor that Frank saved says, “All I could think was how I was never going to see my parents and my brothers and sisters again. And then you two showed up out of nowhere.” I like this line as in a book of chaos, there finally a part of relief. It’s really nice to see someone for once in this book live when in a bad situation. Which made it my favorite line in the book.

There are so many people I would want to invite to dinner, but these are my top three: My brother, Grayson, and Mookie Betts. First of all, I would take my brother so no food is wasted. I just know he will eat everything that is leftover so no food to waste, and a pretty funny person also at the table. What’s a dinner without any entertainment? Second, Grayson. He’s also really funny and he is also really fun to talk about sports, mainly baseball, with him. Finally, Mookie Betts. He is a lively person and afterwards could help me and Grayson with our swings. This will help us get better at our sport, as baseball is a pretty hard sport.

Professional sports athlete is a perfect job for me. It doesn’t matter what sport, as long as it’s not a terrible sport like soccer or tennis. I want to have this job to fulfill my dream of making it to the pros, baseball, basketball, and football preferably. This job would fit me, as I don’t want a boring job where I have to think too much, I want to be active when I’m older. It would also be nice doing my hobby and getting a lot of money. This money helps me get the basic necessities and a house. This house would be located close to where whatever team chooses me. The money is also about a million dollars at least. The hardest part about having this job is the tireless hours being put in to being the best that you can be. These hours will go to good, as I am getting better and better at what I am doing, it doesn’t hurt to put in a little work to be better. Finally, I want this job for the experience. Such as, traveling all over the United States to do what I love the most. Sports. Trying new food, new activities, and seeing the country rather than being stuck in California.

A magician has made me invisible for twenty-four hours. It’s morning, as this occurred in the night, meaning I wasted probably eight  hours sleeping. When I wake up, I don’t wanna go to school, besides, who’s gonna know if I don’t go. They’ll mark me absent, they won’t see me. Which means, I’m riding my bike to Dick’s Sporting Goods. I’m taking all of the baseball equipment that will help me, and my brother. Buckets, stacked on buckets, full of baseballs. Several gloves to choose from, many bats, nets, tees, all of the gear that can help me train. I need to stop going 0-3 during my games, this will help. Since I’m already in the area, I will also take some In-N-Out. It’s too good, also, it’s lunchtime, I can’t resist some food! After I eat, I’m taking some toilet paper from the store, no one is going to know that I’m stealing. I’m going to then leave my friends a nasty surprise after school, yes, I’m going to toilet paper their house. Even if they have cameras, floating toilet paper, forcing itself onto their houses. Now, once I come home, the effect will most likely be wearing off. I will return to my original spot, my bed. I can worry about the, “Where did all this stuff come from!” later.

This month I read Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman. This book had the comeback of Rowan Damisch whom after failing to become a scythe, he kills every non-honorable scythe. On the other hand, Citra is doing well as a scythe and being her usual straightforward self. A new face has came into the series with his name being “Greyson Tolliver.” He is good for the most part, but he got framed for an action, and got put in a prison-like place for people with the title “unsavory.” All three of these characters deal with tough losses, and high peaks throughout this book.

What I loved about Thunderhead was the chaos between every chapter. Something was always happening and it  was very entertaining and fun. The details explained everything well and I could picture the situation perfectly even though this book isn’t realistic as it takes place after 2050. For example the fight scene was intense and interesting during this book and Neal Shusterman did a great job with this.

My favorite character was Rowan. He had this trait of not very honorable and a very cold character. I liked what he did as he did everything for a reason. Others in the book thought him as miserable, but I saw him as an important character and cool one at that. “Rowan said, “You won’t be dying today, Scythe Brahms. Not even temporarily.” He removed the blade from Brahms’s neck. “I’m giving you one chance. If you act with the nobility of a scythe, glean with honor, you won’t see me again. But if you continue to serve as your own corrupt appetites, then you will be left as ash.” (11) This may have been a long quote, but it meant a lot as Rowan is making his comeback as a fallen apprentice and is taking down any corrupt scythe.

A graphic that I liked in the book which was enjoyable, due to the chaos, came on page 273, “…And then his entire world flipped upside down with such a violent lurch, it left him reeling from vertigo. Because at that moment, Purity emerged onto the stage, brandishing some terrible sawed-off weapon. She raised it, but before she could fire, Constantine threw Greyson down, and with impossible speed, grabbed the shotgun, which fired into the air, then in one smooth move ripped his knife across her neck and plunged it into her heart.” It may have been a very violent scene, but the pure chaos happening made it one of my favorite graphics.

I live on an abandoned island. It’s tropical and nice too. The way I got here, I took a boat on the Boston Harbor, and since I am a tea addict, I remembered that tea was thrown into it, so I jump off. I sadly, did not find any but I did find an island! It is pretty far from any land, so I kinda had to stay there, so I have to make-do there. When I wake up on this island, I use the clothes and gear I have in my backpack, since I was on a trip. Dip my toothbrush into the water, squeeze out the toothpaste and brush. After that I have nothing to do, so I just pick up the sticks and rocks laying around to build things. Then, like any other day, go back to sleep. Problem is, I can’t wash my clothes, as all I have are snacks, clothes, toothpaste and a tooth brush, and my backpack itself. This island, is actually pretty nice, I have at least ten palm trees, giving me shade from the sand to getting too hot. The water is as blue as the sky.

 

Of all the places you can shop. Of all places you can go. The best has got to be Costco. It may be in a gigantic warehouse, but it’s really fun to walk around, as you find the most random items there, and end up being interested in it. I find computers, walk a little, and then you find a fridge. It is very strange. The frozen section is the best, I don’t even know, but you find things that look very tasty, mouth watering, whatever you want to describe it. The best part about the whole entire store is the main reason I come here. THE FOOD!!! They have pizza, cheesy as can be. Cookies that are twice the size as usual, twice the tastiness too. Ice cream that is so flavorful, nice and soft, melts in your mouth type of ice cream. You can just walk in, grab something to eat that is very good, and leave. This is why Costco is the best place I’ve ever experienced. The only downside is that you need a membership, but it’s okay. In conclusion, Costco makes the best food.

(This is the 20th anniversary edition of the cover.)

This month, I read Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. This book was very interesting as a heart attack from the pilot of a two person plane, has resulted in a crash. Brian, the main character, has survived. He has ended up in a forest that he has never been, far from home. He has to use his surroundings to survive this unfortunate event. His only tools being him and his hatchet, he is going to have to manage if he wants to see a search plane to pick him up.

I loved this book because of the grit that Brian showed throughout the story. Though being in a tough spot after the plane he was in crashed, he still used his resources around him to survive in a forest. I also really liked the detail of the animals that Brian noticed around him. It was very specific about the animal, and without looking at the picture, I knew what animal it would be due to the detail.

My favorite character in this book was Brian. He showed perseverance and strength for being able to survive in the forest before someone came to get him. He started by overreacting about the whole situation and changed to become more on how this is how his daily life is going to have to be. One quote to show this perseverance is, “He had to ‘invent’ the bow and arrow…” (115) Brian is doing as much as he can to stay alive and persevering despite the situation.

My favorite quote is on page 82, “Some of the quills were driven in deeper than others and they tore where they came out. He breathed deeply twice, let half of the breath out, and went back to work.” This quote is my favorite because it shows how strong Brian is. He makes it seem like he does not mind the quills from the porcupine at all, and he “got back to work.” Making him sound like he was doing something really important.

“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.” -Dumbledore Harry Potter. This quote means a lot to me, as many things happened last summer. Such as my final game of little league, even though I just wanted to get to travel since 4th grade, but I had to just finish what I started. It was bad though, our all-star team wasn’t as good as I imagined it would be, and I got no playing time, which basically killed me. I knew I was better, I knew I could play the spot that I usually play. I was still benched the whole time. I then found out if I can’t prove myself worthy on the field, I would have to do it with the bat. That’s exactly what I did. I flipped the switch and found what I could do, or the happiness. It was hit after hit, I even got a really clutch one in a tight game, resulting in a win. It followed through into Cooperstown. Showing that I, had found the switch like Dumbledore had mentioned. Currently, I cannot get a hit even if my life depended on it, the meaning of this quote, could also be what I need to get out of my slump right now as well.