The Fitness testing

Today I have the Pacer, the push-ups and the curl-ups. I hate Fitness Testing, it's really not fun. The Mile was really hard as well. Yes, even with your iPods. It's painful, because I want to stop running but you sort of...can't. But if I had to choose between the Mile Run and the Pacer, I would choose the Mile Run, because there is a definite end to that. But Pacer, you need to go on and on until your limit, and that is really really PAINFUL AND HARD. I'm nervous as well, because I got worse on the Mile and the Sit 'n' Reach, and I have to improve on two for me to get an A. I can improve on the sit-ups and push-ups, but still. What if I don't? Aaaaaaah!!! This is hard, hard, hard.

I don't think you should try your very very best from the start. I mean, try your best but just save your mega-ultra-brilliant score till the last fitness testing because if you do your very very very very best, then it's gonna be a bit hard to overcome that score at the next fitness testing. I mean, if you stretched and stretched and stretched and got 21.5 or something on Sit 'n' Reach, and then you would have to stretch and stretch and stretch and stretch to get beyond that. And....people don't really do that. That's what happened to me. Of course, three fourths of the fault is mine, because I don't think I really worked that hard. I did not do enough sports. But the other quarter left...I got 14.5 for my Sit 'n' Reach, and then I quit gymnastics. Then I never got better at Sit'n' Reach. See what I mean? My friend Hella was also like that. She thought we only did the fitness testing once(she's new) and she tried her ultra best at the pacer. And now she can't recover. Re-testing won't help. Your fitness skills will not get better in 2 days!

Well, I really hate the Fitness Testing. It's painful X3, hard X3 and not fun X3. I just wish it would be all over! Thank God that this is the last fitness test of the year...But still!!!!Ugggggghhhhhhhhh...

Psych

On Friday, Ms. Marrello's class saw Psych. It was a mystery TV show.

Gus & Sean's Case 1 Profile:

Crime: First fake kidnapping, then a real murder.

Detective: Sean and Gus

Villain: Mr. McCallum

Victim: Mr. McCallum Jr.

Suspect: Mr. McCallum

Alibi: "I was so devastated about my son missing that I cut my wrist off to suicide! Do you think I killed and kidnapped him?" -Mr. McCallum

Witness: McCallum Jr.'s dog

Evidence: 2 dead bodies, gun, coffee mug, blood on the corner of the table, canvas bag where the ransom money was

Clues: Bloody whisker of dog, Mr. McCallum's "cut off" wrist, the medication for dog bites in the bathroom

Red Herring: The canvas bag Katarina was carrying with the clothes for the thrift shop.

Investigation: Police Investigation, with Gus and Sean

Tension, Danger, Suspense: When Sean explains the case to Mr. McCallum, in his bedroom.

Surprise Ending: The Dad was the killer of his own son and his friend.

6 Elements of a mystery

A clue is a hint, but is different than an evidence. You can see the evidence right in front of you, but clues are hints that need to be put together with the mind.

In mystery novels, there is tension, danger or suspense near the end, when the detective solves the case. It gets dangerous as the villain tries to kill the inspector. Like the picture above, car chases to catch the villain is suspenseful.

There are always evidence left behind a crime scene. An evidence is a tangible hint left behind after the crime. You can see it, right there. For example, it could be guns that was used to kill somebody, or bloody bandages. Everything is important because it can be used to help solve the crime.

There are sometimes witnesses to a crime. A witness is somebody who saw the crime take place. For instance, the picture above, two robbers are trying to rob somewhere. They are holding guns and telling everybody to freeze. The reception woman and the woman standing next to the counters are the witnesses, since they saw the robbers robbing.

Crime. There is always a crime in a mystery story.

A crime is a problem that needs to be solved. Like the picture,

somebody is trying to stop the woman from screaming. Obviously, that somebody has done something illegal that is not allowed. Most crimes are illegal.

There is always a detective in a mystery story. The detective is the one who solves the crime. The detective on the picture is inspecting a newspaper, probably evidence left on the crime scene.

Shopaholic and Sister

by: Sophie Kinsella

*****

Becky Bloomwood is married to Luke Brandon! She's been around the world for her honeymoon and she's happy. Especially when she picked up the impossible-to-get Angel bag from Milan with the help from a guy named Nathan Temple for a free launch party hosted by Luke's company.

When Becky comes back from holiday, Suze has a new best friend, and her parents her hiding something from her. So when Becky finds out that the surprise her parents are hiding is...her long-lost sister! Becky has a long-lost sister named Jess. Becky is certain they'll have fun together, shopping, drinking coffee and talking, eating toffee popcorn and watching movies together. So when Becky meets Jess, she's stumped.

Jess is a saver, not a spender. She recycles every single thing, from the onion mesh bags to the wrapping paper she picked up from the bank even though she has a ton of money in her account. Becky can't understand. Jess really doesn't get along with her. She hates everything Becky does and doesn't have any same taste in anything-books, shoes, clothes...Jess likes rocks.

Rocks. Finally, Becky and Jess have a fight. Becky can't stand Jess being such a skinflint.

But Luke is taking Jess's side, especially when he finds out about the Angel bag and her promise with Nathan Temple. Luke doesn't like Nathan, and this leads off to Becky having a fight with Luke. Becky feels terrible afterwards and tries to find Jess after Luke goes on a business trip.

Her life is messed up again...hopefully, she can fix it. Again.

The best part was when Becky's "souvenirs" from around the world comes to Luke's flat. She's bought two dining tables with twenty dining chairs, seventeen carpets, forty mugs and wooden masks and swords and much, much more. Luke's flat is completely unrecognizable. Becky is so hilarious-she is irresponsible as an adult.

Shopaholic ties the knot

by: Sophie Kinsella

*****

Becky's best friend Suze is getting married-when will she ever, too? Then a

proposal from Luke lands into Becky's ring-free left hand. She's getting married!

Luke's rich mother, Elinor is preparing a fancy schmancy wedding at the Plaza Hotel, while Becky's mother is planning a wedding right at Becky's house...on the same day! Becky really wants the all-expenses-paid wedding by Elinor, with the flown-in birch trees from Switzerland and the Cristal champagne and $1,000 and over wedding cake, but she doesn't want to disappoint her mother, who is so excited as well. The wedding date comes closer, but Becky doesn't want to choose. Her wedding planner keeps on dragging her around the cake studio, shows the gorgeous invitations and the big Plaza ballroom, beckoning Becky while her kind, innocent mother is just plain excited.

What is Becky going to do...can Becky Bloomwood has to solve this. Fast.

The best part was when Becky visits the cake studio. She's trying a slice of cake when she asks the clerk how much it is-it's over $1,000! Becky almost chokes on her champagne and is even more wanting this Plaza wedding. She wants some royalty, you know...

Shopaholic takes Manhattan

by: Sophie Kinsella

*****

Becky Bloomwood is back....in Manhattan. Luke has some business to take care of in New York, and Becky is asked to go with him. Becky loves New York-the people, the designer stores. All her overdraft credit card bills are back in London, and she's getting some great opportunities here-to be a financial adviser at financial TV shows. Life at New York couldn't be better.

But Becky is a shopaholic, and she can't resist shopping. Again, she has an overdraft that she's been trying to ignore. She's lied and she has the image of a very sensible person with tons of money in her savings account and no overdraft card bills to all the producers of the financial TV shows and the people who watch one of her TV shows. So when a paparazzi takes a picture of her shopping, her hands full with designer shop bags, she's screwed. The picture's all over in the newspapers, all her meetings with the producers are canceled and Luke is mad at her. Real mad.

Becky's life is even more tangled up now, with the new bank manager who isn't as nice as the old one, her boyfriend is mad at her, and she's lost all her job careers. But somehow-Becky Bloomwood figures it all out. After all, how could've she become a financial adviser if she wasn't that smart?

The best part was when she was shopping at Saks Fifth Avenue. This was one of her clueless and childish thinking as well. She had bought a $500 Kate Spade bag, and while she was buying it, she was thinking 'Well, these bags must be at least, what, half the price back in London with the quids! This is a real bargain!'

Confessions of a Shopaholic

by: Sophie Kinsella

*****

Meet Becky Bloomwood:

Journalist of a financial newspaper.

Big amounts of overdraft on her many Visa cards.

A shopaholic...

Becky is miserable. She is living off her best friend Suze's flat, (without paying a rent, of course) she doesn't earn much money but wants to buy everything and she has no boyfriends. Most of all...overdraft and consultant letters from her bank are interrupting her life every single moment. She doesn't have a single quid that she can pay back.

Becky finds ways to save money-from trying to skimp and make "curries that you can make for two pounds" for dinner and failing, and trying to earn more money by getting extra jobs at a clothes store called Ally Smith and getting fired without even lasting a day.

The whole book is about how shopaholic Becky tries to pay back her overdraft and about how she meets Luke Brandon, her future boyfriend during her struggles. It's funny, because everything she thinks and does is so childish even though she is an adult.

The best part of this book, I think was when Becky wanted this Denny&George scarf and she was missing 20 pounds, so she lied through her teeth and said she was buying a gift for her dying aunt. Luke Brandon lent her 20 quids and later on when Becky bought the scarf and was coming out of the boutique, Luke Brandon saw her. Of course, later on, the scarf becomes Luke and Becky's special thing.

Monk

Today, we watched an episode of "Monk" during English class. This episode was freaky. "Monk" is a mystery TV show. Three people died, each person receiving a voodoo doll a couple of days before their death, the dolls showing exactly how they would die. The niece of one victim, Angeline is depressed. Monk finds a horseshoe upside down at Angeline's house-it's weird but he was distracted. Monk's assistant, Natalie, receives a voodoo doll with its head cut off with a scalpel, which creeps her out completely. To cure Natalie's...craziness, Monk brings in Reverend Jorgensen(the owner of the shops where the voodoo dolls were sold) and does a little ceremony thing to uncurse Natalie. Of course, Monk doesn't believe in all this voodoo and curse stuff, but for Natalie's sake...but Natalie drinks the not-edible potion, and becomes sick. She is taken away in an ambulance, and Monk puts the pieces together and finds out who the villain is. Angeline. She was the one who was behind this all. She was a paramedic, and knew about the other deaths. She bought voodoo dolls, decorated it and left it in the dead people's house. She sent one to Natalie to put Monk off her trail. She had then killed her uncle, for his money. And left superstitious items around the house. That's when she nailed the horseshoe the wrong way.

Monk's Voodoo doll crime Profile:

Crime: Murder of Robert, Angeline's uncle

Detective: Monk

Villian: Angeline

Suspect: Reverend Jorgensen

Alibi: "I couldn't have mailed the voodoo dolls while I was running my shop. How can I be in 3 different places at the same time?"-Reverend Jorgensen

Victim:Robert

Tension: The chase of the ambulance scene

Red Herring:The coincidental death of other people

Evidence: Horseshoe that was placed the wrong way, the package with a sticker over the return address.

Clue: Packages with stickers, news article including Angeline

Investigation: Police investigation

Motive: Money