Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas!!!

(Or for those of other religions and culture, Happy Diwali, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Ramadan.)

(taken from the White House blue room)

Wait a minute...

Christmas is over...

It's already 2017...

Well, I'm making a Christmas post anyway! It's hard to find time to make blog posts, especially around the holidays. Again, my Christmas was spent in Florida, so rather than having a White Christmas this year (or any year of my life), I was begging for my life not to go to the beach. (Did I ever mention HOW MUCH I HATE THE BEACH!?!) Anyway, I'm back now.

This year, my present stash wasn't bad at all. I mean, I guess that goes to show how well my entire family knows me. Too bad I suck at finding gifts for them.  Anyway if you're Christmas is anything like mine, you look forward too the presents. My family gives presents to one another for the holidays, and my siblings and I also wake up Christmas morning to find presents from "Santa". I'm not saying anything about whether I believe or not. However, last year's Christmas was so upsetting, that I did question his legitimacy. I woke up in the morning, ran downstairs excitedly, and sat down to open presents. Most of my presents were mediocre, like clothes and movies and the occasional box calendar. However, my worst memory of Christmas ever was when I opened my next present, and found a razor.

I was so embarrassed that of all things "Santa" could've gotten, it was a razor. My parents were joking around about it, my siblings were making fun of me, and I was busy looking around for an open fire to throw the stupid razor in. I mean, what was that present trying to do, scream that I'm going through puberty!?! It's not like "Santa" gave my sister acne cream. It was definitely the worst present ever.

So yeah, I chose to be a downer for my Christmas post and relive the worst part of my Christmas past ever. Nonetheless, Merry Christmas! It's the Happiest time of the year, even though it's over! And with that out of the way,

Happy New Year! 2017!

Here's Your Christmas Gift! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ 

My Name

I admit, I'm not exactly a completely "original" person. A lot of ideas I come up with are almost always somehow based on something else. However, come on! Even my own name, Matthew, isn't original. I mean, sure, I know a lot of names in English are translated from other languages, but literally, my name is the English translation from a Greek form of a Hebrew name. Seriously, not only is my name translated, but its a name that really is a different name. If this sounds confusing, thank you for having sanity, but seriously, I could've had an original name...

Anyway, past that, my name technically means "gift from YAHWEH", which means "God" in Hebrew. That's another problem with my name, is that my parents chose it as a Catholic name. If that really is the case, why would they name me with a name that basically says, "You're a gift from God, but only in Judaism." Why!?

Anyway, I guess my name is actually very religious. I mean, Matthew was one of the 12 apostles, and my name, nonetheless the religion, means "gift from God". Personally, I think the name "Matthew" is very  "clear-cut",  and "out in the open", because really, I think the name Matthew screams Christianity. It is a very religious name.

I guess the name "Matthew" is okay, but i could change it if I could. The name sounds a bit uptight, like something you would call for some snotty rich kid to come up for you. It sounds very adult-like, but really, I'd much rather have people call me Matt. At least then you sound like an actual person you could hang out with, not some fancy spoiled brat.

All in all, I'd say that the name Matthew, in my own words, stands for "religious" and "mature". It's a name that's been overused through time, and is even unoriginal now, as it is the 15th most common U.S. male name. It's sorta like wine, where it has its place in religion, and it's a very "grown up" drink, but with my luck, my name is one of the bootlegged wines, the ones that are stolen rip-offs from a type that already exists. All in all, that would be how I describe my own name.

If I was forced to work at school...

First of all before reading this, No, I'm not planning to become a teacher or whatever when I grow up. I want to study towards be a mechanical engineer. This is just some blog assignment asking what job I would have if I worked for a school. (Really, it's just prep for some other assignment I have to do involving deciding where a celebrity would work in my school district)

So, if I had to work for my school district, I would probably do something that had to do with technology, because I wouldn't think I would be able to do teaching, because I really can't see myself having the patience to have to teach a bunch of kids, because if most kids are like anything in our average class (not honors class, we're good students), then they can be quite frustrating. Also, I'm not athletic, so I couldn't be a coach or gym teacher, and I couldn't be a counselor/social worker because I admit, I'm not exactly the easiest type of person to talk to. It would stink to use the knowledge I have towards being a janitor or a "lunch-lady", and I can't see myself being a school doctor, so I guess that other than the jobs in office (principal, secretary, etc.), I would be limited to a job in technology.

More specifically, I think I would be a Technology manager, because from my understanding of it, I'm the one who gets to call the shots on how much and what types of technology can be accessible to the school, and I also get to generally manage what all the students are doing with the technology (managing their email accounts, their chromebooks, their ipads, etc.). It just seems natural, like I can actually see myself checking a middle school kid's search history if they might be slacking in class, or maybe installing a new WeVideo-type extension into all of the chromebooks, or perhaps ordering about 300 ipads for the school. All I'm saying is, if my life is a failure and I suck at being an engineer, then this would be my best option for a job at any middle/high school.

Wow, my first blog post without any images whatsoever! :D

Is Thanksgiving about anything other than turkey and football?

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you 'merican's out there! I guess everyone looking at this would be American, unless you're also that random person from Russia who looks at my friend's blog! Anyway, if you're done stuffing you're face with turkey and watching football, I'd think you'd notice that Thanksgiving's over. Heck, Black Friday's already gone also. If only I had gotten that  PlayStation 4...

Anyway, the reason this is being done pretty late is that I've been in South Carolina this past week! I've got an okay-ish suntan, and I was able to meet up with the rest of my family! (I have 3 cousins and a ton of aunts and uncles living in South Carolina. My uncle Ed is the best! He's a doctor, so he's rich, he's the happiest, nicest person you've probably ever met, and it's the best to hang out with him, along with my cousins and siblings, play cards, try some really old wii games, and speed order Easy-Mac and Gatorade from amazon with him. He's the most chill uncle ever!) Charleston is a pretty cool town to live in. Downtown Charleston is pretty much the equivalent of the biggest outdoor mall ever, there's a million and one ghost tours to try, you live right near the tourist-filled base of Fort Sumter, and other than that, it can be pretty much like any other average town.

Oh Yeah, by the way, I tried paintball for the first time with my cousins, and it was awesome!. I mean, sure, first round I was scared to death of being ambushed, not to mention paintballs do sorta hurt, and to add on the humiliation of being grouped by experience, and me having to be literally classified as a NOOB, but it was really fun! I got to be in a first-person shooter in real-life, and not to brag, but I was the second-best noob player there! (Probably because of the fact that I am great with a rifle at this rifle range that I sometimes go to for my Boy Scouts Rifle Merit Badge. Yes, I am a Boy Scout. Before you start calling me a loser, I probably don't see you sniping any targets ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Anyway, enough about me, Charleston, my uncle, paintball, Boy Scouts. and rifles. Seeing as it's Thanksgiving (about 4 days ago), rather than posting this year's football highlights (which is a good thing, because I don't watch football), or talking about delicious turkey and food (jeez, the last post was already a mouthful), or even posting some of the Thanksgiving Day Parade Highlights (NO PLEASE NO), I have to give you the most unexpected article ever: A list of what I'm thankful for.

( ͡° b-HEY! Don't you post that lenny here! Seriously, I think it's great that I'm making this list, because really, let's bring the Thank back in Thanksgiving! As much as I love turkey, some people focus too much on the food and the parade (which I hate) and other stuff going on, rather than giving some time to be gracious for what they have. Well, to get into the Thanksgiving spirit (which has already been replaced by Christmas), I am very thankful for the things I have!

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the family and friends, eat some pumpkin pie, and be thankful!

Also, this is posted many days after Thanksgiving because while Charleston is fine and all, I haven't given myself a chance to write any of this down. I mean, let's face it. You don't exactly tend to have the thought of typing a paper like this rather than driving around the county park's light festival. :)

The List Of Things I Am Thankful For This Thanksgiving

1. I am thankful for my friends, they are really fun people to hang out with, and I really think school would be (completely) miserable if it weren't for them.

2.  I am thankful for my laptop and tablet, for they really make schoolwork easy, and they really are my go-to place whenever I'm open.

3. I am thankful for books, for being an interesting and easy way to make yourself smarter, pass some time, and generally enjoy yourselves without having to stare at a screen.

4. I am thankful for my entire family, especially my brothers and sisters, as my life wouldn't be so unordinary if they weren't there with me every step of the way.

5. I am thankful for being smart, as it does help me work my way through life.

6. I am thankful for simply being able to have a house, bed, clean clothes, and a hot meal waiting for me at home every day, as there are many unfortunate people out there who sadly don't have these things.

7. I am thankful for air-conditioning and heat to comfort us on those hot summer days and cold winter nights.

8. I am thankful for TV and Movies, for they bring immersive entertainment to not only us, but also hundreds of millions of others all over the world.

9. I am thankful for my favorite jacket, for it both brings my body warmth and my clothes style for others to enjoy.

Edited Note: R.I.P My Jacket: 2015-2016 Death by Charity Donation

10. I am thankful for you, the friendly audience of my humble blog, and all others like you who don't bring hate to the online community!

Cake Addict

I apologize for this coming out late this week.  D:

The face of perfection

If you don't know what this is to the right, you don't have the right to say you're from the Chicago area. This happens to be the famous Portillo's chocolate cake, in all of its glory. This has got to be my favorite food ever! Seriously, this tastes better than a lot of cake I've tried (not that I go around places trying cake ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)). The cake is tasty enough, and it has a moist feel that makes it not taste dry, but not so moist that it tastes awkwardly wet, like when you heat something in a microwave and add some water to it so it won't taste dry, but it instead tastes too damp and the weird, warm, wet feeling completely ruins what you're eating (don't try this at home).

Anyway, along with its perfect moisture, its frosting is the most addicting cake frosting in the universe. I can't even use words to describe it. It's smooth, chocolaty, thick, and tasty (not to sound like some snobby critic on Food Network d:). Do you know what the best part is, though? The cake is two layers. Two layers of delicious, chocolaty frosting.
This cake is amazing.

The legendary milkshake

Anyway, so Portillo's has some pretty good milkshakes. I am indeed a huge milkshake fan. We also know about the great, great, greatness of their chocolate cake, right? (If you haven't, can you even read this?) Well, you would have no idea how many times I questioned my reality when I ordered my first chocolate cake shake. People, you did not hear me wrong. They literally managed to make my favorite food in the entire universe into my favorite drink ever. It's not even using weird flavor substitutions. They literally just throw a cake into a blender with a chocolate shake. It may not even look that appealing to the eye. Looks don't matter. This tastes amazing! This doesn't even have words to describe what my taste buds are feeling.... It's a cake and a shake in one. It's glorious. If you are a chocolate lover, try this shake, and try to tell me with a straight face that it sucks. It doesn't.

The funny thing is that I used to hate Portillo's. I'm not a fan of hot dogs or sausage. I personally thought that their burgers sucked, and I didn't even know that they had ribs or chicken. Heck, I didn't even know what Italian beef was until it came into my life and gave me a delicious meal to eat there! (Also, any Portillo's workers reading this, never stop dipping your Italian beef sandwiches. Don't mess with perfection.) Anyway, with its heavenly cake, its amazing milkshakes, and their combination to form the eye-burning, jaw-dropping, mouth watering chocolate cake shake as a part of my life, I would choose Portillo's chocolate cake as my favorite food any day of the week.

7 years ago

Honestly, if you haven't heard of SpongeBob by now, you've probably been living under a rock with Patrick Star :)

Anyway, while the rest of you might've just seen it as a good laugh, I LOVED SpongeBob Squarepants. It was my favorite show as a kid. And before I explain why, NO, it wasn't modern season SpongeBob. I admit that the show has gone downhill since, but the original episodes were cartoon gold. I mean, what's there even to say about it that hasn't been said? It's a show about SpongeBob the sponge, who loves jellyfishing, Krabby Patties, karate, working, boating school, and annoying Squidward!
Honestly, what I liked most about the show was the interesting characters and the comedy of it. Character-wise, there's a large variety of personalities in SpongeBob, if you really think about it. You have an optimistic sponge, a dumb, lazy starfish, a greedy crab, a talented squirrel, an evil plankton, and a pessimistic squid, who is the exact opposite of SpongeBob. You might just tell someone based off of this that the creators of this show must've quit school at kindergarten, but it really is an interesting thing to see on TV, to put some of them in a scenario, and see how things just play out, (take for example, S3 E12 Chocolate with Nuts, when SpongeBob and Patrick try to get rich from selling chocolate bars to people, after getting the idea for it from looking at Squidward's fancy magazine in his mail)
Comedy wise, the writers for this are hilarious. These jokes are really well timed, and the way they are executed are perfect. In fact, Patrick Star is the most hilarious cartoon character I've ever seen in my life! S3E12, Chocolate with Nuts, for example, the crazy chocolate guy has been following SpongeBob and Patrick around all day, constantly screaming "CHOCOLATE" like a crazy person, only to finally approach them and nicely ask to buy all of their chocolate. (I really recommend the episode, especially since it doesn't seem funny when just explaining the joke in this post, so find it on Youtube or something. It's my favorite episode!)
Anyway, this post is long enough, so I'll wrap this up by saying that this show was my life when I was little, so it was just a nice little stroll down memory lane.

Enjoy some SpongeBob quotes :)
 

10 Years From Now...

Now, before I start doing this assignment, if you have to do this also, and you happen to be in 8th grade (just like me), don't go writing about any sort of serious jobs unless you're determined you'll get it in 10 years. Logically, by that time, you might be in your final year of college, so think about that and give yourself a bit of a reality check.
(I bring no offense to anyone who wrote about having a great job 10 years later. Good for you!)

So if I had to see myself in 10 years from now, I would definitely, for starters, be in college trying to earn a Master's Degree in any sort of subject having to do with engineering. I want to be an engineer when I become an adult. More specifically, a mechanical engineer (or a structural engineer as backup). Either way, I would mainly look forward to a job of designing and building buildings, monuments, and, as crazy as it sounds, roller coasters. They all fall under the same categories of engineering, so that would be what I like to do when I grow up, not to mention that engineers do make a good amount of money.
So, I'd be in college, ready to graduate in a year, and to move on to my life as an engineer. I'd hope that I'd have a lot of friends, still keep up good grades, get a driver's license to be able to go places efficiently, and also do good in the musical side of my life (for those who don't know, I'm musically [not the app] gifted, and NO, I'm not bragging).

That was the long and short of where I wish I was in 10 years.