It was pretty hot today, 31 C, so me and my sister decided to go outside for a waterfight with the neighbours. It was really fun, we cooled off a lot and had a good time.

Until I slipped and fell. I basically shredded my hand, and landed with my hand bent towards my wrist, so my tendons are really hurting right now. It wasn't too bad except for a sharp pain when I moved my fingers, but I decided to go in to get a bandage for the bleeding, and maybe some rubbing alcohol because the ground was pretty dirty. It's a lot more purple than it looks in the picture, plus I got some bruises on the other side.


So I opened the front door, but decided I didn't want to get the floor wet, as my mom would probably yell at me. So I called her and asked if she could get me a bandage, because I hurt myself pretty bad, and I'm serious, these were her exact words:

"That's your problem, not mine."

And I went back outside with my hand bleeding, until the blood refused to stop (I guess it was because of the water or w/e, my skin was pretty wet and clammy) and I went back in to get a bandage. My friends weren't too shocked. It happens pretty often, I mean, my mom being a complete...

Sigh. I... I'm really really disappointed and frustrated. I hate this life, and the only thing keeping me alive is the hope that I'll get to move into residence at the end of the summer.

Relay for life was really cool. I didn't have a ride, so I walked to school and arrived at about 5:45. I registered, got a shirt, and went to buy drinks. Our room was awesome, I brought a bunch of movies and we watched V for Vendetta, played cards, ate pizza, chips, drank Barg's...

We started running at about 7:00. It was really wet outside, so for the first three hours we ran indoors. Our team was scheduled, so every 2 hours, a pair would run for 30 minutes, so we always had 2 people on the track. Battle of the Bands was playing too. Many bands were really good, but the one that stood out was the teacher band, which included the music teachers and various other teachers that could play instruments. They played a number of songs, the last one ending with Mr. Vespa playing a 3-minute long drum solo. It was incredible.

The run was amazing too. Outside, when night fell, the stars were shining down on us, and the track was laid out in the parking lot, encircling the word 'HOPE.' We ran around, looking at all the luminaries. It was inspiring to see all the lights, because each represented a wish for the future. My team was really supportive, and we took so many pictures, especially of me doing 'Ninja' things.

There were activities like tug o' war and a dance, along with games, movies and a lot of other fun things to do. But I think the best part of the night is when a bunch of us got sleeping bags and lay under the stars in the middle of the E in HOPE. I actually fell asleep... Marco, Andrea, Maria, Katrina, Angelo, Basil, Westley, Alex, Leanne and Quynh were there too. It was so cool, just to look up and to be with our friends.

Running, watching movies, eating snacks and having a good time, I was still saddened because so many people were lost to cancer, or affected by it. But so many people are running for someone, and even if the fight is lost, we can learn from our loss and have hope for the future.

A man spoke with the Lord about heaven and hell. The Lord said to the man, "Come, I will show you hell." They entered a room where a group of hungry people sat around a huge pot of cooking stew. Everyone in the room was famished, desperate, starving. Each person held a spoon that reached the pot but each spoon had a handle so much longer than their own arms that it could not be used to get the stew into their own mouths. The suffering was terrible.

"Come now, I will show you heaven" the Lord said. They entered a room identical to the first, the big pot of stew, the group of people and the same long-handled spoons. But here everyone was happy and well nourished.

"I don't understand" said the man. "Why is everyone happy here and miserable in the other room? Everything is the same."

The Lord smiled. "Ah, it is simple," he said, "Here, they have learned to feed each other."