Brandon's Blog

Recently I sold my old electric bike to upgrade to a better one called the Super73 Rx. The reason I sold my old one to get this one is because the new one has full suspension meaning it has rear and front suspension and its way faster than my old one and this new bike is the best. Ever since I got it, I’ve been riding it almost everyday whenever I have free time. Cruising around the city on a beautiful day is one of the best feelings ever. Sometimes I ride over to some of my friends’ houses and they hop on their bike and we ride together. Some places we would ride to are places to eat or just around town. I also just bought some upgrades for my bike a couple days ago. The things I bought was a lock for it so if I need to leave it alone for a period of time it cannot be stolen, new handlebars for a better feel and they look cooler, and a seat cover that I customized. Once those things arrive to my house, I am going to immediately put them on my bike and it will look amazing. I also put some wire covers on the loose wires on the handlebars to make it look cleaner. It was very difficult to put those things on, but I did and it looks great. I love my new bike and I can’t wait to ride with my friends all summer!

This month I read Catcher With a Glass Arm by Matt Christopher. In this story, Jody is a catcher and he struggles throwing the ball hard because he got hit by a pitch and is traumatized. Jody trains hard by going to the field all of the time practicing his throws and hitting to overcome his fear and eventually does. In the end the of the story he improves his throwing and redeems himself to his teammates.

I really enjoyed this book because it is relatable to many other baseball players. Playing as a catcher is very hard and to throw runners out is not easy. Jody shows that if you aren’t good at something doesn’t mean you can’t get better because he struggled in the beginning, but now he can do it no problem. This means that if you try hard enough, you will get the results you want to see.

My favorite character in the book is Jody’s dad. He is my favorite character in the book because he is very helpful with Jody. I say that because on page 18, it says “We’re going to have some throwing practice.” This shows that he is helpful because in the story, Jody is having problems throwing the ball hard from home plate to 2nd base. So with his dad noticing that, he decides to go practice throwing to help him get better. I loved that about him and that is why he is my favorite character.

My favorite quote in the book is on page 115, when Jody tells his dad “It’s iron, Dad, it’s never been glass!” This was my favorite quote in the book because in the whole story people called Jody’s arm a glass arm because he couldn’t throw the ball hard and that brought him down a lot. Then after a lot of practicing trying to strengthen his arm power, his arm gets strong enough to the point where no one makes fun of him anymore. So, when his dad tells him that his arm is not a glass arm anymore, Jody tells him that it is made out of iron and it’s never been glass. Jody saying that shows me that he is confident throwing the ball hard again and that is why that is my favorite quote in the book.

If I could invite three people to dinner, they would be Elon Musk, Tiger Woods, and Barry Bonds. Those three people are the most successful in what they do and here are the reasons why I chose them three. First, I chose Elon Musk because of how successful of a person he is. He is the richest man on earth because of his genius inventions. I would want to talk to him about how he got to that spot and what is needed to be successful like him. I would also ask him for some money since he has 300 billion dollars and I could use that money for whatever I want or need. The next person I chose to have dinner with is Tiger Woods. Tiger is the best golfer ever and it is because of his work ethic. He would train everyday all day to be the best and it payed off. I would want him there because I want tips on how to get better on golf because I golf myself, and I want to hear some stories about his career. The last person I chose to have dinner with was Barry Bonds. Bonds was one of the great baseball hitters that played with the Giants mostly and he was super good at hitting. He is arguably the best baseball player ever because of his hitting ability. I also play baseball and my hitting hasn’t been the best, but a lesson from one of the best hitters ever could definitely improve my hitting. I would also like to hear some stories about his baseball career since I wasn’t born early enough to witness him perform and I bet him telling the story will be better than other people telling it so that is why I would want to have dinner with Barry Bonds.

My dream job is to be a professional baseball player. Many people think sports are boring, but I think it is very fun. One reason why I would want to play baseball as a living is because it is much more fun than working at a desk all day. I get to play a sport that I love and have fun while making a living out of it. Another reason why I would want to be a professional baseball player is because you make a lot of money doing it. The minimum wage for playing in the MLB is $740,000 and that is a lot of money. With all of that money I could buy the things I need like food, water, clothes, etc. and I will have leftover money to buy the things I want. Nowadays you are going to need money to live a good life and playing in the MLB offers lots of it. One last reason why I would want to be a professional baseball player is because I get the travel all of the time. When you play baseball, you have to travel across the USA all of the time because you have to go to different states to play the teams. I love traveling and since you get to travel every week, this job is perfect for me. Playing major league baseball is a dream for many and that is the job I would choose if I had the choice.

A magician has made me invisible for twenty-four hours! There are countless things I would do right now. The first thing I would do when I’m invisible is to go to a bank and take some money. The reason why I would want to rob a bank is to give myself enough money to not work, give my parents all the money they need so they can live their lives freely, and I can buy whatever I need or want. Money is important and not important at the same time, but you need it to survive so I want to have a lot to stay alive. The second thing I would want to do is to go to a major league baseball game and hang out in the dugout. I want to be in the dugout with the players because I am curious how it is in there. Like how they talk with each other, is it all fun and jokes or are they serious, and to just see how baseball is in the professional level. One last thing I would do when I’m invisible is to sneak onto a plane going to whatever place it’s going to, and just have a mini vacation. I would do this because plane tickets are very expensive and also all of the things you need to do to get into a plane like them checking your stuff and your ticket takes too long. So when I can be invisible, I can just slide right through everything and skip all of the boring stuff and get on a plane to a vacation. Being invisible is a super cool superpower and if I had the power to have it, these would be the things I would do.

This month I read the book Tough to Tackle by Matt Christopher. In this book, Boots Raymond is trying out for the Apollos which is a football team and he wants to be a quarterback. But, because of his size, his coach put him as tackle and Boots was not happy about that. Boots almost quits football because he does not enjoy his position, but his brother helps him open his eyes and teaches him a lesson he learned from being a soldier.

I really enjoyed this book because it shows that in life you will not get what you want and in Tough to Tackle, Boots doesn’t get the position he wanted and he had to deal with it. It also teaches you that the not so popular positions in football is just as important as a quarterback or a receiver and Boots learns that from his brother.

My favorite character in this book is Tom. Tom is Boots’ brother and he is a very encouraging person. I say he is an encouraging person because when Boots was feeling down and thinking of quitting because of playing as a tackle, he tells him “What good is a quarterback if his offensive line is so weak that the opponents can go through it like water through a sieve?” This shows that he is encouraging because he is telling him how important it is to have an offensive line and trying to keep Boots away from quitting football.

My favorite quote in the book is when on page 138, it says “Neither one of us enjoyed doing a job we were asked to do. But we did it because it was necessary.” I liked this quote because he was talking about him and Boots not liking what they were told to do. For Boots, playing as a tackle instead of a quarterback and for Tom, whatever he is told to do in the military. But in the end, they both did it because it was the right thing to do.

 

Imagine being stuck on an abandoned island. That’s my life! One day long ago, I was on a cruise ship. I decided to go jet skiing and then I went out super far. Then, out of nowhere my jet skiing runs out of gas. I had no way of communicating to the other people on the cruise so I was out there alone. After a bit of time, I got washed up on a beach, in an abandoned island. There were many palm trees and green plants in the island and it was quite pretty. When I got there I built myself a shelter with pieces of wood and a bunch of palm tree leaves for my roof. I built my shelter closer to the beach so I don’t get unwanted bugs in my room. For food, I made myself a spear by getting a long skinny piece of wood and then sharpened the tip of it so it is sharp enough to kill my prey. When you get into the forest part of the island, there are many bunnies and animals there to eat. I would grab my spear and throw it at my prey hoping I can hit it so I can have dinner. I would also go in the water and look for some fish to eat too. To cure my thirst, there are many coconuts around to drink from and eat the flesh of the coconut for food too. Since the ocean is right next to me, I go in there for a swim everyday to stay clean and also to get some exercise in. Life here isn’t too bad, the only thing I would wish for is a comfier bed than sticks and leaves.

In a couple of days I am going to spend the weekend in Big Bear with my family to go snowboarding! I am super excited! I am leaving early from school on Friday so we can get there as early as possible. My mom and my aunt booked a beautiful cabin right next to a lake so we have a beautiful view. There is also going to be a pool table there and I love to shoot some pool so I will definitely be challenging my family to play. But, I’m more excited to go snowboarding. Last time I went to Big Bear I had an amazing time going down the slopes at fast speeds. This time though I am going to try to learn how to carve. Carving is the correct way to snowboard by going on your heels and your toes to turn. My previous time snowboarding I was too scared to go on my toe side so instead I just stuck to turning and stopping with my heels. I bought myself a ski mask this time because last time I didn’t have one and when you’re going down super fast in that cold winds, your face feels like it’s frozen. I am super stoked to spend time with my family in the cabin and ride down the slopes as fast as I can, trying to beat my cousin!

This month I read Snowboard Maverick by Matt Christopher. In this story, Dennis O’Malley is the best skateboarder in town and he decides he wants to try out snowboarding. But, a bad skiing incident a while back in his life has him afraid to get hurt again and that makes him doubt his ability to board. Then some kids make fun of him and say he is not good at snowboarding. Can Dennis overcome his fears and prove his enemies wrong?

I really enjoyed this book because it has a great message. In this story, it teaches you that with enough practice, you can do anything you want even if you thought you couldn’t do it. Dennis has lots of doubt in himself, but he practices every day to achieve his goal and he accomplished his goal because he practiced so hard. This book makes you learn that you can always conquer your fears if you are willing to.

My favorite character in the book is Dale Morgan. Dale is a high schooler while Dennis is in middle school and he is also the best snowboarder around. Dale is a very helpful and thoughtful guy because on page 124, Dale asks Dennis, “How’d you like to come out to Ford’s Mountain with me and practice stunts on the half-pipe there?” Dale was very thoughtful doing this because he is offering someone younger than him to teach him some tricks that he knows. Dale is a great guy and that is why he is my favorite character.

My favorite quote in the book is on the last page, 152, “He no longer had to spend his winters skateboarding by himself on the rare occasion when the sidewalks were clear. How he could snowboard with all the other kids!” Before Dennis learned how to snowboard, during the winter he had nothing to do and felt lonely. He only knew how to skateboard and all the other kids will of course be snowboarding, but now since he learned how to snowboard, he no longer has to be lonely every winter. Dennis provesthat hard work really does pay off.

Dumbledore from Harry Potter once said, “We must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy.” This is a great quote because everyone will always have a choice of doing something easy and be lazy, or do the other choice that takes a little more effort, but will have a better outcome. An example of this quote in the world would be when you have the choice to get a head start in a project coming up by getting the research done or whatever, or instead you can say “Nah I’ll do it later.” Not doing the project early is the easy choice because everyone loves to just relax and be lazy, but if you take the other choice which is right, you will thank yourself in the future that you did some work for yourself and make your life easier. In life you have many of these occurrences and most of the time you will choose the easy decision because it is so easy. But, sometimes in life it is good to do a little more because most of the time, doing the harder choice is the best choice.