Family "Tied"

I haven't been to any outings lately.
Don't get me wrong, I've been invited for some, but either it crashes with my original schedule or I'm just too damn lazy.
So now, the people I get to see during the hols are just my family.
And no, I'm not talking about my immediate family, because that'd be just sad, because my "immediate family" only consists of my mom and dad =_=
Well, anyways. There was this annual family gathering on my father's side. Again. (Note the word "annual". Great, now I'm just being repetitive. I'm such a bore, aren't I?)
It was my dad's turn to organize this year's gathering, and we held it at Lanson Place in KL.
It's by far the nicest place we've stayed so far, compared to the previous family gatherings. And believe me, there were plenty.
To be exact, 2011 is the 20th year we've had the family gathering. And by "we" I mean my dad's family, because (obviously) I wasn't yet born 20 years ago. (Like, duhh?)

So this is what the lobby of Lanson Place looks like. It's pretty great, isn't it?
It's labeled a "service apartment", but it can definitely pass as a hotel.
And the rates are cheap too!
For the studio apartment with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and everything, it only costs RM 230 for a night!
And there's Astro, a gigantic stereo system, a video player and an awesome view of the Petronas Twin Towers (or as my dear cousin Zhong Zhen calls it: There.. Look for the two jagung sticking up from the ground -,-).
My dad didn't plan much for this year's gathering. It was all "free and easy", meaning there were no plans or events at all o.o
On the first night, more than ten of us cousins went to KLCC to watch Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
The stunts were pretty cool, but I didn't feel that the storyline was particularly interesting. Just the typical "save the world from nuclear bombs" kinda thing.
And yeah, I still get creeped out by Tom Cruise's face. I know that's like, superbly weird.
But I just am. o.o It looks too unnatural, but that's just me. :P
By the time we got back to Lanson Place, it was already past 1 a.m. But hey, I wouldn't worry, our record was 5 a.m. xD

Yours with a cherry on top,
Qi Cheng.

Eat My Thoughts

Hello, sad and lonely world which is at the same time so full of life.
Unfortunately, I don't think I'm slipping into a coma, so I guess I'm being emotionless again.
I know I haven't updated my blog for quite some time, but that's just me, I guess.
I suppose there is plenty to talk about, and I'll get on to that later.
For now, I'm just gonna write down how I feel. Well, a blog is still a form of a diary, so I guess this counts as... therapy?
So yeah, Christmas is almost coming, and I SHOULD feel happy. It's probably my favourite holiday of the entire year.
But this Christmas.. I can't help but think.. Why am I not happy?
Maybe I'm just too afraid. Too afraid to talk to that one person.
Constantly running away, in order to escape a painful rejection, knowing that maybe how I perceived that person was just.. a dream. A form of imagination. A listless wish.
Forever on my Christmas list, but so, so out of reach.
And whenever I muster up the courage, I ask myself: Is it worth it? What kind of reaction would I get? What if it causes more pain? More pain than I could ever bear, knowing that I thought I had something special.
And what if that "special something" was just another figment of my imagination, however real it may have seemed?
A few weeks ago, these thoughts didn't even bother to surface. I was perfectly happy, thinking "this was it".
And then I made the decision to come clean, tell the truth. And all I get so far is coldness.
I don't want to make assumptions. But for once, couldn't you try talking to me? Instead of me constantly trying to talk to you. Crying silengly, but you would never know.
Everything you do, everything you say, I actually notice to the point it's almost as if I can never get to you. Instead I'm just hanging off the cliff, hanging on to you, waiting for you to pull me up and save me.
But you don't.
Wow. This IS therapy.
So OK. I have decided.
I'm gonna go talk to you. And if I get a response, it's a good thing right?
And if I don't? Maybe someone's kooky way of trying to tell me that it's not time yet.

Yours with a cherry on top,
Qi Cheng.

The Man of Water Droplet Photography

"Amateur photographer Heinz Maier is making a splash with his water drop art. He uses high speed photography to capture the moment droplets hit the surface of water. The factory plant operator from Stuttgart has only been taking photographs for less than a year and pursues his new hobby in the evenings, when his job and his family allow. But already, Heinz's work has been causing a buzz online, getting 600,000 hits in a matter of months." - The Telegraph

 This is what you see when you type "german photographer heinz maier" in the Google search engine.

And considering he's just an amateur and all links are about him, I say he's pretty much all the buzz on the Internet.

His water droplet photography is AMAZING.

All of his photographs are almost surreal.

Here are a few of his photographs.

Okay, it's not exactly a FEW, but yeah, this is work so far.

 



This last two are my absolute favourites of all. They're pretty stunning. And I love the mixture of the colours. :D

This is the setup for all of Heinz Maier's photography shoot:

 So my guess is that the bowl all the way down there contains water..? And from way up there, multicoloured water droplets are erm dropped (? Sorry, I really can't think of a suitable term for it.).

And in that split second that the water droplets hit the surface of the water in the container, he captures the moment. See? That blurry translucent piece of board seems to be the backdrop of every photo.

But that's just my guess.

I can't find any article that actually explains how he does it.

Until next time!

Yours with a cherry on top,

Qi Cheng.

Jelly Belly Melly Delly! :D

Before I begin, you HAVE to watch this music video of the song "In Your Arms" by Kina Grannis.

Then only you can understand what I'm about to say. (:

And a little spoiler from me: This music video is Capital-A Awesome. You'll see.
If you're interested in how this video was made, you'll just have to scroll down further! xD On the way, why don't you check out my previous posts if you haven't done so...

Notice anything special about it?

"This video was made using 288,000 Jelly Belly jelly beans and 1 Kina Grannis."

Ok well, to be completely exact: This video was made using 288,000 jelly beans, 2460 frames, 1357 hours, 1 Kina Grannis... and 1 earring!

Yes, in the whole video, Kina was only wearing one earring.. wonder where the other one went..?

In all her videos and interviews, she always only wears one earring. Must be a belief system or something. Anyone wants a go at it? :D

It is absolutely AMAZING the way this music video was made.

In total, it took up nearly two years for a video that is only a little longer than three minutes. Now THAT is called dedication.

Now, WHO IS KINA GRANNIS?

Kina Kasuya Grannis (born August 4, 1985) is a Japanese American guitarist and singer-songwriter. She is of Japanese, English, Irish, French, Welsh, Dutch, and Scottish descent. (Wow, the best of uhm, 7 worlds.. Well, 7 IS a lucky number :D)

Grannis was the winner of the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest. As a result of winning, she earned a recording contract with Interscope Records and had her music video played during the commercials of Super Bowl XLII. She recently won Best Web-Born Artist at the 2011 MTV O Music Awards.

She has released a total of 6 albums since 2005 and has had 4 singles.

"In Your Arms" is the 5th track on her re-released 2011 Stairwells album and the 2nd track on her previous 2010 Stairwells album.

I've never actually heard of Kina Grannis before this, have you?

Recently, on the 22nd of November, she was interviewed by the E!News channel about this music video, and that's how I came across it.

So erm, credits to E! i guess... :D

It's really mind-blowing that everything in this video is not animated with a computer programme system or anything.

Real people actually handmade the sets for each frame.

"Some frames we can build in um 5 minutes, some frames have taken as long as 3 hours."

Wow, just wow.
So here's the video of the making of the music video "In Your Arms"! Enjoy!





And Kina is wearing only one earring again. xP

Yours with a cherry on top,
Qi Cheng.

What the McMuffin?!

Seriously, this shyt is like, for real.. ?

The latest in Wii technology: video game urinals. o_____o

Visitors at The Exhibit Bar in Balham can now play one of three games every time they use a urinal. (For guys only, obviously. Sexism? *rolls eyes*)

The video game has been trialled in a bar in Cambridge since mid-July and it has proved to be both popular and profitable.. (uhm. how?)

One of the game's co-founders, Gordon MacSween, was not sure how the public would react to the game initially. But as soon as he saw the game on trial at a bar in Cambridge he knew he was on to something good. (T_T)

The game was designed to create a valuable media opportunity from the 55 seconds the average male spends while he pees just staring at a blank wall. (Technology -- Takes advantage of you when you're peeing .__. Is nothing sacred?)

There is an advert played before and after the game promoting a drink you can buy at the bar. (Is this really wise? I mean, you're in a toilet here =.=)

At the end of the game, players are encouraged to post their scores via mobile to Twitter and to a live leader board so they can compete with their friends. (Is this something to be proud of? :O)

The units will be officially rolled out in certain venues across the UK in 2012.

*NOTE: The words in brackets are my own personal thoughts. Hope they're not offensive in any way.

Turns out that SEGA had already came up with this idea in January this year.

In the early ’90s, Sega held 65% of the US video game console market, had millions of fans, and was considered one of the premier creators of modern gaming entertainment. Today, they are helping you play with your pee. The Japan branch of the multinational company recently announced that they are testing their Toylets male urinal game at select locations around Tokyo. Toylets uses a pressure sensor located on the back of the urinal to measure the strength and location of your urine stream. A small LCD screen above the urinal allows you to play several simple video games including a simulator for erasing graffiti and a variation on a sumo wrestling match. At the end of a game, the screen displays advertisements. Normally when I see something like this I would reach for my enormous "WTF, JAPAN?!" flag, wave it around a few times and then return to my life without giving it much further thought. However, I can’t seem to get Toylets out of my mind, because I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s secretly brilliant and maybe even a sign of things to come. Whether you find the concept hilarious, disturbing, or disgusting, urinal video games are simply another way that interactive media could invade every part of our lives. It also shows that no space is safe from digital ads.

Don't like graffiti? Who does? Use your urine to wash it away, and compete in this time trial.

First, let’s have a big round of honesty here. How many guys out there have never made a game out of peeing? (Liars.) Sure, it’s childish, but maybe it’s part of the male psyche. Now, look at Toylets. Very weird, very childish, but…c’mon…if it just so happened to be in the bathroom you were using you would play it, right? The game could be enticing to that silly part of you that finds peeing fun, and it definitely is trying to appeal to its (presumably) male audience. According to Sega and Akhibara News reports that the four types of video games on the Toylets include:

“Mannekin Pis”: a simple measurement of the urine produced.
“Graffiti Eraser”: where you move your urine back and forth to remove paint
“The North Wind and Her”: a game where you play the wind, trying to blow a girl’s skirt up. The stronger you pee, the stronger the wind blows.
“Milk from Nose”: A variation on sumo wrestling, where you try to knock the other player out of the ring using the strength of your urine flow (shown as milk spraying from your nose). The record of your pee is saved and used as the opponent for the next player. So the game is sort of multiplayer. Toylets even lets you save information onto a USB drive!

The Milk from Nose game lets you compete against past users for strongest flow. Pee, pee for victory!

Getting men to enjoy using a urinal is simply one side of the equation, however. Making money is the other. Digital signs are already in many bathrooms in major cities in the US. I remember seeing them in New York back as far back as 2007. Mostly these ads were ignored like all other things in the Men’s restroom. But what if that ad was part of a video game…you might pay more attention to it then. Making advertisements interactive is one of the ways in which the marketing medium is evolving, and you can see that phenomenon everywhere on the internet from Facebook to pop-up ads. The other big innovation, making ads personalized, is also creeping from the digital world into reality. Considering that Toylets allows you to save data to a USB, there are chances we’ll see the same sort of customization available there as well.

Oh, sure, you'd want to save your high score... WTF, JAPAN!

Shucks, I gotta get this outta my head... T_T

Yours with a cherry on top,

Qi Cheng

Post-turkey Day

"The sun goes down
The stars come out
And all that counts
Is here and now
My universe will never be the same
I'm glad you came"

Love love love this song. It's a perfect mix of everything! :D
Today's Black Friday. All over Twitter, not so much on Facebook, but that doesn't change anything!
A lot of people think that Black Friday means Friday the 13th. But this time round, it actually means the day after Thanksgiving, when all the prices of almost everything are slashed and amazing discounts and offers are sploshed practically everywhere in shopping malls all over the US.
This year it falls on the 25th of November, which is today and some stores in the US are even opening at 4am to tempt bargain hunters.
Last year, more than $45billion was spent by American shoppers on Black Friday, and reports suggest 2011 could see record numbers hit the shops.
If you're hell-bent on being stuck at home, well them, do check out the online version, dubed Cyber Black Friday.
The US National Retail Federation expects 152 million people to hit the shops this weekend-up 10.1% from last year.
The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. Use of the term started before 1966 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black".

Personally I don't understand how these people can come out of their houses just to get squashed by thousands of people in a limited amount of space and breathe the humid, de-oxygenized air.
Doesn't sound like an ideal holiday to me.
Hmm.. maybe that's not up to me to comment on anyway (:
So.. Happy Black Friday everyone!

Yours with a cherry on top,
Qi Cheng.

APPLE (:

Hello, old world.

I miss my own lonely banter, considering the fact that this blog is still kind of a newcomer, so it's just mostly me and my thoughts... (:

I'm currently rediscovering Twitter now, so if anyone has a Twitter account come, search me at @qicheng9481. Thanks! :D

And oh yeah, just watched "You Are the Apple of My Eye" yesterday.

I would give my comments in Mandarin but this computer doesn't have the right software for that.

So I guess I'll just be doing this in English then (:

For one, I've never actually finished the book.

For two, I don't actually HAVE the book.

For three, I'm currently reading it from an iPod/iPhone app (:

For four, so far it's really really good.

For five, there is no for five, I just wanted to keep the momentum coming...

Anyway the movie is rated 18+, but aside from the masturbation scenes and some fairly mild cursing, it's actually quite harmless and quite romantic.

You Are the Apple of My Eye (那些年，我們一起追的女孩) is a 2011 Taiwanese romance film based on the story of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens. Giddens also made his directorial debut when he self-directed this film. The film stars actor Ko Chen-Tung, who plays Ko Ching-Teng, a prankster and a mischievous student who eventually becomes a writer. Actress Michelle Chenalso stars as Shen Chia-yi, an honor student who is very popular amongst the boys in her class. 

This movie has broken records in China's movie box office, beating CJ7 which previously topped the list.

There's lotsa buzz flowing around about this movie, basically because it really is THE movie, the one that makes people stop and think: HEY, I DID THAT ONCE!

It's something that we can all relate to, simply and beautifully etched out onto film.

This movie mainly revolves around the lives of a group of teenagers who go to school, worry about exams, fool around, rebel against teachers and fall in love (and masturbate .___. , but let's not talk about that...)

Personally what did it in for me and made me cry the most of the second half of the movie where the conversations between Ko Ching-Teng and Shen Chia-yi.

Some of the things they said were epic and really tear-jerking, so kudos to Giddens for the stuff (:

Here are some of my all-time favourites...

1. 我想成为一个很厉害的人, 让这个世界因为有了我而有一点点的改变。而我的世界，不过就是妳的心。

2. .沈佳宜: 谢谢你喜欢我。

柯景腾: 我也喜欢当年喜欢著妳的我。

3. "沈佳宜，你相信平行时空吗？或许，在另一个时空，我们是在一起的。”

4.  “你不懂了，如果你真心喜欢过一个女生。你就会发现真心祝福她跟别人永远幸福快乐根本是不可能的事。——对啊，像我们这种背后放箭的才叫做真爱。”

5. “我错了，原来当你真的真的真的非常喜欢一个女孩。当她有人疼，有人爱，你会真心祝福她永远幸福快乐。”

6. 分手，只需要一个人同意，但“在一起”，可是需要两个人同时认可才能作数。恋爱就是要这麽不确定才有趣，不是吗？

And my absolute favourite...

沈佳宜：“柯景腾，你特地办一个比赛，把自己搞受伤，你怎么会这么幼稚阿!”

柯景腾：“对幼稚，就是幼稚，很幼稚!”

“我就是幼稚，才会喜欢你这种努力用功的女生。”

“我就是幼稚， 才有办法追你追这么久。”

沈佳宜：“那你就不要追了阿! 笨蛋!”

柯景腾：“对啦!我就是笨蛋啦!”

沈佳宜：“大笨蛋~~~!”

柯景腾：“对啦! 我就是大笨蛋才能追你追那么久!”

I mean, do guys like this even exist? o.o Okay, I'm sure they do, they just have husbands.

Y'know, the whole time in this movie, the girl is always the grown-up one, and the guy is the immature one...

But I'm starting to wonder, maybe the world's not like that anymore?

Sometimes guys don't feel so much, don't emote so much that they have the time to really think things through, and maybe, maybe they're the mature ones.

And girls well... me, maybe I'm the one that's living in the bubble of my own world, the one where I think everything is lovely and I smile and pretend to smile even though everything's so not fine.

Ugh, I'm derailing again.

I'd seriously recommend this movie to everyone who's anyone who knows Mandarin. Seriously, try it.

It may blow your socks off :D

It certainly did for me, not that I was wearing any socks. Figure of speech (:

And ohmygoshhhhhhhhh, the official soundtrack for the movie is beautiful. It perfectly describes the whole situation in the movie and can really be related to when in bad times.

又回到最初的起点 记忆中你青涩的脸

You hui dao zui chu de qi dian ji yi zhong ni qing se de lian

我们终于来到了这一天

Wo men zhong yu lai dao le zhe yi tian

桌垫下的老照片 无数回忆连结

Zhuo dian xia de lao zhao pian wu shu hui yi lian jie

今天男孩要赴女孩最后的约

Jin tian nan hai yao fu nuu hai zui hou de yue

*

又回到最初的起点 呆呆地站在镜子前

You hui dao zui chu de qi dian dai dai de zhan zai jing zi qian

笨拙系上红色领带的结

Ben zhuo ji shang hong se ling dai de jie

将头发梳成大人模样 穿上一身帅气西装

Jiang tou fa shu cheng da ren mo yang chuan shang yi shen shuai qi xi zhuang

等会儿见你一定比想像美

Deng hui er jian ni yi ding bi xiang xiang mei

**

好想再回到那些年的时光

Hao xiang zai hui dao na xie nian de shi guang

回到教室座位前后 故意讨你温柔的骂

Hui dao jiao shi zuo wei qian hou gu yi tao ni wen rou de ma

黑板上排列组合 你舍得解开吗

Hei ban shang pai lie zu he ni she de jie kai ma

谁与谁坐他又爱著她

Shei yu shei zuo ta you ai zhe ta

[Chorus]

那些年错过的大雨 那些年错过的爱情

Na xie nian cuo guo de da yu na xie nian cuo guo de ai qing

好想拥抱你 拥抱错过的勇气

Hao xiang yong bao ni yong bao cuo guo de yong qi

曾经想征服全世界 到最后回首才发现

Ceng jing xiang zheng fu quan shi jie dao zui hou hui shou cai fa xian

这世界滴滴点点全部都是你

Zhe shi jie di di dian dian quan bu dou shi ni

那些年错过的大雨 那些年错过的爱情

Na xie nian cuo guo de da yu na xie nian cuo guo de ai qing

好想告诉你 告诉你我没有忘记

Hao xiang gao su ni gao su ni wo mei you wang ji

那天晚上满天星星 平行时空下的约定

Na tian wan shang man tian xing xing ping xing shi kong xia de yue ding

再一次相遇我会紧紧抱著你

Zai yi ci xiang yu wo hui jin jin bao zhe ni

紧紧抱著你

Jin jin bao zhe ni

Repeat *

Repeat **

Repeat Chorus x2

I think my favourite line is is "曾经想征服全世界, 到最后回首才发现, 这世界滴滴点点全部都是你" (:

I raped the YouTube Replay button for this song .____. Seriously.

It's too too too too too good.

I'm trying to find the piano score for this song.

This is the nicest so far, posted by Isabel on Facebook (:

Time's running up! I'm getting going, if that makes sense...

Yours with a cherry on top and seriously in love,

Qi Cheng.

Bring on the KUH-CHING!

Okay, this time round, the holidays are actually quite boring.I think I'm on the way to fully turning my brain into mush by watching at least 8 hours of television per day... o.o I hope my eyes don't burn. -,-
Anyways, a few days ago, I watched a movie on Diva Universal (Astro 702 xD) called "The Bling Ring".
It's actually based on a true story but the characters are slightly different, but on the whole it's pretty much identical to a string of crimes that occured throughout 2008 and 2009.
When I watched the movie, it hadn't really occured to me that it was based on a true story.
Because, well, I thought these things were pretty impossible.
Don't know what I'm talking about? Lemme explain.
The Bling Ring, true to its name, was a group consisting of mostly teenagers who bulglarized the homes of several celebrities.
In total, their activities resulted in about $3 million in cash and belongings, most of it from Paris Hilton, whom they robbed several times.
First of all, I'd like to give some comments:
1. Ok LOL, these are teenagers we're talking about, and if they can break into celebrities' houses, in those kind of "high profile" neighbourhoods, what does that say? I mean, c'mon, is the security THAT bad?
2. Okay, is Paris Hilton or dumb or retarded or something? -,-

Okay moving on...
RACHEL LEE
There were a total of six ring participants, and the alleged ringleader of the group was Rachel Lee.
Lee is the daughter of divorced immigrant Vickie Kwon, originally from North Korea and David Lee, originally from South Korea. Both parents own successful businesses. Lee lived in Calabasas with her mother, who owns a franchise of Kumon, a tutoring company. Her father is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lee and her older sister Candace had a privileged upbringing, and she drove a white Audi A4 to school, where she was named "Best Dressed" in the 2007 yearbook. When she was in her early teens, her mother remarried, but she and her stepfather did not get along. She attended Indian Hills, an alternative school, because she had been expelled from Calabasas High School, and upon graduating was awarded a creative arts scholarship. A year after graduation, she was fined and put on probation for a petty theft incident in which she and Diana Tamayo stole $85 of merchandise from Sephora. According to Prugo, Lee was obsessed with reality television. Towards the end of the crime spree, Lee moved to Las Vegas to live with her father, which is where she was eventually taken into police custody.

NICK PRUGO
Nicholas Frank Prugo was reported to be a shy and friendless teen prescribed Concerta for ADHD and Zoloft for anxiety, who was transferred to Indian Hills high school after being expelled from Calabasas High School for excessive absences. In 2003, Prugo had a role as "Kenny" in Little Lost Souls: Children Possessed, a made-for-TV quasi-documentary about theexorcism of children whose parents believe them to be possessed by evil. Lee befriended Prugo after he arrived at Indian Hills, and introduced him to most of the other people who would eventually join the crime spree.^[7][9] The two initially bonded over their love of fashion, and Prugo claims to have been infatuated with her. After being accepted into her circle of friends and participating in their nightlife activities, Prugo became hooked on drugs, and began stealing from his parents to support his addiction. Their first home robbery together occurred during the summer after tenth grade, when he claims that Lee suggested they rob an acquaintance from Woodland Hills whom Prugo knew to be out of town at the time. Prugo claims to have been reluctant, but didn’t want to risk losing her friendship. During that first burglary, they discovered $8000 in cash hidden under a bed. They split the money, and the next day went on a shopping spree on Rodeo Drive. Prugo and Lee began checking the doors of expensive cars parked in their neighborhood, to see if they were unlocked, on an almost nightly basis. They would take credit cards found in the cars, and go shopping the next day in areas like Melrose Avenue. They would be dressed well, and according to Prugo, merchants never questioned their use of the cards.

(Okay, wow. The storyline of the movie really matches the real incidents. Good work! )

ALEXIS NEIERS
Alexis Neiers had been part of Lee’s social circle at Indian Hills. At one point, she was kicked out of her home by her mother for, according to police, smoking OxyContin, which she denies. Prugo took her in, and she claims that although she knew her circle of friends were committing the crimes, she only became inadvertently involved when, while drunk, she unknowingly accompanied Prugo to what turned out to be a burglary of Orlando Bloom’s home. She claimed that police searched her home and found nothing. However, police reported that they found stolen items in the possession of Neiers, her sister Gabrielle, and their sister, (through adoption), Tess Taylor, and that she was caught on camera leaving the scene of the crime with stolen bags in her possession. She initially denied any wrongdoing, but later changed her plea in court to no contest.

DIANA TAMAYO
Diana Tamayo was, in 2008, the student body President at Indian Hills, where she had been voted "best smile", and been awarded a $1,500 "Future Teacher" scholarship after graduation. She was also known for getting into fights, and according to police was an illegal Mexican immigrant. However, she was apparently affluent enough to own a Lincoln Navigator. Along with Lee, she had been fined and put on probation for engaging in petty theft. According to Prugo, her entire wardrobe consisted of stolen items. Her small size was utilized during one robbery in which she gained the group access to a home by crawling through a dog door.

(WTH??? A DOG DOOR? SERIOUSLY?!! -,-)

COURTNEY AMES
Courtney Ames, whose stepfather is boxer Randy Shields, was a Calabasas High School student and an "old friend" of Lee’s. It was through Ames that the others met Lopez and Ajar, her boyfriend.

JOHNNY AJAR
Ajar, a former convict nicknamed "Johnny Dangerous", is not believed to have participated in the burglaries, but was recruited by Ames, his girlfriend, to sell some of the stolen items for cash. He was raised in housing projects around Reseda, outside of the group’s community, the son of a father who was a career criminal and drug addict. He had previously spent 2 years in federal prison, having been convicted for drug trafficking in Wyoming at age 22. Ajar first met Ames and her friends at a nightclub called The Green Door, and allowed them access even though they used fake IDs. At the time of the burglaries, he worked as a promoter for club Les Deux Café.

ROY LOPEZ, JR.
Lopez and Ames had worked together at a restaurant and bar in Calabasas. Ames had recruited him as a reseller, and he also participated in burgling at least one victim, Paris Hilton, from whom he is alleged to have stolen $2 million in jewelry, which he carried out with him in a Louis Vuitton bag. He was unable to sell off most of it.

Reported victims include Paris Hilton, Audrina Partridge, Rachel Bilson, Orlanda Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox, and last but not least, Lindsay Lohan.
Wow, these people sure have good taste.
Anyway, in the movie, Nick Prugo I'm guessing is a character named Zack Garvey, which by the way, is WAY TOO CUTE for the likes of Prugo, who is just.. ick.
But y'know, movies have to look good. -,-
Okay, that's it from me.

Yours with a cherry on top plus lovin' the luxuries in life,
Qi Cheng :)

Original Bling Ring



"Rachel Lee" and "Nick Prugo" but in the movie their characters are Natalie Kim and Zack Garvey.



TOXIC

Recently I've bought a book called Toxic Panda.

And yep, I have it beside me right now (:

"TOXIC PANDA is more than an extraordinary novel; it is a treasure map that leads you across Asia to a series of cash prizes without having to leave the comfort of your armchair.

AMAZINGLY, THIS NOVEL DOESN'T CONTAIN A SINGLE LETTER E."

On top of being an extremely mind-boggling piece of literary work to read, it also contains numerous puzzles that need to be solved to proceed to the next chapter where there is another chapter awaiting.

And if you manage to solve the puzzles, you can log on to the book's official website and submit your answers to win cash prizes. But only the first person to submit answers to each chapter will be rewarded.

So far I think almost half of all the chapters have already been solved, so I guess I'll be working them out just for fun.

I'm at Chapter A.

And I've already solved the first part of the first puzzle which is a nonogram

What is a nonogram?

Nonograms, also known as Hanjie, Paint by Numbers, or Griddlers, are picture logic puzzles in which cells in a grid have to be colored or left blank according to numbers given at the side of the grid to reveal a hidden picture. In this puzzle type, the numbers measure how many unbroken lines of filled-in squares there are in any given row or column.

It's actually quite easy once you get the whole idea of it, and it's been turned into some kind of leisure game by some people. Y'know, like Sudoku.

Anyway, I've solved the first part of the puzzle, but the second part says I'm supposed to put the letters into a matrix?

A matrix is a complicated mathematical object generally represented as a set of numbers.

Some people use it to make codes to send top-secret military information and that kind of stuff.

So softwares to create or inverse it are practically non-available just by Googling.

I found one yesterday but it's only really basic and purely for mathematical purposes, not for turning sets of numbers into letters for a coded message.

I've read the explanation of 'matrix' on a few sites, and I've got to say, it's quite a complicated mathematical operation.

So I'm currently killing my brain cells trying to figure out how to inverse the matrix code I've got in this book.

I think I would have no problem CREATING a matrix code, but decoding it is another thing, and INVERSING it would just make my brain crack into half.

So for now, Imma just gonna wait for a while and check back to Google later >_<

I know I know, it's cheating. But the author of Toxic Panda, Adam Adams already released SOME spoilers in his book.

And oh, I just got a brainstorm.

But I'm not gonna say it here xD

So I'll just leave now. Hehe.

I've actually got loads to talk about and pictures, but I have to go off in about less than 10 minutes. So maybe I'll be back tonight.

Ciaos.

Yours with a cherry on top,

Qi Cheng.

seconds.minutes.hours.days.weeks.years.decades.centuries.

As per usual, my life is not very interesting. So really, I don't see the point in sharing every little detail.

Ok fine. I don't know why, but I'm kinda down today.

I'm starting to find it annoying when people bug me on Facebook.

And well, as all things I find annoying, I feel like punching these people.

But hey, we can't all have what we want.

Especially if those people don't understand what kind of moods I'm in.

So yeah. Got a haircut today.

Shorter than I anticipated, but still hanging in there.

Probably gonna get another round of rebonding by December, 'cos all my 'rebonded' locks have already been chopped off. T_T

I don't know actually, I kinda like my new hairstyle.

It's short, but it just reaches my shoulders, so I guess it's not THAT short.

It's bouncy, and really fun to fling around, not that there's much to fling, but it's still fun. :D

Ugh, I just hope it doesn't become a nightmare when I wake up tomorrow.

My hair just doesn't really work well after a night's tossing and turning, dreaming and screaming ...

Gosh, I sound goth.

HAVE TO CHEER UP *forces smile* Okay, maybe not the best idea ever, but worth a try...

It's taking FOREVER to upload the photos of 11/11/11 on Facebook.

T_T

Apparently the leftover uploading time stands at 5 minutes now. ticktockticktock!

4 minutes.

I've just Googled interesting facts 'cos I was bored and I found this website and clicked on World Facts.

One that interests me is the topic Mystery Missing Dates.

Apparently, the days/dates between 2nd and 14th September in 1752 did not exist!

So that means, people would fall asleep on the 2nd, and wake up the next day.. and the date would be the 14th of September.

This actually happened because 1752 was the year that the calendar changed from the Julian (as in Julius Caesar) calender to the Gregorian (as in Pope Gregory XIII) calender and because the Julian calendar did not have any leap years, they had to cut out dates to make the years correct for the new calender.

So the people literally lost about 11 days of their lives. (But hey, they got a full month's pay from their jobs, so it's a good thing righte? Less work more money...:D)

But it seems as if this is not the only case where days or dates have gone missing.

Apparently dates have also gone missing in France in the year 1582, Austria in 1584 and Norway in 1700.

I tried Googling this but it kinda backfired.

Instead a song called Missing popped up, so.. FAIL. -.-

OH AND YES I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY SOMETHING.

Let's do it... xD

Let's Google Google.

I mean, like seriously.

If you are already on Google.

And you Google Google.

Google just pops up in your results list.

Which equals just opening Google again.

So what's the point of even Googling Google?

Geddit? :D

Haha, Imma just being random.

I should really paste this in the Random Team. xD

Yep, just did. :D

Okay, I think I've just about crapped enough today! (:

Catch you later ma bibbles!

Yours with a cherry on top,

Qi Cheng

Happily Ever After

Not to say that I'm happy or anything, because I'm anything but.

Needless to say, this has been the best year of my life. (Not to say that I've lived a long life and all, but I'm just speaking the truth.)

I've laughed, shed tears, grown a little, lost a lot, but it was all worth it.(:

I know it's already at the end of the year and all, but I've JUST realized that sometimes... It MAY be lovely to fall into the dream of trustworthy people all around you... but reality is.. people fend for themselves.

I'm not saying that people don't give a crap about others (if that were the case, NO ONE WOULD DONATE TO THE POOR HUNGRY CHILDREN OF SUDAN!! OHMYGOSH!), it's just people think about themselves first, right?

Ok, everyone does something because they WANT something out of it.

Like.. Even if I do my best to save the children of the Sudan, it may not be because I want fame or power or money or anything..

But it doesn't really mean I don't want anything right?

I want to feel satisfied by saving them. That's what I WANT.

So there's a difference.

Okay, I've gone from theorizing to doing charity.. O_O Sigh..

It's always been hard for me to share my feelings and thoughts... and well, even though SOME people say that they're open about their entire lives... it's just. Not true.

They share what they're doing daily, but have they ever sat down and told someone what they FELT.. really felt at that time?

People rarely do.

And I guess that when the time comes when one is willing to open up, the other person freaks out and runs off.

So okay, I don't wanna be a bummer.

So let's recapture today's festivities!

2A1 FOREVER *heart*

Had a class party at 10 am this morning, lots of laughter, lots of fun, lots of scandals, and LOTS OF FOOD!!! FML...-.-

Yi Qiong and I ordered RM150 worth of fried stuff for about 50 people.. So yeah.

Hey I thought we could manage. I mean, technically.. Those kind of food is not really filling right?

WRONG. o_o

Okay, after stuffing down as much food as possible, we started playing Truth or Truth.. which is technically just truth.-.-

At first it was just us girls with nenma and nenba but then the other guys joined in.

Ohmygoshhhhh, first time the guys are willing to play this game! DAMN HAPPY! :D

Hahahaha, ZI HENG AND YEE TENG! *HEART*

Seriously we laughed until we almost suffocated today. Well, at least I did!

Hehe, brought my camera to school, though I was kinda afraid to use it :x

Damn shocked weih when Mr Sin came to our class and Wei Kee and I were using it.

Still, at least we captured some memories.

My most favourite picture would have to be the one where Michelle does her yeng pose... non-purposely! (yeng then yeng already... cannot say purposely also ...)

Then back in class we continued out game.. AnnQi HuiEr WeiKee YuZhen JiaYu YieRuey Zhendonq (: Ahahaha. Awesome right? :D

HAVE TO PLAY AGAIN SOON. AND THIS TIME MORE PEOPLE!!!!

Let's plan an outing!

I can't wait to see you guys.

Thinking back about today... I realised I'm getting less and less sad and more and more happy.

It's all about perspective I guess. (;

It's about wanting to look through to the smog to find the beautiful colourful rainbow (:

THE END...

And I lived happily ever after,

Qi Cheng

P.S. I STILL haven't found the sh*tholes that stole my notebook, be warned:

I'LL FIND OUT WHO YOU ARE! DON'T THINK I CAN BE EASILY FOOLED.

BOO your brains out, baby

Hi y'all! :DBack to school again today.. (: Nice to see everyone instead of being trapped at home everyday. Screw the horrid weather.Obviously it's Halloween today, so BOO to you too!
Wonder if y'all have read yesterday's Star 2. Well, if you have, good for you!
Ok, so not my point. My point is... (there is one), there's a report on this totally awesome+radical+cool Halloween bash in Ocean Park, Hong Kong.
During this time, the Ocean Park has been renamed as the Republic of Halloween.

Flag of the Republic of Halloween (way to take things seriously)

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Halloween is the unbearably beautiful but undeniably dead Lady Gwai Gwai (which is well... Cantonese for ghost).
There are a total of 8 haunted houses in this scary nightmare of a realm:
1. Fear Factory
2. Nightmare in 3D
3. Macabre Studio
4. Torture Chamber of the Dragon Empress
5. The Bloody Workshop
6. Paper Doll Paradise (though I'm kinda betting it's not paradise at all... O_O)
7. The Last Bus
8. Zombie Mayhem
It's almost unbelievable, but there are over 400 "spirits" that roam in the park on this spooky Halloween night, ready to scare you out of your wits and/or make you wet your pants. Nice thoughts. (:
I think the one I'd like the most (meaning the one that'd scare me the most T_T ) is the Torture Chamber of the Dragon Empress.
For some freak reason, I kinda have a thing for torture tools. LOL, hope I don't have some kind of fetish though.. Uh.. never mind.
Uhm anyways, my bibbles.
If you wanna know how Halloween came about. Just ask Mr. Google. He can answer ALL your questions, no problemo. (Uhm well, the ACCURACY of those answers may vary, so er.. subject to change then!)
Sigh. Not much time to update blog this time round.. So stay tuned I guess for my next post! Hehe, Happy Halloween everybody! :DD Don't get your pumpkin buckets in a twist. (:

Yours with a cherry on top,
Qi Cheng

P.S. I am happy to note that my exam marks are good (: Ahahaha, ok enough! Haha, oh well, there's still the dreaded Kemahiran Hidup (along with the dreaded teacher) to face tomorrow. Wish me luck! Even thought that's really.. pointless, yeah.

Secrets *hush hush*

Okay. Head's up! If anyone asked me what my favourtie movie was, I'd probably say "National Treasure: Book of Secrets". (So for my birthday, just get me National Treasure 3 or something. Just saying)

Here's the plot (:

In 1865, John Wilkes Booth and Michael O'Laughlen, both members of the Knights of the Golden Circle, enter a tavern and approach Thomas Gates (Ben Gates' great-great-grandfather), a well-known puzzle solver, to decode a message written in Booth's diary. Thomas begins to translate the message. While he does so, Booth leaves to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Thomas solves the puzzle, a clue to a map to Cibola, the city of gold, but realizes the men are still loyal to the South and have a sinister motive for finding the treasure. He rips several pages from the diary and throws them in the fireplace. Thomas is shot, and the gunman attempts to retrieve the pages, but only obtains a page fragment.Shooting of the film in LondonOver 140 years later, Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) is telling his great-great-grandfather's story at a Civilian Heroes conference. Black market dealer Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) displays one of the 18 missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary, with Thomas Gates' name on it, convincing everyone that Thomas was not only a conspirator, but the grand architect of the Lincoln assassination. Ben sets out to prove the innocence of his great-great-grandfather. He discovers a cipher pointing to Édouard Laboulaye hidden on the back of the diary page. He travels to Paris, where he finds a clue engraved on the torch of the scale model of the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes, referring to the two Resolute desks. Ben then heads to London to look at the desk at Buckingham Palace with the help of his friend Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and estranged girlfriend, Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger). Ben makes a scene by pretending to be drunk and starting a fake argument with Abigail, and they are both arrested. Thanks to Riley who had previously hacked into the security system, they escape the cell and reach the desk via service elevator. From the Queen's desk, Ben obtains an ancient wooden plank with ancient symbols carved into it.Meanwhile, Wilkinson clones Patrick Gates' (Jon Voight) cell phone in order to track Ben's whereabouts. Wilkinson eventually obtains the plank, but not before Ben manages to photograph it. At Ben's insistence, Patrick reluctantly asks his ex-wife and Ben's mother, Dr. Emily Appleton (Helen Mirren) for help in translating the symbols. She does so, but points out that some of the glyphs are partial, leading Ben to conclude another plank must be hidden in the other Resolute desk in the Oval Office. Ben and Abigail coax Abigail's new love interest, Connor (Ty Burrell), who works at the White House, into letting them into the office to see the desk. Ben discovers that the second plank is missing, but he does find a stamp bearing the seal of the Book of Secrets. Riley tells Ben that the Book of Secrets contains documents collected by presidents for presidents' eyes only, covering such controversial subjects as the eighteen minutes erased from the Watergate tapes, Area 51, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.Ben crashes the President's birthday party at Mount Vernon. He convinces the President (Bruce Greenwood) to follow him into a secret tunnel where he confronts him about the book; the President sympathetically warns Ben that his actions will be interpreted as an attempt to kidnap the president, which is a federal offense. The President reveals the location of the book, in the Library of Congress.In the book, Ben finds a picture of the missing plank from the desk and an entry by President Coolidge, who found the plank in 1924, had it destroyed, and commissioned Gutzon Borglum to carve Mount Rushmore to erase the map's landmarks. Ben, Riley, Abigail, and Patrick head to Mount Rushmore where they meet Wilkinson, who has kidnapped Ben's mother. He helps them find the entrance of a cave containing the legendary Native American city of gold, Cíbola. After encountering several traps, they eventually find the city of gold behind Mount Rushmore. However, in order to leave the city of gold when it suddenly begins flooding, one person has to stay behind to hold open the stone door to the drainage tunnel beneath the city, an action which would result in certain death. When Ben becomes trapped under the door, Wilkinson has to choose either to stay behind and sacrifice himself or everybody will drown. He chooses to give the others a chance to escape, and Ben promises to give Wilkinson part of the credit for discovering himself.Ben clears his family's name with the discovery and is cleared of all charges when the President tells everyone that Ben did not kidnap him, but actually saved his life when the secret passage they were looking at was accidentally activated. Everyone including Wilkinson is given credit for the discovery of the Lost City of Gold.

Well, for everyone's credit. It IS important to remember that this movie is fictional, but based on a real historical event.

Of course the Lincoln assassination was a real event, but does the so-called "Lost City of Gold" really exist?

Cibola is considered as one of the Seven Cities of Gold. Mythical, rumoured, but is there a possibility that it really exists?

In the 16th century, the Spanish in New Spain (now Mexico) began to hear rumours of "Seven Cities of Gold" called "Cibola" located across the desert, hundreds of miles to the north. The stories may have their root in an earlier Portuguese legend about seven cities founded on the island of Antillia by a Catholic expedition in the 8th century. The latter Spanish tales were largely caused by reports given by the four shipwrecked survivors of the failed Narvaez Expedition, which included Alvar Nunez, Cabeza de Vaca and an African slave named Esteban Dorantes, or Estevanico. Eventually returning to New Spain, the adventurers said they had heard stories from natives about cities with great and limitless riches. However, when conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado finally arrived at Cíbola in 1540, he discovered that the stories were lies and that there were in fact no treasures as the friar had described — only adobe pueblos.

Okay, so now we know that Cibola DOES exist, but not now much of the "gold" part. So how did the rumour come about then?

How exactly does a rumour about an entire city of gold start?

"In 1539, Friar Marcos de Niza, a Franciscan priest, reported to Spanish colonial officials in Mexico City that he’d seen the legendary city of Cibola in what is now New Mexico. It was an electrifying statement—Spanish explorers who were scouring the New World for Native American treasure had heard persistent tales of the fantastic wealth of the so-called Seven Cities of Cibola.

“It is situated on a level stretch on the brow of a roundish hill,” the friar said. “It appears to be a very beautiful city, the best that I have seen in these parts.” The priest acknowledged, however, that he had only seen the city from a distance and had not entered it because he thought the Zuni Indian inhabitants would kill him if he approached."

But we already know that this mythical city doesn't really exist, so...

What did the friar REALLY see?

"For five centuries, scholars have debated what de Niza saw when he claimed he’d found Cibola—or whether he simply told Spanish officials what they wanted to hear.

The great wealth the Spaniards took when they conquered the Aztec of Central America and the Inca of South America only fueled beliefs that still more riches lay somewhere in the interior of what is now the United States. So when Friar de Niza said he’d seen Cibola, Spanish officials were eager to believe him.

“We don’t know what he saw or why he said what he did,” said Denise Shultz, a park ranger at Coronado National Memorial in Hereford, Arizona. A generous interpretation of de Niza’s vision is that he saw the pueblo at dawn or dusk and was fooled by the flattering sunlight at that time of day, which bathed the city in a glow that made him think the buildings were made of gold, she says.

Flint is less charitable about de Niza’s statement. “He probably did not see [the city],” Flint says. Instead, he says, the priest probably only passed along a tale he heard from Indians.

Coronado’s men were furious when they saw the Zuni village. “On beholding it, the army broke forth with maledictions on Friar Marcos de Niza,” one of Coronado’s men said. “God grant that he may feel none of them.”

Instead of returning to Mexico City, Coronado pushed on. For months, his expedition followed an Indian guide hundreds of miles farther to present-day Kansas before giving up the search for Cibola.

“It’s very difficult to say that another person would have done anything different,” Flint says. “But people lost a lot of money, so they weren’t happy.”

“By Spanish standards, they needed a scapegoat,” Shultz says. “He was the captain, so he was the one who wound up taking the brunt of the blame. That’s my interpretation. He failed miserably.”"

What a blow to treasure hunting huh?

Well, if you've read this post, and suddenly have the nagging urge to go jump of a cliff (uhm ok, WHY? Don't ask me), then go treasure hunting!

Here are 10 places that you can DIY hunt your own treasure :D

1. If you're looking for Thunder Eggs/Geodes,
Deming, New MexicoScanning New Mexico's soil is a profitable pastime. Rockhound State Park is a prime spot for hunting thunder eggs aka geodes. Thunder eggs look like muddy rocks and can be popped open to reveal valuable crystals such as amethyst, rose quartz and hematite. To distinguish a geode from a regular rock, look for a spherical external shape, often cauliflower-like in texture. You may need a hammer or chisel to break open the rock. Visitors are allowed to leave the park with 15 lbs. of rock to add to their personal collection.

2. If you're looking for Opals
Denio, Nevada and Lakeview, OregonPlan your hunt for fire opals at the Bonanza Opal Mine in Denio, NV. This mine has been in operation since the early 1900s. The mining season runs from May to September, and the weather can get warm and very arid. Water bottles, sun block, a hat and gloves are suggested items to bring with you. Rock hounds should also bring a small rake and buckets for collecting their finds. Many opal mines are located in remote areas, so be prepared to camp and bring all necessary food. Visitors can camp near the mine and hotels are less than 30 miles from Virgin Valley. Also be sure to check out Juniper Ridge Opal Mine in Lakeview, OR, if you're looking hunting for opals in the Pacific Northwest.

3. If you're looking for Meteorites
Glorietta Mountain in New Mexico and Brenham Township, KansasGlorietta Mountain in New Mexico and Brenham, KS, are prime spots if you're hunting for treasure falling from the sky. Deserts and dry lake beds are key places to hunt for meteorites. A metal detector or similar tool will help you discern a meteorite's location because it is partially composed of iron-nickel. Use a rock hammer or shovel to unearth your finds. A magnet duct-taped to the bottom of a walking stick will attract the hidden space rocks so you don't have to bend over to during your search. For more information on meteorite-hunting expeditions, visit Meteorite Adventures.

4. If you're looking for Jade
Big Sur, CaliforniaEnjoy the beauty of Big Sur while hunting for jade. Dive in the ocean or comb the beach at Jade Cove to seek one of the most precious gems in the world. Underwater, jade is fairly easy to distinguish from other rocks by its almost luminescent color. The best time to find jade is while diving in the ocean during the calm period after a winter storm. A rough undercurrent usually exposes many hidden gems. You don't have to be a diver to be a jade hunter. You can find many small jade pebbles at low tide between the boulders and in piles of gravel along the shore. Search under large rocks and overhangs. Typical tools for serious jade hunters include scuba gear, a flashlight and a sack to hold your finds.

5. If you're looking for Emeralds
Hiddenite, North CarolinaTry your luck at Emerald Hollow Mine, located less than an hour from the Blue Ridge Parkway in Hiddenite, NC. This is the only emerald mine in the US open to the public for prospecting. Amateur rock hounds can take educational field trips to learn more about emeralds and other gems found on-site, including sapphires, garnet and tourmaline. Prepaid permits are available for creeking, sluicing and digging. Emerald Hollow is only closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas. Hotels, restaurants and other accommodations are available in nearby towns of Statesville and Taylorsville.

6. If you're looking for Dinosaur Fossils
Devil Hills, South DakotaRelic hunters frequently head to the Badlands region in South Dakota to hunt for dinosaur fossils. The Devil Hills area has been a prime spot where rock enthusiasts have uncovered huge pieces of bone dating back to the Jurassic period, 145 million years ago. Common tools to take include a digging knife, X-acto knife, brush and a small pick. After finding a fossil, you must carefully free it without damaging it, using trowels, hammers, whisks and dental tools. A quick-setting glue can be applied to it before removing a crumbling or fragile fossil. Then the fossil can be removed from the surrounding rock. Visit the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Inc. for more information about dino fossils.

7. If you're looking for Diamonds
Murfreesboro, ArkansasCrater of Diamonds State Park is the only diamond-producing site in the world where the public can search for diamonds. What you find is yours to keep. It's the perfect place for a family vacation and features an on-site water park and camping facilities. A gravel walkway through secluded woodland allows visitors to view and photograph deer, turkey, squirrels, birds and other wildlife. Tools aren't necessary for diamond hunting. It's possible to walk around and look for diamonds lying on top of the soil. Items for rent on site include a wooden box screen, shovel, bucket and knee pads. The professional treasure hunters at the park's visitors' center offer a free service to help determine if your find is a diamond or a dud.

8. If you're looking for Gold
Pine Grove, CaliforniaRoaring Camp is an old gold-mining camp on the Mokulmne River. It was a camp for gold prospectors (49ers) during the California Gold Rush from 1848-1855. Visitors can visit the operating gold mine and mine their own gold by panning, sluicing, dredging and dry-washing. Roaring Camp provides fun family activities, including rafting, camping, swimming, fishing and hiking on trails used by the original 49ers. A Saturday cookout, museum tour and lessons on how to pan for gold are also offered. Gold pans, gravel bags, rocker boxes and more are available if you need tools to search for you golden nuggets.

9/ If you're looking for Aquamarine
Spruce Pine, North CarolinaTravel to the gemstone-rich Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to dig for aquamarine. Spruce Pine is a prime spot for aquamarine mines and gemologists. Gem Mountain Gemstone Mine provides a covered flume line for treasure hunters to sift through sediment and find all kinds of precious stones. This mine is a one-stop shop for not just aquamarine, but garnet, moonstones, rubies and more. Stones are inspected free of charge. Experienced gem-cutters are also on-site and available to transform your stones into jewelry. Jerry Call, a Spruce Pine gemologist, can help you out if you're looking for a more exotic location to go gem hunting; Jerry owns a home in Brazil and organizes trips to Rio Doce Mine.

10. If you're looking for Turquoise
Tonopah, NevadaGo hunting for the blue-green gem at the Royston Mine in Tonopah, NV. The Otteson family, who owns the mine, is one of the few remaining mining families in Nevada. In addition to the mine, they also own a jewelry store that will transform your turquoise into jewelry. Treasure hunters will need to bring sunscreen, gloves, a good pair of shoes, water, food and digging tools. Visitors are not allowed to go down into the mines, but they are allowed to observe. Rock hounds can also pay to go through tailing piles, which have close to 1,000 lbs. of material. Digging is limited to 3 hours and only one bucketful is allowed per person to ensure there is enough turquoise to go around.

So, is your interest perked up?

Go right ahead. :D

The treasure is ALL YOURS.

Yours with a cherry on top,

Qi Cheng