Contemplations and Ramblings

New Blog

2012-03-07T10:39:00.000-08:00

So, started a new blog. I just recently gained a temporary full time position at a Middle School around where I live. I've found that I need an outlet for my experiences. so what better way than to blog about it?

MySchoolSecurity.blogspot.com go check it out, YAY!

Sadness, Happiness and Joy!!!!!!

2012-01-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of sadness, a lot of happiness and maybe even a little joy.

Crying with my sister and for my sister
Being happy for a man who got a job
joy at seeing a person break down their walls and let me in
knowing I lost another one
creating something new and remembering something old

one does not necessarily have to do with the other, and I was cryptic on purpose. So, to offset all the sadness, happiness and joy, here's a picture of my beautiful steaks!

The most beautiful and delicious steaks I ever made

and the cutest cat I have seen this year!

Make-Up Lesson FTW!

2011-12-04T17:35:00.001-08:00

So, I grew up as a tomboy. A SEVERE Tomboy! I hated dresses, skirts, the colors pink and purple, loved sports, knives and martial arts. My role model in life was my pastor's wife who severely disliked dressed and skirts, and only ever wore a dress on her wedding day. But, things change I suppose.

I had my second make-up lesson today. I figure I should learn how to use make-up. It's something every girl is supposed to know right? Stereotype much yeah? but...It is something useful to know. So....I caved. My best friend has been teaching me about make-up and today she took me shopping.

We bought:

Brushes (& Sh*t as she puts it)
eye shadow - nudes and natural colors like I like and some blues that she think will look good...
some type of powder finisher thing....(see how much I know about make-up?)
eye liner
mascara

After we got back to her house, she made me practice. Yeah...I poked my eye many many times and I kept making myself into a raccoon...make-up just does not come natural to me.

anyway...here's a picture of a cute doggie!

It looks like there's a stuffed animal next to me rather than a dog...

The Truth, The Lies and Everything in between.

2011-12-04T02:01:00.000-08:00

I have always wondered why I prefer fiction books to non-fiction. I have also always wondered why I would rather stay up all night long to read rather than sleep and dream. Well, I just finished a book about facing the truths and so I thought I'd write a little truth.

I prefer fiction books to non-fiction because they help me escape. I escape my life and my world in favor of other lives and worlds that I would much prefer. For every fiction book, even the ones with sad endings seem to be more exciting and better lives than mine. I find my life boring and unsatisfying. I was once told by a very bright person to beware that slipping of worlds. She was right.

The truth about staying up at night is not always because of depression. I have always blamed it on that. But part of the truth is I do not wish to face the new day. Nor do I wish to face my dreams or to end my day the way it is. It seems to me that I do nothing worth remembering, I talk about nothing in particular and I want to stay up in hopes that something interesting will happen. It's is a child's folly.

So in essence, I prefer the fiction and I stay up all night because I am afraid of my life and bored of it too. I wish to be someone else, to live someone else's life and I dislike mine. What a wonderful discovery, eh?

As I've always been one who touts honesty as the best option, so much so that I am honest enough to hurt everyone's feelings, I hope I can sleep now that I have posted to anyone who wants to read that I am dissatisfied with myself and my life at 5am in the morning.

Let sleeping dogs lie with my foot.

Marshall Garrett Arrest - Occupy Wall Street

2011-10-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

So to be fair, I know there are illegal arrests too. Here is one that from the arrestee's perspective I can see it is definitely illegal.

Marshall Garrett Arrest - http://preview.tinyurl.com/3undhru

Protesters went to CitiBank to protest student loans and other financial corruption
Undercover Police Officer (or hirelings by another source possibly) turned the peaceful protest unpeaceful
Protesters did not leave when asked by Bank employees giving the Bank the right to call the police
Bank Security and "White Coats" locked all the protesters inside the Bank until the Police got there

Question: Did the Bank Security and "White Coats" have this authority to detain?
Answer: Probably Yes

Process was prolonged unnecessarily

Garrett in his interview said the White Coats were undercover police officers. I'm not convinced that is who they were, but I don't know that for sure. Also, he seems to think that since they were protesters they were not real inmates. At the time they were arrested, they became an inmate of the legal system. So this comment, "We went to prison in chain link cuffs, as if we were real prisoners instead of just protestors. After that, we were put in correction cells" (Thrasher, 2011) shows a little ignorance because in effect they were inmates until they posted bail or were processed.

At the same time, there is definitely something a little sketchy going on here. I would like to know who those "White Coats" as Marshall refers to them are.

Thrasher, Steven. "Marshall Garrett Tells the Voice About Being Arrested For Occupying Citibank - New York News - Runnin' Scared." The Village Voice Blogs. Villare Voice LLC, 17 Oct. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. .

Occupy Protests and Cops

2011-10-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

Since this blog is a place for my contemplations and ramblings, I thought it was a perfect place for this.

I've been thinking a lot about Occupy Wall Street and Occupy D.C. I even visited their websites and looked at news posts about what they've been doing, what celebrities have been showing up and who has been arrested. A lot of people have been commenting about how the police are just arresting people for no reason and taking away their first amendment rights to free speech. So here's the question:

Is it a violation of the First Amendment to be arrested while you are protesting?

My Answer: It depends.

So I ask another question, In each case what are they getting arrested for?

Author Naomi Wolf - http://preview.tinyurl.com/3gqwk77

Police was ordering the protesters to stay off the streets and to stop blocking the side walks
Wolf told the police the protestors didn't need a permit for the megaphone and they were not blocking the sidewalk.
Police told Naomi Wolf to leave. She stayed.

Without knowing what she was arrested for, there's really no way to answer whether or not it was right for the police to arrest her. But from the video I can see that the police officer gave her a direct order to leave the premises. As far as I am aware, it is unlawful to disobey a direct order from the police. It is not free speech to disobey a police officer. And to be honest, he did give her fair warning that she was going to be arrested for disobeying him, which he didn't have to do. So I would have to say, specifically for disobeying the police officer Naomi Wolf was arrested legally and rightfully.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone!

He is Risen!

Instead of just writing down about my day celebrating Easter, I thought I'd comment on Lent and what it has done for me. I know when you fast or give something up for God that you are supposed to focus on collecting your reward in heaven which is why many say people should not say anything about fasting and Lent and such. But I feel like from some of the comments I've gotten during Lent, I would like to reflect about this year's experience.

This year was different for me. I thought about what I would give up long and hard. During Lent, many people thought I was crazy for giving up so many things. I actually only gave up 3 things in my life that are important to me. I knew I wanted to give up things that I would truly feel the need to rely on God for when I was tempted. To be honest, I failed many several times and cheated many times. In a couple of instances, I was almost legalistic about how I was participating in Lent, which was wrong of me. But overall, the experience was good and it led me closer to God. I have created several spiritual habits that should have been habits before this, and leaning on God is never a bad thing.

Two people in my life made comments about Lent that really affected how I thought of Lent. The first was my friend Vincent who asked me why I participated in Lent and if it was biblical. He also wondered at the reason why Christians actually chose to participate in Lent. It led me to much thought and this is my answer. Everything that you do for God, should be between you and God, it should be done only after much prayer and communion with Him as well as guidance from your Christian brothers and sisters. Lent is similar to Fasting in which you give up something in order to focus on God. Many people fast when they need spiritual guidance. For me, Lent is the period in which I give up whatever is most important in my life so that I can refocus my life, reorder what is important to me and give God the glory he deserves. I do not have scripture to back up my thoughts, but I believe my thoughts are in the right direction at least. Carmen, another friend, reminded me that Lent is pointless if I make a point to announce to people what I'm doing. She helped me to see that compensating for my meatless-ness was wrong when I would tell people what I was doing for Lent so that they would accommodate me. I was reaping my rewards on this earth. I did find that participating in Lent gave me opportunities to bring up God with many people I wouldn't normally talk to about Him. So there were many blessing in Lent this season.

What is Boredom?

2011-04-18T17:42:00.000-07:00

I find myself perpetually bored. But the thing that I most wonder when I'm bored and when I'm not, is What the heck is boredom? Is it the feeling of laziness? Is it a lack of challenge? Maybe a lack of interest? Whenever I ask someone what their definition of boredom is, I get a long rant of nothing and then a shoulder shrug.

So I ask, What is Boredom? Why do we have it and why are so many people of my age and younger bored? Why do we lose interest so quickly and what can we do to fix it? I have no idea.

I wrote this because I'm bored. My boredom has always been quite funny to me. When I am bored, I putter around playing mindless games like tetris until I get SO bored that I actually go do something like write a blog post on boredom. Yeah so.....That's my contemplation and rambling for the day. PEACE!

Lent

2011-03-09T22:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday started the official period of Lent. Lent is the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter which is for the purpose of sacrifice and cleansing for The celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. I encourage anyone who believes in Jesus Christ and the Gospel to participate in Lent. The 40 days in which Lent is traditionally practiced is comparable to the 40 days in which Jesus Christ fasted and prepared for his ministry to the World. During this period, Satan tempted Jesus but Jesus prevailed. So, in imitation and emulation of Jesus, during this period, it is encouraged the Christians give up something that is extremely important in their lives, something that could be an idol in your life. Also, during this time, we should be focusing on God, on his grace and mercy and bringing ourselves closer to him as well as seeking to understand Jesus' great sacrifice.

This year I have given up meat, facebook and reading for pleasure. It's been tough and it's only been one day, how weak am I. But it's alright for God has my back.

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

Westboro Church prevails in Snyder v. Phelps

2011-03-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

Today, The Supreme Court's decision came out on the case of Snyder v. Phelps. I have mixed feelings and am overall sad about their decision. There are three reasons:

The First Amendment is being used by hate groups to hide.
The Westboro Church will view this as a victory from God, and further the persecution Christians must face because of their use of Christianity to support their hateful views.
More military families will have to face these people while trying to get through their grief of losing a loved one.

The First Amendment has been used by many people as protection against persecution. It has been used for both good and bad. The Supreme Court has gone through great lengths to protect the broad protection of the First Amendment because Freedom is what our Country has been built upon. But at what point is too much freedom a bad thing? Is it when groups like the Westboro Baptist Church can throw hateful messages around and antagonize military funerals as long as they talk about national issues and follow the rules given to them by the authorities? Or do we have to wait until complete anarchy has overrun the earth? I am not saying that our country is moving to anarchy, but it is possible. I just want to know, when does freedom become too much?

The Reason I am most sad, is because the Westboro group is calling themselves a baptist church. I would like to know, just what part of their mission, their message, is baptist? What part of it is even remotely Christian?

I understand that the Westboro Church believes they are doing the right thing and that they believe that God has turned away from the U.S. But don't these people deserve the privacy of their grief? If God did indeed strike down these men who have died because of homosexuality and others issues, should they not leave indiviudal members alone and go on a national level? Go into politics, the media, and other public sources without preying on private matters such as funerals.

Washington Post Article:
http://tinyurl.com/4maccpv

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

2011-02-21T02:29:00.000-08:00

Just read the book, The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Before I even read it, I heard about it from all sorts of people. The first place I heard about it was from some reference a friend wrote on Facebook. I had no idea what they were referring to, so I googled it. Thus ensued my study of, as I call her "the tiger-mommy". A most elusive creature.

I read article upon article, even reading the letter that her daughter Sophia sent to the New York Post, in defense of her mother. What I find interesting is that everyone seemed to have a different opinion of Amy Chua. Some were horrified, some were overly critical, some hadn't even read a single article about the controversy and hated Chua's guts. All of this only made me want to read the book more, but I was broke and couldn't buy it, so I settled for obsessing over this topic and talking to people about it.

Here's a link to the article that includes Sophia's letter. http://preview.tinyurl.com/6227a32

Last week, I went to my father's baptism. A wonderful affair, but not the point of this blog post. At the dinner we had after, The Amy Chua came up. Evelyn, a friend of my parents, is going to giving a talk about the Tiger mother, had read the book, but not heard about the wall street journal article that started all this controversy. So of course I had to state my opinion about that! I was thinking, who reads a book but doesn't look up the source of the controversy! I dove headfirst into the debate and my father followed. And so, this is how I learned that my dad in fact had a copy of the book and did not tell me of this fact.

So, this whole long story, is all pointing to the fact that I have now read the Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I found "the tiger-mommy", and I rather like her. I am referring to Chua's mother of course. But, I also like Amy Chua, her personality and her life lessons learned, truly flow out of this memoir and into the hearts of people like me, who can understand her. My mother was something like Chua. My mother married an americanized man, a "westernized" Chinese man. So, I grew up ethnically Chinese, but my mother was thwarted at every turn when she tried to raise my sister and I like Chua raised her children. I regret it in many ways, because I now know the lessons my mother was trying to teach me. I didn't learn them, and am only now trying to instill them into myself...and IT'S HARD!!

So, while i disagree with the harshness that Chua may have used against her children, all parents are human and make mistakes. Chua even agrees that she may have been harsh at times. But I agree with her parenting style because, her children are better off for it, and I regret my father thwarting my mother from instilling the principles that Chua's children have into me, becuase I really really wish I had them now. And I can only hope that one day, when I have kids, that they will turn out half so well under my parenting.

The Golden Compass Daemon Test

2011-01-31T11:42:00.000-08:00

Your result for The Golden Compass Daemon Test ...

The Honest Soul.

You are a talkative, open kind of person. You wear your heart on your sleeve, and you trust people not to break it. In a way, you are as honest and trusting as a child. You are comfortable with who you are and have a strong sense of self, but you are also a little sensitive. Hurtful remarks, especially from people whose opinion you value, have the power to wound you terribly.

You tend to be open about your thoughts and opinions, and you find it difficult to hide your emotions from people. You like to share your thoughts, opinions, and emotions with people, and to hear theirs in return. When someone disagrees with you or offends you, you will take them up on it, whether they are friends or strangers. You don't mind a friendly debate, but become upset when things get hostile. You wish that people wouldn't take everything so personally, but simply think calmly about things.

You have a close knit group of friends and family for whom you would sacrifice almost anything. You don't like big parties full of strangers - you would rather spend your time with the people whom you really care about. You need a private spot where you can retreat when the world gets to be too much, but you want to be able to emerge from your "den" and find your loved ones there to heap love and affection upon you.

Your daemon would represent your loving, open nature, and he or she would probably spend a lot of time encouraging you to be independent and to do the right thing.

Suggested forms: Dog, Otter, Marmoset, Saw-Whet Owl, Songbird, Chinchilla.

Take The Golden Compass Daemon Test

New Year, New Resolutions

2011-01-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, so, This is the time of year when everyone starts giving new years resolutions and for many Christians, it's a time to recommit their lives to God. So, Every year, I go to One In Love Conference (OIL) and recommit myself to God just like everyone else. But it used to be all about the hype. The last three years I would come back feeling really full of God, like a really long adrenaline rush. Then about a week or so after, or even a month later, I would be back to my old ways.

This year, I want it to be different. So I'm starting out small. I have committed myself to reading the bible everyday and praying everyday. Not a big commitment right? Dr. Min Chung preached that we all fail in our commitments to God because we are human. However, by failing, repenting and coming back again, we grow each time to be more faithful in the Lord.

The passage I have been meditating on recently is Ephesians 2:8-10. there has always been a great debate between good works and by faith alone. I have always believed because it is true that it is only by faith alone that we are saved. For by faith, which was given to us by God can we be saved. But Good works is the outward sign, the proof to all that we believe. Good works alone will do nothing towards our salvation, but even those who do not have faith in God want to be good to do something towards the greater good, because we were made to glorify God in all things, and good works is the venue in which we can.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:8-10.

Thinking and Contemplating

2010-11-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

My blog is called contemplations and ramblings. Even though few people read it, that's really not the point of this blog. It's more for me to be able to reflect on the thoughts in my head. So What's been in my head recently?

Friends. God. Proverbs 3:5-6

I have this friend who's been in my life for years. I love her a lot, but she drives me absolutely crazy sometimes. We got into a fight...or more like, she got mad at me, so I got mad at her, and then stopped talking to her. It was not my best moment. I just need to do a lot of thinking...I don't know what I should do in this instance...more contemplation needed.

God is always a constant contemplation. Especially since I've started down this path of discipleship. I seriously need a stronger foundation in God and His Word.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Fingerprinting Forensics

2010-11-02T00:59:00.000-07:00

The is a pretty well known Phenomena known as 'The CSI effect." This phenomena lets people think they know all about forensics and they think forensic evidence is a seal all prove all. Well here's some food for thought:

Fingerprinting is hard and getting a reliable fingerprint is the hardest part
The show CSI is false on many counts
The part I look forward to least about becoming a police officer would be the forensics part.

I bring this up because one, I got to try fingerprinting in class today, and it sucked. And two, all the paperwork involved in a crime scene makes me cringe.

Family Drama

2010-10-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

In every family, there is drama. This is normal right? So, how come while I think, "oh, this might make her mad, better not do it," everyone else thinks, "oh, this won't make her mad, so I don't need to really ask her"?

I sometimes think life would be a lot easier if we could read minds. It would be horrible in the long run, I know, but in fantasy world, It would be wonderful don't you think?

Interesting things happen during the last week of the Semester

2010-04-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

So It is the last week of the semester before finals, and a few interesting things have happened.

Interesting Thing #1

Either someone died in this stall in the communal bathroom...or some girl is very very very very nasty when she's menstruating...

Interesting thing #2

Small towns have night watch to keep them safe, my college has a night watch to get us hyper with Red Bull. And no college Night Watch is complete without our very own version of the white flag:

Interesting Thing #3:

Choice: white flag or special emergency kit as you fly out of your room?

An update on the life of Liz

2010-04-12T11:56:00.000-07:00

Yeah so, It's been a terrible while since I posted. But here I am again, and here is a grainy picture of my delicious dinner last night at Bugaboo Creek Steak House. It's a Prime Rib, Medium Rare with a Loaded Backed Potato. DELICIOUS! Of course, a prime rib is nothing without some raw horseradish and extra juice, yum!

2012 The Movie

2010-03-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

This movie is awesome. I especially like the part where the USS J.F.K smashes into the White House. It's hilarious. This movie is epic. The acting is pretty good, I'm not an expert by any means, but this movie is worth seeing, definitely.

I Miss My Shorts

2010-02-25T16:35:00.000-08:00

Did you ever have that favorite pair of shorts, that you wore all the time and they were trusty and comfortable and you've had them for ever? I did. Mine were a black pair of cargo capris, that ran over my knees. I had them for about 5 years or so, and I LOVED them...and then they tore this summer, during work. The tear was in the crotch area, so it was irreparable. I could have just patched them, but it didn't occur to me. So, I threw them away. And now, that spring is coming again, I find my myself wishing that I had never done that. I haven't found a pair that are quite like them. I miss them so much. and the funniest part? I don't have a picture of me in them.

Laptop Troubles, what is this world coming to?

2010-02-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

So, granted not everyone in the world is wired, but most of us are these days. It's common for the average middle class person to have an iphone or other high-tech phone, itouch or ipod, a laptop and possibly an e-reader which seems to be the next big thing. I mean, yeah...I have all of these things too because I am your average middle class college student. What really threw me is, I broke my laptop yesterday. It's fixable, but because I don't have my repair cd with me, I have had to go a whole day without my laptop, and it is so hard. I guess I didn't really notice how impaired I am without it.

Last night, I was so bored at work, even with my Nook and my phone. I didn't have access to facebook, or my email (since I don't have data plan on my phone), I didn't know what to do with myself. Normally I would read a book, but since I gave up fiction books for Lent, can't read any of those. You would think hey, college student, well hey! perfect solution, just study! But I couldn't becuase all of my study material is on my laptop. And it leads me to think, what the heck is this world coming to???

College students bring their laptops to class to pretend they're taking notes when they're really just playing games. Phones are no longer just for calling people, their for everything that you could possibly think of. Paperback books are not necessary because there's electronic e-readers now and who needs live musicians now when you can listen to them from your laptop, phone or ipod?? Everything is so accessible now that no one of my generation would know what to do if it suddenly went away.

I read an article in the Washinton Post yesterday that blew me away. Parents are neglecting their kids because they're too busy on their iphones. One person in the article reported that her husband started cheking his email DURING intercourse. People are so wired that if there isn't a screen in front of them that they don't know how to have fun anymore. One of my friends once told me that she has trouble expressing herself outside of IM sometimes. Even me, I don't really remember how to have a friend outside of the internet. I don't know how I did it in high school, easily making friends, meeting guys, having boyfriends, having fun PERIOD without a computer attached to me. Sometimes...it just doesn't seems possible anymore.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2010-02-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

I watched The Time Traveler's Wife, today, with my sister and father. This movie, is sad, happy, heartwarming and heart-wrenching. There are up times and down times, cute times and times you just don't understand what is happening. If you don't like movies like The Notebook or Marley and Me, then you won't like The Time Traveler's Wife. However, I loved it.

This movie, It goes into a genre of movies, that aren't the normal type. As the years go by, it seems to me that more and more movie are all of the same type. Like they have all been done before over and over again, same plot, different characters and a different setting. But these movies, They go into a genre of things that could be very real, they just seem like things that would actually happen. Now of course, time traveling isn't real, but they portray it in such a way, that....it totally seems like it could.

This is a movie where you just might cry. You have been warned. Definitely a movie to see once, or a movie to see with your girlfriend. Make her see the softer side of you, even if you hate gushy movies.Two thumbs up!

Good Coffee and Good Music = FUN TIME!!!

2010-02-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

So, I went to Showcase Showdown at Ebenezers Coffeehouse in DC. I went in support of my friend Joe Mikey Mapa, who is a great musician. He competed against two other artists, Olivia Mancini and Dave Chatel. I recommend that you check them out! http://ebenezerscoffeehouse.com/

So the coffee at Ebenezers was awesome, I got the mocha coffee, because it is go to coffee (besides the regular coffee 3 creams 5 sugars that is). It was very yummy, coffeey and chocolaty. So, perfectly fine coffee, if you're around Union Station and need some joe, it's just around the corner on F street, so hit it up.

Olivia Mancini played first. I really liked her music, it was catchy and really entertaining. Two of her songs that really stood out to me were Easy Way and Jealous Type. I liked her music so much I bought her cd, so that I can listen to her music whenever I want. Check her out at http://www.oliviamancini.com/

Joe Mikey Mapa is already a rockstar in my eyes, but today's performance was funny and entertaining both with his antics, anecdotes and music. He played roughly 6 or 7 songs, some christian some not. I really liked his song Not For Sale, which he wrote for an organization called, Not For Sale, a End Human Trafficking Campaign. I also enjoyed the song that he played when he was 14, it was funny how he presented it and cute. Too bad I don't remember the name of it. For more information check him out at http://joemikeymapa.com/

Last but certainly not least, since he got the most applause, Dave Chatel. My personal opinion is that he got the most applause because he brought the most people. But, that doesn't mean he wasn't also an awesome performer. Dave's words were so true when he said that writing music is like therapy without the therapist. His music was so emotional and just FILLED with emotion, that you could tell he put his whole soul in each of his songs. The only thing I didn't like was that it seemed like most of his songs were love songs, but then hey, so was Joe Mikey's. So, props to Dave, your music was awesome. If you would like to hear his music or just find out more about him you can do so at: http://www.davechatel.com/

My Nook

2010-02-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

So, I don't remember if I posted about this or not, but E-readers are really the best. I love paper books, I really do, but having an E-reader is just way more convenient. For example, I was on the metro the other day, and I've had The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson sitting on my dresser waiting for me to read it for 2 months. It's a HUGE hardback book, but I took it on the metro with me anyway. Since I was going home for the week, I already had my laptop bag and a plastic bag filled of stuff I needed to bring home. On top of that, I had to bring an extra small backpack, just for my hulk of a book.

Now, when I was waiting for the train to arrive, I was reading my giant book, and this guy walks over, stands next to me and pulls out his Kindle. I have a sort of prejudice against Kindles, because Kindles are so ugly. I am very superficial and shallow when it comes aesthetics of technology. My Nook, looks sleek and nice and it has a touchscreen pad while the kindle has a full QWERTY keyboard on it. It just looks....awkward. Ok, so back to my story, he pulls out his kindle and gives me this smug look. So I, being the competitive person I am, put away my giant book and pull out my wonderful and aesthetically beautiful Nook. I give him a smug look of my own. Stupid isn't it? but then, my Nook is better than you!

See? It's pretty!

Ok so, It's about 8 inches tall, 5 inches wide, and weighs about 12 ounces.

Not big at all. The touchpad screen works like a charm, and the updates come in regularly so that the Nook gets better and better.

The only problem it really has is that it freezes from time to time if you push too many buttons to quickly. Critics say that the Kindle is better still, but then, the Kindle has had more time on the market, and it's had more time to fix it's kinks.

The NOOK is the E-Reader of the future!!!

The Night Angel Trilogy, awesome book, awesome author

2010-02-11T22:11:00.000-08:00

   So, The Night Angel Trilogy, by Brent Weeks, is awesome. Just finished it. A friend of mine once commented that this series is like Assassin's Creed mixed with D&D. The reader gets to follow a boy, Azoth through his wildly exciting life from young street rat to immortal assassin to savior of the entire world. The series has something for everyone, excitement of battle, the thrill of assassination, the heart wrenching of many types of love, even the madness of a large amount of characters with every character's plot intertwining and yet separate.

   Towards the end, I was wondering how Weeks was going to be able to bring all of the characters to the end and finish the story, but he managed it without suddenly killing off too many people and didn't forget about any of those whose stories he told. For a first series, this guy did well.

   The only complaints I had was that I did get confused towards the end because of all the characters and the jumping around from character to character, especially when many times I wasn't sure if the time line of each character was the same in each part. The other major issue was the grammar. There were so many mistakes that I was getting thouroughly annoyed and wanted to start writing all over the book to fix them. They annoying part was that it was the same mistake OVER and OVER!!! But, if you can get past that, it's a fine story, with interesting comments about religion and other issues.

Cuteness Prevails

2010-02-06T15:56:00.000-08:00

So, there is about 4 feet of snow outside my door, from the huge snowstorm. I don't know if their calling it a blizzard or not, but it was definitely the biggest snowstorm in years! I spent my entire day eating, and hanging out with my sister who had the audacity to wake me up at 9am!

On a nice note, here's a cute picture:

Props to: http://www.fotocommunity.de/pc/pc/cat/720/display/20087228

New Food Blogs

2010-02-04T18:55:00.000-08:00

So one of my friends has decided to start up a food blog. Check it out:

http://emnemx3.blogspot.com/

and here's mine as well:

http://weekendfoodgalore.blogspot.com/

^_^ Check em out!!!!

Hilarious Attack Ad for Senatorial Campaign

2010-02-04T07:17:00.000-08:00

This is so funny....check out 2:25 of this thing.

Here's an article about it on Washington Post
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2010/02/carly-fiorina-ad-features-trip.html?hpid=artslot

FCINO: Fiscal Conservative In Name Only

I Surrender!!! Don't Eat Me!

2010-02-03T17:53:00.000-08:00

Sammie, one of my dogs, got a new toy to play with because she destroyed the old one. I woke up the next morning and found it like this. It surrenders.

February - The shortest most loving month.

2010-02-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

It's February 3rd already, a whole month of this new year has gone by. Does it seem fast to you?
Highlights of this month include:

Groundhogs Day/Hai Tu's Birthday
SuperBowl
Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year
25 (that's 28-3) days until my Spring Break

Yesterday was my ex-boyfriend's birthday. Most people don't contemplate men they dated over 5 years ago...but Hai Tu is special. You see, Hai Tu and I were best friends and pseudo family for 3 1/2 years immediately after we broke up, which means, he will never be far from my thoughts since I somehow see him as family. A little bitter, but then that's just life. It makes me think that it's about darn time that I stop moping about him. He's unworthy of it, and I deserve better.

Superbowl!!!!!!!! This Sunday!!!!! Who will you root for? New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts, it promises to be a fun and exciting Superbowl, maybe? My dad and I have this tradition that we each pick one team, and then root against each other. I need to pick a team, anyone got some advice for me?

Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year are on the same day. It's great because that means since I have no Valentine, I don't have to waste my money on a commercial Holiday, AND I get get great food.

Here's a Picture of the food that I tend to survive on:

Caprica

2010-01-28T22:45:00.000-08:00

So I watched the first episode of Caprica tonight,and it was interesting. It seems to me that humanity will never lose it's interest in prolonging life no matter what it takes. Granted, this is a spin-off of Battlestar Galatica, and I've never watched much of it, but the ethical delimmas that this series presents, it to me, interesting. Especially since I've been reading a lot of books, that have to do with artificial intelligence. If it was possible to live on in a robot, would you?

A Question of Social Norms

2010-01-25T00:17:00.000-08:00

Paternal and Maternal Societies. 99% of the World is Paternal now, save a few small Maternal societies in obscure corners of the world. Males especially that I have seen are expected to be the protectors and women are supposed to be sheltered by protectors. Or at least that is what I have been told and when because my very nature goes against that, I naturally rebel. Now, the question is, am I the exception to the norm or is it just perception? Well according to all the Sociology classes I've taken, I am the exception to the norm because I do not follow the rules. According to my Social Justice class, it depends. It depends on social context and personal views. But even in this, since I live in the United States, the social context that matters is that of the States and the personal views of those in the States as well as my own. So, why did I bring all of this up? Simple, Jesus.

This Nation was built by Christians who wished religious freedom, but also by males accustomed to a paternal society. Women were first seen as property, and then as second-class citizens. Even now, many men still view women as something to be sheltered, protected and ruled over. Now, I do not even pretend to say that Men shouldn't be in a leadership position. In fact, if and when I get married, I absolutely agree that the man should be the Head of the Household, but what I disagree about and the reason I write right now is the part about men ruling women in general.

The Husband has every right to put his wife in her place if she gets out of hand, but he has no right to put other men's wives in their place. Not only is it not right for Men to try to rule over women who are not their family, it is disgraceful. If men have a problem with a women they have no right to lead, then they should either talk to that woman with the respect that the woman deserves, or if they cannot bring themselves to do that, cowards that they may be, they can simply go to a male or leader over that woman. Now, again that implies that the leader may not be male, but you know what? Get past it.

Ok, time for the Jesus part. God gave power to men. I admit, he created man over woman first. Thus, this gives man some power over women, but only as long as they are in a rightful leadership position. This position may be as simple as husband, or as High as President, but they do not have power over women unless they have this position. These titles also do not give them absolute power. There is a scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which the mother says to her daughter, "The husband may be the head, but the wife is the neck!" That is true, and men shouldn't forget it. women have power too. Another point I would like to point out is that men are fallible. Adam was charged to protect Eve. And yet, he didn't. He failed in protecting her from the serpent and THEN went so far as to BLAME her. Nice protector eh? They say the past predicts the future. Ah, so true, for I as I look at the past, I see men blaming women for things and not just in the past, but in the present and it will continue until Jesus comes again.

So to wrap it up, my conclusion is, The Lord God did not giver power for men to rule over women, he merely gave men the power to lead and only over those whom they have rightful power to lead over. Women are very capable, not second-class and shouldn't be treated as such. Men are fallible. By this purely one sided argument, I do not men that women are better, no by FAR, women are just as fallible and there are many women I would never trust in positions of power. And yet, men need to remember women were made to be a companion so that men would not be lonely. Not just something to rule over or as just a companion for the lower regions of the male body.

New Semester and lots of surprise

2010-01-20T11:04:00.000-08:00

So, It's been awhile since I posted. Here's the update, my roommate has decided to leave Marymount, I almost didn't come back to school this semester and I washed my camera. Lovely isn't ? Yes well, It's an interesting situations all around. That's all I have to say.

TWLOHA and the CHESED Girls' Sleepover

2009-11-16T19:41:00.000-08:00

So, Friday the 13th was TWLOHA Day, or To Write Love On Her Arms Day. It is a day to support those who suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts, it lets others know that they are not alone. I proudly wrote TWLOHA and LOVE on my arms with the sleeves rolled up so others could see.

The Same day, I went to a sleep over that Crystal hosted. We had Hot Pot, but I forgot to take pictures...This is a picture of the brownies we made.

The next morning, we made breakfast.

Which consisted of Pancakes,

Bacon

and Sausage. Here's a picture of my plate since the sausage pictures didn't come out very well.

Weekend Food Galore

2009-11-11T17:39:00.000-08:00

Yeah, So, I've noticed recently...that most of my pics have to do with food....so I'm going to throw all of those pics onto one blog and let this just be about my personal life. Plus this way, I can talk more about the FOOD!!!!!!

If you wanna take a look, it's over at http://www.Weekendfoodgalore.blogspot.com

Trusting friends

2009-11-11T15:30:00.000-08:00

Friends are the people who are supposed to get you the most. People whom you trust and expect to get your back. The people who you expect to tell you how it is and be truthful and honest to you. Friends are not people whom you use just because you'd be lonely without them. They are not there to just keep you company, and frienemies, those people you keep close to you because they're actually an enemy, that's just plain wrong. Girls have become such idiotic creatures these days when it comes to friends. Friends are the ones who you have gone through thick or thin.

Food Galore and a comment about my roomate

2009-11-09T22:32:00.000-08:00

ok, so Roommate first. She decides to move our tv around because she now has an xbox 360. We're moving the tv cables, and the water boiler spills water all over the wires. I hurriedly grab the wires and pull them out of the way. Lisa, just stands there, staring at me. She's like, "maybe you should unplug it?" So i do, and tell her to get the paper towels. She grabs the roll, rips off one sheet and just holds it out. Let me point out there is a GIANT POOL OF WATER ON THE FLOOR SOAKING MY SOCKS!!!! I tell her to put it on the floor. She rips another piece and a repeat of the last paper towel piece happens. she finally gets it and starts putting more paper towels to soak up the water, but she does is so freaking slowly, that I juggle the wires (of which I had my hands full with just those) and help her wipe it up. By this time, I'm late for work, and run out of the room. I come back and my frig and tv are all turned around...sigh....

ok food now:

My Frozen Yogurt, I really do love the stuff. Today I remembered to take a picture first.

Cindy's FY, always the sprinkles on top.

Erika's FY. Oreos with fruit? interesting combination

here are all three together. Mine's looks kind of sad in the back there...

Turkey! I went to a thanksgiving feast in PA

Mashed potatoes and Stuffing

special chicken, Asian style I think.

Homemade sangria.

Surf/Turf, Barf HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

2009-11-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

Yo, been a few days. First of all, I want to say I found this really awesome Food Blog called the The Food Pornographer. Yes, Weird name, and yet, she takes awesome pictures of food. She even makes fast food look yummy.

So, this weekend was pretty jammed packed. Friday, I went out with Connie and Erika to eat Chili's. It wasn't fair because Erika, usually the sober one, got to alcohol, and I was only allowed to take sips, because I was driving. not fair.

Saturday, we woke up late, and so were almost late to Bible Study. We studied James 5:7-20, about patience and prayer. It was a good one, although it was all very ADD and hard to stay on track. But then, that's just our style. Next went to see Scarlett in Baltimore. We had fun. Antique shopping in Ellicott City, Grocery shopping, Wine shopping, T-Bone steak and eggs at Double T Diner and then hanging out in her room. Pretty darn awesome Halloween.

Sunday, Sammie decided to wake me up by barfing on my bed. I had just gotten out of bed to let her off the bed, and I guess she couldn't wait. So, had to do throw my sheets in the laundry and take a shower to get the barf off me. She then decided to barf on the bench couch. 2nd load of laundry. After that, she barfed on the other cushion of the bench coach without getting up, so the barf was all over her. Doggy Bath and 3rd laundry load. Barfed twice more, but this time on the floor. Did I mention this started at 7am in the morning?

After that, went to church, and then lunch with my parents, Erika, Cindy and Elizabeth, the 16 yr old I like to hang out with when I get a chance. Then Cindy, Elizabeth and I went to Target for wrapping paper. Elizabeth and I went to my house to wrap the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, and Sammie decided to barf on my feet and Lucky's tail. Large Doggy Bath. Elizabeth decided to stay for dinner. Dinner was Surf and Turf Feast. My dad cooked, too bad I forgot to take a picture. Crab legs, Lobster tails, Mussels, Shrimp, Steak, Ribs, Giant Potatoes and broccoli for the vegetable. mmmmm yum.

Painting murals for Halloween

The finished hall

I got bored on Friday when hanging out with Connie and Erika

When having a potluck bible study, What do all asians bring?

DUMPLINGS!!!!

Scarlett needed razors so we went to the grocery store

Elizabeth says I look like Santa Claus....

Roommates, Crisises and Procrastination

2009-10-28T13:08:00.000-07:00

So, on monday, I went to class and found out the outline for my semester term paper was due, then found out the same day that I was doing it all wrong and had to start over. I had to choose a new topic, do new research, and start over on my outline. Two months of work down the drain and a nervous break down, later, I managed to email my professor a brand new outline, hopefully along the right lines, and it only took me 12 hours of continuous work.

Today I was supposed to work on my other papers, but I've been procrastinating. I didn't wake up until 1pm, and made my computer unusable by running diagnostics on it because it was so slow. Now, I'm watching my roommate get all dolled up to go on a date with a guy who's not her boyfriend. She's trying to make her boyfriend jealous because he isn't paying attention to her. I find it quite hilarious.

The most horrifying part to me, is that I actually care what she wears and when she asks me questions about the clothes she's trying on, I actually answer with a good answer. I used to never care about clothes and how they looked on other people. When people watching, I would notice things that I might want to copy for my own appearance, but not in the sense that I care how other people looked unless they were utterly repulsive. But, now when my roommate freaks out about shoes, I am able to tell her what kind of shoes to wear, I can tell the difference between flats, heels and other types of shoes and I know somewhat what shoe goes with what type of outfit. It's so sad....

Anyway, here's some pictures of what I did over the weekend:

we went shopping and I was dressing up my daddy

I decided to get into the fun

I'm not sure what my mother is eating there

I'm obsessed with frozen yogurt. This is mine

Cindy's yogurt

Erika's yogurt. She put peanut butter yogurt....

I went shopping with Elizabeth at the new Five below, tried on a hat.

I always mess up my pretty yogurt before I can take a picture....=(

It really did look a lot prettier...so much so that the cashier took a picture

this is Elizabeth's yogurt, very pastelly

notice anything you might like Scarlett?

put up a new poster in my room

Happy Birthday and struggle to stay alive

2009-10-21T12:58:00.000-07:00

So the happy birthday part is it's my mom's birthday! So Happy Birthday Mom!

For the rest, I've been feeling depressed and tired and all around shitty lately. What's been going on and why do I feel this way? well here's why!

really stressed out because of school and grades
can't sleep
general worry and anxiety for friends
boys
living up to everyone's expectations
worried about being a bother to other people
generally angry, and worried about that

yeah so, that's what's on my mind. It makes me mopey and whiny and the few people I feel I can talk to are at odds with me for some reason or another. *sigh* Life is hard, and not having people who understand you is tough.

Anyway, Here's some pictures from my recent activities:

put up more pictures on my walls

advertising while on the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk

my team ComForcare Rockville

Lunch on Sunday was Pho!!!! with my sister and mom. That was fun

Happy, tired, damp and stomach full of dim sum after the AA Memory Walk.

My wonderful day

2009-10-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

So today started out okay, but steadily got worse. Classes went well, I had an exam review, and the DEA gave a presentation in one of my classes. That was kind of cool. Talked to this guy, that turned out to be entertaining. He's kind of cool. Then my sister came. That is when everything steadily went south.

Erika saw me on the phone, and obviously wanted to know who it was. I couldn't tell her because Lisa was in the room. Well, Erika figured it out eventually, and like I had predicted, which is why I tried not to let Erika find out, she freaked out. She was mainly upset that I let a stranger have my phone number. I understand, but still, I know there is going to be resulting drama from this....and it sux. So then the guy was talking to started to chicken out and say he didn't want to cause trouble and that is thinking of not talking to me anymore....sigh!!!!!!

So then I had to go to work. For some reason, I guess people decided to all come to the ballston labs tonight. Usually no one is there!!!! Everyone was printing and asking me questions when I just wanted to rock out to my music and ride out my anger. But no, I couldn't.

So here I am still angry with myself, my sister and the guy. I'm done with work and just wanna go back to my room. The Security Guard called the shuttle. Which didn't come for an HOUR. The security guard, my friend and I, all called like 4 times....So now I'm completely pissed off.

Midnight Madness

2009-10-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

Free T-Shirt, Hand Towel that says Saints Pride, and a bump on the head, That is what I got for going to Midnight Madness. What is Midnight Madness? Why, It's the celebration of the start of the Basketball season. It was loud, long, and kind of fun.

Before the rally, there was t-shirt decorating, which I didn't participate in, Giant Connect 4, and large Inflatables. Laser Tag, Basketball and this really cool inflatable where you're hooked up to your opponent by a wire and you have to try and make baskets in opposite hoops.

Here's some pictures:

my friend Michelle

Blurry pic of Bernie the Dog

Alecia and Me. She's who I went to the rally with.

Fall Break

2009-10-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hmm...Been awhile since I posted. But, My Fall break was pretty cool. I spent Friday and most of Saturday with my family. Saturday night, I carpooled with Scotty up to Gettysburg to see Zoe. We went to a pub. Don't know it's name but it was cool. Zoe, Scotto, Scarletta and I only had 1 drink apiece, since Zoe was tired. Scotto had yuengling and the rest of us Mangen's? or something like that. It was hard cider. We went to 7-11 and then walked back to Zoe's, whereupon Scarlett promptly made a screwdriver and then didn't like it. So I drank it.

Zoe's friends came back from their various activities, and we all went to the boy's suite to eat deep fried food and congregate whereupon zoe introduced us to people who I cannot remember most of their names. Victory is mine though, because I now remember more names than I started off with. I started off with James, Ryan and Amanda, to which I can now add, Annie, Andy, and Matt. Yep...only names I can remember, and...I doubt I can actually match Matt's name to his face. Is there actually a Matt? I'm beginning to doubt it.

On Sunday, we all went to PA Renaissance Faire, and had a ball. Everyone dressed up but me, which, is pretty normal. I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures, but managed to take some on other people's cameras so if you want to see them, just comment and I'll post some. I bought some nunchakus and a knife. A nice haul over all. Lots of food, but no one took pictures of me eating so I cannot show you.

Monday and Today were pretty uneventful except for lunch on Monday with my dad, Erika and Mo. Erika made sushi and we brought it over to Mo and my dad to feast on. Yummy. Also got my car fixed. Spent most of today doing nothing as well, except spending my evening with a little girl named Maggie. She's an awesome kid, but very exhausting. We made peanut butter play dough, it was fun, for her at least. Then we went to Old Country Buffet, and gourged. On a high note, I got on the Wii and found out I lost 7.5lbs. Don't know how I achieved that, but good job me!!!

and now, some pics:

Salmon, Tuna and Yellow tail Hand roll sushi. YUM!!!

Erika and I went to eat sushi at my favorite sushi place. We ate 6 rolls, 2 nigiri sushi, and 1 hand roll.

Erika's Dessert

my dessert. Yes, mine pales in comparison, but I LOVE mochi.

He blinked! Lucky is so cute.

Sammie is staring at Maggie making the peanut butter dough.

and of course, Maggie is staring right back at her.

Peanut Butter Play Dough

I finally put pictures up in my dorm room. Mostly of my family and dogs, since they are Erika's pics.

My Day Today....

2009-10-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Yeah, don't feel like writing about my day...so i'll just post some pictures of what happened today and yesterday

That was yesterday, here's today

yep, that's it, make up ur own story for what happened to me. Ok? yeah...

2009-10-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

So today, I was totally blindsided by my Deviant Behavior exam. Did I know one was going to happen? yes. Did I know it was going to be today? No. See, I forgot that today was exam day because I overslept last week and missed the review session. Didn't even know it was a review session. My professor has already told us that he won't help us with notes and stuff. We have to be pro active and get that stuff from our classmates. Shucks.

One good thing, I got my camera today. I bought a camera off of Ebay for $75 and it's awesome. It's not the best camera, but it does the job. Any bad pictures can be salvaged by Photoshop. Yes, I use Photoshop. not much, but just to correct the colors and sometime i take a picture that is off center and use Photoshop to correct it. Cropping is a good tool too. Now, there are fun time when making outrageous pictures is awesome too. Learning Photoshop is fun.

Here's some picture of my dorm room since I now have the ability to show you.

This is my bed, and oasis from the harshness of college

My closet and on the right is the door with my roommate's mirror on it

TV, Fridge

Roommate's messy side.

The one on the left is mine. Messy huh?

~~~~

Does sex still sell? Adult industry not immune to recession

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/05/sex.sells/index.html

Shoes, Class and Filesharing

2009-10-02T17:27:00.001-07:00

So, today was really cool. I had my Crime, Media and Culture class today. We had guest speakers come in. They did a general presentation on IT security and other such stuff. But the cool part was the demonstration in Computer Forensics. They demonstrated how they can get information from any memory device, even if it's been deleted. Even though it's probably pretty routine for them, I thought it was awesome. I've always wanted to know how they do that. The other thing I want to learn someday is how to fix a corrupted drive, although that's a little harder.

Went shoe shopping today. Picked up some athletic shoes and some Airwalk chucks. Had to go alone even though I invited Lisa along. I don't think she really wants to hang with me at all. Kinda sad that I'm not loved, but hey what can I do? I can only try so hard. Anyway, for the rest of the night I thought I would work on my Educational paper. What's an educational paper you might ask? Well, actually it's a punishment paper that I must right because I got caught doing something naughty. It wasn't that bad, but because of stupidity and not quite ignorance, I got caught so I must pay for the crime. Should I have been doing it? No. of course not. It's illegal. What did I get caught for? File sharing. *smirks* yes, I know, stupid stupid me. Mmm…of course…anyone who's reading this, you shouldn't do it either. BAD, stop doing it right now!

So yeah, I have to write a 3 page scholarly paper on Joel Tenenbaum and also on ideas for how to better educate MU on filesharing. Fun fun…. Not!

New Blog

2009-10-01T20:23:00.001-07:00

So decided to start a blog about College Life. Kind of a whim, we'll see how it goes. Anyone wanna join me in blogging about college? just lemme know, I'll add you to the blog.

so at the moment...the link is ewdragon-college.blogspot.com ...subject to change for when i think of a better one

My kind of sick weekend

2009-09-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I went home to my family. I was supposed to go to a charity concert being hosted by Bridgeway, but Erika got too sick to go, so I worked the night shift for my mother instead. This weekend turned out to be out, except for the fact that now I'm kind of sick. Here's how it went:

Friday night, I couldn't sleep like so many other Friday nights when I come home, because the dogs are so excited to see me, they sleep with me and keep me up all night. Finally went to sleep at 4am, but had to wake up at 9:30 to go to the Book Festival with Scarlett. The Festival was kinda cool even if I didn't get to see James Patterson or the Target dog. Scarlett and I did see Holly Black and the guy who co-authored the Spiderwick Chronicles with her. Since we sat in line for about 1 1/2 hours to see them, Scarlett and I got to know the people who were sitting around us. In front of us, were this mother and daughter. The daughter was only 10 but in some aspects she was much wiser than her years, and in others, she was much younger. I really liked her mother, seemed like a very sensible lady. Behind us, was a mother with her 2 kids and another boy she brought along. The 2 young boys she brought with her were brats who kept stepping on my toes…but her baby boy was uber cute. She was kind of a really cool person too. She had two lip rings and her background of a librarian political activist grandmother led for some cool stories to entertain us. Our little group talked about everything from books, to shoes. The ten year old girl turned out to have quite a shoe fetish.

After I came home from the book festival, I was supposed to nap, but I went shopping instead. I bought several new books, including Tricks by Ellen Hopkins and Catching Fire (2nd book of Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins. Both really good books, you all should check them out! I also picked up some groceries for the house, so that when I come home there will actually be food for me to eat. I tried to take a nap once I got home, but ended up reading instead.

I think it is quite obvious that I was rather tired the next day when I had to go to church. But go to church I did, and then I went out to eat with Scarlett and Zoe to celebrate Zoe's birthday. We went to this Vegetarian place called the Great Sage. Wonderful little vegetarian place, also has vegan stuff, and even though I will forever be a carnivore, The food was quite nice. I do admit the food was on the expensive side, at least I think so, but the atmosphere was nice. I really liked our waitress, she was really pretty and had a cool hat, but was kind of spacey so she didn't get that great of a tip.

Erika got abhorrently sick on Sunday, so much so that my mother told me to stay away from her. I think I caught a little of her bug though because on Monday, I got sick too. I think it was more out of fatigue that I was sick though because after a lot of sleep and taking some pills, I appear to be better now. I still have a giant headache and felt like I had to vomit this morning, but other than that, I feel find, if a little tired.

A lot of oops

2009-09-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

So This past weekend and the week so far...have been a lot of serious oops. None of which I wish to share other than to say I wish I had never done any of it. Thankfully, I didn't get into much trouble. Other than that, I have little to write about since my roommate has been wallowing about her miserable life in the room with me. She may turn out to be a smart person after all. I think I'm rubbing off on her a lil...good or bad is yet to be seen. Anyway, that is all I have to say today. I am way too tired to think.

Exhausting but fun day and a little bit of the roommate

2009-09-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

A thoroughly exhausting day so far, and it's not even over yet. And of course there was my daily entertainment called my roommate. So here's the down and dirty of today's Post:

Only got 4 hours of sleep last night
I went to work out with Athenna and her roommate Ginnefine (cool name huh?) at 8:30am
Finally decided to minor in Forensic Computing (computer security for those of you less tech savvy)
Got out of a class today
Roommate got her first disciplinary hearing summons
First meeting of the Fitness club coming up tonight!

So here we go, this past Tuesday, I was supposed to starting working out with my friend Athenna and her roommate Ginnefine, which by the way is an AWESOME name, but they overslept and ditched me. So today we tried it again, and I got really worried because Athenna wasn't answering her phone. So I trotted over to her room, and happily found that she was awake and that Today, she had only almost overslept. They worked out on the elliptical for 30 minutes while I did my normal routine of 20 min elliptical, and then 10 minute upper body workout. I was asked today what do I mean when I say upper body workout. Well, for everyone's information I mean, and in order: 10 leg lifts, 10 push ups, 20-50 crunches, 10 push ups and repeat. After working out with them, I took a shower and got dressed for class.

I was really afraid the I would fall asleep in class because I was so tired from working out and the lack of sleep, but the class turned out to be really interesting. I recorded the class on my computer just in case anyway. In any case, my thoughts kept drifting and I missed some important points in the lecture. As I was sitting there I realized I was sitting next to Air Conditioning and the sound was rather loud. I hope that didn't overpower my soft-spoken professor. Being the sharp retired cop that he is, he noticed me edging my desk away from the wall, but as I moved my desk, I angled it so he couldn't see my computer screen. So what did he do? He very discreetly in his pacing of the room while lecturing, walked thru the chairs so he could see my screen. Crafty old man he is. But, I like him, and plus, he's my advisor so I didn't have to go all the way to his office to tell him I finally decided to go for the forensic computing minor. What does that mean? This means my dear good friends that I will someday be going into IT Security or Network Security. What my dad does.

My Law and Society class was cancelled because of a family emergency. But I don't know how to take that since today was Exam review day. Hopefully this postpones the exam but I doubt it. Good for me though because that meant I could trot down to the Dining Hall and wolf down some lunch. And now for what some of you have been waiting for, the roommate anecdote.

So for the rest of the night, I'm currently at work, writing this wonderful post for you wonderful people! Later today will be Fitness club! Yay! And for those of you who would make fun of my joining Fitness club, for one, being as out of shape as I am, I need this. And there aren't many other clubs to join at all. Please don't suggest I start one either, because I'll just ignore you.

School and other things

2009-09-16T19:24:00.000-07:00

So, Here I am, a brand new start at my new school, and I'm loving it! Gotta love MU, cuz it's a quaint private Catholic School, expensive for sure, so I had better love it! So here's what's gone on so far in my lovely new start to school:

My roomate is a 17 yr freshman
I live in the all freshman section of the freshman floor in my hall
My roommate refers to me as the 21 yr old to our floor section mates
I love my professors and my classes except for my Criminology class
Started working out a couple times a week
joined Fitness club!!! YAY!!!!!
made a friend by randomly talking to her while waiting for a shuttle
got a job in the computer labs
spend most of my time alone in my room b/c I have so few friends...
This weekend will be my first weekend on campus!!! yay!!
Going to check out Mikey's church on sunday

Yep, so that pretty much sums up everything that's gone on since I started school. I really need to get a camera or something so that I can post pics and stuff...

wow...

2009-08-12T08:27:00.001-07:00

Wow I haven't posted in like months. So, I'm at work and life is wonderful, for now. My summer job, which is hauling computers all over the county for the local school system, is ending on tuesday of next week. HALLELUJAH!!!! I also got into a college, which is MU! Yay!

Celebration

2009-05-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

So as you know, I am a college student. After a very grueling German Final today, I can finally say I FINISHED!!!! I'm very hopeful that I did ok. I know this is my best semester yet, so I'm hoping for a good GPA, but we will see.

New Game

2009-04-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wanna smash some people? Or are you mad at me and wanna have a go? Here!

http://redryuu.mybrute.com

Fast and Furious 4

2009-04-05T21:59:00.001-07:00

Awesome Movie. Go see it.

A Christian Minister who's also a Muslim?

2009-04-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Episcopal minister defrocked after becoming a Muslim

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/02/muslim.minister.defrocked/index.html

An ordained minister, who's been in the service of the Lord for over 20 years, became a muslim. But that's not out of the ordinary, what's out of the ordinary is that she continues to claim Christianity while being a Muslim. This is her arguement, when she took the vows to be a muslim, The vows only proclaim that there is only one god and that Mohammed is God's prophet or messenger.

But, what about what Mohammed proclaims? The foundations of being saved in Islam is that you must prove your worthiness. Mohammed also proclaimed that Jesus is not the Messiah, he is only a prophet. Christianity is founded on the belief that we are all sinners, and only Jesus' can save us by believing that He died on the cross for our sins. It is impossible to be both a Muslim and a Christian. I don't think this woman has throughoughly thought it out. She's a living, walking contradiction.

The Coolest Bookshelf Ever!

2009-04-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what this is?

This is so cool. What is it? It's a bookshelf staircase!!!!!! For those of you who know me, you KNOW I love books, and I have no where to put them. Well, that and I can never remember to put them away. This would be so cool to have. But with 3 dogs? an impossible thing, so a dream it will remain forever.

Camp Hope

2009-03-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

So I just got back from Camp Hope. Camp Hope is a camp run by CBCM for inner city DC kids from the projects. These kids are children who attend various functions run by Little Lights, an organization that primarily works with inner city DC children from the projects. I must say, I had a difficult time there.

It did open my eyes to a few things. These things being, what a self-centered, selfish person I am. Here I am touting that I am a christian and I believe in God, but I am not at all God-centered. What I find funny, is my bible study lesson for the week is about the obediant Christ-centered Christian. The Lords works in mysterious ways. So, I made some deicsions in my life to fix that. We'll see how that goes.

Here's a video I made of Camp Hope 2009. It's not the greatest, but I did it in under 4 hours after midnite. Not an excuse, but it is an explantion. I wanted to have it ready for people to see the next day, but ironnically, no one saw it at all.

An Imagery Assignment

2009-03-25T07:51:00.001-07:00

In one of my classes I had us guided imagery as a relaxation technique and then write it down as descriptive and to the best of my memory. I have decided to share it with you all.

I started out sitting on a hill underneath a tree. The hill is next to an elementary school, so I can hear the children playing on the playgrouns. I can feel the soft grass underneath me. I'm looking towards the sun, which is setting over some woods. The sun is just barely above the woods, and will set soon. I get up and start walking down the hill onto the soccer field that is to the right of the woods. The wind is blowing gently bringing me the scents of the grass and the woods. I head towards the line of houses that are at the far end of the field. There is a small path in between 2 of the houses. As I walk on it, There are backyards to my left and woods to my right. The woods block out the sun and make the path very shady. I can see the cracks in the path and the grass and weeds that are growing out of them. The path starts out as asphalt but eventually turns into a dirt path. I keep walking and the path clears the trees and leads me to a street.

I cross to the other side of the street, and to my left there is a pool. to my right, there is an open field where kids like to play ball. As I look forward, the path goes back into the woods. I walk towards the woods and there is now a creek to my right. The creek bubbles gently and I can hear the tiny splashes of the crayfish and minnows. I come to a fork in the road. To the right is a bridge and to the left is a path with a log directly on the path. I head towards the log, I always have fun jumping over the log. The path is completely dirt by now, and it's somewhat soft under my feet but not quite muddy. It is very shady on the path due to all the tall trees on either side of me. There is still light enough for me to see though, because the sun is peaking through the trees to light my way. As I continue to walk through the woods and down the path, a creek intersects the path. There is a rock path that leads across the creek, placed there by my hands. The path is made of rocks that line the creek; it is made of as many flat rocks as possible and runs from one side of the creek to the other. I cross the creek and continue walking.

So, that's it. What do you think? boring or good? I dunno. The imagery came from my childhood. The hill is a place where I always went when I was younger if I was feeling unhappy. the path is one I used to walk with my family all the time. Most of the imagery is real, with just a little that is fabricated and/or exaggerated. you be the judge if it's good. I got full credit for the assignment though.

Personal Dog ATM

2009-03-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

Oh my God, this is the most hilarious story I have EVER seen. Thank God my dogs have never done this to me.

LOL wow!

2009-03-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hey I find this hilarious! So I was searching my username, out of curiosity. and guess what I found? some idiot was really pissed off and wrote a blog about Sylvia Brown this stupid fraudulent psychic. There was heavy debate on the youtube site. Now you have to understand, this person wrote this article in 2007, and the comment I made on the youtube site, I can't even remember it. But the fact that the person was enraged enough over my comment to mention me in a blog makes me laugh. Not to mention the fact that I think the person missed the point of my comment. See for yourself

http://youtubemovie.wordpress.com/2007/02/09/cnn-sylvia-browne-fraud/?referer=sphere_related_content/

Waking Up

2009-03-20T06:56:00.001-07:00

So I've noticed something, I have issues. Ok, It's not something that I just noticed, more like something that's recurring. What happened? Well I'm going to tell you whether you care or not.

This morning, all I wanted to do was sleep. Was I allowed to? No. From 7:30am, I was repeatedly woken up. At about 9:30 I lost it. Lost my brains that is. My dog was barking non-stop. I knew what she wanted and could have just given it to her. But instead, I got really angry and started yelling and screaming at her. Then my sister started calling. First she calls the house phone, thn she calls my cell phone, then the house phone again!!! I'm trekking up and down the stinking stairs trying to reach the phone she's currently calling to tell her to SHUT THE F*** UP!!!! So when I finally do get hold of her, I yell and scream into the phone, and hang up on her. It wasn't until about 10 minutes later and after I had calmed down did I realize she might have been calling me for something important since she was so insistant.

So, do I have issues? Yes, Yes I do. But then, God is gracious. Thank the Lord, someone forgives me, cuz I know for sure my sister hasn't.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" - 1 John 1:9

FoxFire

2009-03-15T22:36:00.001-07:00

So despite it being a rather old movie...well...old to me anyway, Foxfire is an awesome movie. There is one scene with with some nudity and it has some lesbian undertones, but it is an awesome movie about teenagers, finding their way through life. It's about life changing experiences and the people you meet who change your life. Ok...I admit it, It's about teens breaking the rules and having fun doing it. But there's other stuff too! It's a very profound movie that touched my heart and I loved watching them do the things I could never do in High School. And the best part? Angelina Jolie!!!!! The woman that almost everyone either admires or loves. She really is a cool person. So check this movie out!

Buying clothes

2009-03-14T15:26:00.000-07:00

Do you know the wonders of a navy base store? or for any military store that is? Today I went shopping at the Navy Exchange. In the clothing aisles, we went to the 75% off section. Now here's the thing. The military takes name brand clothing like Liz Claiborne, Columbia, North face, and Calvin Klein, and drops the price by $10-$30(depending on the brand) for their customers. Then, when the season's over, they put them on clearance. If the clothing STILL doesn't sell, they put everything in the 75% off the clearance price section.

So, If you don't mind being a season out of style, You can be like my family who spent $30 on 20 pieces of clothes. Mind you, this is not a thrift store. These are brand new clothes. On our total purchase we saved $111 and that's just the military's price on them!!!

Westboro Baptist Church

2009-03-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

WestBoro Baptist Church, who are they?
They are a "church" who claim God hates gay people, and from everything I've read about them, God hates everyone else too. Excuse me, God hates everyone but the Westboro Baptist Church. Apparently, God even hates those who have many of the same beliefs as the WBC, as long as they oppose the WBC. The WBC have been labeled a hate group and a cult by many. I agree.

I bring them up because I heard on the radio, that the WBC may be protesting at the Illonois First Baptist Church of Maryville. Now I find this church interesting on many points.

If both church are baptist, then shouldn't you be supporting them and not protesting them?
Where in the bible does it say to protest and hate your fellow christians for loving sinners?
Didn't Jesus love sinners? and hang out with them every day too?
How come the WBC's primary income is law suits?

You know, I know God says to use the gifts he has given us, but I do not think he meant it in this way. So, to the WBC, although I doubt you'll ever read this, God loves you, but God also loves everyone esle to.

I will not judge the Westboro Baptist Church, for the bible warns us "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Matthew 7:1-2. I will also never do anything in vengence even though my heart wishes to, for the Lord says 'If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,'says the Lord." - Romans 12:18-19

Actually I prefer to take the route the Lord provides for us in Romans 12:20-21.
"On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.'Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:20-21.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church
http://www.godhatesfags.com/

Blowing off steam

2009-03-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

So, I think I mentioned this before, but I gave up Facebook, Manga and My Nintendo DS for Lent. So far, I've been doing awesome. However, In my email, I get all this mail from Facebook!!! Telling me my friends have tagged me in this and that. What sux is, I can't get on Facebook to change that. But God has prepared me for just such a temptation by giving me this verse "No Temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13

So with this I know that I can withstand it through my outlet, Blogger!!!

Sleepless nights?

2009-03-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

Feeling sleepy these days? It may be more than stress! Check it out! This is a good argument for less time spent with video games, tvs and computers. Not that I'm not also addicted, but this article makes me want to shut the computer off more often even though I know I won't.

Why we're sleeping less

By Madison Park
CNN

(CNN) -- Yes, Americans are stressed over the economy.
Our day seems shorter, schedules are crammed and precious sleep hours are sacrificed -- tossing, turning or working.
Adding onto that is Daylight Saving Time, which begins Sunday at 2 a.m. when Americans will have to set their clocks ahead by an hour.
Released this week, the National Sleep Foundation's annual poll estimated that Americans get an average of about 6.7 hours of sleep during a weekday.
The annual Sleep in America poll estimated the hours of sleep have gradually decreased.
Over the last decade, the poll indicates that a growing percentage of Americans is getting less than six hours of sleep and the number of people who get eight or more hours is dwindling.
The poll had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. National Sleep Foundation is a nonprofit organization of researchers, patients and health care facilities. It said it does not solicit or accept funding for its annual Sleep in America polls.
"In the last few years, we've seen the economy take a nose dive, and more people are affected by that," said Dr. Raj Kakar, a medical director at the Dallas Center for Sleep Disorders. "More people are stressed. Stress is associated with sleep deprivation, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness. The economy is a major factor why people are losing sleep."
The findings echo a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, which reported last year that 52 percent of 7,000 respondents were losing sleep at night from stress.
Aside from financial anxieties, in just a decade society has become more around-the clock and more complex.
"This has been more insidious over two decades," Kakar said. "With the advent of the Internet, cell phone, Blackberries, we're seeing our society is increasingly 24-7. People are able to be active at any time from anywhere, and it causes people to be more active around the clock. This increased activity is essentially giving sleep less importance."
The mean hours of sleep on a weeknight dwindled from an average of 7 hours in 2001 to 6.7 hours this year, according to the Sleep Foundation's poll.
It could be that life in 2009 has more distractions, said Dr. David Schulman, the medical director of the Emory Clinic Sleep Disorders laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia.
So what's taking time away from sleep?
"It's been entertainment, Internet, playing games or TV. People have all sorts of distractions they didn't have back then (in previous years)," Schulman said.
Centuries ago, people routinely slept eight to nine hours a day, he said. But now, only about a quarter in the survey reported getting eight or more hours of sleep.
Doctors warn about the effects of sleep deprivation, such as car accidents, depression, anxiety and cardiovascular problems. Doctors recommend seven to eight hours a day. Schulman likened sleep deprivation to chronic alcoholism.
"When you're chronically drunk, you can't tell when you're drunk," he said "If you're chronically sleep deprived, you can't tell when you're sleepy. You lose the ability to detect how tired you are. It's not unusual to fall asleep behind the wheel."
But there is contradicting research on how much sleep Americans are getting. John Robinson, a sociology professor at the University of Maryland, challenged the notion that people are sleeping less in the 24-7 treadmill of modern life.
"There has been no decline in sleep. It's been sustained," he said, according to time-use surveys that date back to 1965.
Robinson, a past director of the Americans' Use of Time Project, monitored time-use diaries to track how people spend their day. Since 2003, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau have gathered time-use information that has consistently reported that Americans sleep 8.6 hours a day.
Dr. Neil Kavey, director of the Sleep Disorder Center at New York-Presbyterian at Columbia University Medical Center, said the statistic is difficult to believe, especially from his New York City practice.
"I can't believe that people get that much sleep in this busy world of ours," Kavey said. "I think a lot of people need 8.6 hours of sleep, but I think very few people get it."
The huge disparities in the results from the Sleep Foundation's poll and the government's time diaries could be attributed to different methodologies, experts on each side said.
The Sleep Foundation's annual findings are based on a telephone survey of 1,000 people in which the participants are asked to estimate the number of hours they usually sleep.
Meanwhile, the government's time use surveys ask people to detail hour-by-hour how they spent the previous day. Between 2003 and 2005, about 37,000 people were surveyed.
The time use surveys may overestimate sleep, because sleeplessness such as insomnia, tossing and turning and lying awake are categorized as sleep, said Dr. Chris Drake, clinical psychologist at Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit, Michigan.
"You may actually sleep four hours, but you're in bed for eight hours," said Drake, who is a board member with the National Sleep Foundation. "They're counting that as eight hours of sleep."
Despite differences in the average hours, researchers and experts agree that stress and work rob a person of sleep.
During tough economic times, people might work longer hours to avoid the risk of running behind on their workload and the possibility of a layoff.
If a person is working more, he or she borrows that time from sleep.
"That's a bad loan," Kavey said. "There's a lot of bad loans going around. Borrowing from sleep is a bad way to go."
And modern society gets some of the blame.

"Our society has valued people who brag about being able to function on very little sleep as a mark of someone who is aggressive, dynamic, successful," Kavey said. "Well, forget that. Admire someone who puts focus on sleep and is not making mistakes (from sleep deprivation)."

There might be more 'Earths' out there?

2009-03-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Here's something interesting. Scientists are finally actually trying to find the little green men out there, or at least where they might live.

Spacecraft to blast off in search of 'Earths'

By A. Pawlowski
CNN

(CNN) -- Calling it a mission that may fundamentally change humanity's view of itself, NASA on Friday prepared to launch a telescope that will search our corner of the Milky Way galaxy for Earth-like planets.
The Kepler spacecraft is scheduled to blast into space on top of a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida just before 11 p.m. ET.
"This is a historical mission. It's not just a science mission," NASA Associate Administrator Ed Weiler said during a pre-launch news conference.
"It really attacks some very basic human questions that have been part of our genetic code since that first man or woman looked up in the sky and asked the question: Are we alone?"
Kepler contains a special telescope that will stare at 100,000 stars in the Cygnus-Lyra region of the Milky Way for more than three years as it trails Earth's orbit around the Sun.
The spacecraft will look for tiny dips in a star's brightness, which can mean an orbiting planet is passing in front of it -- an event called a transit.
The instrument is so precise that it can register changes in brightness of 20 parts per million in stars that are thousands of light years away.
"Being able to make that kind of a sensitive measurement over a very large number of stars was extremely challenging," Kepler project manager James Fanson said.
"So we're very proud of the vehicle we have built. This is a crowning achievement for NASA and a monumental step in our search for other worlds around other stars." See what the telescope looks like and which part of the galaxy it will monitor »
Are we alone?
The $600 million mission is named after Johannes Kepler, a 17th-century German astronomer who was the first to correctly explain planetary motion. His discoveries combined with modern technology may soon help to answer whether we are alone in the universe or whether Earth-like worlds inhabited by some type of life are common.
"We won't find E.T., but we might find E.T.'s home," said William Borucki, science principal investigator for the Kepler mission.
About 330 "exoplanets" -- those circling sun-like stars outside the solar system -- have been discovered since the first was confirmed in 1995.
Most are gas giants like Jupiter, but some have been classified as "super earths," or worlds several times the mass of our planet, said Alan Boss, an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution who serves on the Kepler Science Council. They are too hot to support life, he added, calling them "steam worlds."
Europe's COROT space telescope caused a stir last month when it spotted the smallest terrestrial exoplanet ever found. With a diameter less than twice that of Earth, the planet orbits very close to its star and has temperatures up to 1,500° Celsius (more than 2,700° Fahrenheit), according to the European Space Agency. It may be rocky and covered in lava.
Scientists have marveled how strange some of the alien worlds are.
"The density of these planets has been astounding," Borucki said. "We're finding planets that float like a piece of foam on water, [with] very, very low densities. We're finding some planets where the densities are heavier than that of lead."
The Kepler telescope, however, is seeking something much more familiar: Earth-like planets with rocky surfaces, orbiting in their stars' habitable, or "Goldilocks," zones -- not too hot or too cold, but just right for liquid water to exist. Watch a NASA scientist explain where life could exist »
Quest for a 'pale blue dot'
Once Kepler spots a planet, scientists will be able to calculate its size, mass, orbital period, distance from star and surface temperature, Boss said. He called the mission a "step one" that will tell astronomers how hard it is to find nearby habitable worlds.
"Once we know how many there really are ... then NASA will be able to build space telescopes that can actually go out and take a picture of that nearby 'Earth' and measure the elements and compounds in its atmosphere of the planet and give us some hint as to whether or not it's got life," Boss said.
Boss believes that there may be 100 billion Earth-like planets in the Milky Way, or one for every sun-type star in the galaxy. He said scientists should know by 2013 -- the end of Kepler's mission -- whether life in the universe could be widespread.
The 20-year goal is to someday take a picture of a pale blue dot orbiting a nearby star, said Debra Fischer, an astronomy professor at San Francisco State University, during a NASA news conference.
Boss called it a potentially unprecedented time of discovery for scientists.

"Sometimes, people call this the golden age of astronomy. I think it's more like the platinum age of astronomy. It's beyond gold," Boss said.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/03/06/nasa.kepler.launch.planets/index.html

My first job: Manual Labor with computers

2009-03-05T05:54:00.001-08:00

My First Job. I know you all want to know what it was. Here's a little personal info =D
So my first job was with a local school system, moving computers out of schools, and replacing them new ones. We would ship the old computers out to charities and other countries who want them. I started in high school and still work this job during the summers and other times when they need help. It's a cool job and it pays well. but you have to have connections to get the job in the first place.

Working in the summers was always grueling. The horrible heat, lugging 50lb computers all over the place. We got to put them on pallets and they were transported from place to place by truckers, but when you have to load the pallets, shrink wrap them, and then unload them, it's a lot of work and very tiring. So even though you have to have connections to get the job, that doesn't mean it's an easy job. It's just as hard and dirty and horrible to have this job as it is to start out in a fast food restaurant or retail.

Spending money would set this country straight eventually

2009-03-04T15:36:00.001-08:00

My Spending Money by Jake Wasdin

People who are willing to spend money. Because our economy is doing so poorly, we're saving every penny we have. But for our economy to thrive, We need to keep spending money. That's the only way our country is going to eventually return to normal.

Frustrations

2009-03-03T19:37:00.000-08:00

Someone once told me, and I also read in a book, that it is good to get your feelings out whenever possible. I have a journal, but I'd rather write it here. I am so frustrated! I am a Christian. I try to do Bible Quiet times. A quiet time is when you read the bible, and communicate with God. I was doing that today, and my sister walks in. She was angry and upset, for reason which I still do not know, and started yelling and screaming. She accused me, saying it's my fault because I did not help her by opening the door. Now quiet times are sacred and private. And above all, they are quiet. I wanted to finish before she came home, because when she comes home, there IS no quiet or privacy. When I said I was doing my quiet time, she acted like she didn't care, and she really doesn't. Instead of starting a fight like I normally do, I helped clean up and put away groceries that she brought home. She stopped yelling at me, but she's still angry and I'm so frustrated. Almost to the point of anger. I wish I could yell out! SCREAM!!!! ARGH!!!!

Cute Baby

2009-03-02T16:32:00.001-08:00

Here are some very cute pictures of one of my cousins. I thought these were great pictures not just because they're of a cute baby, but also because the person who took them (not me) did an awesome job. She really has a knack for taking pictures sometimes.

Snow Day

2009-03-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

Today is a snow day! The one thing I always hate about Blogs is that any information you put on the information is a little more information someone can use to figure out where you live and decide to do something strange if they want. So if I write today is a snow day, you could effectively at lest narrow down areas that are snowing, not that it would do much good since I'm not writing anything more than It's a snow day!!!

So, Here's a little story about such a thing. A man in Information Security was giving a speech on Cyber Safety. The organizers gave him a name of one of the people who would definitely be attending. The day of the speech, the man met a boy named D for a few minutes before he gave the speech. When he started speaking, he called up the person whose name he was given. This person's name was T. Now T, had no idea what was going on. The man, said 'T, I was able to find your name, in several newspapers and newsletters.' He was a runner for his local school and did several other public activities. The man then said, 'T, here's where I found out your mother's name, where you live, where you go to school, and oh, Here's a list of your friends that I found.' The man had enough information that he could stalk the person for a few days and get enough information to steal his identity completely. After he was done comepletely scaring T, he calls up D. He said 'now D, We only met a few minutes before I started, right? Well, here's your name, where you go to school, and where you live.'

Isn't that scary? and this is just someone giving a cyber safety speech. Now you might think I just wrote that up randomly, but it's a true story.

First Post

2009-02-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

What better way to start off Lent than to start a new blog? Especially since I need to find something else to do with my time since I gave up facebook, manga(both online and book form), and My Nintendo DS. So basically, I gave up my whole life and all my distractions at the same time. What fun. But in the end, I just have to remember that it is for God that I do this and spiritual growth.

So my blog will most be just my randomness. Don't pay attention to me =D YAY!