Prayer in Public- why not?

Ok so I decided to pick a more interesting topic.

Why isn't prayer allowed in public schools?

At my school in South Fayette, we have a fairly large population of Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Non Denominational people who wouldn't mind praying.

In fact, during the last week of my band camp, the band parents provided food for the band.

We prayed before every meal.

I'm talking legit praying.

Like, a senior would volunteer to pray and then everyone would stand up and bow their heads silently.

The first day I was pleasantly shocked.

I was even more shocked on the very last day of camp when the parents came for lunch and they still prayed.

Then it got me thinking... why is this shocking?

Why must praying for public school activities be shocking?

Who started this?

What kind of person would be so offended by prayer that they wouldn't want it in schools?

Are they dead yet? If so, I bet they're regretting some choices.

I found this on this page of WikiAnswers-
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 1963 there started to be some people against the Lord's Prayer in public schools.


Stew731

The U. S. Supreme Court issued two bans. One in 1962 and the second in 1963. Both bans were the result of lawsuits against the teaching of religion and religious practices in public schools. Basically stating that organized prayer in schools was a violation of the separation of church and state. It was decided that publicly funded schools were an extension of the state, and that organized prayer or bible readings were a form of proselytizing. The bans not only banned mandatory prayer in schools but also banned the daily reading of bible passages.

The lawsuits were supported by several organizations but the most outspoken supporter for banning prayer in schools came from Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of American Atheists, Inc.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I'm gonna close with that.

Tori... Tori!... PINK ELEPHANTS

As funny as this may sound to you, it's a heck of a lot funnier to me. 

I talk in my sleep. 

And I'm not talking about lame-o mumbling. 

I'm talking flat out words.

You could probably have a conversation with me while I'm sleeping. 

Not that it would make any sense of course, but still. 

Sometimes I wake myself up cause I'm screaming someone's name. 

It's usually Tori's name, cause we share a room. Pretty insane.

And I toss and turn like a maniac. 

You think I kid? 

Ha. 

No. 

When I go to sleep, I could be on one side of the bed, with my head closest to the headboard, then when I wake up my head is where my feet should be. 

Crazy stuff.


Crazy stuff.

Not so Busy Bee

Ya know, it's weird. Cause I always feel like I'm swamped with all that I must do.

But then I talk to people I know and they are doing 5 more things than I do. 

Now granted, these things don't take as much time as my stuff does but still. It feels weird to know that there are people who do all that I do and a lot more. 

Like Student Government, other sports. 

Not that I don't enjoy swimming. 

But it just seems like even though my day is full, my life really isn't.

Am I alone or do others feel the same? 

That you're only doing a lot of the same thing every day. 

I mean, 5, 6, or 7 hours(not sure which one) of school,

Then 2 hours and 30 minutes of exercise. (swim)

Then, depending on the day, another 2 hours and 30 minutes of work (teaching little kids how to swim)

By the time that's all done it's 8 at night and I have homework for the classes I take at school.


OK. I'm done. Bye.

My Band this year

If you'd like to see more, my YouTube account is LGMbandie. There's only a few video's on now cause it takes so long to upload, but there will be more soon

Smile... just cause :)

One of the greatest pleasures in life is making someone smile.

Whether it was because of a funny joke, a story, or something completely different. 

Another one of the most pleasing things is smiling yourself.

I don't care if it's cause you thought of a hilarious comment to say, you won a huge race, someone told you something funny, or just because you want to smile.

Smiling makes you happier.

People are naturally drawn to happy people, am I correct?

I mean, if you are drawn to sullen people who don't care what they act or look like, then that's absolutely fine.
A little weird, I'll admit, but fine.

It just seems to me that if you are in a situation where you don't know anyone, you are naturally drawn to those who seem happy.

Happy people like being happy.

Another thing is, when you are down or sad you should smile because I can say through experience that it can't hurt.

Although I know it's hard when you find out your favorite childhood toy has been sold in a garage sale.

I think smiling is good for the soul.
So join me...

Can you feel it?

It's cold.

C-O-L-D


Cold /koʊld/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [kohld]   
adjective, -er, -est, noun, adverb
-an unpleasnt feeling of chilliness
- not affectionate, lacking in passion


I hate cold. I love warm. Warm is so nice....
cold is so... cold.

How come there has to be 9 months of cold and only 3 months of warm?
Who thought of that??

I'm convinced cold is a result of the fall. (pun intended)

I just gotta say this,

I'll always know if I'm in heaven or not depending on whether it's cold or not. If it's cold, I know I'm not in heaven.

I'm so sad, you can't even comprehend it :'(

Sooo...

ya.


Jeez even now I'm cold.

It never ends.

Just keep swimming

Have you ever had the feeling where you want something so bad, but it seems just out of reach?

I really despise that feeling.

It's really annoying cause everyone is telling you that you can do "anything you put your heart to"

I really despise that saying, too.

It's like those people who can eat 10 gallons of ice cream and not gain a pound.
Just plain annoying.

Already here

Whoa.

It's already Friday.

Does that surprise anyone but me? Cause I'm feeling kinda alone on the shock here.

This week has gone by soo fast.

And now, once again, my crazy weekend is upon us.

I'll show you what I mean.


FRIDAY-
School at home (7-11:11)
School at the school (11:16-2:02)
Swimming(3-5:30)
Band(5:30-10)

SATURDAY-
Work(9:30-12)
Going to the movies w/swim bud(possibly) (1:10-3ish) 
Double Band Festival (5:30-11 or 12ish) 

SUNDAY-
Church [8:30(getting ready takes time)-12:30ish]
Fuse @ Piersons (2-4ish)
Cleaning (never ending)


...............................................................................

Yupp so that's what my weekend looks like. How about yours?

PLEASE VOTE FOR SOUTH FAYETTE

Hey guys... I was hoping some of you would be kind enough to head over to this website and vote for South Fayette for Band of the Week.

http://www.wpxi.com/surveyresults/20648663/index.html?section=highschoolfootball

That'd be awesome if you could... wonderful if you would =D

Thanks so much!

Dr. Horrible

HA

OMG 
GUESS WHAT?!?!?!?!
>
>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>




Nothing. 


Hah gotcha. 


But seriously though, I'm so bored. 


Blah....blah....blah.... 




m'I gniog ot lleps ym sdrow sdrawkcab won. Ahah yrt ot erugif tuo tahw m'I gniyas. I teb uoy t'nac. 




Try to figure that out =D 


They aren't just random letters if that's what your thinking. 


Oh, ok, so I'll tell a story now. So my coach is trying to change my stroke cause apparently I'm not "grabbing the water" enough... and he's standing there talking all obnoxious like and I'm thinking... "Really coach? Really? Don't be a rabid porcupine just tell me what to do!" 


Ugh.... he's like going on about how my elbow needs to be up and my arm needs to be down and I'm thinking like "Seriously, what am I? A Circ De Soleil performer or a swimmer?" 
I mean really. 






Haha if you're wondering where I got the awesome porcupine line it's from the best TV show on earth. 

Ahh... I love this show... so much hahaha =D 


Ok well I'm going to go now... bye! 

Wow...

I didn't think it was possible... but apparently it is.

I'm even more tired now then I was a couple weeks ago.

Amazing.

Coffee helps, vitamins are better. I just don't like swallowing those horse pills =/

It's like I'm walking in a daze...

You'd think I'd be ok since the weekend is coming up.

Well, I'm not.

I have a band festival on Saturday that'll last three hours. Ugh.
It should be fun though. Hopefully...

But ya, it'll be interesting to see what the crowd's reaction is.
Hopefully good...

....I'll need to take those horse pills for the festival....

 Oh well.

Phlo and Phil the Houseflies

     Phil and Phlo, the two houseflies, smelled something absolutely delicious coming from somewhere inside their house. It wasn't their house of course, because it was a human home, but they had lived there their whole lives.
     Phil and Phlo were uncertain where the smell was coming from, but they knew it made them hungry.

                “Look out!” Phlo yelled as the swatter missed her by inches. 

                “Phlo! Are you alright?” Phil yelled as his hearts drummed inside his tiny body.

                “I think so… AH!” the swatter came after Phlo once again and once again Phlo just barely escaped the clutches of death.

                “Let’s get outta here!!!” Phil screamed as loud as he could. Suddenly the two flies heard an ear-piercing sound that seemed to come from all around them. They flew out of the house as soon as they could and their ears  were finally relieved of the horrible noise.

                “What was that??” Phlo asked as she tried to regain her  breath.

                “I don’t know, but I do know that we are not going back there.” Phil replied angrily.

                Phil and Phlo flew into the sunset, never knowing what the horrible noise was, and wishing never to find out. They died three days later because naturally, that’s what flies do.

By Me :)

Star Trek

I don't know how.

I don't know why.

But this is the best movie ever. Period. No doubt about that.

I saw it in theaters, it was funny, it had action, and drama.

But, it doesn't come out to DVD until November 17.

I'm dying here. I NEED to see it again. NEED. Not want, NEED.

Ugh.

Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.

It was great. It had 2 of my all time favorite movie lines in it.

Ahh... good stuff.

I don't know why this is my post. I didn't have anything else to write about so I thought I'd complain. It's funner this way.

hehe.

PLUS... there was only one bad scene, which is good for movies nowadays. Ya know? Still, it didn't need to be in there, but oh well.

I'm very sad without it. I want to watch it really badly :'(

Oh well. Life goes on... for now.

So, how'd it go?

WELL.... actually....

It went rather well =D

We got a big round of applause, no standing ovation but those will come yet.

I'll post a video of us as soon as someone puts it up. If you wanna see us at all just go and look up YouTube and type in LGM and then click on something.

Great directions, right?

hehe of course they are :)

Anyway, we got a bigger round of applause than the other band, but they were still good. Our band clapped for them cause we try to play nice like that :)

But in any case, if anyone lives near me I probably have a performance somewhere near you if you are ever interested. And if you are it'd be pretty sweet if you were a person screaming "TIA!!!!!!!!"

You'd probably be able to see my face turn red as a baby's smacked bottom right there in the middle of the field. Haha.

Seriously though... you probably could...

Anyway... right now I'm at my grandmother's house in Ohio smelling the scent of the freshly baked dolce :)

haha that means dessert in Italian

Pretty sweet, eh?

It bugs me though. I mean really, can't she make something that doesn't smell and taste Iron Chef worthy?

Oh well.

--

I just realized that typing in LGM is no good... if you type in Little Green Machine Band you'll have results right away... sorry about that =/

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Little+Green+Machine+Band&search_type=&aq=f


Here's a link cause  I really do feel bad about it all... haha

First Game

Well... This is it folks... the first game of the season =D

Which also means my first official performance of the season.

Wish me luck!

=D

I'll post later on how it went...

Welcome To The Jungle

Have you ever heard the song "Welcome To The Jungle?" by Guns and Roses?

I didn't. Until I had to memorize it.

It's interesting that my band director picked that particular song for this year.

Why? Because for me this year is going to be a jungle.

For the first half of the year I have 2 performances per week with my band.
And then for the second half of the year I have 5 A.M. wake up calls and practices with crabby seniors. Not to mention the 2 meets per week.

That starts right after marching band ends for the year (Novemberish) and ends in March (or April depending on if you make sectionals)

Then after that ends, I've got Aqua club swimming.

Then after THAT I have finals and stuff.

Then I'm done :)


Still though. I feel like I need an announcer...

"PUT YOUR HANDS TOGETHER FOR OUR NEWEST MEMBER OF THE JUNGLE....!!!!!"

Why am I so tired?

Isn't that just the universal question? Why am I so tired?

It's quite interesting how even after a night of a full 8 hours of sleep a human can be as
"out of it" as I am now. I'd study it, but... I'M TOO TIRED.

Something has got to be wrong with me =/ Oh well... hopefully once I start swimming up again I'll be more energized.

Our stupid school pool had to close the whole month of August.

Why? To save energy.

And yet... they keep the parking lot lights on all through the night... when NO ONE is EVER there.

Quite annoying.

I'd study it, but... I'M TOO TIRED.

I really do hate being sleepy during the school day. It really does bug me that I need to tape my eyelids up to stay awake.

Someone needs to find a cure for tiredness. Now.

Oh well.

6 AM wake up calls

I really hate waking up early. I really, really do.

I see no point in making children suffer just to go to a cold brick building that every sane person under the age of 18 hates.

I mean really, are they trying to make kids hate school more?

The good thing about it is that since school starts at 7:20 AM, school ends at 2:02.

So that's nice.
But still.

Also... I know for a lot of people, today is the first day back. I just wanted to say have a good school year and start off the right way.

What do I mean by the right way?

I mean actually try to work hard the first month of school. It makes the whole year run much more smoothly.

Trust me, I know from experience.

My 7th grade year I was great at that. I did my work, did it right, and got done early.

My 8th grade year... not so much.
The first week was a total mess for me which made it so much harder the rest of the year to get anything done.

This year, I'm trying to redo my 7th grade year.

No... I'm not going back 2 grades.

I mean, I'm going to try hard.

I'll let you know if that works out for me...

A new year...

Well... here it is... the new school year has arrived.

And with it, goes everything I ever knew.

Haha just kidding...

But seriously there have been some major changes.

First off I'm starting High school this year. A freshmen as they call me. And with that comes the lovely responsibility of carrying the seniors instruments up and down big hills to the High School stadium. (by the way this was only during band camp... which lasted almost 3 weeks)

Then after that, High School actually started.

Yay.

I'm actually taking a couple classes at the school this year, and I'm beginning to see it may have been a mistake. But it's only the start of the school year, I can't go making judgments just yet. Or at least serious ones.

How do I like band, you ask?

It's ok. I was really excited for it before but I'm kinda really nervous now.

I'll live, I know that much.

But how come everything seems so goshdarn dramatic?

It's like every little thing is the end of the world.

Why?

Do hormones really hate me that much?

I know that the world will keep spinning.

But how come I don't know that when it feels like it's over?

*sigh*

oh the burden of teen-hood.

Belated pictures

Ok since I missed yesterday... here are my Wordless Wednesday pictures

And she's safe!

Wow... it's been so long since I posted here there were dust bunnies on my dashboard...

Haha joke..

But seriously, I apologize for not posting. I have been really sick with pneumonia and then I was on vacation...

Vacation was amazing... so beautiful... we had an amazing view from our timeshare. It was great.

But now we are back to reality and I have to think of what to bore you people with.

Well I'm working 5 hours a day now, that's cool I guess. But it's tough cause I don't have much time to hang with my friends. I work 2.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 at night. So all I have is the afternoon and this week I don't even have that because I am putting together a portfolio of my work for the year.

Bad Haiku

Delicious candies
Sweets of all kinds, calling me
I am a weak girl

Wordless Wednesday

If every picture is worth 1,000 words... why waste time typing?

Tia NoName is sick

Ugh, I hate being sick. It all started out with allergies...

Then came the cough...

THen came the headaches...

THEn came the back aches...

THEN came the realization...


I'm sick :(

I need prayer that I will get better before this Friday. It's very important.

Thank you all!

Omg Inbd

Ahhh, the language of texting. Scary, yet time saving. Do any of you know what the title means? Most of you know Omg means: Oh My Gosh. And Inbd means: It's no big deal.

But do any of you know what omgiarotflolacmeo means?

Probably not cause I just made it up.

But go ahead and try to figure it out :-P
Comment and let me know what you think omgiarotflolacmeo means!!


Have fun everyone :D

mwahahahahahahhahah


... Sorry I just saw Monsters Vs. Aliens for the second time and that cockroach.

Bananas are yellow too!!

So we went to go visit our family for Memorial Day weekend, and we brought back one of my best friends that I have known since birth.

We have a huge week planned out for us, full of exciting things to do.

What kind of exciting things?

Well, today after we finish school we are going to the mall. Always fun.

Tomorrow we plan on dying strips of our hair pink. Just a little strip not the whole head.

Thursday is picture day, and possibly a trip to the downtown area.

Friday (our last day together) we plan on doing something crazy beyond belief. What is the crazy thing, you wonder?

Ya, so do we.

We don't know yet, so if you guys have any suggestions please comment and tell me!!!



Oh! And on Saturday when we go to bring her back, we are meeting at this huge resort and it's gonna be awesome:)


LATER PEEPS

haha.

Whoa... cheese is yellow

Have you ever thought about why cheese is, in fact, yellow?

Yeah, neither have I.

But! According to some research I have done at this website, milk contains a yellow pigment called B- carotene. Can anyone guess where that comes from?

Grass.

Yupp. Green grass.

So, when we are eating our wonderful cheesey delight, we are eating grass. Not yellow grass. Green grass

Fun.

So, to continue talking about my research, the website said (and I quote)

"The colour is not soluble in water and is thus present in the fat fraction of the milk. When making cheese, the fat is more concentrated, which results in a more yellow colour of cheese as compared to milk."

Which means that...

When eating cheese, we are eating fatty green grass.

Interesting...

I will leave you to ponder.


( I found that picture using Google images, if in fact it is subject to copyright, I don't know, but here is the website on which Google found it. http://www.kontrastblog.com/2007/07/18/centureis-new-nanos-cheese/ I don't know the contents of this website so I can't be held responsible if it's not to your liking)

The Man by the Window

The Man by the Window

In Jefferson Memorial Hospital, two men, both in bad shape, were confined to a room in the cheerless recovery wing on the twelfth floor. It was a small room, no bigger than 10 by 12 feet and it was connected to another room of identical size by a tiny bathroom. Mr. Vincent, the man in the bed by the only window was doing poorly after the removal of his lung. He was in severe pain most of the time, and every afternoon the nurse came in and propped him up to a sitting position to clear the accumulated fluid. He sat there by the window and between labored breaths he told his roommate, Parker, all the things he saw outside.

It was good for Parker. Parker was in an accident last month and his lumbar vertebrae was dislocated, resulting in the loss of cartilage between them. He was forced to lie perfectly still on his back until it healed. All he could see was the ceiling curtain track and the face of the nurse when she bent over him.

The two men talked through the long night and during the early morning hours. They spoke of their families and friends, their jobs and their experiences in the war. They were restless and resentful of their confinement in Jefferson Memorial and the waste of the precious time left to them in their senior years. They dreaded the bed pan and the cold wash cloth -- and although they wanted to be left alone they were filled with sadness during visiting hours if no one came to see them. Worst of all they lost track of the world outside.

Whenever Mr. Vincent was propped up by the window, Parker would ask him, "What do you see Vinny?"

Mr. Vincent would hesitate before answering, partly because of the pain and partly because he wanted his words to be worthy of the scene, "Well, first of all it's a beautiful day. The kids must have the afternoon off from school ... they're all over the park. I remember now, the nurse said there's a school board election."

"How would she know?"

"Well she had to get a sitter. That's where her little boy is -- over there, in the park. I'll bet he's the one by the lake. He's got a sailboat and it's headed for this little string of ducks ... look at that!"

"What? What?"

"The little boat. It sailed right through the line of ducks ... now it's headed for the other side of the lake. The little kid is running like heck around the lake trying to get there before his sailboat does."

"Gee, I wish I could see."

"You will, you will, as soon as they let you sit up. You're a sick man Parker ... remember?"

Every day the park was different, and every day Mr. Vincent had a different story to tell.

"It's cloudy today -- it looks cooler. You can see ripples on the lake."

"Any kids in the park?"

"Not so many as yesterday."

"You'll tell me when you see something, Vinny ... won't you?

Mr. Vincent turned his head back to the window. "I see a couple walking under the trees at this end of the lake."

"What do you mean, 'couple'?"

"You know what I mean. They're walking together. The man has his arm around her and her hand is on his shoulder. They just stopped by the willow -- you remember the willow, Parker?"

"Yeah, I remember. What are they doing now?"

"What do you suppose?"

"How the heck do I know! I'm layin' here flat on my back ... you can see. I can't."

"They're kissing." A moment or two passed and Mr. Vincent turned to Parker
... "They're still kissing. How long can you hold a kiss without breathing?"

"You breathe through your nose, remember -- you can go on for hours. ... they still at it?"

Mr. Vincent took a quick look out the window. "No, they're walking off arm in arm. Those were the days, remember Parker?"

"You kiddin'? I proposed to my wife in that same park."

"By the willow tree I'll bet."

Both men could hardly wait the afternoon of the parade. When the nurse came in at three o'clock, both Mr. Vincent and Parker were on edge. They checked the route of the march in the morning paper, "They'll be coming down Fifth Street then turning north up into the park," Parker said. "You'll be able to see them all the way up to the exit." He looked up anxiously at Mr. Vincent. "Well. Well, what do you see?"

"Gimme a chance, will you. I only got two eyes." He sat up extra straight. "Beautiful day for a parade ... I can see the High School band."

"Are you sure it's the High School Band? My grandson's in the band."

"What color uniforms?"

"They wear green and white. My grandson plays the clarinet."

"Gimme a break. They're a block away, I can't pick out a clarinet a block away. I can see the tubas and the drums though."

"He marches right in front of the tubas." Parker looked puzzled. Shouldn't we be able to hear them from here?"

"No. Not with these double glazed windows -- you can't hear anything through these windows. Like the traffic down there -- there's traffic in the street below, you can't hear any of that either."

One hour a day may not seem a lot but for both men it was an hour that sustained them throughout the sleepless hours of the night. Parker would close his eyes and relive the scenes that Mr. Vincent had painted for him. Mr. Vincent, in turn, felt as a great artist might feel -- painting a picture for someone who could not see.

The nurse was particularly energetic that final afternoon. Her rubber soles squeaked on the tile floor as she put on the brakes next to Mr. Vincent's bed. "Three o'clock, Mr. Vincent. Time to sit up -- get some air into those lungs." She rapped on the side rail of his bed -- "Let's go, let's go ... Mr. Vincent ... " There was a pause, then she spoke his name more gently. "Mr. Vincent, Mr. Vincent ... oh dear God no. No. No!"

"What's the matter with Vinny. Nurse? What? What?" She turned and with her hand covering her mouth, she ran from the room.

She was back in a moment with the floor doctor and a specialist. Two nurses followed them with an EKG machine. Parker lay there and tried to make eye contact with someone, but all eyes were on Mr. Vincent.

The floor doctor straightened up and shook his head. "He's gone," he said, "Been gone at least a half hour or more." He waved off the two nurses with the EKG machine. The surgeon searched for a heartbeat at Mr. Vincent's wrists, neck and leg. He finally straightened up also and closed Mr. Vincent's eyes. The nurse was shaken and the floor doctor put his arm around her ... "It's okay. It's okay. It happens. Nothing you could have done." He pulled the sheet up. "Let's get him downstairs."

The nurse, the last to leave, was still sobbing; she looked at Parker as she left. "I'm sorry Mr. Parker."

"It's not your fault."

"I hate it when these things happen. I'll never get used to it. Are you okay? Can I get you something?" She brightened up a little and said, "There's good news for you, by the way. Your X-rays show the cartilage is building -- you'll be starting on re-hab." He listened to her shoes squeak on the tile floor as she hurried out of the room.

He lay there looking at the covered figure. The man who had been his eyes for the past month. Now, with his own eyes closed, he could see the park, the children by the lake, the lovers, the parade -- as clearly as the day Mr. Vincent described them. "What would these last two weeks have been like without Vinny? Never got a chance to thank him, did you Parker? Course you did -- you had all the chances in the world." He wished he'd taken the time -- once in a while -- just to say, "Thanks Vinny. Thanks for seeing for me." Now it was too late, who was going to see for him now?

A sleepy eyed attendant came in with a gurney. He pulled it up to Mr. Vincent's bed and looked at Parker. "Lost a bunky, huh?" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled a curtain around Mr. Vincent's bed and went to work. When he pulled the curtain back again, the bed was empty.

The bed stood empty against the wall by the window. Parker could still see Mr. Vincent there, looking out the window with the back of the bed cranked up. His face would often break into a smile when he saw something to humor him, and he would turn the scene into words so Parker could see it with him. He wondered if the nurse would let him have that bed by the window. He was responding to the first week of therapy and his spine was better now, there was less pain and it was torture to lay there not knowing what was happening outside.

"How are we doin' Mr. Parker?" The nurse charged in pulling a cart with one hand and shaking a thermometer down with the other. Without waiting for an answer she put the thermometer in his mouth. "Gonna give you a sponge down Mr. Parker. Gonna get up real close and personal."

"Can I ask you a question?" Parker said around both sides of the thermometer.

"What's on your mind, hon?"

"I was wondering if I could be moved to the bed by the window -- where Mr. Vincent used to be."

"Sure. Why not? You're gonna have a new bunky the end of the week, he can
take over on your side. I don't know what you want with the window though, there's nothing to see out there."

"The world is out there."

The nurse shrugged, "It's up to you, hon. I'll roll you over when I'm done, okay?"

He wanted to be alone when he looked outside. What was out there was between Vinny and him. Nobody else had a right to that view, it was theirs. When the nurse was finished with him she wheeled Mr. Vincent's bed out of the way and rolled Parker over to the window. He waited, watching her finish up around the room -- looked up at the ceiling and listened for the squeak of her rubber soles to fade away as she walked out of the room and back down the hall.

He tried to sit up and a stabbing pain in his lower back stopped him cold. He held tightly to the bed rail until he could stand the pain no longer and dropped back panting and drained of strength. His eyes closed and he counted 'til ten waiting for the pain to subside -- then he tried again. He was able to raise himself on one elbow. The pain in his lower back was fierce and unrelenting but he stayed with it. His chin was almost on a level with the window sill, and if he could just ... just push a little more ... that's all dear God ... just an inch more.

He got the inch and he brought his face to the window. He opened his eyes and looked out. There was a brick wall! Nothing!

Nothing but a brick wall!

New post up

Hey guys, there is a new post up on my story blog.

mypentomypage.blogspot.com

If you could, go over and rate/comment :)

THANKS :)

My Moanday Blues

This week, my Moanday blues
Include the fact that Middle School swimming is over
And they didn't even announce we were undefeated and won the invitational (champs)

15 things that God won't ask

God won’t ask what kind of car you drove, but will ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.

God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but will ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

God won’t ask about the fancy clothes you had in your closet, but will ask how many of those clothes helped the needy.

God won’t ask about your social status, but will ask what kind of class you displayed.

God won’t ask how many material possessions you had, but will ask if they dictated your life.

God won’t ask what your highest salary was, but will ask if you compromised your character to obtain that salary.

God won’t ask how much overtime you worked, but will ask if you worked overtime for your family and loved ones.

God won’t ask how many promotions you received, but will ask how you promoted others.

God won’t ask what your job title was, but will ask if you preformed your job to the best of your ability.

God won’t ask what you did to help yourself, but will ask what you did to help others.

God won’t ask how many friends you had, but will ask how many people to whom you were a true friend.

God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights, but will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.

God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived, but will ask how you treated your neighbors.

God won’t ask about the color of your skin, but will ask about the content of your character.

God won’t ask how many times your deeds matched your words, but will ask how many times they didn’t.

LGM

Ahh, the Little Green Machine.

Most of you probably never even heard of it.

Most of you probably never will.

But for those of you who live near me, and know me, you should know that...

I MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is the Little Green Machine, you ask?

Only the coolest High School Band in the world.

You see, the Little Green Machine not only plays songs, but they DANCE

Yes. Dance.

And I don't mean boring formations.

I mean legs kicking, turning around, side sweeps, everything! WHILE THEY PLAY THE SONG.

Yeah. I'm excited.





Sound quality is bad, they sound soooo much better than that. But that's the basic gist.

Wordless Wednesday

They are so fuzzy!!! Ugh. That makes me so mad! They are so cool and crisp on my computer. Blogger. Ugh.

All images are under copyright. Don't copy.

People upset me

Website URL

http://mypentomypage.blogspot.com/

Hey

Hey people...
Since my English class just ended, I'm finally going to release the address for my story blog. I haven't posted yet but I've done a bunch of work on the name and the header for a while.

So what is this blog?

This blog is a way to let me finally bring my creative side of writing out. I've been doing formal writing all year long and it's wearing me out.

How's this going to work?

Each week I'm going to post a sequel to a story written the week before. Like a sitcom, only in writing.

What kind of story will it be?

Most likely a fairy tale :)



I'll release the address as soon as I have the first post written up.

Dude. This is deep

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

I NEED MY MEDICATION

putputputputputput

Yes folks, it's that time of year again.
Time to bring out the scooter.

What's a scooter, you ask?

Well... a scooter is like a motorcycle wanna-be. Ours only runs on 80 cc's.

Very small.

A very small motorcycle runs on 125. That doesn't make it less fun to ride though :)

However, you can't drive ours on any highways.
You can't drive ours in heavy traffic.
You can't drive ours for a long time.
And you can't go over 35 mph (technically, you can, but it doesn't usually)

Yep. That's what a scooter is. And we have one.

Can you tell we're dorks?

Operation 13/28

Hey guys,
This is somewhat of a serious post, so please listen up.

Ironic much? You can't listen... you're reading this.

Anyway, my church is sending a mission team to Zambia this summer and I know a bunch of people that are going. However, the cost is something of a menace. They need help fund raising and I'm asking all you blog readers out there to come to the rescue.

One of my friends has set up a blog and, if you could, please check it out. All the information about the trip is there.

http://operation1328.blogspot.com/

Thanks a lot!!

Tia

Hey

Hey.

Bad Balladry Friday

This week on "Bad Balladry Friday", I shall show you a parody written by me :)

The real poem-

Trees by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.


My version...edited by the authority :'( -

Whiskey by Tia Graham

I think that I shall never see
A drink as bad as good whiskey

A drink whose yummy taste is prest
Against the knocked out fellows chest

A drink that people praise all day
Only to have wives leave someday

A drink that drunken think is fair
That's why they drink it in their lair

Upon the bar where many gain
Happiness now, but tomorrow pain

Sometimes life is full of glee
But it can be messed up by good whiskey









(yes, this is a knock-off of anyone who does "Bad Haiku Friday")

Can you say moo?

In these tense political times, I've decided to do what I epically fail to try to do best. Humor you!

Using cows, Ann Landers shows what each form of government is like.

Socialism: You have two cows. Give one cow to your neighbor.

Communism: You have two cows. Give both cows to the government, and they may give you some of the milk.

Fascism: You have two cows. You give all of the milk to the government, and the government sells it.

Nazism: You have two cows. The government shoots you and takes both cows.

Anarchism: You have two cows. Keep both of the cows, shoot the government agent and steal another cow.

Capitalism: You have two cows. Sell one cow and buy a bull.

What's your favorite out of the few? I prefer Anarchism ;)

...just kidding...

CFL: Good or Evil?

Since all of America is turning into tree-huggers I decided to do a post about CFL light bulbs.
Everyone says they are better.
Right?

But are they?

Alright let's look at what people are saying. It'll be in red and my comments in black.

CFL light bulbs have a longer lasting life

Yes, that's true. But only if you're the kind of person who lives by themselves and leaves lights on all day. CFL's only last long if they are left on for a good amount of time each time you flip the switch. But if you have toddlers that like to flip switches (which most toddlers do) then the light is going to wear out very quickly. CFL's can't be turned on and off a lot because it wears them out. What you have in the end is a 1 month old burnt-out light bulb. Our CFL bulbs burn out faster than the regular ones. We have taken them back to the store many times.


CFL light bulbs use less energy

Ok- so I'm going to go back to my other point. If you turn them on and off a lot then they will get worn out. Here's the process...
1. Buy a CFL light bulb
2. Use CFL light bulb feeling good about yourself
3. CFL light bulb wears out in one month
4. Use ENERGY to drive your car to the store to get more.
4. Pollution from car gas

CFL's are good for the envirorment

CFLs are manufactured to contain 4 mg of mercury per light bulb. If CFLs become widespread, so does the inherent danger of mercury exposure. To give some context to that amount, a typical natural tuna in the U.S. contains about 0.2 mg/kg body weight, which translates into 0.24 ppm mercury in canned tuna. The EPA may suggest that this amount of mercury is negligible and poses no threat to human health or longterm environmental contamination, but even a junior high school chemistry student knows not to trust the government's insistence that a broken mercury thermometer does not threaten an individual's health. In actuality, the current EPA reference dose--the dose below which adverse effects are not recognized--is 0.1 micrograms/kg/day (0.1 micrograms = 0.0001 mg). Because of biological sensitivity to mercury, it is a serious consideration in both production and disposal.



I found that last paragraph on this website http://laraness.livejournal.com/1462.html

And what about that fact? What if the bulb breaks? This was helpful...


CFL packaging does not instruct the consumer what to do if a bulb breaks, let alone warn that they contain mercury and phosphorous powder. The Freedom Enterprise Action Fund is taking the initiative and in May 2007 announced that they are petitioning the Consumer Safety Product Commission (CSPC) to include mercury warnings on CFL packaging.


Also from the above website...


Now, please don't take this the wrong way. I am all for helping the Earth become a better place.
But can't we do it correctly and without having our skin turn green by the light of CFL light bulbs?

Thr3e

I recently read on a post on guitargirl's blog and the title was "Thr3e"

I decided to write about that book because it's just so awesome.

It's about a guy with MPD ( I won't tell you what that is cause it'll ruin the book)
But it's such a thriller it's insane. I usually don't like those kind of books but this one totally changed my view. It's so, so, so cool.

Did I mention I like it?

I don't think I did.

I like it.

If there is any book I'll ever recommend it's this one. Even for people who don't like scary stuff. Cause it's not too scary. But It's definitely the kind of book that you can't put down. It's awesome.
That's all I'm going to say because I don't want to ruin it.

But seriously, read it.

Aunt Lala, this would be a book I'd recommend. I think you were asking me about that during Christmas time.
Thr3e by Ted Dekker.

The title all makes sense at the end of the book.

This is just to say

This is just to say
By William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold


Even though that has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm about to
say... I thought of it when I typed in the title. So there it is.
A poem that isn't really a poem.


In another case... I'm going to state the topic that I was really thinking
of when I typed that in.

Today is my grandmothers birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She turns 20!! ;-D

Well... maybe not. But she's 20 at heart :)


HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wuzzup

Hey people of earth,

Wuzzup.
Nothing new here.
Unless being bored can be counted as a new thing.
Which I don't believe it can...

Final piece

Alrighty. I think I like this. I went for the 3 column background cause the 2 makes it look crowded.


I went back to the Pink Panther sax player cause... let's be honest. You can't get much better than that.

Background and banner

Hi everyone.
I was getting a little bored of the old background and banner.

Background more so than the banner.

But the background came with a matching banner so I figured what the heck. May as well.

I'm not sure what to think of it.
It may be a little too serious for this blog.
Could you comment and tell me what you think?

Thanks so much :)

LATER-


Alright, so how does everyone like it now?

Thoughtful Thursday

Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils ...

- Louis Hector Berlioz

Shakespeare

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.

Anyone who has lived in a family that has anything to do with theater can name the play that line came from, the speaker, and who he is speaking too.
Of course, who he is speaking to is kind of given away in the second line.
In any case it is an extremely famous quote. And growing up in a family that has theatrics to spare has given me an appreciation for Shakespeare that I know a lot of people don't have.

He is difficult to read, yes. But the man was pure genius.

Everything he wrote was in iambic pentameter which is, in my opinion, the hardest form of meter there is.
I just got done reading Julius Caesar and I (among 8 other people) was the only one who liked it. Sure, everyone else thought he was genius because of the difficult way in which he wrote... but if I'm not mistaken, (which I most likely am, so correct me if I'm wrong) I was the only one who said "I loved it" in our group discussion about the play.

Maybe it's because I grew up in a Shakespeare centered family.

Maybe it's because we have two copies of "Shakespeare's Complete Works" which has every play he ever wrote in it.

Maybe it's because of the way my aunts can read a line written for Juliet and make me believe that it was written for them.

Maybe it's because I'm weird.

I don't know why, all I know is that by the time this year is out I plan to have read all of his plays.

I like them.
:)

"Oh happy dagger!"

Don't abuse the pushovers...

In a group of friends you have a mix of different people.
You have:
The Leader,
The Life of the Party,
The Person You Can Tell Anything To,
and...
The Pushover.

I'm the pushover.

I'll be honest with you.
I'm not a very strong personality.
In some ways, it's a good thing... others.... not so much.

It's good cause I get along pretty well with almost everyone.

If someone asks me to go and get them a chair from the opposite side of the room because they want to sit down, I'll get it.

If someone wants something thrown away, I'll do it.

Now, even though those are good things... they can be brought to the extreme

You can be known as "the girl who will do anything."

On the bright side, you will be mutually liked. People will say "Aw, she's awesome, cause she'll do anything for anyone."

On the not so bright side... you get worked constantly and you tend to get a little cramped.

Then you get into trouble.

That's not fun.

I'm not a fan of getting into trouble.

It's not something I like.

But alas, I actually like doing stuff for people.

It's fun whenever someone you are just getting to know asks you to do something (like going to the other end of the pool to get them a drink) and then watch their faces as you go.

That's the good part :)

The iPod wonder

What is it that some people have against iPod's?

Do any of you have something against them?

I find them wonderful. Especially when you get out of cleaning your room because you couldn't hear since you had your cousin's music playing.

Besides that, they bring people together.
Imagine a girl who'd been dying for the iPod Touch saw someone sitting down while they were at a kid science convention. This kid had the exact model our girl wanted.
The girl had never met this person before, but since they were in a relatively safe environment, the girl decides to be friendly and strike up a conversation.
The iPod comes in handy when an awkward moment arrives and saves the two girls from embarrassment.

It's a conversation piece.

Anyone who has a problem with it, lemme give you a helpful hint...

Get over it.

Not one person cares about why you don't like it. Everyone else likes it.

I mean, jeez, they are so much fun, too.
Especially the iPod Touch
Whenever I see my cousins,. we play with it.
We hang out.
We talk.
I have one cousin who loves, loves, loves Star Wars.
I use the light saber app and move it around and he laughs like there is no tomorrow.

It's good for the soul, not to mention how calming music can be sometimes.

I'm sure most of you know what I mean.


Do you have an iPod?

What kind?

Do you like it?

I do.