Day 24 Leapin' Lizards

Day 24 – Feb.29^th, 2012

                       I’ve been feeling terrible all day. My stomach keeps hurting with pressure and I feel really sleepy as well as having a throbbing ache. Today I did some Psychology about Adolescent Development which was cool. I’ll get more into it tomorrow. I think I’ll be able to look back at the younger version of myself and be like “oh that’s why I did that or acted that way”. Today is Leap Day which comes every four years. I thought it was cute that Google had cartoon frogs for their sign up and that so many places had deals/sales. I got Women of Marvel Volume 1 today which completes my set of the Women of Marvel series that Marvel put out for 2010. I’m very happy about that. I began reading Sandman #1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman today. It’s really good so far and brilliantly colored. We had eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy for dinner and that didn’t make my stomach hurt. Earlier, Carl made a fruit smoothie for me from Emergen-C, apples, juices and ice, which also made me ache less. I really don’t like feeling so crappy at all as it makes it so difficult to concentrate. Now time to relax.

Day 23: Social-ENFJ Type

Day 23 – Feb.28^th, 2012

                        I had a nice day today. I did some English homework and read about searching the web about research questions and using the Rio Salado library. We reviewed how to judge the accuracy and authority of a website as well as the differences between the ending part of the URL .edu, .org, .com, and .gov mean. I have to write an annotated bibliography on seven online sources for one of my research questions. I am leaning toward the graphic novels one as it is so relevant to my interests at the moment. I’m definitely keeping the other two in mind though as I see them as being good future topics for classes further down the road in my education. I finished reading Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 8 in less than an hour earlier. It was really good and really sad as well. I like that the writer/creator can do so many things now without fear of a budget due to effects. I also got my Career Test back from my College Success course and it was 25 pages long! It includes the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. It was very revealing as well as specific in what I should lean towards as well as what kinds of things I would excel in. According to the SII, the top ten occupations listed for my type (Social) were: (1. Special Education Teacher, (2. Speech Pathologist, (3. Foreign Language Teacher, (4. Librarian, (5. Social Worker, (6. Translator, (7. College Instructor, (8. Occupational Therapist, (9. Psychologist, and (10. Technical Writer. All of this sounds pretty amazing but there is a slight problem with #3 and #6 as I only know English. I suppose if I did know another language, I would be great at helping others learn it as well as explaining what it means. According to the MBTI, I am an ENFJ type which means the following: Extraversion: Getting energy from and attuning to the external environment, iNtuition: Focusing on the big picture and future possibilities, Feeling: Making decisions based on person-centered values, and Judging: Being organized and decisive. Finally, my top Career Fields are: Psychology & Counseling, Teaching, Health Care, and Educational Administration. It even went so far as to suggest what things I could do in my leisure times that I might enjoy due to my personality type, such as volunteering at a counseling/crisis center; staffing a suicide prevention hotline; helping out in a special education classroom; reading self-help books; or taking classes in psychology/counseling. I find this stuff very interesting and it leads me more down the path to the correct career choice for me and hopefully a brighter future! Jeana, Carl and I also went to Coldstone tonight which is my favorite ice cream place. I got “Gotta Have It” size of black cherry and strawberry ice cream with white chocolate and regular chocolate chips as well as pineapple mixed inside. It was very delicious and a good way to top off the night. J

Day 22 EveryDay I'm Shufflin'

Day 22 – Feb.27^th, 2012

                        Today was nice because Carl and I slept in. It’s really nice to do that sometimes and wake up naturally, not to an alarm. I got to eat some turkey for breakfast which was from the Ren Fair so delicious. I got a late start but got done earlier than I normally do anyway. Today was my College success course day. I found out my Holland type is Social which mean I communicate with people well and try to help them solve their problems. I also took two different career tests and I’ll get the results in three to four days. I hope it all looks good. There was also a website where you could make your own mission statement (http://www.nightingale.com/mission_select.aspx). I made my own as an optional assignment: My purpose is to express my creativity, curiosity and dependability by thinking of original solutions to solve my problems, by learning all I can about a topic at hand and by keeping promises to myself and others; to obtain a "B" or better in all of my classes, get a summer job doing something related to Psychology, and get to know my brother Frank better as well as obtain at least $1,500.00 by 2/27/2013. You can make your own too because it has easy to follow steps. I ended up not going to the Lion’s meeting tonight because I was really feeling up to it, but I will definitely attend next time. We have a conference in Tucson during the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day so that will be cool. All right everyone have a good night!

Day 21: A Lazy Sunday

Day 21 – Feb. 26^th, 2012

                        Oh Sunday you were truly a time of rest for me this time around. I really just read or watched movies or did my surveys. It was really nice to have down time! Jeana is not feeling well because she messed up her hip so she’s on medications. Carl, Jeana and I were watching Ink Masters and made us want to get more tattoos. Then it was Auction Hunters which is kind of neat even though the guys kind of have these douchebag moments of cockiness. During this time I was on-and-off reading the Skyrim Guide we have to see things I may have missed. Following that, was the movie Real Steel with Hugh Jackman. Carl kept calling it “Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots” and while it was like that game a bit, it was actually a pretty good movie. We all had dinner at Five Guys and I had a grilled cheese with bacon, mushrooms and onions added. It was so good and filling. I haven’t really wanted hamburger meat lately due to reading Fast Food Nation. I won’t gross anyone out but let’s just say I might steer clear of it for a while. Dylan Dog: Dead of Night was the next movie we watched. It is based on an Italian comic book of the same name and it was very supernatural as well as funny. Dylan is a Private Investigator for the undead in New Orleans. His sidekick is now a zombie named Marcus. It was a very cool story but I would like to see more of it and possibly read his books. We got Dairy Queen for dessert and I had a Hawaiian Blizzard. It comes with vanilla ice cream, bananas, coconut and pineapple in it. I love ice cream! Well that’s about it for tonight. I like lazy days sometimes J

Day 20: Midterms Part 1 and Carl(s)

Day 20 – Feb. 25^th, 2012

                       Hello kiddies. Today I did my College Success Midterm and my final Journal summary. I talked about the strategies I’d learned since the beginning of the class and how I would use them to keep myself on course to my dreams and goals. The midterm paper took the longest and ended up being about 6 pages so I hope the teacher likes it. I thoroughly explained how I have been doing my 32-dya commitment, using how I learn to apply it to other situations, posting up my personal affirmation as well as my personal rules for success. My English research questions came back with 100% on it. She really liked all of them and even told me about a class that Rio offers specifically for graphic novels. I have to decide which topic to choose though I’m really rather fond of the graphic novel subject. Carl and everyone went to the Renaissance Faire today but he brought me back so cool things. He got me some gorgeous kitty/silver earrings and two Goblets that say AZ Ren Fest 2011 because that was the 2^nd time we ever met was last year there. It was so fun and he’s super sweet to remember these things. We tried the Big Carl at Carl’s Jr today and it was pretty filling and cheesy. There is a lot of Carl going on in this entry! We are watching Rum Diary right now and the story is interesting but I think Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas has a faster pace to it but the comedic parts are similar. Good night folks!

Day 19: Sweet tea 3.14 = Sweety pie

Day 19 – Feb. 24^th, 2012

                        I didn’t do all that much today. I was just super tired on and off but I got more medicine so that’s a good thing. We had Jack in the Box for breakfast because it sounded delightful. I did reading for English 102 and made up my three research questions in detail for the assignment. I really like the one about the graphic novels being used positively. Here are my questions: 1.) How can graphic novels be applied positively in an academic setting and why are some educators against their use? 2.) How has the representation of women in the Sci-fi genre changed positively over the decades and how can this be a good influence in women’s lives? 3.) Why does a celebrity’s death affect us so much, even though we don’t know them personally? Are some of these deaths more meaningful to society than others? Do different types of deaths influence us differently like suicide, drugs or old age? Hopefully I can form an interesting essay project from one of these and my instructor will like it. If there are any opinions from my friends on these topics, please let me know! Carl made a delicious chicken soup tonight with potatoes and carrots but without the actual chicken meat. So yummy! Also, while I hate Mc Donalds, I love their sweet tea and with it being only a dollar, it’s a cheap addiction. Tonight I leave you with this:

"Life isn't a mountain that has a summit. Nor a game that has a final score.
Life is an endless unfolding, and if we wish it to be, an endless process of self-discovery,
an endless and unpredictable dialogue between our own potentialities and the life situations in which we find ourselves."

-John W. Gardner

Day 18... Lance is my favorite non-human.

Day 18 – Feb. 23^rd, 2012

                        I had a really bad asthma attack last night. I almost had to go to the ER but I go it under control. I’ve been sick for a couple of days but sometimes it gets worse. Well Carl realized the bathroom was leaking last night and fixed it, but the chemicals and cleaning stuff he had to use was overwhelming for my lungs. I cry when I can’t breathe because I get all pissed off at my lungs so that sucked. The leak had gotten into our bedroom and Jack the orange cat had peed in there too so Carl had to carpet clean as well so we couldn’t sleep in our room. I slept in the guest twin bed out of it all night coughing and hacking. Poor Carl had to sleep on the couch and was up and down all night. No fun at all. Today I’ve mostly studied for my Psychology Midterm. I got an 80% which isn’t bad but I could’ve done better. I think I got confused on a few things because I was sick. I still have an A in the class anyways. Carl made green eggs and ham for breakfast today which was awfully sweet and silly. I liked it a lot. Sam, I am! I’ve also decided that Lance our black cat with a white belly is my favorite non-human. He’s so cute and fluffy as well as makes a great cuddle-kitty. I need to take more medicine so good night, my friends.

Day 17... Samra the Explorerer

Day 17 – Feb.22^nd, 2012

                        Today was a fun day of some English homework, lots of shopping and exploring around the area. First of all, Jeana, Carl and I went to Name Brand Exchange which is a used clothing store. One location is close but we went there a few days ago so we went to the one in Mesa. I found some cute and cheap low-heeled black shoes, a cute head band with zipper teeth on it and some random pretty postcards to send to pen pals. Jeana got a gray dress that looks cute on her. Then we went to Buffalo Exchange in Tempe but couldn’t find anything good. Also their prices have gone up quite a lot which sucks! Then we went into Ash Comics and we nerded out. I ordered Tales of Wonderland 3 to catch up on my dark Alice series by Zenoscope. Then we decided to eat at Fibber McGee’s in Chandler, which is an Irish pub with authentic food and lots of Guinness. We got there just in time for Happy Hour. We had mussels and different flavors of flatbreads. We also had some delicious Ace Pear cider which tastes much better to me than most beers. Lastly we checked out the place next to it called World Food and got baklava and some foreign snacks that have REAL sugar and not high fructose corn syrup in them. We got home and I did some English on research questions for the semester project. I’m trying to decide what I should research. I need to come up with at least three and NOT to use something cliché like abortion or death penalty. I’d prefer it to have to do with my major which is Psychology or my minor Women’s Studies. I was possibly thinking of research how graphic novels have more positive representations than most people assume. Normally people think they are so full of fluff and crap when many of these stories are very in depth and can actually teach something. Examples of those kinds of graphic novels would definitely be “Watchmen” and “V for Vendetta” and possibly less obvious ones that cause emotions to stir such as “Spiderman: Reign” and “House of M”. I would need to think of 2 other questions about different topics by Saturday night. One I had thought of earlier in the class was, how women are represented in strong roles it seems only in the Sci-fi genre. Are strong women are the stuff of fantasy? Another topic I’ve thought of is how a celebrity’s death affects their fans. Does it depend on the death such as suicide versus drugs versus old age? This project lasts for the rest of the semester so I really need to consider this when I choose the topic. That’s all folks!

Day 16... Smartypants likes to eat Smarties

Day 16 – Feb. 21^st, 2012

                        ‘Ello! So I’m still kind of sick but the medicine is working so that’s good. I have to take a nap lately which slows down my homework time but it makes me feels much better. I did more of College Success and had to draw a symbol for the “inner ideal future” me. It’s really pretty so at some point I’ll put it on my Deviant Art site and maybe Facebook but that’s not really for creativity. I re-took a self-assessment quiz that I had taken at the beginning of the class and my scores are much better than before. “Believing in Themselves” is still low but it was a 40 before and now it’s a 62 which is super good. Low scores aren’t necessarily bad as much as need improvement to stay on the correct path to your goals and dreams. My highest scores (both with a 79) were “Discover Self-Motivation” and “Gain Self-Awareness”. I also have been looking up more scholarships on fastweb.com because I’d like to find more even though I have FAFSA; it couldn’t hurt to have back up especially when I get to the University levels. I am at Rio Salado in Tempe and mostly online now, but I could do some person-to-person classes at Mesa Community college or Gilbert-Chandler, both of which are close to my house. Later, I’d like to go to ASU or if Carl and I end up in CA for some reason go to CSUF. Next week I have to go do my Math Midterm over at Rio in person because that’s the way they do the math big exams. I suppose it’s so they KNOW you aren’t cheating. As long as I study I should be okay. I leave you with another random quote. J

"Fear less, hope more,
eat less, chew more,
whine less, breathe more,
talk less, say more,
hate less, love more,
and all good things will be yours."
-Swedish Proverb

Day 15... Sickness, sick, sickypoo... sleepy

Day 15 – Feb. 20^th, 2012

                       Well I am sick again. It feels like I’m always sick during February. Last year I had this nasty stuffy, coughing pain also. Maybe it’s just this winter-to-spring business. I have a cold virus and I have to take Coricidin, a nasal spray and plenty of good ol’ Vitamin C. I’m freaking tired and had to take a nap on that wonderful bed of ours ;-) I could hardly get any homework done though because my eyes weren’t focusing. It’s time for Midterms this week for two of my classes and the other two are next week. So far I have 3 A’s and a B+ which makes me happy. I've just got to pay more attention to some details in English 102 to get that grade looking a little better. Today was homework for my College Success course. We covered some things about Emotional Intelligence and how you should not make any decisions when you are feeling strong emotions, happy, mad or sad. I talked to my mom for a bit too which is always nice. I am still reading “Fast Food Nation”; it’s very interesting and educational about the history of the fast food industry. Some of it I already knew from growing up in Anaheim near Carl’s Jr, but some of it I didn’t know, especially because I’ve never worked for fast food due to my many allergies and being grossed out in general. I am going to go watch Skyrim, read and rest up. Goodnight Moon!

Day 13... and 12... quiet you!

Day 13 – Feb. 19^th, 2012

                        So I skipped a night again. I stayed up till 3 am doing my Rhetorical analysis essay on an article written about gay teen suicide being a myth. I was so very tired so I crashed out! Carl’s new bed was delivered yesterday and it was wonderful and felt like a cloud. I slept in and totally did not want to move from it at all. I did psychology yesterday on Middle Childhood and got a 95% on the quiz so that’s cool. Midterms are coming up so fast! I got an 85% on the Rhetorical Analysis by the way because I forgot to put in some correct citations and didn’t have very good closing sentences in my paragraphs. I think it was just overly crammed in my head with a bunch of work so I wasn’t thinking as clearly as I should have. Also the last paragraph in the article about enraged me! It was written by the Traditional Values Coalition and basically talked about how gay teens committing suicide wasn’t really very common and that we should be more worried about homosexuals in our schools molesting children. Argh! I know not everyone I am friends with is okay with gay folk but really? Come on people! All the people I have EVER known to be raped or molested wasn’t from a gay person, it was from a relative or someone who was supposed to be someone who loved them and betrayed that trust. I guess writing about something that makes me furious is a good thing because it lets the ideas flow a bit better. Today I woke up late because I was so comfy in our new bed. I read my new Game Informer but wasn’t very interested in this months’ issue, though there was a cool article about two guys doing a speed-run of Skyrim in 2 hours 16 minutes and 30 seconds, which is insane! They only did Main quest missions but still I can hardly imagine this game being trimmed down to that time because of how vast it is in addition to the long loading screens. We went to Sam’s Club and got Pink Moscato wine from the brand Shutter Home, went to Name Brand Exchange and I got a black ball bar for my industrial piercing and Jeanette got some cute dresses. Then we went to Target and Carl and I each got things to organize our shows with, which is always good for a clutter-free environment. We ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries and it is delicious! It reminds me of In-n-Out a lot but with slightly different menu options. I’ve got to go get blood work done in the morning to check up on my thyroid which will be fun ::sarcasm:: so I’ll leave you guys with a quote from one of the songs on repeat for me lately.

“Every street I ever walked, every home I ever had is lost.
Every flower I ever held, every spring I ever had has died.
Every man I ever knew, every woman I ever had is gone.
Everything I ever touched, everything I ever had has died.”           “Like Tears in Rain” by Covenant

Day(X). Substitute 12 for X and solve.

Day 12 – Feb. 17^th, 2012

                        Today was Carl’s birthday! He is 28 and he got lots of loving from me and is family today. His sister Jeanette and his dad Carl got him a new king-sized memory foam bed that I helped pick out and I bought a nice black and red plaid sheet set for it. Jeana also got him a wind-up red Dalek and the 10^th Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver which she placed on the TARDIS blue cake we ordered from Coldstone Creamery. It was really good but all of our mouths turned blue! The inside was red velvet Cake with Cake Batter ice cream with sprinkles and peanut butter cups on top. I also got him mini Lego Cybermen and a few comic books which he enjoys. He made meatloaf tonight that was very good as well. I had another long day of algebra but in the end I got a 100% on the Chapter 3 test so that’s amazing. I then started on Psychology and we are covering middle childhood which is about ages 6 to 12 and how their development grows. Then tomorrow I have my English essay to finish with a lovely break on Sunday to possibly play Skyrim or read. I’ve been in the mood for really rock-punk music lately. Right now I’m playing Ramones, earlier it was the Misfits and I keep replaying “Geek Stink Breath” by Greenday. Perhaps they are Junior High flashbacks? I never know how to end these things correctly, so here’s an awesome quote to think about and reflect upon:

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." -Adam Savage, Mythbusters.

Day 11... why is it eleven and not onety-one?

Day 11 – Feb.16^th, 2012

                        It was an uneventful day really but I am excited because its Carl’s 28^th birthday tomorrow. I choose my English essay which will be on the gay teen suicide being common or a myth. It will make for quiet an interesting read indeed especially because the article calling it a myth enraged me so by throwing in statements about how “homosexuals shouldn’t be allowed near schools”. ARGH! Then I began my algebra homework for chapter 3: Graphs of Linear Equations and Inequalities in Two Variables. I’m going to take the test on it tomorrow and start my Psychology reading and do my English essay on Saturday. Seems like an overwhelming week in the homework area for some reason. I think it just got behind but if I catch up I’ll be ok. I got a nice Valentine’s Day card from my mommy today and she got a teddy bear I sent her as well. She sends me coupons too which is really helpful because she knows what I like lol. I really want to see VNV Nation (3/17/2012 in Mesa) and Mindless Self Indulgence (4/1/2012 in Tempe) here this year I hope that I have the money. It would be super cool and I’ve never been to a show with Carl. We ordered Chinese food for dinner and I got sweet & sour chicken which was delicious. My back is killing me tonight so I need to go grab some Excedrin and chill out. Nighty!

Day 10... Mad Libs Always turns out so wrong

Day 10 – Feb.15^th, 2012

                       Today was long but got some homework and such done. I finished my College Success homework on my Learning Style. I am a Feeling Learner with a close second to being a Thinking Learner. Feeling basically means I enjoy connecting to what I’m learning about, seeing how it relates to my life and how it can be used. Thinking means that I also like the facts, seeing things done step-by-step and presented to me in a logical fashion. I also was to make rules for success in college and my life. They are: 1.) I show up. 2.) I do my very best work. 3.) I participate actively. 4.) I dive deep. 5.) I arrive on time. 6.) I keep promises to myself and others. 7.) I work before I play. 8.) I stay positive 9.) I show kindness to everyone. 10.) I encourage myself and others. I think #8 may be the most challenging because I do tend to be down on myself and let the negativity sneak in. I will try to combat it! I was also doing my English 102 homework and I am doing a rhetorical analysis essay. I will need to take an article about a subject and show the strengths and weaknesses of its argument and not necessarily take sides on the subject. We will have 2 opposing articles to compare the weak points in both. The subjects I’m looking into are: U.S. military should/should not ban Wicca; Birth control results in fewer/more abortions; Gay teen suicide is common/is a myth; Homosexuality can/cannot be cured; The Pill is harmful/is not harmful for your health; and finally, Schools should/should not allow students to access information on gay and lesbian issues. I’m going to sleep on it tonight to decide. We also had Fisherman’s Stew for dinner, courtesy of Jeana. We had it with the kids who are the nephews and nieces: Brian, Aeron and Kayla. They are 15, 13 and 11 respectively. It was a nice break from homework and we played Mad Libs, which always turns into a giggle fest especially with kids of their age. They live right behind us so it’s nice to get to do stuff with them before they start to be bitter, rude, apathetic, egotistical adults like the rest of us lol. Now it’s off to read some more of Fast Food Nation before sleepytime. J

Nein(9) means "No" in German

Day 9 – Feb.14^th, 2012

 
                       Another late night! Last night I was up late doing my own taxes on TaxACT.com which was fairly simple so I should be receiving my refund within 1-2 weeks. Today was quite busy as well. I shopped for more presents for Carl for V&B Day. I went to many a Walgreens to find a working Reese’s Lion which is cute because Carl is a Lion and likes Reese’s cups. I also got a family sized bag of the candy for him, Lover’s dice, sweethearts and Star Wars Actions figures from the Cantina Showdown in Star Wars Episode 6: A New Hope. It’s the scene where Obi-Wan cuts off that guys arm. Carl got a kick out of it because he likes going around saying “He doesn’t like you… I DON’T like you!” :-P He made me a gorgeous Alice-type necklace, got me chocolate, a Moo-ing cow marker, a cow booze jug, and a witches warts jar. He also got me a purple tee-shirt that shows a melted yellow Popsicle and a melting green Popsicle and the sun; the green pop is saying “You monster!” lol! We went out to dinner with his dad Carl Sr. and his lady friend Charlene to the restaurant out at Fort McDowell where Jeana works and who paid for the event. It was a very high-class restaurant and the food was delicious and served in tiny portions. I feel the best part was the desserts which were bread pudding, lava cake with powdered sugar, strawberries/ blueberries/ raspberries and whipped cream, and cream brulee. Then we ventured into the casino for a bit and played around in there. They had an Alice in Wonderland machine which was pretty and a very cool Batman Dark Knight one as well. A very good time was had by all. Today was also Arizona’s 100^th Birthday! Adios, amigos!

I'm terrible at titles... Day 8!

Day 8 – Feb. 13^th, 2012

                       I almost forgot my entry tonight! Well it was a rather busy day today so that’s my excuse. Carl and I went to the movies this morning and watched “The Woman in Black” which was really good and Daniel Radcliffe made me completely forget he was Harry Potter. Kind of jumpy scenes and interesting story was nice. Then we came home and I finished up some Psych reading from last week and started on my success course Lesson 5 Self-Awareness and creating my Learning Style. I didn’t get very far into it before we went to the Lions meeting at Black Bear Diner. I had Alfredo broccoli chicken ravioli and it was yummy thought the chicken was kind of rubbery. It was revealed that was made $849.50 at White Cane Days over the weekend which is really excellent. It was decided that next time we should be there a bit longer maybe 8 hours and possibly change up what stores we collect in front of at so we can get a variety of people. The nominations for this year’s officers are up and I am nominated to be a Tail Twister which basically means I can charge people if they don’t shake hands with the other members the beginning of the meeting or don’t wear their Lions pin or other things, you can get charged $1 or so to be donated to the club. It can be pretty fun especially if you come up with trivia questions or drawing raffle tickets for a small prize. It’s pretty late now so you folks have a good Valentine’s Day!

Day 7... A day of many flavors

Day 7 – Feb 12^th, 2012

                       Today was no school work and I hung out with Jeanette most of the day. We had fun going about town looking around for stuff for Valentine’s Day and for Carl’s Birthday on the 17^th. We had sushi for breakfast at a place called RA which I would love to go back to. The atmosphere was calm and the restaurant is open so you can feel the air. I liked the simple décor theme of red and black. For appetizer we had pineapple cream cheese wontons. For entrée, I had a Philadelphia Roll and Jeana had a Crazy Monkey roll both of which had smoked salmon on them. We decided to have desert which was coconut crème brulee. Both of us had iced green tea which I love. They had offering of alcohol but seeing how it was 1130am we felt it was too early for that. Carl reads this blog so there will be no discussion of his V-day or B-day presents lol. Jeana and I also tried a cupcake place called Sweet Daddy where I had a Triple Chocolate and she had a Maple Bacon. Both were sugary but very moist, which is great because some of these cupcake places make theirs rather dry. For dinner, Carl made sausage, rice and red beans which were very yummy. I have decided to get a subscription to Reader’s Digest and Cosmopolitan since lately I’ve been buying issue and getting them at the house makes it cheaper. I realized that I can easily go over my 200 word minimum now which might be a good thing.G’ Night!

Day 6... Things you see in a parking lot.

Day 6 – Feb.11^th, 2012

                        Today was the second day of White Cane. Carl and I got at Fry’s about 930am to set up the card tables and a folding chair at each entrance. Carl the elder (my Carl’s dad who is 80) and Mikey (Carl’s nephew who is 17) stood at one entrance and Carl and I stood at the entrance by the pharmacy. Things went pretty well, some of the first folks we had gave us $5 bills and what not. We got a few people excited about attending a meeting or contacting us with their old glasses or wanting to help. There were a couple of men who had been helped by a Lions Club as children and gotten eyeglasses and they were the ones that usually threw in a wad of cash. There were a few downers though as they were rude or made remarks such as “Well I can barely walk in my age, so I can’t help you.” I hate that attitude because there are Lions in wheelchairs and canes or who are blind themselves and they put in time for volunteering, so don’t give me that bitchy remark. Carl really saved the day being the good person he is because he helped an elderly gentleman who was 82 to get home. He had driven to the market but was very confused about everything, could hardly walk, wasn’t sure what was going on and it had seemed as though he had possibly had a stroke. We noticed him wandering the parking lot and starting to get into a car. Our club Secretary John had come to help with White Cane and called the Gilbert Police to help the gentleman out. They escorted him home and his wife hadn’t known he’d left or where he went. Everyone said that by helping him before he drove away, Carl probably avoided an accident. You see a lot of strange things when you are outside of a market by a parking lot for 6 hours. We saw a few crazies, an obviously high on something guy, lots of kids and lots of generous donators. Other than that I got an 88% on my Algebra Ch2 test. Time to relax!

Day 5. Hawaii 5-0... Cinco

Day 5 – Feb. 10^th, 2012

            Today has been so slow and yet long. I didn’t really do much of anything except Algebra homework. I went to the White Cane Days for the Lions Club at 10am with Carl but I was only needed for about a half an hour before I got to come back here. I just finally got done with all that algebra, its midnight now. The test is due before midnight tomorrow and that’s the last thing I’ve got to do so that’s good. Got to get up in the morning for the second day of White Cane and I’ll be there about 6 hrs. We are collecting money for needy children to afford glasses and eye care. It’s mostly what the Lions are all about other than the work they do with the disabled camp, environment and many other community services. Check out the website for the international one or your local chapter. Even if you don’t want to join, you can always give them your old glasses and they recycle them into new ones for the poor. We are outside the Fry’s Food & Drug Store in Gilbert, AZ off Baseline Rd. & Gilbert Rd. for most of the day. On a random note, Carl got me a collection of Alice in Wonderland (Disney ‘50s) earrings and I love them all but my favorite ones are the ones that look like the White Rabbit’s pocket watch. So cute in my ears! I’ve been forgetting to repeat my personal affirmation: I am a creative, intelligent, encouraging woman, serving others in need. Make up your own using this template, fill it in with 3 positive adjectives and one verb describing something you do. I am a/an ________, ________, ________ man/woman, _______ing ________. Another example: I am an intelligent, confident, unique man, working hard toward my goals. J

Day 4... Math attack

Day 4 – Feb. 9^th, 2012

                        Today was my Math/Algebra day. I completely hate it! Doing the whole “Solve for x” in a linear equation business. Some of them were longer and now we are doing the “many solutions/no solution” thing as well. I did half my work today and the rest will be tomorrow after noon. I’m so glad for my TI-83 Plus calculator to help me through it. Today was kind of slow but I did get to Game Stop to renew my GI subscription and got the game guide for Skyrim. That thing is huge, bigger than a Bible! We ended up eating at Five Guys and they have delicious real French fries. This morning I woke up with an incredibly horrible stuffy nose and now my nose is red from sneezing all day. I don’t like being sick, I get so achy and I don’t like feeling like that when I’m studying. I finished my book Flowers for Algernon and it was so good but very sad. I’d recommend anyone read it especially if you are going into a Psychological related field as I am. It shows how the mind changes with more or less intelligence. Charlie Gordon was a different person completely depending on his IQ level. I’ve decided to start reading Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser and see what that’s all about. It’ll probably scare me out of eating at those places for a while lol. I hope tomorrow and Saturday go well because we are doing the White Cane even for Lion’s Club here in Gilbert. I’ll let ya’ll know how that goes. Well that’s all folks!

Day 3! ... and 2

Day 3 – Feb 8^th, 2012

                        Well I completely forgot about this on day 2 and didn’t write anything! So I guess I’ll have to make up for it by writing 400 words today huh? Lol. Well yesterday I spent most of the day doing English 102 work, learning about Logical, ethical and emotional fallacies in argument. I posted one of the random political videos that the teacher showcased and an example of using fallacies to attack ones opponent, using the pathos/emotional ones. It was funny because it was an old political campaign from when it was Jefferson VS Adams and it quoted real slander quoted from them back then. Then I took a quiz on them and got a 90% so that is good. Got talk to my friend Bret for a little while and realized how much I have changed and done things different since living in AZ. I just feel less stuck I guess and I have been more creative definitely. I got to play a bit of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which is this whole house’s addiction lately and we’ve even gotten Jeanette to play. I’m a chaotic-good level 25 Kajiit Mage-Thief right now with a focus on Destruction and Restoration Spells. I am such a nerd!

                        Today was my Psychology 240 Developmental school work. We were focusing on physical, cognitive, emotional and social development in early childhood. It was interesting how play is so vital in our early years that when academics are forced on us they don’t hold. At that age we learn better from make-believe, reading books and exploring on our own than a structured environment up until the age of 5 or 6. There was also a quiz on it and an essay, which I had to write about the language development on my pretend daughter Sarah per the teacher’s instructions. I had to use examples of “Sarah” emphasizing her vocabulary acquisition, grammar, language explosion and over regularization. I hadn’t heard of the term over regularization before and it is basically when kids say things like “I have two feets.” or “My toy car breaked.” Two ways used in combination, for adults to guide the kids in the right direction without being discouraging is recasting which is rephrasing the wrong speech into the correct form, and expansion which is elaborating on the child’s speech, raising the complexity. If “Sarah” shows me her broken pencil and says “I brokeded my yellow pencil, Mommy!” I respond kindly with “Yes, sweetie, you broke your yellow pencil. Let’s get you a new one!” This will show her the correct use of the word without making her feel bad. I have also been reading Flowers for Algernon by David Keyes which I somehow missed in high school but I know about the basic story from everyone. I’ve got about 75 pages left and I feel terrible because Charlie is a genius now but he can see that the mouse is fading and going back to being normal and it basically scares him. I know it’s going to happen to him too but I really don’t want it too. Anyways I’ve gone a bit over my 400 words but that’s great! Now I should keep up on this thing! 

32-day commitment Journal

                                                            32-Day Commitment Journal

                    Because I know that this commitment will keep me on course to my goal of getting a “B” or better in all of my classes this semester/become a better writer, I promise that every day for the next 32 days I will take the following action: I will write at least 200 words about what I learned/did that day in a journal on MS Word.

Day 1- Feb. 6^th, 2012

               Today was Monday so it was my Strategies for College Success class CPD150 Section 14495. If I pass this class with a B and my math class with a B, then Rio will pay for my next Math class and it won’t have to come out of my FAFSA money which is cool.  Today we learned about self-management and I may this 32 day commitment to write a journal entry everyday of at least 200 words to become a better writer. It should also help me review what I’ve done in the class that day to help me remember it all better. I printed out my affirmation and put it up next to my calendar to remember it. It is “I am a creative, intelligent, encouraging woman, serving others in need.”  The “serving” part is about my new work in the Lions club as well as the future career I want, I would like it to involving helping those in need; like battered women or children, possibly some kind of SVU thing. I also taped up this 32-day commitment as well so as not to forget it. I am keeping track of stuff pretty well with my awesome cupcake calendar as well. Definitely don’t want to forget my doc/therapist appointments. Also I really need to go to the post office to deliver these packages from Xmas and my letters to friends in Oklahoma.