Christmas Decorations!!

Today we're putting up Christmas Decorations!!!

I wish I wasn't so forward.

So the whole situation between me and Bill sucks majorly. I like him a lot but he's not sure how he feels. I hoped that getting to hang out for once by ourselves would change things or help him decide how he feels about me but that didn't change a thing. I wanted to ask him but I didn't know how else to word it beside being blunt and to the point and then we continued or conversation and I wound up telling him that I can't help but be nervous around him and the instant I said that I regretted it and apologized like crazy but he said it was fine and everything but I still felt like complete crap.

What's you favorite piece of furniture?

My favorite piece of furniture in my hosue has to be the couch. It's so worn out from everyone sleeping and sitting on it that when you sit down it feels like it's hugging you. Everytime I or any of my friends or family sit on it we automatically fall asleep and you stay asleep for at least an hour. It's pretty much impossible not to. I love it so much, especially when I have my grandmother's blanket on top of me.

I am a true clutz

So I thought it would be a brilliant idea for me and Bill to go to the lighthouse down at Long Beach Islandand go walking on the jettys since we didn't know what to do. Well I've never been on the jetty's the day after it rained....mistake number 1. The water's were still pretty choppy when we got there and there was a lot of fog...mistake number 2. I'm pretty clumsy...mistake number 3. We walked almost to the end og the jettys but some of them have gaps where I had to jump so I slipped a few times, tripped a couple, and even body-checked Bill trying to get onto a jetty after jumping to it. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure thay's the most I've ever seen him laugh. He decided to be the brave one and walk on the jettys closer to the water but then I laughed when he slipped because those have more moss on them and are a lot slippier then the other ones. There's a little fence thing where we climbed through to get onto the jettys and I'm too short to climb back up, unlike Bill who just jumped over both rails, so I slid right under the bottom one...........in a wayyy less than graceful yet quick move. Then we walked on the little trail where there's a bunch of sand so I fell a lot.

What is the best advice you ever got?

The best advice that I ever got was to T-H-I-N-K. I have a habit of speaking before I think or doing something before thinking it through. My mom told me that I really need to start thinking because I would get in less trouble at home and I probably wouldn't offend someone if I thought everything I wanted to say, through.

Final post of the year!

Next semester I'm taking Bio II, Chem II, Engl II, and Pre-Calculus for Specific Majors. I'm taking these courses because they are in my pre-requiste packet for my Biology major.

It's interesting having a heartfelt conversation while drinking.

So we were at a family party so my parents allowed me to drink. Of course that's the night that Bill and I decide to have a heartfelt conversation about how I like him and trust him and how he likes me more than a friend, but not sure how much more. It had to be one of the most frustrating things in my life. It really sucks talking to the guy you like when you're at a family party drinking and slightly buzzed. Granted I'm glad we got to talk about stuff but I wish I was fully sober when we were talking. I haveto admit though, if I wasn't drinking, I probably wouldn't habe had the guts to talk about and ask half the stuff I did with him. That's probably the only advantage drinking alcohol has.

Counseling

One thing that I would want my professor to understand about me is that I'm really shy around people so if I have a question, chances are I won't ask them in class, I'll just wait for the class to be over and then ask it when everyone leaves.

How have your eating habits changed since you've been in college?

Ever since I started college, I've actually been eating a lot better. I finally started eating meals a day, I would never eat breakfast because high school would start so early that I would get nauseous if I ate that early, so starting later gives me a chance to actually wake up and get hungry. I'm also eating a lot better heatlthy-wise because I don't really stop at fast-food places by myself because I hate wasting money when I have stuff I could make at home.

Is it better to know a little about many subjects than to know a lot about one subject?

It's better to know a little about many subjects than know a lot about one subject because it's easier to learn more about a subject when you already know a little bit about it. It's a lot harder to learn a subject when you know absolutely nothing about it. It's also better to know a little about many subjects that a lot on one subject because chances are you will need to know more than just one subject to get far in life so it wouldn't do you any good to know just one subject.

16 days left

The best part of college this year was getting to make so many new friends. I'm usually pretty shy but I guess because not everyone knows each other like they did in high school, everyone is pretty nervous about making new friends so everyone wants to. I've made a couple of friends in each class and then my friends from high school introduce me to their friends so I've gotten to meet and befriend a lot of people in one semester. Also, some people that I didn't ususally talk to in high school, I'm starting to talk to a lot more and everything.

Discuss what people reveal about themselves by the way they drive.

More laid-back people usually do the speed limit and barely ever go over it and are also pretty cautious to the other cars and distractions around them. People who get angry or aggravated easily or are more agressive, are more aggressive on the roads, weaving in and out of the traffic, honking the horn, giving the finger, and having major road rage. Usually the person's driving gives away their personality.

Should the custom of tipping be abolished?

No I don't think the custom of tipping should be abolished. I think they shouldn't because most waiters/waitresses only get around $3 an hour whereas others make at least $7 an hour so what we make in a couple of hours they don't make much so the tips compensate for not making a large paycheck.

GRRRR

I think the reason that students plagiarize so much is because they really don't want to to the assignment or the topic is too hard for them to understand so they don't really know how to answer it. Granted there's the occasional student who thinks that the teacher won't notice that what they handed in wasn't written by them, but half the time it's because the student doesn't fully understand the topic and is afraid to ask the teacher.

Stupid Cell Phone

Ok so I went to Verizon 2 weeks ago and complained about my phone and how when I would call someone there was some sort of a reverb that only I was hearing. They gave me another phone (same model) and it was working fine for like 2 days and then it wouldn't vibrate when it was on vibrate mode. I went to the Verizon store up by school (I usually go to the one in the mall) because it was so early last Tuesday that the mall wasn't open yet, and I asked them if they could give me another phone even though I just got this one the week before. They said it was fine and would take about 20 minutes but when I asked if my pictures would transfer over like the other time they told me no so I walked out. A day later my phone started to vibrate again and then this Wednesday my phone just suddenly stopped vibrating again so now I have no idea if I have a text or an incoming call unless my phone is on an actual volume. I'm going to the mall hopefully tomorrow after work to complain AGAIN to verizon and see what they can do. And the best part is as of yesterday, the reverb is back so I'm majorly ticked off. I despise my cell phone with a deep burning passion.

Horrible!!

My mom forgot the pumpkin pie yesterday....I was so upset by this :'( But otherwise Thanksgiving wasn't that bad. There was 14 of us and both my dad and I had to work from 6a-3p yesterday which kinda sucked but it was time and a half which means mucho christmas spending money!!! I'm pretty happy since I have everyone's presents done except my dad and two of my bestest friends....then I'm spending the rest on myself.

Thanksgiving Day!

So working this morning from 6 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon kinda stunk but the customers were all in a pretty good mood so I'm not going to complain, plus 9 hours of getting paid time and a half = a very nice check. Family is coming down around 4pm and this year there's 14 of us instead of 10. There's going to be loads and loads of food when the family gets here so I'm pretty excited, expecially since I come from an all Italian family so that means there's A LOT of food. I just can't wait for the pumpkin pie :)

Free Post

Darn classes

Last Tuesday night I could've sworn that my Chemistry teacher had said that we were only having the lab portion of the class and not the lecture portion because she had something to do at the high school she teaches at during the day. I was all excited that I was going to be home by 515 instead of 8 but I was highly mistaken. Turns out I had mixed up the weeks. Tonight I wound up having 2 lectures instead of a lab and a lecture...or as I thought it was going to be just the lab...but she wound up letting us leave at 545 because she couldn't really find something else to talk about or teach us so she told us to go and have a good thanksgiving.

Toll prices to go up!?!

On the front page of the Asbury Park Press yesterday made me so mad! Next monday the toll prices are going to be raised. I was so mad when I read this because I take the parkway to school every day since it's a lot faster and easier than taking route 9 all the way from Lacey to Toms River. My mom and dad weren't very happy either when they found that out. I'm kinda mad because now I have to leave for school earlier and it's bad enough I leave between 7 and 715 in the morning. I'm really starting to hate this state. >[

Simon Night of Giving is Tonight!

I'm excited for tonight because tonight is the Simon night of giving where the mall closes at 630 to everyone who doesn't have a ticket to get in. The mall is open from 630 til 930 to everyone who has the tickets (you could buy them ahead of time or at the mall) and the bracelet. It's great, almost every store has great discounts and there's a lot of free samples from Starbucks and Auntie Ann's and the chocolate place in the mall (can't think of what it's called). To make the night even better, one of my bestest friends ever is down for the weekend and I haven't seen her since September when I went to see her up at college.

I love the smell of technology in the afternoon

The best purchase I have ever made has to have been when I bought myself a $100 giftcard from Barnes and Noble....I know...it's dorky....but I'm in absolute LOVE with Barnes and Noble. I'm addicted to reading and even more addicted to that store. It has to be the best most amazing store in the entire universe!

Is it harmful for children to be in day-care centers all day?

Yes, it is harmful for children to be in day-care centers all day. It is harmful because the parents drop them off in the morning, go to work or go and do their errands and then leave them there until the day-care center closes. It doesn't give parents a chance to spend a lot of time with their children, in turn, the children could feel neglected and ignored and will develop psychological problems as they grow older because they would feel that their parents did not love them and want to spend time with them. I think that day-care centers should limit the amount of hours that parents are allowed to drop off their kids per day.

How can the individual citizen reduce the probability of his or her home's being burglarized?

In order to reduce his or her home's being burglarized, the individual citizen can make sure that there are short or no bushes at all in front of windows that are on the first floor. Also, they can make sure to have alarm systems and keep lights on at night to let people know that someone is home. It's a good idea to put lights on timers so this way when you're not home, it will look like someone is since the lights will be on. Also, try to keep branches of trees away from windows or keep the trees trimmed so that you could see them at night.

Is anger ever beneficial?

To me, anger is never benificial. It's only good use is that it allows us to get out what has been bothering us but other than that, there's nothing beneficial. Anger only usually leads to pain of others and then we regret what we said because we wound up hurting someone close to us or someone that we don't even know. It's not good to keep things bottles up inside and when it comes to the breaking point, we just explode and it's never good.

THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

My most favorite thing out of the entire holiday has to be the pumpkin pie :D

Should American students be required to learn a second language?

I think Americans should be required to learn a second language. Many people would disagree but in today's world there's more and more immigrants (be them illegal or not) who are coming to the United States for work, a new life, or whatever it is they are looking for. With all the diversity, there is a language barrier and some of the immigrants are learning English, so I feel that as Americans, we should be respectful and learn a second language in order to make the language barrier smaller. Even though we will never be able to get rid of it completely, we can shrink it.

Are Americans too dependent on the automobile?

Yes, American are too dependent on the automobile. When given the option to either walk or drive the car a couple blocks away, almost 100% of the time, Americans choose to take their car. Also, more and more families have 2 or more cars, where they don't even drive all of the cars half the time. A lot of people are taking any public forms of transportation instead of walking to say if there was a movie theater in town or to wawa up the road or a couple blocks away. Cars have made it extremely simple to travel from place to place and a lot faster than walking. It all comes down to how lazy Americans have become and take the fastest and easiest way out.

Tonight was A-Maze-Ing!

So on Thursday Bill and I planned on hanging out tonight after he got off work at 3. Well he texted me at 12:30 telling me that his windshield was smashed and when I went to work to see him (we work together but he works outside pumping gas) and was there for over an hour talking to him. I told him that he didn't have to worry about hanging out tonight so he could take care of the whole car situation and he told me that he still wanted to hang out (which made me incredibly happy!!!). So around 6ish I headed to blockbuster and rented Saw 3 and then went to his house to watch the movie with him and his cousin Tommy. I don't think I've ever laughed so much at someone's house while watching a horror movie. He has to be one of the funniest people because he's so random with like everything he does it was great. It was so nice finally getting to see him not at work and get to know what he's really like. He's got the cutest 3 daschunds..bark like crazy but adorable....and he's so sweet towards them it was so cute seeing him play with them. When I was leaving I wasn't expecting him to put his arms out for a hug because the other 2 times I saw him and we were saying goodbye, I was the one who would put my arms out so I felt like an idiot when he did it because I wasn't expecting it at all but it was cute....he smelled really good too.....which was a total plus. Tonight was AMAZING!

Why do the good die young?

Ok so today after I came home from the gym, I found out my cousin died. He was 59 years old and his birthday was last week. On the sunday after his birthday, he went to the bathroom and didn't feel good so he told his wife to take him to the hospital and then threw up blood. She rushed him to the hospital and it turns out that he had a severe form of stomach cancer. He wound up losing all his blood so they had to replace it all, they took out 70% of his stomach, part of his colon, and his appendix. After that surgery, the doctors gave the family 2 choices (he was in a coma) Either they could operate again on him but he would only have 3 months to live and would be in excrutiating pain, or they wouldn't operate, giving him only a week to live. Well the family decided to pull out the breathing tube yesterday or the day before and go from there, hoping he would go without pain or breathe on his own. He wound up dying as soon as they pulled out the breathing tube. I wasn't close to him, but I was very close to his daughter Lori who is 30. When we lived up north I was always with her and we still talk a lot even though we are far away. Next week is gonna suck and I'm way depressed now.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Personally, I despise any type of advisor or counselor because the one I had all throughout high school sucked majorly and has made me lose all faith in advisors. Then when I came to Occ I was like ok, I'll have an advisor assigned and I'll go meet them and they'll help me with classes....WRONG!!!... I went onto WebAdvisor to see who mine was and it said does not have one. Uhhhh ok???? So I've pretty much been winging it and hoping I'm taking the right courses or else I'm screwed. Advice that I would give to advisors (haha how ironic) is to make sure you know a little about the students beforehand and then make sure they know what they want to go for. Make sure the student is taking the best possible courses for their program or major and that they get all the requirements they need if they are planning on transferring to a 4 year college.

What foreign country would you like to visit, and why would you like to go there?

For some reason, I've just always wanted to go to Greece. Ever since I've gone to Italy, I've always wanted to go to Greece and see all the ancient ruins that are there. I'm not really sure why but I've just always wanted to go there.

Name one or some of your family's traditions and discuss why they are important to you.

Two of my family's traditions that I look forward to every year are our 2 weeks in the summer that we go to Florida to the same resort since they own timeshare and when we go pumpkin picking about a week or two from Halloween. Every year for 2 weeks, usually the last week in June and the first week of July, we go to Florida and stay in Lauderdale-By-the-Sea at one of the resorts that my parents own timeshare at. It's so nice to get away from everything and everyone for two whole weeks and just wake up and either go lay by the pool or just walk down the steps to the beach. Then around Halloween, we go up to somewhere around Old Bridge and we go pumpkin picking up at Casola Farms. After we go pumpkin picking, we used to go to Friendly's up the road until they knocked it down. Also, me and my dad always put up the christmas tree and decorations every year about 2 weeks before christmas (my mom doesn't like going into the attic).

The trouble with renting

Sad to say but to get anywhere in life, you have to be forceful in getting what you want. I've learned the hard way that when you're nice people walk all over you not giving two craps (in use for a worse word) People don't want to do things when they need to be done, but when you threaten them with money it's like they think they are going to die tomorrow so they will fix it as soon as possible. Money speaks and lately it's the strongest persuader we have.

What types of reading materials do you prefer?

Types of reading materials that I prefer are books and magazines. I can't read the newspaper because I get wayy too bored, but I can read the comics in there. I have so many books in my room and a majority of them are mystery/horror fiction. The only kinds of magazine that I really like to read is seventeen because there is a lot of different stuff in there. There's things about college and jobs and makeup and clothes and pretty much everything in between.

If you could relive one day in your life, which day would it be?

If I could relive one day in my life, I would relive the say where my grandma died. I still remember it perfectly too. That day we had family over for a party and me and my cousins had gotten into a fight. I got sent to my room and wound up falling asleep by the time everyone left. I never got to say good night to my grandma like I usually did every night. It wound up that about an hour after everyone left, my grandma asked my dad (her son) to take her to the hospital because she wasn't feeling the greatest. Turns out while she was there, she had a massive heart attack and died right in the hospital. My dad came home and I remember waking up from a dream to my mom crying on the phone with my uncle. My dad was downstairs when I walked in and he was crying but I didn't know why until my mom sat me down and told me what had happened. After I found out my grandmother had died, I told my parents about my dream. My dream was me and my grandma sitting at a table playing cards (we would always play cards) and all of a sudden, she stopped breathing and disappeared and I was screaming out to her to come back. My mom told me that that was her way of saying goodbye to me since she didn't get to say good bye in person. I still to this day regret not getting to say good bye to her and start to cry whenever I think about it.

I'm. So. Tired.

My dream school of all time is Yale but I know I'm not smart enough to get into that college, nevermind just having the damn funds for that school. I actually decided to come to Occ the week of May 1st, which is when the colleges need to know if you have accepted their scholarships/acception into their school. I had planned on going to Rider University the day I stepped on the campus and I had my heart set on it until my parents kept ragging on me to do the Stars Program. I wound up choosing Occ only because of the Stars program since I plan on going to med school in a couple of years and know that I'm going to need to save as much money possible to pay for it. Rider is usually almost 40 grand a year but I would have been paying 29 grand a year. My parents have 100 grand saved for my college and I figured that if I went to Rider I woulda blown threw that in 4 years and would be up the creek without a paddle for med school so I decided to go the cheaper way and do stars. I sometimes regret not going to Rider but I know I made a smart choice financial-wise. After Occ, I plan on transferring to Rutgers University in New Brunswick.

Explain what motivates students to strive for good grades in college.

Things that motivate students to strive for good grades are that sometimes the parents bribe the students that if they get good grades then they get something in return. Also, depending on the grade of the student, they strive for good grades to make sure they get into a good college or into the they want. For me it was a little bit of both. My parents would bribe me with going to the restaurant of my choice while I was in middle school and when I was in high school my parents made me keep up with my grades because they knew I would get into the NJStars program if I did and I would get into a good college with good grades. Also good grades mean scholarships and the better the grades the more the scholarhips would be worth.

Should parents encourage their teenage children to work even if the family does not need the money?

Yes, parents should encourage their teenage children to work even if the family does not need the money. By teenagers having a job it teaches them responsibility and the value of a dollar. I have a friend whose family doesn't need the money so my friend feels that she doesn't have to work. Her mom keeps telling her to get a job but then goes and tell her that as long as she goes to school, her mom will pay for her gas for her car. Now to me that makes no sense because she wants her daughter to get a job and make her own money but then she gooes and gives her money every week. For me, I work part time at least 20 hours a week and go to school every day except on weekends and I pay for my truck to get filled every like 5 days (I only let it get to half a tank) It stinks having to pay to fill my truck and then go to work. By having a job, it teaches the teenager the responsibility of making sure their drawer isn't short or over, how to deal with the public, and how to deal with management and people that you have to work with but don't like.

With news readily available from the electronic media, why are newspapers still popular?

With news readily available from the electronic media, newspapers still remain popular because not all people have the ability to access a computer or use a cell phone for the news. Also, it's much easier to run into a store and pay for a newspaper then go onto the computer and hope the stupid thing works and loads. Not everyone has a computer so a newspaper is the only way they can keep up with what's going on in the world.

Would you want to survive a nuclear war?

It depends on who was left living. If my parents and brother died, then no I would not want to survive a nuclear war. Even if I still had other family that survived the war I would still not want to survive. Also I wouldn't want to survive since there would be too many health problems from all the radioactive substances left behind. Even after surviving, I would have the remnants of the radioactivity in my body because it would be in the air and the water and the land no matter how much we try to filter it out.

Several thousand "Fun size" candy bars later....

I can't exactly feel your pain on being bloated with snickers and babe ruths since I'm not a big fan on chocolate, especially any kind that has caramel in it...uck...and yes I realize that I'm a poor excuse of a girl for not liking chocolate, my friends and boyfriend make fun of me all the time. I know how the back thing goes, a heating pad or something warm will make it feel better for a little bit. As for the best form of enertainment that's out there, I have to agree that anything hands-on is the way to go. It's easier to learn when things are hands-on instead of reading out of a manual or book. Personally, I'm a visual learner, I learn and comprehend things a lot better when they are right in front of me and explained to me then, but I have a harder time if I had to read from a manual with no pictures or anything. Then I just sit there trying to not pull out my hair.

I hate when plans change!!!!

Ugh I cannot stand it when people change plans last minute, especially 2 hours before. It has to be one of my biggest pet peeve, considering it's been planned for almost 2 weeks!!! Bill and I are supposed to go to six flags today with 2 of his friends and we were gonna go around 1 since it's only open til 10, and when I went to text him at 11:15, he had texted me saying that we couldn't go til around 5 since his one friend doesn't get off work til 4:30. His friend waited until today to tell him that! My day was totally thrown off because of that. I really hate when people cancel or change their minds/plans last minute!!!!

ugh....halloween

I don't know what it is about Halloween, but I can get into the spirit of dressing up but beyond that, I could care less about the holiday. I don't usually go out or make plans, I just stay home and watch movies or work (like I did tonight). There's just something about it that I don't like and care for that kills my mood. I get all excited about what I'm going to be and then when the day comes to get dressed up my mood has died and I could care less about getting dressed up and going trick-or-treating.

With the widespread availability of calculators, is it necessary for students to learn arithmetic?

Even with the advancement and widespread availability of calculators, it should still be necessary for students to learn arithmetic. People don't usually carry around calculators and the ones that are on the phone can only do basic and simple calculations, so by knowing how to do arithmetic, students will be able to figure things out on their own. Nowadays, we have become dependent on their calculators and downloads that we can add from the computers onto the calculators. Sometimes when someone is trying to figure out how much carpeting or fencing and they don't have a calculator handy, they should be able to figure out how to find ther perimeter and area so they can have the correct amount of fencing or carpeting or flooring.

Can guys and girls be JUST FRIENDS?

Why is it that nowadays guys and girls can't be JUST FRIENDS??? If a guy and a girl want to just hang out, almost everyone assumes that they are going to hook up and that they like each other. I have a friend Tim who is like my older brother I swear. We can tell each other everything and anything and talk about anything and not get uncomfortable about it because we are that close. We walk around campus linking arms and sometimes have our hands around each others waist as we attempt to walk without falling over from laughing and people think we are dating just because of that. There's this kid that I work with, Bill Mcleod, and I really like him, and I think he may like me but I'm not sure, and we were talking about this and he says he puts up with the same thing. We both agreed that by having a really good, close friend of the opposite sex allows us to try and figure out how the opposite sex thinks and interprets different situations. We are supposed to hang out this weekend and a lot of people that we work with know that I like him and that we are supposed to be hanging out and they keep teasing me about it because I think he likes me as just a friend but they are like "ohh he wouldn't have agreed to hang out with you if he didn't like you" and it's like uhh yea he could have.

You know what?

McCain does kinda of look like Steve Martin to a certain degree. It's kind of funny and could be the reason that I could never take McCain seriously. Every movie that I've seen with Steve Martin is a comedy and if I think that McCain looks like him, I'm never going to be able to see him as a serious person who may possibly be running out country.

I don't wanna do ANYTHING

If I could do anything, I would cure cancer. I've found out that in my family on both sides, there is a lot of different types of cancer running in our genes. I would love to figure out a way to get rid of cancer for good, without having to use radiation or chemotherapy. I would also make it affordable for everyone because I don't think it's fair that people don't get the same treatment just because of their income and financial status. My aunt was recently in the hospital because she wasn't feeling well, and hasn't been well for 9 months. Turns out she had a cancerous mass on her lungs and it was pushing down her heart. She has lung cancer because she has smoked ever since she was a teenager and she may have brain cancer. My nan and great-uncle died from the same types of cancer and one or two of my cousins have breast cancer but survived. My mom has thyroid cancer but thankfully it is in remission since 2001, so cancer is a big thing in my family.

Explain why you do or do not smoke.

I choose not to smoke because my mom used to smoke when I was younger. When I was about 7 or 9, I made my mom promise me to stop smoking if I stopped biting my nails (she hated when I did that). She quit smoking and I quit biting my nails, and haven't done it since. Also, I don't smoke because both my nan and one of my uncles died from lung cancer (along with some other types of cancer) and I don't want to die from lung cancer. I've done D.A.R.E. programs when I was in elementary schools and am part of my town's municipal alliance and it's program where it tries to do things for the community to keep the kids substance free. Another bonus is that since cigarettes are so expensive, I get to save a bunch of money and spend it on things that I really like or want instead of blowing it away on cigarettes.

The United States has never had a female president. To what do you attribute this

There has never been a female president because a majority of Americans are afraid of change. Many people are afraid of change and don't want to find out what it would be like to have a woman president. Men have been running our country for decades and so by now, we have grown accustom to that, so to go and change what we are comfortable with would create a lot of fuss. When we have our comfort zone, we don't want to let anything new in or change anything. By not allowing anything new into our comfort zone, we are never able to experience something new and exciting or something new that could be for the better, but we would never know.

It has been said that computers are taking over our lives. Do you agree or disagree?

I agree that computers are taking over our lives. Computers are taking over our lives from different angles. There's the dating, the spelling, the communication. More and more people are turning to the internet for finding their perfect match and paying for dating websites. People are turning to computers for when they type up a report or any other kind of paper because of the ability of the spell checker in microsoft word. People are also using the internet as a main way of communication. They are sticking to instant messenger and email instead of making plans or talking in person.

Is it better to have brothers and sisters than to be an only child?

Personally, I think it is better to have brothers and sisters than to be an only child. I was an only child for twelve years and granted it was fun, but I would get bored easily and lonely. Now I have a six year old brother and it's so much better. My one friend who is an only child is the most spoiled stuck up snob you could ever meet. She gets whatever she wants whenever she wants because there are no other siblings. It's better to have siblings because you can talk to them and play with them (depending on the age) and hang out with them.

Guess what I heard today?

That's totally ridiculous that out country is 700 trillion dollars in debt but Johnny Depp (no matter how gorgeous he is) is going to get 55 million dollars for one stinking movie. I love Johnny Depp and the Pirate movies but I have only still seen the first one. Granted he looks drop dead gorgeous as a pirate, as does Orlando Bloom, but for some reason, I just can't get into the movies. I know a bunch of people that are obsessed with the Pirate movies, but that's just utterly appalling. I'd like to know how a film company can afford to pay him that much money but yet we have people losing their homes to foreclosures, not being able to afford food, heat, or gas, living off of welfare and other sources of help. Just because he is so popular, doesn't mean he deserves to be payed that much.

Should women in the military services be assigned combat duties?

Why not??? If women can do traditionally male roles in the workplace, why can't they be assigned combat duties of they are in military services. I think they should be allowed to. Women have a way of organizing things and making sure that things go according to plan. Even though being in the military is traditionally male, more and more women are joining and should be given the same chances that males are given to be assigned a leading position in combat duties and any other branch or job.

My office is sub-arctic

I think the hardest part about college is managing time for work and homework. I have no problem with the parking because I had the same situation at my high school, it was impossible to find a spot to park half the time. For me, I have trouble managing my time because I'm not used to having one class only twice a week or one night a week so I forget to do the homework until last minute. Then I'm at work til 11 at night so it's hard for me to get up in the morning and do my best on my homework because by the time I get home from work, I'm exhausted. For me, the rules aren't that much different; no cell phones, no eating/drinking in certain classes, be on time, only a certain amount of absences, etc.

What, in your opinion, are some of the reasons so many people have pets?

I think that some people have pets because pets help get rid of stress and allow for mental and emotional freedom. A pet, no matter how bad of a day you have had, will automatically put you in a better mood because they are always happy and constantly loving. Pets have unconditional love for their owners. No matter the pet, they allow us the chance to vent and not say a word because they can't speak (unless you get a bird that talks). Both me and my brother have japanese beta fish and I love coming home and going to the fish tank to feed the fish and talk to it. (My fish's name is Hubert.)

What animal do you like (or dislike) the most? Why?

My favorite animal that I like the most is a penguin. I absolutely adore them. They have to be the cutest animals ever. I love how when they walk, they waddle. They look like they are wearing little tuxedos because their fur is black and white. I love watching them in movies and how they nose-dive down a hill of snow and land into the water. They're such graceful swimmers too. Penguins are my all-time favorite animal. They are the cutest animals ever and I think it'd be pretty harrd for any animal to even try and come close to the cute and awesome factor.

Painful as anything!

So today I had to go to the foot doctor and get an ingrown taken out and holy crap am I feeling it now that my toe isn't numb anymore! About 3 weeks ago I noticed my toe was starting to hurt really really bad but I figured it would go away so I thought nothing of it. After a week, I went to the foot doctor and he's like "Oh, you have an ingrown" and I was like uhh ok??? Turns out it got infected so I had to take and antibiotic and then come back in two weeks to see how it is. Well today was when I had to go back. I got there and he told me that he was going to spray my foot with something that was so cold that it would feel like my foot is numb (liquid nitrogen) so that I wouldn't feel it when he put the, at the time I thought it would only be one, needle in. Well it turned out to be three needles just to numb my freaking toe, and each needle made me bleed so I have three spots, making a ring with blood from the needles. Then I sat there for around 45 minutes just to make sure that my toe was fully numb that I wound up falling asleep while he went and helped other patients until my toe was ready. When he came back I woke up and he touched my foot and asked if I could feel anything when he touched it. I didn't realize he had already touched it so I asked "did you touch it yet?" and he started to laugh saying that it was numb enough. Then I covered my eyes while he did what he had to do because I know if I looked I would have freaked out. Now that I'm home the numbing has started to fade so I occasionally get really sharp shooting pains from the acid he poured in the cut he made (yeah....acid) and it hurts like hell. So now I get to limp around and waddle because all the feeling hasn't come back yet. O0oo0 and when they finished with my toe and it was time for me to leave, I couldn't put my lip flop back on because my toe was numb so I looked really weird trying to put it on.

Discuss some of the advantages and/or disadvantages of having three or more generations of a family living together under the same roof.

The advantage of having three or more generations living together under the same roof is that there is always someone to watch the youngest generation. You can learn things from the previous generations instead of reading it in a book. Disadvatnages is that there is a lot of arguing and conflicts. When I lived in Kearny, in my house was my grandma (my dad's mother), my mom, me, and my dad. Needless to say my dad was the odd one out in the house and always outnumbered. My mom and grandma would constantly fight over every little thing. The plus side to having my grandma living with us was that I always had someone to talk to and play with when my parents were at work or I wanted something to do. It was kind of like having a built-in babysitter. I loved having my grandma downstairs, I could go visit her any time of the day.

Does a person have to be wealthy and powerful in order to be considered successful?

No, a person does not have to be wealthy and powerful in order to be considered successful. There are many ways to define success. To me, success is when you enjoy your job and what you do no matter the pay, having a house, and a loving family (if you choose to have kids). Success does not necessarily mean wealth and power. Success is defined as long as you are happy with yourself and the things you do. People can be the most powerful and wealthy, but chances are they are miserable because they are not happy. Money can't buy happiness or love, and to me, that's the definition of success.

Ugh

The last time I had to do something that I didn't really want to do was go to Johnstwon, Pennsylvania this past weekend. We go up every year to visit a friend of the family who is 85 years old. I really didn't want to go because that was the weekend I was supposed to go visit my bestfriend down in North Carolina where she goes to college. I wound up going to Pennsylvania with my family and visiting Josephine. It wasn't the greatest weekend because it was really really boring. I made sure to bring a lot of music and books to keep me entertained while we were up there for the weekend. Then I begged to go shopping so that helped a little bit too.

How can parents promote good reading habits in their children? Discuss.

Parents can promote good reading habits in their children by starting to read to their kids at a young age. As the child gets older, they can offer little rewards for every book or couple of books they read on their own. For me, my grandmother started taking me to the library when I was two and she taught me how to read. I think because I learned how to read at such a young age is the reason why I love to read now. I think if a parent starts reading to their child at a young age, the child will have good reading habits as they grow older. Right now, we are having my little brother read a book to one of us every night. He is five, almost six, so my parents figured that they should get him reading so he will get into a habit of reading a book every night before he goes to sleep, whether it be to himself or to one of us.

America has many regional foods. What would you recommend to a traveller who wanted to experience food from the South?

If someone was going to the South for the first time, I would definitely recommend grits if you are looking for something to go along with your breakfast. When my family and I drive to Florida every year, we always stop in Georgia and order grits. Grits is kind of like farina but a little less thick and more white in color. Farina is usually more brown in color because it is made from wheat, where grits is not. Almost every place in the south has grits, which is usually served as a side. Some places in the North offer grits but they don't taste the same.

Is it better for a political leader to be feared instead of loved? Why or why not?

I think it's better for a political leader to be loved instead of feared because if they are feared, we would be afraid to do anything wrong, even something little. When I think of a feared leader, I think of the dictatorship that Hitler created during WWII. Everyone was given the choice to either follow him or pretty much die. He has gestapo dressed as regular civilians so they could listen in on people and report everything back to Hitler, and if you said something bad about him or disagreed with him, there was a good chance you were killed or punished. I would not want to live in a country where I feared a political leader. Sed leader doesn't have to be feared just to be tough. They can be tough but still loved by their followers.

Does our society allow women to assume masculine roles more readily than it allows males to assume roles traditionally called feminine?

In today's society, it's more easily accepted for women to to assume roles that were originally considered to be for males only than for men to assume roles traditionally called feminine. I think it's harder to accept males assuming roles originally called feminine because there are some things that we never assumed men would do or want to do. For some reason, people get weirded out if a father is raising a child on his own because that means he does laundry, cooks, cleans, and takes care of the house and child. People are always shocked when they hear a male say that he can cook. My grandpa cooks better than half the women in our family. It's hard to accept males taking on traditional female roles because we are not used to it.

Which of the four seasons of the year appeals to you the most? Why?

I'm stuck between winter and fall. I love fall because the weather is still pretty nice out, it's not too cold or too hot. I also love driving and seeing all the different color leaves on the trees, to me that just looks so pretty. Winter is just amazing because there's snow, enough said. I absolutley love when it snows and all the trees, especially evergreens, have a blanket of snow on them. Ot has to be my all-time favorite scenery. It's so awesome when everything is covered in a blanket of snow because it looks so clean and pure. It's the one season where you can snuggle up under a blanket next to a fire with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. The freezing cold weather is okay because you can always bundle up with more layers until you're warm, granted you might look like a marshmallow.

Name your favorite game or sport and explain why you find it enjoyable.

My favorite sport is baseball. It is the only sport that makes sense to me and I can understand it with no problem. The one sport I cannot stand is football. I'm sorry but I think it's just a game where you try to score a touchdown and avoid getting body checked to the ground or dog-piled on. My favorite game of all time has to be badminton, hands-down. When we played it in high school my friend and I would make our teams and have names and get so into the game that whenever it was time to end gym, we woud complain and groan because we were having so much fun. Me and a couple of friends wanted to start a badminton club on campus, but when we went to talk to student life, they told us no because of pickleball. Needless to say, we were pretty upset by that.

Should teenaged children of divorced parents have the right to decide which parent to live with? Discuss.

It really depends on the situation of the parents. I mean if one parent, the favorite one, is a drug addict and that's who the child wants to live with, the child should not be given the option to live with sed parent. If both parents are financially stable to sane enough to raise a child, then the child should be able to choose who they want to live with. In court, some people can lie just so that the child will be granted to them and then they can collect money for being a single parent. I think it's not fair that the court should just assign the child to a parent. The child should be able to choose the parent they want to stay and live with, granted the child will be safe.

Third cricket found

The group paper isn't that bad, but it's definitely not the easiest. It's hard to find times that the five of us can get together before the paper is due, and sadly the only day that we can get together is thursday, the day before it's due. I think group papers are easier when you are in high school because everyone is from the same town or live close by, in college it's a little harder since we are from all over. The best part about working on the paper was that everyone pretty much accepted the weird ideas that Amy and I had, which was pretty sweet because I figured they would hate them all and make us change everything. The worst part is trying to come up with an idea of putting everything together and making it presentable.

"Manners belong to a bygone age; they are no longer relevant." Attack, defend, or modify

I am half and half with that statement. It's true, most kids these days don't pay attention to manners and don't always use them, but that doesn't mean that they are no longer relevant. I know that me and my two other cousins, we are the same age, use our manners and make sure we do, or else we get wacked upside the head. I work at WaWa so I see a lot of children and teens who are using their manners when we ring them up at register. At WaWa it's actually a lot of the adults who don't use their manners and come in and talk on their phones the entire time. If anything, I would say that most adults don't care about their manners and that this generation of kids are beginning to use them more and more. I'm sure others don't agree, but from working where I do, that's what I have concluded.

How do you account for the popularity of horror films? Discuss.

Horror films have to be, by far, my favorite type of movies. I think it's the thrill and adrenaline jolt we get from watching the movies that make them so popular. Some things that happen in the movie are just so ridiculous that we watch them. My favorite horrow movie of all time is the original Exorcist, because the things that happened in that movie are just so ridiculous. I know the first time I watched that movie was with my dad at midnight and I was so scared because I had never seen anything like that type of film before. Someone was explaining the movie to me one day and I was like wow, I want to rent that, so my dad and I went to blockbuster and rented all three Exorcist movies. For one thing, the other two are nothing compared to the first, they are less scary and make no sense. Barely anything that happens in horror movies ever happens in life so that's what makes them so popular.

Why did you choose the career for which you are preparing?

The career for which I am preparing for is a cardiologist. Ever since I was a little girl my mom has told me that I always said that I wanted to become a doctor when I grew up. I was never really sure of what kind of doctor I wanted to become until my sophomore year in high school. I had to do a science fair project for my biology class so I decided to do something on the human heart. While doing the project, I found out that my family has really bad health history with our hearts. I also found out that my grandpa has had 9 heart attacks, that the doctors know of, and is still active and alive. After I found that, I knew I wanted to become a cardiologist. My mom asks me from time to time if I still want to become one and I tell her yes. I have doubted myself sometimes but it'll be worth it in the end.

Should college students have complete freedom to choose their own courses? Discuss.

No, I don't think that college students should have complete freedom to choose their own classes. I know that sounds weird, but if you think about it, we really shouldn't. I'm a perfect example as to why we shouldn't be allowed to do that. Since I'm a biology major, I have to take a lot of credits for just Sciences alone, but then I need my Math and my English classes too. If it were up to me, I probably wouldn't take all of my English courses and my two or three courses of Math. I would stick strictly to the science classes and that would be it. There's a good chance that if college students were given the complete freedom to choose our own classes, that a good percentage would not wind up taking the classes that we would need for our intended major. No one wants to have to take a class that they don't want, so even if they needed it, there's a good chance they wouldn't bother to sign up for it.

There were TWO crickets in my house

The first essay that you had us write actually wasn't bad at all. I understood what we were supposed to write about and I actually did better than I thought I did. I don't have the greatest writing skills so I figured I did pretty poorly. I guess the only problem that I had for writing the first assignment was how to write why it was and American cultural icon, even though it was the American Red Cross. I know how to describe it and what the Red Cross does, but I had a somewhat hard time saying why it is a cultural icon. This second one is proving a little bit harder for me because I'm used to a structured essay, not an assignment where we have to come up with a community and then have rules and regulations and things like that. For the third essay, for me, I would prefer a structured essay or even a persuasive one (as much as I hate them).

What makes one college course more enjoyable than another? Explain

Things that make one college class more enjoyable than other are the teacher themself, their personality, and the way the class is taught. I can say from a hands-on experience that the amount of enjoyment I get out of class is mostly due to the teacher's personality. I have a teacher this semester who only teaches us from a powerpoint slide, usually 4-6 pages of notes every two days, and then draws random pictures on the board, trying to describe them. He is very monotoned, and never smiles unless he's laughing at his own jokes. Then on the other hand, I have two teachers who make us do group projects and make the class fun by their personality. Granted in the one we take notes more than in the other one, but I still have fun in both of them. I'm sure there's other reasons that one class is more enjoyable than the other, but for me it's definitely the teacher. I really have to say, I usually didn't like my English classes, but I always loved my teachers because they kept my attention and never did the same thing over and over again.

The Great Cricket Attack of '08

Oh my god, I feel the same exact way but with spiders. I scream for my dad whenever there's a spider in my room or anywhere else in the house. It's useless for me to call my mom because she's worse than I am. But yeah, the way you feel about crickets is the way I feel about public speaking. Whenever I have to read in front of the class, I turn like beat red in the face and my ears turn like fire engine red and get really hot. When I have to read something in front of the class the paper also shakes because my hands are shaking. I also have a fear of bugs like spiders (major!!), crickets (only when they jump at me), and bees. And then for some reason I have a fear of clowns. I really don't know why but one day I was watching a movie and there was a clown in the movie (and no its wasn't IT) and from then on out I've been afraid of clowns. Like I'm fine to go to the circus but I avoid them at all costs while I'm there. Also one of my biggest fears is of death, like I mean I know we are all going to die in the end, but I'm just afraid of how I'm going to die and when. I honestly have no idea how to make me less afraid of public speaking, if you can break me of it in your class then you are a miracle worker.

Should prison inmates be allowed to take college courses? Explain why or why not.

No, I don't believe that prison inmates should be allowed to take college courses. They were put away for a reason and to grant them access to a college where there could be a trigger that makes them "lose it" again. If the prison gave them a couple classes then that might be a different story, but to pay for a professor that would feel safe enough to teach in a prison would prove difficult. It's bad enough that we pay for them to be in prison, but now we have to pay for their education too?! Our tax dollars go to fixing up the prisons and paying for the guards salaries, now we have to pay for their education and books like we have normally at a college. Inmates should definitely not be allowed to come to a college though, because of the high risk of danger to the rest of the students.

When we return to places we knew as children, we are often surprised at how different these places seem.

I was born and raised up in Kearny, which is in north Jersey, about an hour and a half from where I live now. I lived in Kearny for twelve years of my life and when I was there, I thought it was the best thing ever. My grandmother and I would walk around town and go to the library and the Dunkin' Donuts all the time. Now whenever I go up there to visit my family, I see how much the town changed. When we first lived there, the town majority was Italian, now it's the minority. The park that I used to go to by my house isn't safe anymore, there are constant drug deals and (this is going to sound very racist) but there is never any Caucasian in the park anymore. The town used to be so clean and now there's garbage on the streets and so many places have either gone out of business or have moved out of town. I hate going up there because it changed so much. I was so used to the town and how it used to be that now I really can't stand taking that drive up there.

If you could live in some other historical period, which would you choose, and why?

If I had to choose and historical period to live in I would definitely pick to be in America during the 1920's. I absolutely adore the age of the "flappers" and how women rebelled against what they were supposed to wear and how they were supposed to act. The 20's was when women cut their hair really short and began to smoke out in public and wore "revealing" dresses that didn't go below the knee and revealed shoulder. The music from the time is amazing. This was the time period where jazz was created and was extremely popular to dance to. Some dance moves that we see today were created during the 20's. I know most people usually pick time periods that were pre- or post-war but I just love the 20's.

Should sex education be taught in public schools? Why or why not?

Of course sex education should be taught in public schools. It should be taught in every school for that matter. Granted we are constantly exposed to sex on the television and in books and always hear about ways to practice safe-sex and abstinence. Students should have to go through at least one or two years of a health class that covers sex education. The topic gets boring after a while but it does help because we don't know everything and sometimes you can actually learn from a sex education class. Apparently Sarah Palin's daughter didn't learn much from her sex education class since Palin wants to get rid of sex education in public schools in her school district.

Sick Days

Oh geez, the last time I took a sick day was about two weeks ago, over the weekend. I had wound up getting sick at work thursday night so by friday I was feeling like complete and utter crap. I went to class on friday (it's the one that most amuses me) and then hung out with some friends in the cafeteria for a little bit before I had to go home and get ready for work. Needless to say that after a coupld hours at work, I felt like I wanted to die and that my head was going to explode. On top of feeling like death, I couldn't stop sniffling and was in constant need of tissues. Everyone at work made fun of me because I sounded like a nasally man and my nose made me look like Rudolph. It was just a horrible weekend that I spent between work and my bed.

"Eight boxes of tissues later"

I'm not exactly into the whole politics thing but if I had to choose I'm pretty sure I'm gonna vote for Obama or write down Mickey Mouse's name just because I can. If it were up to me, I would get rid of everyone and just take normal everyday people and put them in. Having the candidates going on television and cooking or going on SNL (favorite show of all time!!!) would persuade me a little bit more to vote only because it gives us a chance to see them as real people goofing off and having fun instead of being these totally serious and boring political robots. It's easier to for me to make a decision because I can't stand people who are serious all the time and don't know how to have a little fun now and then. I mean yeah, granted their job calls for it, but I'm sure there are things they can do and fundraisers they could attend or something that gives us a chance to see the real person. Personally I would love to see more politics on television, then maybe I would take more interest in them.

Ugh..Birthdays

So today is my eighteenth birthday and I have one thing to say...it pretty much sucks. I mean I know everyone is pretty excited when they turn legal age. You are finally considered an adult, you can buy rub-offs (addictive), you can vote, no more driving restrictions, go to clubs, and a bunch of other things. I was all excited like pretty much all week about it and then when the day actually came, I was dead tired from the night before and had an exam that I'm pretty sure I bombed because I guessed on half of the questions. Then in Biology we were going over stuff for our exam on Thursday and I fell asleep (not sure out of boredom or exhaustion). I had to go home and work a couple hours which totally sucked, I stood at register and did pretty much nothing. Then I went out to dinner with the parental units and one of my closest friends. Dinner was hilarious since I haven't seen her all summer and my little brother was the loudest and funniest person in the restaurant. All in all I guess it was okay.

Yankees Rule!!

So yesterday my dad, cousin, and I went to a Yankees game and it was absolutely amazing! They won during the bottom of the ninth inning with bases loaded and two outs. The batter up was Robinson Cano, and he amazingly hit a fielder that the Baltimore Orioles wouldn't catch in time for Giambi to make it to home plate. The score had been 0-0 all night and until that moment I had never screamed so loud at a baseball game. When they got that one run I was jumping out of my seat. Now today my dad and I got tickets to the final game at the old stadium and are leaving around 4 because we figured we would hit a lot of traffic, it being the last game of the regular season at the old stadium. I'm so excited for the game and I really hope they win. The game starts at 8:30 so we probably won't get home until around 2 in the morning but it's all good because I am absolutely in love with the Yankees!!!

Major Accident at Shoprite

This past Monday, I was working when all of sudden some guy came in and asked if I had heard about the accident that happened at Shoprite. Of course, since I was working, I had no idea what was going on in the outside world because it's WaWa, I mean, come on. Then a lot more people kept coming in and telling me different versions of what had happened. The shoprite plaza was closed from about 4:30 in the afternoon until the next day, with cops all over the place because someone was killed in the accident. I was reading the Lacey Beacon at work and there was an article about the whole thing. Turns out there was a lady who was driving while talking on her cell phone and would up swerving into a bus. The bus then smashed into the cement columns and rebounded into other cars. The woman who caused the accident wound up dying, and when the bus rebounded and hit other cars, one of my friend's sister was hit and is in critical condition at the hospital.

Ohio Inmate Claiming Obesity

I didn't know that there was a "weight limit" for lethal injections, if that is your given death sentence. There is a man in the Ohio State Prison who is claiming that he is too obese and that his veins are too hard to find because of his size. He says that it will be too hard to put the intravenous into his arm. To me that seems ridiculous and that he's just trying to find a way to prolong his death sentence. I've never heard of someone not being able to serve their death sentence because of their weight. He was placed in jail for raping and killing two college girls over 22 years ago, while he was on leave from the military. He and an accomplice also carved an 'x' into their abdomens after they killed the two girls.

Rock the Vote!

So today on campus was a Rock the Vote! registration and I definitely didn't go. I signed up online but I still have yet to print out my information and send the paperwork to Trenton or wherever it has to go so I can be a fully registered voter. I know that it's important to become a registered voter but I'm not really sure that I want to because I know that when my mom re-registered when we moved down the shore, she got called to jury duty a whole bunch of times and I really don't want to be bothered with that. My friends, well those who are registered, are closely split about who they are voting for. Then I have the friends who don't really care and don't want and aren't going to vote. It would be so much simpler if we were told that we have to vote, not given the option, because then you have people who register like right away and then you have those who are wishy-washy about it, like me, and then those who just won't vote for anything. I wasn't sure that I could register yet because my birthday isn't until Monday but then my dad told me that by the time the paperwork was processed and everything, I would already be eighteen.

Bowling and Presidents

Last night I went out with a bunch of friends for a night out since we haven't seen each other since graduation. We decided to go bowling for a couple hours. When we got there, at first we started off with our names, and then we went to nicknames, and then somehow we got onto the topic of the election and the candidates. Since there were six of us, we were divided into two teams, and one team wound up being McCain and the other, which I was on, was Obama. We did this because this was probably who we are going to vote for, even though I tried to argue that I wasn't going to vote for the name of the team I was on, I still haven't finished registering to vote for that matter. All six of us got into a huge debate over the election and who we were going to vote for because of the fact that one of the candidates is of African American descent, and the other candidate has a woman as a Vice-President. I really hadn't paid attention to how controversial this election has become just because of those to factors.

Gas Prices at Work

So I was at work this weekend and since I work at a WaWa with fuel pumps outside, we have to have our prices done by 4 every afternoon. This past weekend, we went up 15 cents for each type of gas we sell all because of Hurricane Ike. There were so many people that were fuming into the store and yelling at us because we had to raise the prices. It's insane how much the gas prices rose just because of Hurricane Ike. It stinks driving a truck and having to deal with gas prices as it is, but now we have to deal with the aftermath of the hurricane and all the damage it's caused. There are rumors saying that gas prices are supposed to go back up to almost five dollars a gallon because of the oil reserves we have in Texas. I really hope that with the new presidency coming up, they can figure out a way to lower the prices and keep them down. Over the summer, I read in the newspaper that the prices this summer were double the prices from last summer. I think that's ridiculous that the price was more than double the price we were paying last summer.

One week down

My first week at OCC wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Granted I was hoping that I would have more people from my high school in some of my classes but it's cool. My classes are pretty fun, I guess. I expected them to be really boring classes where the time just seems to drag on forever, but time actually kind of flies while I'm in some of them. My most challenging class this semester is probably going to be my Chemistry class because its four hours long and at night. I get bored pretty easily and I can't stand in one spot for almost two hours during the lab we have. Thankfully I have one of my best friends in that class and we are lab partners so we sit there poking each other to keep ourselves awake. It's so weird walking around campus and seeing so many people that I graduated with because I figured most of them would have gone away to college, like I was going to do until last minute, when I decided to do Stars. I don't mind it though, I mean of course there's times where I wish I had gone away to college, but I like being home and still being with some of my friends. I think the class that I laugh the most in is my English class. Between the cursing and random comments, the classroom is always laughing even though it's 8 in the morning, it's great.