Forrest and Stump

School in July

2009-07-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so since I just finished my first full week of school, I thought I would enlighten you on what it's like to go to school in the summer--how its different than the fall.

First, its a little lighter outside when you go to sleep.

Second, its a little hotter and there's a little more humidity at cross country practice--or any other time you choose to venture outdoors (like for fire drills, dual enrollment, etc.)

Now, for the similarities..

First, the bright and eager students are just as bright and eager July 8th as they are August 8th.

Second, the food tastes just as scrumptous (right spelling?)

Third, it's just as hard to wake up in the mornings.

Last, chemistry, spanish, french, and english are just as easy--or hard--to learn.

Ok, so, admittedly, there's not too much difference between the two. But let's be honest....where would the fun in this post be without a couple of oddities?

Catchup

2009-06-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

So, ill admit, i have completely forgotten about my blog. But--in my defense--i have been sort of busy. I mean we just got out of track season, i've been to our nation's capital, been to my cousin's graduation, and gone to the beach (ok, so those last two go hand in hand) so i have been a little busy!! So, i'm only going to post a few things up here picture/video wise right now.

Track Season:

Our track season turned out so great this year! The girl's team won Sub-Sectionals and the boy's won Sectionals. 8 of us went to the state competition. David won the open 800, the boys 4x800 came in second, and the girl's 4x800 came in third. If you click on the link below, you can watch us run. I'm the second leg of this race. Stephanie is the first, Landry the third and Leah the last. We are University School of Johnson City and are in the Dark Blue bottoms and top. Come on, you know you wanna watch it, what else do you have to do?

http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view_video/235044/180832

Washington, D.C.:

Me and Terry went to our nation's capital for a quick two-day trip. A word to the wise: memorize the maps BEFORE you make it to the city, watch out for Massachusetts Avenue, and don't even bother looking for a place to eat lunch in the city unless it's Burger King, Starbucks, a goat cheese pizza store, or a hot dog vendor (although, those probably aren't too bad and the one outside the American History Museum even claimed to have served Leonardo DiCaprio --we didn't stop, but if it had been DaVinci it would have been a done deal). As it turns out, nothing opens in the city until after 2:00. Our hotel was actually pretty neat, though. We were about three blocks away from the white house--and no, the Obama's didn't invite us over for tea....the nerve, i know! We went sightseeing in the morning--including the whitehouse where we tried to find the new First Dog to set up a playdate with Stump, but had no Bo sightings. We also checked all the memorials.....Lincoln, World War 2, Vietnam, and Washington. I wonder why there is no World War 1? Or if there is and we just missed it, why it is so understated? We then checked out the Museum of American History. Honestly, we spent about 3 hours in there and had only gone through about 1/2 to 2/3 of the third floor. That is what i most recommend you to go see if you happen to be visiting the area soon. Pretty neat place.

It was then time to go to the hotel where the tryouts would be. It lasted about 3 hours with another 50 question written test (like the first one we tried out with on the computer), a mock game, and an interview. I think they thought i was a little crazy when i wanted to join the CIA. haha. Anyway, we won't know anything until mid-August and then taping is at the end of August. It will be aired the middle of September. But whether i make it or not i'm pretty excited i got this far. 70,000 people took the online test, 10,000 passed it, and 300 were then asked to do these interviews around the country. From this 300 they will pick 15--3 from each of the 5 interviewing spots. so, technically i have a 1/20 shot of getting on it, ha

I'll have to put other pictures on here later, because now i'm a little tired. Hola!

running around before the season began

Dan Crowe relays--we came in second 10:18

From left to right....Leah, Landry, me, Steph

Time's News Relays....we came in third 10:02

Sectionals....in Chattanooga, Tennessee....we ate at the Mellow Mushroom before hand

the rest of the pics are from state.....

Watching the wolverine movie before we ran

watching Liz throw before we ran. She got 5th in discus.

after we ran. we ran a 9:55 overall, and i ran a 2:29.

The next day, the girl's went shopping. Then we went to watch the boy's run. As you can tell, we made matching t-shirts.

the last day on the way home....

that's it! i'll get washington pics up here later....

Prom '09

2009-05-03T17:56:00.001-07:00

these are only some, ill post the others later

new house!!

2009-04-18T08:58:00.001-07:00

be sure to view it from the bottom to the top, i put them on here backwards....

View from my room

My Closet

my closet

2nd bedrooms closet--with a window!

2nd bedroom

my bathroom

3rd bedroom

my bedroom

my bedroom from the hall

upstairs

den upstairs

stairs

downstairs 1/2 bath

master bedroom closet

master bathroom

master bedroom

kitchen

kitchen/living room thing

first room thing

outside

mailbox!!

the house

North Carolina

2009-03-27T06:21:00.000-07:00

These past three weeks have been our spring break--i know, aren't year-round schedules great. So, one of our trips was down to Raleigh, North Carolina to visit my Uncle Milburn, Aunt Denise, Buttercup the dog, and cousins Tyler and Lindsey--as it was Lindsey's birthday. Oh, and we took Mammaw with us.

repost of commercials.

2009-02-12T04:42:00.000-08:00

so if you know me really well--which you should by now if you are regularly checking this thing--then you should already know that i love commercials. now i know that most people can't stand their favorite show being interrupted constantly every 5-15 minutes. and i know that there are those few who despise the previews at movie theatres (because those are sort of like long, specialized commercials that show upcoming titles rather than useful--or useless--items.) But i happen to love these and i happen to think that they are seriously underappreciated. when is the last time you've been to the grocery store where you have bought something because you saw it on the tv screen. ok, so maybe not that often, but i do think that it is hard to think up commercials and even harder to think up funny commercials and these writers deserve some credit, so i have searched and probed my brain (probare: to probe) and the following are my top ten favorite commercials. if for some crazy reason you aren't as crazy about commercials as me and you don't memorize them, then click on the link to watch and refresh your memory. sorry if i left one of yours out!! oh and they are in specific order, too. honorable mentions--these following 4 are great, but just not great enough.

1. Visa Elephant commercial--this is one of the few that i have on here that is not really funny. but i like it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFNXwor69-U

2. one of the many sonic commercials. they are all actually pretty funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD6d4TZgOPw this is the weather man one and the reason it merits a spot is because of the guy's facial expressions; trust me.

3. sonic again, keep watching the facial expressions; they are absolutely hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR-yLzxt6gg

4. this is a wendy's commercial, and i didn't really think that the skit was really great (hence the reason it's in honorable mention) but listen to the chanting at the end of it; i think that's worth an honorable mention. you really have to listen, though, because that girl announcing the sandwich is really loud. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi5_jNv3MoM

the real thing:

10. remember those old visa commercials. not the priceless ones, but the life takes ones. where they had stuff like: life takes determination, life takes spontanaity, and at the end the guy does this back flip off the tree (which is really cool in itself). i couldn't find it, so i hope you remember it, but they are pretty neat.

9. the planter's peanut commercial--i think this one aired during the last superbowl. where the girl uses the planter's perfume. the best part is when the bicyclist hits the taxi. although that would hurt.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NVbFoj3aTQ

8. this is the last sentimental one, ok; those olympic visa adds were all really great, but the very best one was the one about everyone being human. at least i thought so. it always gives me goose bumps, because of everyone's facial expressions: both joy and agony. or maybe it's because i'm human. either way, it takes spot 8, of this much sought after prize. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7QbKGgsm8

7. the many peyton manning commercials. they are all equally funny, and since they're all pretty much the same thing, how could you choose?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSCALpmxnLE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G0loI0Jn5M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwDAfdmNMVw

6. the mr. bill commercial. i had honestly never seen mr. bill before, and isn't he cute? especially his laugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxMqDxtjw1U

5. the ever popular hillshire beef commercials. while they are all great, this one is the best--i believe anyway..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r2fjUYKdl4

4. the talking stain commercials of course. i especially love how they manage to sound like they have a British accent even while talking gibberish.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_oGKceD-j0

3. getting close to the number one spot, right? number three, however, goes to the absolutely funniest taco bell commercial ever. the taco bell rap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmnDtL83cvA

2. the techno twins slad and veder--from at&t. although they don't call him a funny name like the pool table one (dillweed) this does have the funniest music. and it has a robot person with a boombox. and the main guy has the best facial expressions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUfONVpMn4Q

1. the wendy's ranch tooth commercials. remember them? if you watch any of these commercials, watch these two. as a sidenote, this is even better because the guy off of the show chuck--which is also something you should watch--is on this, too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFqDPRS_Vaw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNsqVNqIGj4 the second is of course much funnier.

so, i hope you enjoyed my top ten (plus honorable mentions) of commercials. i certainly enjoyed looking them up. sorry if i left yours out....then again you may not have favorite commercials like me....unlikely, i know....but just maybe.

Leaving and returning.

2009-02-09T15:39:00.000-08:00

so, you know that feeling whenever you have returned to a place that you havent been to in a while? well, its a mixture of feelings actually. A little nerve-wracking at first (butterflies, anyone), awkwardness (though only with the people you havent talked to), and from there, it differs with each person.

With some--after these two emotions--you feel relief. You have worried and fretted over whether they will still like you or not, and when everything goes normal, you're happy. You get along like nothing ever happened....only now you both have numerous stories to tell. This is where the majority fall.

Sometimes, you never get out of the awkward feeling. You talk, but--with such a short visit--there's just not enough time to feel normal again. Of course you're still friends, its just a little....awkward. There aren't too many here, though.

Then, there are the times where the emotion is sadness. When you have realized just how much they have changed--and you yourself mostly--and that things just arent the same anymore. They have moved on entirely with their life, and that life most definately does not include you for some reason. Happily, though, there are very few people in this category.

But, it is fun to categorize the emotions you feel. I suggest you try it sometime. :) i loved seeing everyone!

TCAP Writing Assessment

2009-02-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

So, today was a sad day. Today i took the last TCAP Writing Assessment i'll ever have to. Now, my grade has been blessed, because we have written more of these than any others. We started with taking it in 4th grade, but then--during our 5th grade year--they decided to change the years.....so we got to take it again. Throw in the one from 8th grade and this year's, and that makes 4. Whoo! Who would have thought we could be so fortunate.

Now, i dont know if you have ever taken one of these genius inventions, but they have some of the best prompts that you will ever write on. Let me demonstrate:

4th grade: What would you do if one day you woke up and you were all grown up? Where would you go with your adult self and what would you do? Well, i said i would check out my parents' closet; i would look on top of the refridgerator (because we all know what cool things lie up there), and i would drive to McDonald's and buy something to eat.

5th grade: Pretend that you are a rain drop flying high in the clouds above Blount Co. Where would you go....etc. etc. I cant really remember what i said.....something about meeting up with all of my raindrop pals.

8th grade: this one was not as ingenius as the others. they must have hired new writers. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why.

11th grade: Some believe that violent video games and movies are corrupting our youth. Do you agree? Why or why not? Well, i personally disagree. I mean honestly, i think that a kid that is smart enough to play those games is smart enough to be able to differentiate between the real world and virtual reality. But that is just one reason, and you have to have 3 support reasons. Come on guys, you cant forget the 5-paragraphs! So, i said yes because we all know that these gruesome movies and games promote gangs, murder, and illegal activites. Since all my random facts and statistics seemed to have left me, i had to stick with examples--which led to Halo, Grand Theft auto, The Lion King, Will Smith, John Wayne, and Spongebob. Yeah, i bet you never knew Spongebob was a cold-blooded killer. Only in the video game, though.

But, so, after throwing in a few emotional responses at the end--if the writers do not clean up their act, then we will see devastating results. Video games will lead to the downfall of our nation and society as we know it.

Yeah, so i know, i threw in the cheeseball effect, but hey, i had too. It was the last one, and i had to go out with a bang.....:)

Happy Groundhog Day!

2009-02-02T14:47:00.001-08:00

So, todays the day....today's one of those random holidays of the year that is seriously underappreciated. It ranks up there with St. Patrick's Day, May Day, Leif Erikson Day, and April Fool's Day....although that last one is beginning to rise in popularity.

All of these special days, though, are frequently ignored, if not forgotten. And these are some pretty cool days. I mean honestly, when else can you:

1. dress all in green and act like lepercaun (have you ever tried to spell that word?)
2. Dance around a pole while holding long, pretty ribbons.
3. lie your butt off--while practice your drama skills--and have people not get mad at you?

Those things just dont happen all the time. And Groundhog Day is part of the list, too. Besides a 2 min segment on the evening news where they show the glorified rodent being lifted into the air by a man in a mysterious top hat, nothing is said. Well, if you discount the blockbuster movie that shares the same name--which is a true winner, i recommend it.

Speaking of the groundhog himself, though, i do have a few thoughts. Just a couple tidbits.

Have you ever really thought about Groundhog's day and the whole "shadow" thing. You know, if he sees his shadow, gets scared, and returns to his comfy groundhog den then we have 6 more weeks of winter. But have you ever really thought about what happens if he doesn't. First of all, they never really talk about it, because--and lets be honest--it almost never happens. And i can see why....but can you?

Imagine if you will, that you are a furry ground hog--one word or two--and that your name just happens to be phoxatawny--im not even going to pretend i know how to spell it--phil. You wake up one cold Febuary morning and mosy out of your little den. You take one step and see hundreds of not only people, but cameras, flashes, and theres a strange man in a top hat as well. What would you do?

I mean come on, what chip munk wouldnt run back down the whole? If he didnt, i would honestly begin to question his sanity.....or his will to live. But anyway, im off my soap box now. That's just a little thought for Groundhog day 2009.

On another note, it snowed today! While some schools were closed, our fine institution was not. We do not let the weather have a detrimental effect on the young minds of our students. So, we stayed in and watched the rain turn to cold rain turn to snow.

It's ok, though, im not bitter. When we got home we--including Stump--made a snowman.

Sad day

2009-01-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

Today is a very sad day....

Twelve years ago, we had a beautiful white cat named Momma Cat. She gave birth to a litter of kittens--note again the name, she had quite a few of these batches. So, she had tons and tons, and we needed a way to lessen the amount of the squealing lot....so we started giving them away to friends and aquaintences and anyone else who wanted a little ball fluff and joy. But before you jump to conclusions, we made sure that each kitten was ready to go before we let them--you know, they were trained on cat food and me and Garrett helped them learn to drink water.

So, that is the background, and most of the cats were adopted....the rest just became backyard pets and carried on the generations-- we were up to three until carrot the orange was fixed. One of the lucky individuals to receive one was Taylor's family. Precious was a unique cat--the only one I ever knew to growl. She was a cool cat and I'm sad to see her go! My condolences....

New Seasons....

2009-01-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

so, in case you didnt know, a new season of tv is coming up very quickly--Feb. 2nd actually. and some of you may be wondering perhaps what to watch. I mean honestly, there is so much on the television today from reality to sitcom to game shows to sports. And there are even sub-genres to these like mystery, detective, sci-fi, comedy....well you get the picture.

So, as i have pointed out, it can become a little intimidating to decide what to watch after a long day of school--or work, if thats your thing. i have compiled a list of the best--to me--shows on the air right at this moment. Whether you choose to watch them or not....well that's up to you. So, look up your favorite genre, and pick out a new show to view....

and, as it normally is, this is in no particular order.....

Reality

1. The Biggest Loser--ok, so this season has actually already started, but i still definetely recommend it. Before you say no, its not only about losing weight....trust me....its actually really suspenseful--well maybe not suspenseful....maybe its thrilling.

2. Survivor--now this hasnt started yet, so you havent missed a thing yet. Now i know that this show has been around forever, but you shouldnt write it off just because of that. It is still the same interesting show it was from the start....just a little older and in what, the 16th season or whatever.

Game show

1. Jeopardy--of course! Not only do you get to learn new facts--yes, i happen to be a nerd, i know--but they have the best host ever....Alex Trebek....or however you spell it. I even tried out once in 7th grade....obviously i didnt make it.

2. America's Best Dance Crew/So you think you can dance--these arent the same show, but they do have the same premise. only watch it if you like dancing, though, or else it might be excrutiatingly boring.

Sitcom/Series

1. Chuck--now this show is honestly one of the best so far, and the second season was even better than the first--which if you ever need to borrow, just ask me. Trust me, watch it and you will definetely want to be a secret agent.

2. Heroes--i know, this seems like a cheesy sci-fi show, and i thought it did too. I even tried watching it a few times on tv, but it made no sense whatsoever. So i actually tried starting from the very first season. and it was great. like it actually was extremely intriguing. And although a lot of people did not like the 2nd and 3rd season as much, i still loved them. But, as a word of warning, do not start with the 4th season--Feb. 2nd--watch the others first or you will have no clue what is going on.

That's about all i watch....hope it helps you find your favorite show....

UHS

2009-01-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

so, i know, its been two weeks since i started university high, but hey....im running a little late here. we, unlike blount co. and Loudon Co., actually attend school regularly, and so i don't have time to just lounge around the house....yes, a little bitter.

moving on though,

so, i started another high school two weeks ago--i know! we all know that two is not enough! why have only a pair of alma maters when you can have a triple??--so, i began. Now, since im trying to go all out here in my high school years, i had to, of course, go with the ecletic. I already had the middle-sized country school, the large city school, and so i needed something new, something different. so, i chose university high.

i actually didnt choose them, they have to choose you too--some complicated application process that id rather not get into--and it is probably the closest thing to a private school--but its public--that ill get to. i guess ill give you a brief tour. this post isnt really planned out, so im just winging it.

located in the scenic hills of the East Tennessee State University--hence the name....i know! so inventive!--lies the 4-story University School. This lovely school is not just a high school but a k-12 building hosting, in all, around 535 students....which breaks down to about 75 per high school grade, and 16-20 in elementary. i really dont know middle school and, since middle school years were the worst of my life, i dont really plan on investigating.

moving on.....

floor 1: elementary and cafeteria.....also calc, so i have one class down there.
floor -1: otherwise known as the basement. i have two classes back-to-back down here. government and history. same teacher, same room.
floor 2: middle school, library.....for dual enrollment, you have to report to the library first and on non-days. im here twice a day.
floor 3: high school--weird though, i only have one class here....english.

so, since i know you are all waiting on bated breath, ill let you in on the cafeteria. Unlike DB--sadly, i cant really remember all the HHS caf facts--where you only have 20 min and you eat with about 550-600 other bright and aspiring students, here, you actually have room to breath. For thirty minutes, we are able to eat with about 140 others and actually hear other people talk. I had to, of course, find a new seat and table. So, while walking through the one line--as opposed to 4--i quickly scanned the three long tables in the room. I dont think you guys are really grasping the small part. I mean it is small. These are the tables with the built in little blue chairs that we used to eat on in elementary school.......which makes sense considering elementary has first lunch.

anywho, i found a group of two girls--as it turned out, this was a nice choice, because i have two classes with one and the other is ultra sweet--and sat. Well wouldnt you know, i managed to find the spot where all the teachers eat as well. So, im not only able to eat with kids my age, but the adults too. I have since met the athletic director, the fitness coach, the typing teacher, another history teacher, the custodian, and several Lunch workers. And--all joking aside--they are very nice and its actually extremely enjoyable to talk to them all.

So, since my day was pretty uneventful, ill skip over those boring parts--aside from getting hit in the head by a half-empty water bottle after school.....yeah, im that kid--and that was my day.

maybe next post ill let youin on my chinese class that started last week.....now that's a story....

New Year's Resolutions

2009-01-01T13:08:00.000-08:00

Ok so I sure hope you all have already made your new year resolutions, because really, everyone just should. New years resolutions are pretty much just mini bucket lists. Honestly, they really are. The only real difference is that resolutions are less numerous and must be completed in a shorter time frame--hopefully. So, I have of course made my own

1. Teach stump how to fetch. This is a lot harder than you would expect, trust me. Especially when the subject continuously has to stop and pee, poop, or anything else that really suits his fancy. It also does not help much that the trainee is very lazy for a dog and has a knack for finding the perfect spot to plop. And I mean honestly, who would want to move after they have finally found the greatest nap spot--even if it does mean giving up a bite of pupperoni or snausage.

2. Be nicer to all people in general. Ie. More patient, bite tongue, etc.

3. Brush stump at least once a week. His mats have to be one of the roughest things ever to deal with.

4. Complete 2 bucket list goals. I sure hope it's one of the more interesting ones like riding a jeep in new Zealand or riding a mechanical bull. Or even going to the kentucky derby....I'm game for it.

5. Increase my act score. Plus, I would like to try my hand at the sat.

6. Get in shape--of course that had to make it, that is the generic one on everyone list this year.

7. Keep a reading log. I don't want to forget what I have read!

Well those are probably about it. I haven't given you all of mine, but that should be enough to get all of you resolution-slackers started, right? Happy New Year!

December 26

2008-12-26T13:04:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas is always so sad.... No more Christmas music for an entire year....:(

Charlotte '08

2008-12-14T17:26:00.000-08:00

so, i know, i happen to be a slacker. But, finals will be over after this week and i will try to blog more. no promises though. Don't look for much this week--due to finals as i have mentioned, dont you love them?--but i'll work on it. one plus, though, i get my braces off on wednesday!

so, we took our annual Charlotte trip this year to the Southern Living Christmas show in Charlotte, NC....go figure. It really is a fun show, we all dress alike.....which brings about a lot of attention. i mean what else could you expect when you see three generations--6 in all--walking, or rolling, along together in very closed in spaces--it is very crowded there.

as i have mentioned, this is an annual trip, so we pretty much go no matter what. In fact, in my 17 years of existence i have only missed two times. The first year.....i mean can you blame me, i was born Nov. 4 and the trip is always the 2nd or 3rd weekend of November....even to me, that would be a little too risky to have a little week-old baby around all those people. The other was when i was two and i stayed home with Mamaw without a Pappaw and my dad. So, this trip is pretty important, and we go pretty much no matter what. Whether in a sling due to a broken shoulder or gimped up and unable to move my head. Minor problems really. We have had one broke down car--van--and one minor mishap with water in the gasline and a very nice police officer.

Like the alike dressing, this trip brings many traditions. Due to the clothes, i now have a nice tan sweater from last year, an embroidered "Merry Christmas"! white sweater, a very hot pink snowman sweater (oh look they're dressed alike.....they are too!.....and look them too!, a red snowman vest, and a red sweatshirt with a charm from this year. I was sadly too young to receive the black-checkered shirt from a few years ago....it happens. although i'm not too sad, because that year they did get accused of being a bowling team....but you know, it happens.

Another tradition is the streusal (cherry, apple, or cheese! take your pick! only $6.95 a box!). You can also count the tradition of switching hotels every year. Maybe we are noisy--six women in one room (especially with a cellphone to call Uncle Jack "The sheep are our friends. Without them no life, no home. I will stay by the sheep.") or maybe its the fact that aunt carolyn puts so much soap in the dishwasher that it foamed over onto the floor. Either way, we dont venture back.So, that's our Charlotte trip! you should create one!

My aphorisms of life

2008-11-14T15:11:00.000-08:00

now, i know that i do not know much, and i do happen to know that im only seventeen years old--as of a week ago--but i have compiled a list of my own dos and donts or aphorisms. of course they may not be yours, but hey, it is still fun to make a list of them.

if you want to truly know if your friends are true friends, move.

dont be afraid to watch/read the "nerdy" things--aka, the lord of the rings, star wars, etc.--most people watch/read them, they are just too emabarrased to admit it because no one else does.

dont be afraid to take up "old-fashioned" hobbies. cross-stitching and crocheting are great stress relievers.

Make lists! it is unbelievably fun!

Do befriend your grandparents--honestly, they're some of the neatest people you will ever meet.

likewise, so are your parents.

if you want to know if you realy are capable of making friends on your own, move.

do not ignore your family--they are the people who wont abandon you even when you're not 'cool' enough or if others forget.

learn how to speak latin--it is intriguing to find out where all these words we speak come from: (clamor--to shout).

actually open a book and read--9 times out of 10 it is better than the movie and spark notes.

just because you set your mind to something doesnt mean you will succeed....but you can still try.

here's a novel idea, dont cheat--especially around me, it is my ultimate pet peeve--if you actually try the right way, than you may even glean someting from the process.....crazy i know.

take a class in physics--even if you aren't in high school anymore; that is what college classes are for--you will never think the same.

do beware of free things, especially on the internet.

take pictures every chance you get, even if it seems repetitive and mundane. you'll be glad in the years to come.

music is one of the best antidrugs there is....be open to all types.....yes, even country, jazz, and classical.....you never know where you might find your next favorite song.

dont whine, it doesnt become you

actually think before you speak, i know it is hard, but install a filtering system.....it will save you many awkward apologies and embarrasing fights down the road.

if you do not understand something, ask! acting smart and cool gets you nowhere when you actually have no clue what is going on. you dont help anyone by remaining in the dark.

learn to play a musical instrument.

try sending people mail--no, not email, but post office mail--it is a thing of the past that needs to be reinstituted. remember how you used to love getting mail? it still pertains even now.

it honestly does not matter if your socks do not match your outfit. seriously, dont worry about it.

the food that you despise? yeah, try it again.....you may actually find out that you like it. like, say, onion rings.

start traditions and keep them.

leave voicemails when you get answering machines. yes, most people actually would like to hear your beautiful voice when they finally check their phone.

dont be afraid to eat chocolate--it is evidently even healthy.

try to learn a new fact every day. (easy at db, they post a new one on the announcements at the beginning of the school day. did you know that 20% of the bones in your body are located in your feet or that a blue jay cannot see blue. did you know that salmon can jump six feet in the air or that mr. einstein was asked by Israel to become their president at one point.....he refused, but its the though that counts.

do dress up once a week. Dressing up makes you feel better about yourself.

and last but not least--for the time being

make a list of your aphorisms, it helps you know what you think.

Damage control

2008-11-12T15:30:00.001-08:00

so yes, i now must do some damage control.

the car in those pictures is most definately not my car. That was just the vehicle i took my traffic law test in. You must think my parents would be crazy to get me a brand new car for my first car....that or you just don't know my driving skills--reminder; i got three strikes against me on the test for driving on the wrong side of the road--ha!

thanks for the vote of confidence though!

driver's license!

2008-11-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

so yes i know, i happen to be a complete and utter slacker. i have not taken the time to write, or blog, or post, or whatever you fancy really, in a long while. my bad. i have just sort of let it slide.....that's what happens when you start the last 6 weeks of the term. you have to sort out your priorities....and sleeping and reading come first.

speaking of reading, if you are short of something to delve into this oncoming Christmas season, then i'll recommend some novels to you. of course, you do need to remember that i happen to be a teenage girl which means that all of you may not be into the same books as me--shocker i know. but then again....you may surprise yourself. so, here are some examples, just throwing these out there. and don't worry, i have read them or are in the process of reading, so i can give you a quick synopsis if the need arises:

wuthering heights--do not ask me how it ends, im not done yet.

gone with the wind--long, but worth it.

tuesday's with morrie--sad.

the bourne identity--not just the movie.

the phantom of the opera--no singing.

twilight--trust me on this one.

the five people you meet in heaven--different.

and then there were none--honestly, my favorite mystery book ever.
clique--funny

the abc murders--2nd best mystery.
to kill a mockingbird--if you haven't read it in your school years first

private--older version of clique.

the things they carried--engaging.
the scarlet letter--if nothing else, you will at least start thinking in old english grammar for awhile.

next generation leader--just to see if youre paying any attention

anyway, i need to get back on topic, because this was not what i was going to say.

i just wanted to tell the world that i finally got my driver's license. of course, this post is a little late because i actually got it, like, three weeks ago. but you know, better late than never, right? i passed, but the woman did have to count off some points....something about staying on the right side of the road....you know, minor details. so, keep your eye out for me

october 31, 2008

2008-11-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

so yesterday was october 31, and we all know what that means....it was halloween time. although most people did not dress up at school, everyone was still duly excited. i decided to forgo the last ballgame of the season--which we won....whoo! our record is now 10-0--and opted to to not freezed my bum off. wise, i thought.

so, we came home and i was completely excited to be able to hand out candy. you have no idea. i was ready. we had ventured to wal-mart the day earlier, and stocked up. i got to pick out the candy, and so we ended up with: peanut mm, tootsie rolls, crunch, musketeers, twix, and bubble gum. well, ok, ill admit that i may have over-estimated the amount a little bit, but hey....you never know how many little trick-or-treaters will show up on your doorstep.

as you can probably infer.....not one person came that night. i was honestly a little shocked and devestated. but anyway, at least we had a cool pumpkin.

oh, and of course we had a bomb threat that day at school ..... but that's a different story for a different day.

enjoy the pics....i was a survivor contestant if you didn't already notice. i was a tad chilly.

Spy-Ware, Viruses, Bugs, Trojan horses, and worms....

2008-10-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

ok, so try as i might, computers are not my forte. trust me on this one....i have now killed two computers in my short lifetime of 16--almost 17--years. well, to be honest, i've only killed one....the second is just dying. as we speak actually, and as i type.

how do i know that i have poisoned this one?? i mean technically it still works....i happen to be typing on its ill-fated keyboard right now. maybe it's just a gut instict, or an intuition, or maybe its the "Your computer is infected! Windows has detected spyware infection! It is recommended to use special antispyware tools to pervent data loss (yes pervent is spelled wrong, i just now noticed that while i was transcribing this fatal message). Windows will now download and install the most up-to-date antispyware for you. Click here to protect your computer from spyware!" sign that keeps popping up and going back down involuntarily every 2-3 seconds. Yup there it goes again. quite funny actually. it trades places with "Spyware alarm. Somebody's tryig to infect your pc with spyware and other harmful software" and "Internet attak attempt detected". Too bad that i don't even trust these little messages. i fully believe that it is the little nerdy hacker dude sitting at home eating cheetoes or doritoes--scratch the doritos....i actually like those and i don't want him eating the same thing as me. how do i know it's him? maybe it's the intuition acting up again....or maybe it's because those icons have never been on my computer before....either way....

now, some of you may be wondering about my talented knack for all things computer-destroying. It really is a talent that can't be learned....it definately takes an inate instict to know where to find the most deadly trojan horses, viruses, worms, and spyware. And no, i have not been to any porn websites--whenever i told anyone at school about my software mistake, that was oddly their first reaction, "been watching porn?" No, i have not, why would that be everyone's first thought anyway? do i look like i enjoy fornication or something? back to the story--i just happen to have horrible instincts when it comes to hidden viruses.

my first computer i destroyed--well, lets be honest again, it wasnt a computer....it was a laptop.....my momma's laptop actually....oops--had nothing to do with viruses actually. before i got my lime-green ipod, i had this off-brand version. it worked great--not as well as an ipod, because it did freeze a lot--but you did have to download this special type of software that was on this cd that came with the package. Well, i thought i could handle it. i mean, come on; it is a step-by-step process. simple, right? wrong!! that cd was a killer in disguise....well not really, it wasn't the softwares fault....it was the technician (heh heh, that would be me). So, through much sweat, blood and tears--minus the two latter--i finally got it uploaded. Then, that little sign popped up that says: would you like to restart your computer to make the changes effective and final....or whatever. Well, i hit yes....i thought you were suppose to.

Well, i guess i read it wrong or something, because the computer never fully woke up again. It started to turn back on and it went to that dreaded black screen with the square, formal writing. and it said--in informal writing--your computer is missing certain crucial files. please insert your windows cd-rom into your computer to restore them.

well, obviously it wasn't talking about my mp3 player software....and where was i supposed to find that old cd!! oh well, so that computer wouldn't even go to the main page. Terry was able to fix it a little; it at least opens up now. but sadly, i don't think it will ever return to its former computer splendor.

the second computer was destroyed in a more normal fashion. honestly, i can't say it was original at all. i was just minding my own business one day, and playing on the computer when it hit. if you look to the right of this page at the music player, then you will see the profile playlist webpage. although this is a great web page and i love all the music, there were some viruses in some of the music--no the Christmas music, but others. So, when i added it to my player, it attacked my computer. and no, i was not stealing music. you can't download these songs, you can only post it to your websites--facebook, myspace, blog, etc. but, i guess someone just doesn't like me, so, well, you know the rest. so, now my computer has at least 23 viruses. whoo! how is that even possible? do viruses just multiply when you get one or something?? oh well.

but now, my poor and faithful computer is heading down hill fast. Last night--while i happened to be working on english homework--it shut down about every 5-6-7-8 minutes. no joke. it did. and the real fun part--besides the random signs that WARN! me about the evil spyware (ha, funny)--is that the internet pops up at sporadic intervals. if i leave it alone enough, there will be about 4 or 5 webpages up. i have to admit, though, and this is a nice attribute to the hacker person. most of the webpages are not bad; they are not nasty or gross or anything. they--of course--will give you more little bugs if you click on them, but still....he could have made it much worse. and for that note, i happen to be grateful to him. but then again, he didn't have to kill my computer either. there's always a trade-off i guess.

so, if you happen to have any little computer techniques or if you have any quirky anti-virus computer tactics, just let me know! you know my number!

happy birthday.....

2008-10-25T11:18:00.000-07:00

to garrett and stump

so, as you already know--or if you don't, then shame on you--this past wednesday was little puppy stump's first birthday. that's right, one year ago october 22, stump was born. and of course, like everyone else, he was just as excited. i have put together a slideshow--glance to the left saide of your screen--of the puppy's pictures from his first year of life....they're even pretty much in order....somewhat.

this friday......yesterday.....was garrett's 18th birthday! happy birthday!! we went down to k-town to take him out to eat just to celebrate, but, sadly, i don't have any pictures!

so, if you see either of them wish them them a happy bday! and enjoy the slideshow, i know you will.

weekends

2008-10-24T13:32:00.001-07:00

i absolutely love weekends....

i contemplated making a post about this, but why?

when you only have to say:

Weekends are excellent

see what i mean?

enough said

Celebrity watch

2008-10-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

so, most likely you don't know this, but this week at the honorable school of db, is very special. it's homecoming week, of course, and this friday--tomorrow i suppose--we will take on the mighty beavers from Karns High School--which it just so happens that my momma worked there for 6 years.....funny little world, isn't it?

While i'm not too overly concerned about the ball game--old habits die hard--i'm quite interested in our homecoming Spirit week. while sadly i don't have any pictures--they're not quite allowed at school....although that doesn't stop most people--but i can at least tell you who all i've seen.

Monday- nothing, they thought that we would forget over the weekend.

Tuesday- tie-dye/ 80's day--definately wore my "ugly" skirt that i wore for tacky night....it went over well thank you very much.

Wednesday- Twin Day

Thursday- celebrity day

Friday- indian pride day

so yeah, these days are pretty much normal and should sound familiar to you if you've attended high school in America in the past decade or two....or three or four. unless you went to heritage, because they sort of differ from the norm there--last year i do believe we had "dress like a Christmas tree", pirate day, grease day, you know, stuff like that. but, no one ever really dressed up. well, i take that back, there would be a few people who would dress up a ton, but not very many.

so, i thought that today--celebrity day--would be normal.....well, you can imagine my surprise when i walk in today, and see a ton of celebrities. it was absolutely hilarious. i'm not even joking, a ton.

for starters, i was privileged to eat lunch with not only kelly osborne, but also shawn johnson 2 (yeah, there were two....i have latin with #1 and english and math with alicia sacromone....and evidently nastia liukin was wondering around somewhere, too) and lucy from i love lucy. keeping with the olympics, i also spotted a michael phelps complete with medals, speedo (covered with a long jacket), goggles, and a hair cap.

i was also completely stoked to find that i would be sharing several of my classes with the disciples! in fact, in physics there were 4--Andrew, Thomas, Thaddeus, Phillip, and the ex-disciple Judas....who peculiarly had red hair. i even saw someone dressed as Jesus several times. there were evidently--or so i've heard--13 disciples and Jesus....they sort of miscounted when recruiting people. it happens.

even though it is homecoming week, politicing hasn't stopped at all. i counted one obama, one mccain, one hilary clinton in drag--in physics, the absolute funniest costume today--and two sarah palins. also, ronald reagan made an appearance. back to hilary, though, she wore a wig, earrings, and even stuffed a bra--with tshirts--and stuffed her pants. sorry, but this one, cracked me up.

some people, though, didn't get the "celebrity" memo and instead dressed up in halloween costumes--hey, it could happen to anyone. there was a gorilla and two mm's--red and blue....i think i actually have a yellow one from one of my previous years as a trick or treater.

There were also plenty, plenty, of fictional characters from books and movies. my particular favorite was Ash Ketchum from Pokemon. but there was someone for everyone in this particular category. there were two (from what i saw) bellas from twilight. i even heard a rumor that mia thermopolis was flitting around somewhere....princess diaries for those of you who don't know. which leads me to the two princesses i saw on my way to econ--cinderella and aurora, maybe? There was a juno complete with a pregnant stomach (fake, i hope so anyway, because her stomach was a little lumpy and i would fear what was wrong with that baby if it was real) and a joker from the dark knight. i sat across from elizabeth swan in latin and saw jack sparrow at lunch. Also, in this same lunch period, i spotted Lucy from the chronicles of Narnia and in the halls i saw minnie mouse. Rambo and Mel Gibson (braveheart style) also decked out our lunch tables.

There were also plenty of super heroes. my personal faves were Super woman and the entire Incredibles family--sporting a fair amount of red under armor.

Real people also made it, though, and so actual celebrities did, too. Including Britney with hair, Paris with a dog--though fake--and Hannah Montana--both in drag and normal....there were several. Flava Flav--how in the world am i supposed to spell that--even showed up. Sports stars--outside the olympics--also happened to make an appearance. Peyton Manning, Dale Earnheart (jr.?), and even a Steve Prefontaine--with short shorts as well (which reminds me of the Daisy duke girl i saw, too.) My award of this group definately goes to philip fulmer, though. as great as they all looked, this one was just too priceless....with big, orange sweats and a sign --will coach for food.

Some costumes, though, were sadly undistinguishable....to me anyway. there was a cheetah outfit? and also some weird, creepy one that looked like more of a straight jacket than a normal jacket. hannibal, maybe? which reminds me of the one that scared me the most. not because it was scary, but just because he startled me in lunch. in line i had turned around to look behind me, most likely looking for my favorite celebrities , and when i flipped back around, i see this huge face staring back at me....ok well not staring at me, but in front of me. ever seen v for vendetta? well, there you go, that mask. rough moment. ha.

but this was a great day to say the least, and though it may not be the most exciting school day ever, it is definately in the top 5. definately. it was utterly priceless.

greetings, handshakes, and other little tidbits

2008-10-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

so i'm completely enjoying this moment right now. you know, when you have nothing to do and you are just relaxing--well in my case, i do have homework to do, but i've mastered the art of procrastinating, so....naturally.....i'm procrastinating--but it does feel great, right? so, since i have nothing to do at hand--much, anyway--i've decided to discuss something deep and intriguing about myself.

I happen to have this nasty and horrible habit of not listening to people when i meet them. i never pay attention....shocking, i know.... to what they're saying at least. i 'm not being rude, i just so happen to be too busy thinking of other things about them instead of listening to the trivial factors....like names, lets say. surprisingly, i'm really not all that bad at remembering people's names, once i learn them, but instead of listening to them tell me themselves during introductions i'm paying attention to all the other bits. 9 times out of 10 i won't even remember that minor part and so will have to listen to other conversations to pick up on it again. which is a little time-consuming. my problem is that when we are going through these courteous yet sometimes tedious beginnings, i just don't listen. although i may be introducing myself to them and vice versa, my brain isn't really listening. while they're telling me their name --or what classes we have together and all that other fun stuff--i'm thinking about a number of different things. Thing one: what i'm going to say next. you see when i do conversations, i have a horribly annoying tendency to try to plan out what i'm going to say and what topic to bring up next.

also, i'm really watching them rather than listening--bad habit, i know, and i'm trying to break it. it's just so easy to pick up how they really feel by watching their body language. i watch to see if they look me in the eye; to see if they look really and genuinely happy to meet me, or if they just felt the nagging obligation to....perhaps from a friend or teach....trust me, teachers love to introduce kids to other kids. i'm not sure if you've ever really noticed, but these beginning remarks are absolutely great indicators of a person's personality. you can see just about anything you want to know--in general--just by watching their body language around you and to you. of course, you could just ask what they think; but hey, where's the fun in that? and of course i'm not going to let you in on all my little handy habits, because then you would know all my secrets....and where's the fun in that??

on the other hand, though--ha, thats a pun--it becomes even harder to focus on the actual conversation when we shake hands. this doesn't happen very often--sadly, handshaking doesn't happen much anymore anywhere--unless you're in Church. but, if by some strange coincidence, this does come up, then i'm sure you've been in the same predicament as me. well maybe not, but humor me for a moment. isn't it just so hard to not size up other's handshakes? What's that phrase about handshakes? whatever it is, i honestly can't remember....guess it didn't impact me all that much. but, not only do you have to check to see how strong theirs is, but you also have to watch your pressure. you don't want to crush their hand, but you also don't want them to not take you seriously. it's a crazy predicament, right? maybe not, but humor me still.

too strong = outgoing

too weak = reserved

i know, i'm sort of obsessive.

just thinking out loud hear--on paper--so i guess i should probably procrastinate on procrastinating and get back to work.

have an excellent and/or grand day.

p.s.

but, hey, all in all, at least you know that if i've met you recently--and never seem to use your name--that i probably just don't remember it. so that should be a relief....maybe....just keep humoring me.....and maybe remind me.

on hold

2008-10-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

so, if your speakers are turned up--if they're not, then you need to do so immediately because you're missing music--then you'll have probably realized that you are not listening to Christmas music. as far as i know, sing for absolution is definately not a Christmas song. and before you jump into hysterics, let me tell you that i will soon be putting the Christmas cheer songs back on, trust me. i do not however, want you all to be burned out on it before the time even comes....that would be horribly tragic. so, to avoid this problem, i have decided to give you all a breather for about two weeks. so, you'll just have to listen to my music, i guess.

and you might have noticed the classical.....it's sort of a new thing i like. it is actually really cool.....my faves for classical? silence and claire de lune....enjoy the variety.

the top ten of everything

2008-10-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

well not everything, but until i get unbored.

so as you all have probably noticed, i love lists....particulary, top ten lists. hence the top ten jobs, commercials, etc. i even have this book--which is actually really cool; i strongly recommend it--titled "the top ten of everything." interesting....really.

so, since i have nothing really to write about--something you also might have noticed had you been paying attention--i've decided to waste some time and think of my own 'top ten' lists. they're not in order.

top ten best fictional couples--from books of course.
1. Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler--Gone with the wind.
2. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth--Pride and Prejudice.
3. Heathcliffe and Catherine--Wuthering Heights.
4. Chrisine and Erik (or Raoul, take your pick)--the Phantom of the Opera
5. Pip and Estella--Great Expectations.
6. Romeo and Juliet--Romeo and Juliet, of course.
7. Jane and Rochester--Jane Eyre.
8. edward and bella--twilight.
9. Jason and Marie--the Bourne Identity.
10. Rebecca and Max--Rebecca.

top ten tourist spots
1. the grand canyon.
2. the pyramids.
3. the eiffel tower.
4. the statue of liberty.
5. the smokey mountains.
6. the forum.
7. great wall of china.
8. disney world.
9. niagra falls.
10. the largest ball of twine--in Kansas of course.

top ten languages people should want to learn.
1. english.
2. spanish.
3. french.
4. german.
5. latin.
6. arabic.
7. mandarin chinese.
8. hebrew.
9. italian.
10. Greek.

top ten fast food restaurants.
1. Sonic.
2. Taco Bell
3. kentucky fried chicken
4. pals--or so i've heard.
5. 5 guys, burgers, and fries.
6. McDonalds.
7. Wendy's.
8. Hot dog hut.
9. purple cow.
10. subway.

top ten best sports to watch.
1. football.
2. swimming.
3. gymnastics.
4. basketball.
5. diving.
6. soccer.
7. beach volleyball.
8. baseball.
9. tennis.
10. golf.

top ten coolest colleges to go to--do not get this confused with ones i want to go to; you would be mistaken.
1. Dartmouth.
2. clemson.
3. university of Georgia.
4. vanderbilt.
5. oxford.
6. Columbia
7. Harvard (but only if its harvard law).
8. nyu.
9. ucla.
10. cal tech.

top ten movies.--as of now, this is a touchy subject with me, extremely liable to change.
1. made of honor.
2. the patriot.
3. the bourne identity.
4. transformers.
5. batman begins--still haven't seen the dark knight.
6. a knight's tale.
7. die hard.
8. phantom of the opera.
9. men in black.
10. the devil wears prada.

top ten things to do when bored.
1. play with stump.
2. read a book.
3. do one of the items on my incredibly large list of homework.
4. watch tv aimlessly.
5. cross stitch.
6. play a musical instrument--if you are musically inclined....unlike me.
7. color in a coloring book.
8. clean--only to be attempted when utterly and completely bored.
9. text someone--who actually calls people anymore? or even better, write a letter?
10. interest yourself in the computer--oh, i don't know, maybe blog about random top ten listss.

post script: commercials

2008-10-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg05vToa7Zk

for aunt marilyn: i looked it up at your request. enjoy

Best commercials of all time

2008-10-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

ignore this repost, it's for my momma's class

so if you know me really well--which you should by now if you are regularly checking this thing--then you should already know that i love commercials. now i know that most people can't stand their favorite show being interrupted constantly every 5-15 minutes. and i know that there are those few who despise the previews at movie theatres (because those are sort of like long, specialized commercials that show upcoming titles rather than useful--or useless--items.) But i happen to love these and i happen to think that they are seriously underappreciated. when is the last time you've been to the grocery store where you have bought something because you saw it on the tv screen. ok, so maybe not that often, but i do think that it is hard to think up commercials and even harder to think up funny commercials and these writers deserve some credit, so i have searched and probed my brain (probare: to probe) and the following are my top ten favorite commercials. if for some crazy reason you aren't as crazy about commercials as me and you don't memorize them, then click on the link to watch and refresh your memory. sorry if i left one of yours out!! oh and they are in specific order, too.

honorable mentions--these following 4 are great, but just not great enough.

1. Visa Elephant commercial--this is one of the few that i have on here that is not really funny. but i like it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFNXwor69-U

2. one of the many sonic commercials. they are all actually pretty funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD6d4TZgOPw this is the weather man one and the reason it merits a spot is because of the guy's facial expressions; trust me.

3. sonic again, keep watching the facial expressions; they are absolutely hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR-yLzxt6gg

4. this is a wendy's commercial, and i didn't really think that the skit was really great (hence the reason it's in honorable mention) but listen to the chanting at the end of it; i think that's worth an honorable mention. you really have to listen, though, because that girl announcing the sandwich is really loud. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi5_jNv3MoM

the real thing:

10. remember those old visa commercials. not the priceless ones, but the life takes ones. where they had stuff like: life takes determination, life takes spontanaity, and at the end the guy does this back flip off the tree (which is really cool in itself). i couldn't find it, so i hope you remember it, but they are pretty neat.

9. the planter's peanut commercial--i think this one aired during the last superbowl. where the girl uses the planter's perfume. the best part is when the bicyclist hits the taxi. although that would hurt.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NVbFoj3aTQ

8. this is the last sentimental one, ok; those olympic visa adds were all really great, but the very best one was the one about everyone being human. at least i thought so. it always gives me goose bumps, because of everyone's facial expressions: both joy and agony. or maybe it's because i'm human. either way, it takes spot 8, of this much sought after prize. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk7QbKGgsm8

7. the many peyton manning commercials. they are all equally funny, and since they're all pretty much the same thing, how could you choose?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSCALpmxnLE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G0loI0Jn5M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwDAfdmNMVw

6. the mr. bill commercial. i had honestly never seen mr. bill before, and isn't he cute? especially his laugh. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxMqDxtjw1U

5. the ever popular hillshire beef commercials. while they are all great, this one is the best--i believe anyway..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r2fjUYKdl4

4. the talking stain commercials of course. i especially love how they manage to sound like they have a British accent even while talking gibberish.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_oGKceD-j0

3. getting close to the number one spot, right? number three, however, goes to the absolutely funniest taco bell commercial ever. the taco bell rap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmnDtL83cvA

2. the techno twins slad and veder--from at&t. although they don't call him a funny name like the pool table one (dillweed) this does have the funniest music. and it has a robot person with a boombox. and the main guy has the best facial expressions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUfONVpMn4Q

1. the wendy's ranch tooth commercials. remember them? if you watch any of these commercials, watch these two. as a sidenote, this is even better because the guy off of the show chuck--which is also something you should watch--is on this, too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFqDPRS_Vaw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNsqVNqIGj4 the second is of course much funnier.

so, i hope you enjoyed my top ten (plus honorable mentions) of commercials. i certainly enjoyed looking them up. sorry if i left yours out....then again you may not have favorite commercials like me....unlikely, i know....but just maybe.

french toast

2008-10-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

so as this week was my fall break, i have set myself several goals. of course there were boring ones like start the scarlet letter for english and finish my notebook for math, but there were also more interesting ones. one was to eat Chinese or Japanese food--which we did last night, and stump absolutely loved the leftovers--and the other was to make french toast. i've only ever had french toast like twice in my whole life, and i had no clue how to make it, but that was besides the point. so, this morning, me and my momma woke up extra early--8:30--and decided that today was the day.

after looking up the recipe online, we made it and ate it. i know, its a melodramatic ending. but nothing crazy happened. the eggs didn't blow up, and the toast tasted great. so there really is nothing left to talk about it. it was tasty, though, and since we had leftovers, stump enjoyed it, too. as a sidenote, stump has now become a table food puppy. we give all the leftover table food--unless it is chocolate, grapes, raisins, or chicken bones--and he loves it. he gets so excited, that one time we fed him a hot dog and he ate it in one bite. so now we have to break up his food before we give it to him. we want him to enjoy it not inhale it. also note how we mixed stump's food with the toast....that way he wouldn't pick out the actual dog food....he has a inclination to do that.

the international-tricities airport

2008-10-01T06:32:00.001-07:00

so, i though that you all would be interested in what i did my first day of fall break. i mean honestly how could you not be interested in that?? while i won't bore you with all the picayune details, i will share the exciting parts.

first off, we went to highly popular, but not so crowded, tricities airport. terry is going on a work trip to san antonio, texas. i wish i could go to texas, i've never been. but i have to admit that, although we were thrilled to see everyone there, not all workers were happy to see us. only one really. we had some time to kill, actually about 30 minutes, so we went into the gift shop. what else was there to do. we had already been to the award-winning observation deck. there was nothing flying, no planes, and no one even hauling around luggage for our entertainment. so that didn't last long. we came back inside and found other ways to entertain ourselves. we sat for awhile, but that didn't last long. so then we had a race--my parents took the stairs and i took the elavator--to see who could get downstairs first. remember when i say that it is not a crowded air port. i t was a tie. so, since the elevator let us out in front of the gift shop, we went in there. if only i was a nascar fan. there was an absolute haul of bristol motor speedway paraphenalia. not only could you buy a jacket or a shirt--in camo, blue, orange, take your pick really--but there were bears, calendars, cups, and mini-cars. as i have mentioned, i'm not really a fan--though i need to aquire a taste because i do live like 10 min from bristol and there are a large amount of fans up here--so i went to the back of the shop. there were magazines, webkinz--no seal or eagle for Riley, though, you're still looking right??--and books. we didn't stay very long, sadly, because the woman behind the counter must have thought we were robbers, thieves, or terrorists. why, i'm not sure, but she glared at us as soon as we came in and wouldn't take her eyes off of us until we went to the back of the store. we thought that maybe she just doesn't like customers, but no, about 2 minutes after we walked in another couple came in. she cheerfully told them hello and asked if they needed any assistance. maybe we just looked mean; or maybe we just look like we don't need assistance. anywho, though, the plane came, and terry headed off to atlanta to meet the conjoining flight to san antonio. it was quite an adventure, though and i recommend all of you to visit this bustling, busy airport.

that's about all we did the first day, really. me and my momma picked up stump poop--well, she picked it up, and i scouted around for it. oh, one more exciting part was that we did get to feed stump chile....which he enjoyed.

Forrest's top ten of work.....

2008-09-27T15:50:00.001-07:00

so, today, as of 2:50 p.m., my fall break of 08 officially started. and boy the teachers went out with a bang. unified math test (goodness, that class is confusing and this is supposed to be the review chapter!), rough draft due in english (we had to write "i believe" essays; i did mine on successful failures.....mine was a horrible, unsuccessful failure), Latin was oddly easy (learned new words, recently, though: amo mea canes, stump--that probably isn't right, but oh well....hopefully you can't read Latin), physics enriched my life with a test that i probably failed (happily we get to take each test twice, and the higher grade stands) , econ gave me an easy test, and history was really funny (like normal, how can it not be funny with Mr. Hoover??--but we still had a small quiz). wow that was an extreme run-on sentence. But, anyways, as you can probably guess, i was quite happy when the bell finally rang at 10 till 3. But now, i'm db free for 9 days!!

but i've been talking to my fellow dbers these past few days and many of them are going on college tours and visits this week. everything from clemson to illinois. This has got me thinking--not about college, really, but my future job choice. i think that to decide what college to go to, i first need to think of generally what job field i want to go in to. So, for all my readers' enjoyment and delight, i have searched my brain and the following are my top ten job choices........in no random order of course

1. an engineer--whether chemical or nuclear, i really do not know, but i really do think that it would be interesting. i'm one of those nerdy math lovers, so i actually think it would be cool. hard, though, and i definately wouldn't want to get caught in a meltdown--or cause one, at that note.

2. neurologist--this is another possibility. latin would help with the vocab, but also it would be a great job. i would actually be able to help people. also, the sad part about neurologists is that most people who visit them have terminal illnesses. not all of course, because i have my own neurologist--for my neck--but a fairly large percentage. some people may think that it would be strange for someone to actually want to treat patients whose illness is fatal, but i think it would be a great opportunity. through your appointments, you could become friends with them and you could even maybe help make them happy. maybe you could make their last days more enjoyable and maybe even be able to witness to unbelievers. it would be an excellent chance.

3. teacher--this was my occupation of choice from about kindergarten until 5th or 6th grade. you could definately say that the genes are in our family--my momma is a teacher, so is my aunt marilyn, and my aunt carolyn. also, my aunt denise works as a teacher's aid. so, yeah, i think i would have plenty of help and supplies. in my young--and naiive--youth, i even wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. i now know better; that i would not be a great person for that job. i have neither the patience nor the willpower. i would choose to be a high school math teacher....

4. cia agent--you have no idea how cool that would be if i could actually be a cia agent. i'm serious! i could be a sneaky spy--just like jason bourne....except i would try to remember my name. first, though, i would probably have to learn some useful talents like karate and kung fu. it doesn't matter that i have no clue how to fight, i can learn, right?? that and i should try to learn some different languages....probably something people actually still speak....unlike latin.

5. translator--speaking of latin, maybe i could be a translator. i could learn all the old languages--like latin, greek, and hebrew--and then i could go to the ancient ruins and read ancient scrolls and other such antics. that might be a little more difficult then just saying it, though, because hebrew and greek are much more difficult than latin. how do i know that? because they use a completely different alphabet and symbols and stuff. but hey, as long as the latin sentences do not get much harder than: the mother carries the good water to the girls. those i might be able to handle, but if aristotle and paul and the others move to latin 2, well then they've lost me.

6. physicist--since i'm in physics right now, this only seems proper to put. it would be rather enjoyable, though, to actually be able to solve problems that don't have to do with ants and chickens meandering around. maybe it would actually be something plausible and believable....maybe. i could also grow my hair out crazy long and i could wear weird clothes--or no socks for some--and no one would really care.

7. professional dancer/cheerleader--haha, sorry had to put it. you have to admit, though, it would be extremely exciting. you could be a dallas cowboy cheerleader....or denver broncos, i suppose. i mean who honestly wouldn't want to do that??

8. waitress--this is another job that i have wanted to do since i was a little kiddo. for some reason, it just seems like it would be really, surprisingly fun. i could work at a sitdown restaurant--texas roadhouse anyone? or perhaps olive garden or wasabi?--or i could do a fast food place--taco bell, 5 guys burgers & fries, or....my personal favorite....sonic. either way you look at it, i get to talk to people all day long and i would get extra-leftover food. plus, this is one of the only jobs where you get more money for the nicer you are to the customers.

9. president--everyone always talks about how they don't like whichever president is running, so, instead of complaining, why not run yourself?? this would be a great job, actually, and if you work it right, not too stressing. instead of boring, stuffy meetings, why not go bowling or watch a movie with foreign diplomats. well maybe not bowling, but you get my point. this would loosen everyone up, and would make them more likely to agree to treaties and other such formalities. why are they always so uptight? maybe if they had some fun, then they would all be happier.

10. ups man--ha, then i could punch people all the time!! ring the doorbell *ding-dong* hi! this package is for you.... UPS! *punch*....i might not last long on the job, but i would certainly have a blast....and i would be winning the game. if you have no clue what i'm talking about, ask someone who does--don't know who does? ask someone from the 3:fifteen student ministry.

so yes, some of you may think that this is all a joke, but really it isn't--well besides the ups man--these are all possible possibilites for me to go into when i finally do enter the work force. because i, unlike some teens, do not have my complete future mapped out. i don't know where i'll go to college. i don't know what i'll study. i don't know what i'll be. i don't know where i'll live or who the fortunate--or unfortunate--man i'll be marrying is. nor do i know how many kids i want or if i even want to adopt.

i'm glad about that, though, or else then my future wouldn't seem to have a lot of surprises. that is why, i believe, God does not tell us the future and everything it has to hold. if we knew every move we were going to make, then where would the fun in life be? we need a little uncertainty in our days to really be happy.....and for it to be interesting..

the most wonderful time of the year.....

2008-09-24T13:33:00.001-07:00

So, it's that time of the year again....well, for me anyway. today i pulled out my iPod and started listening to my favorite genre of music. Christmas music. yes, i know that it's just been fall for three days. yes, i know that it is only september. yes, i know that Christmas is in December....when it's cold--well normally when it's cold; i have yet to see many white Christmases in my life. But, one of my favorite numbers is 91--remember? 91 items on the bucket list and i was born in 1991....which by the way is a palindrome--and there are now only 91 full days until Christmas. It would have been 92, but i didn't start listening until this afternoon. so, really i was already over half of the way through the day.

i really love Christmas music, though. Just hearing those words to your favorite song--wether it be jingle bells, the first Noel, or even the Twelve days of Christmas--always puts you in a great mood! if you don't believe me, try it! i was inside the school after class today, and i was listening to the music. there are no windows in about 95% of the classrooms at db--honestly, i don't know why--and so i couldn't actually see outside, but it really did feel like winter time! well sort of; it did until i actually thought about it. but subconsciencely it seemed like December 15th....

so, you really do need to break out your Christmas music. i know, maybe not in september--for you, but for me september's great--but pretty soon. i definately wouldn't wait until only one week before the day of the birth of our Savior. because a week is only seven days, and the time for this music only comes around once a year.....just a heads up for anyone listening....or reading.

Forrest's top Christmas artists and songs.....

artists-top 5
the oak ridge boys--a definite must.
john denver--with the muppets and without.
david phelps
jim brickman
the statler brothers

Songs-top twelve
The First Noel
Hark! the Herald Angel sings
the 12 Days of Christmas--muppets, relient k, any really
O, Little Town of Bethleham
What Child is This?
O, Come all ye Faithful
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Christmas Carol--oak ridge boys
Those carols those kids used to sing--statler brothers
Mary, did you Know?
Carol of the Bells
Mary's Boy Child

every 10 days or so, i'll be changing my main song on the left....just so that you guys are psyched when the most wonderful time of the year actually does roll around.....

Riele bug and family

2008-09-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

so, we had some visitors today in k-town. Mark, Debbie, and Riele--which are my cousins and their daughter--came all the way from Kentucky to visit us. They picked up mamaw and papaw on the way, and we just made it a party.

While the adults were watching that pitiful excuse for a ballgame--otherwise known as ut vs. fa--me and riele (who is now in first grade and is cheering....following in her cousin's footsteps) went downstairs to my room. After showing me her many webkinz (if you find the dolphin or the bald eagle, please let me know, we are now on the hunt to find them for her) and her pink nintendo ds, we broke into my closet--and into the many, unpacked, moving boxes--to find the really fun stuff. All while watching the Disney channel--iCarly and spongebob....those really are great shows, i honestly found them extremely funny. As a sidenote, my little cousin really impressed me. As i said, she is only in first grade--and only 6 years old--and she can not only read really well--some choice words of stock, discovery, and stuff that i never would have been able to comprehend in first grade--but she also loves the jurassic park movies. When i was her age, and every age until about freshman year, i was completely to scared to watch these movies. and here she is talking about not only jurassic park 1, but also 2 and 3. her favorite is three, in case you were wondering. So anyway, first we found my polly pockets.

you may not have been aware of this, but i was a real polly pocket aficionado. i had not only collected those new and improved bigger versions with real hair, but i also had my other cousin's old miniature ones. so, i found those and it was really actually fun, because i haven't gotten those out in years--i know, much to your surprise, i don't play with my pollies and barbies every night now....just every other night. Then, when that got old--because trust me, things don't stay interesting to a little kid for long.

So, next we found my stuffed animals. that didn't last long either, and she wasn't interested in the box o' barbies that was on the very bottom of a huge stack of boxes--whew--so, we decided to find a board game. and my cousin--who never ceases to amaze me--chose monopoly. she could have played operation (which i don't blame her on this one, the buzzing really scared me as a young child) or guess who (which was one of my favorites....until one of my friends rigged her board....then i kept losing and couldn't figure out why. "remember to flip down whose card you have," she would say before we started....the little sneakster) or she could have even picked disney trivia. she couldn't have done scene-it, though, because i haven't figured out the dvd player yet. i have issues with electronics.

but she chose monopoly. which i was impressed with, because what kid actually has enough of an attention span to handle that. she was pretty great at it, though, and was even beating me before she had to leave....and i wasn't going easy either--which is it even possible to go easy on someone in monopoly?? but before she left, she found the ball. a couple Christmases ago, my cousin landon gave me one of those retractable, plastic balls. well, riele absolutely loved it. she varied from being a 'puff-ball' to being a porcupine. a savage porcupine, actually, that liked to attack your legs, but that is beside the point..

so, that was their visit. and it actually was a ton of fun if i do say so myself. enjoy the pics of us from our play area in my room!!

Bernice*

2008-09-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

so i've decided that i complain a lot. and i'm sorry to all of you who read all these monotonous posts. i'm sorry that you have to put up with all the whining. but don't worry, i'll suck it up, and i'll stop putting all of my complaints on you. because i know that you probably don't want to hear all about my boring day to day problems. ha.

So, i thought that i might share a little-known, interesting fact about me.

did you know--and most of you all probably don't know--that i seriously do not like confrontation. i'm actually a little afraid of it. i'm always so scared that i'll say something to someone that will make them hate me or will make them mad at me. not just people i know, either, but everyone. like if i'm at a restaurant, and i don't get my order, then i most likely will not go ask about it. i'm too scared that someone may get offended and then become angry at me. (like the new york trip, right group leader? ha.)

i never really saw it as a fear, either, until the other night. i went to a small Bible study and our youth pastor asked us each to think of something that we were really scared of. and of course i thought of bugs--i really don't much care for insects--but then i also thought of confrontation. before then, i had never really thought of my avoidance of it as a fear. i thought it was just something i didn't really like.....it was something i just didn't want to do. But, now i have decided where it originated. i think i can trace it all the way back to first grade.....on one fateful day in the lunchroom/cafeteria.

Why is it that bad memories are always the ones to really stand out in your mind?

so, when i started school in kindergarten, one of my most favorite parts of the day was lunch time. i had so much fun hanging out with my friends....and i got to eat the tasty school food, too. i really did love it. Then something tragic happened. the teachers and lunch room workers decided that us little pip-squeaks were too rowdy and that we needed to calm down. so, they began to give us clothespins. before we would go to lunch, mrs. mcroskey would clip them on our clothes and if we were rowdy and troublesome at lunch, then they would be taken away. when we came back to class after our 30 minutes of fun, if we did not have our pin, then we had to pull the dreaded green card....meaning we then had to stand on the wall for 15 minutes during recess. cruel and unusual i know. so, from that day on, i was too scared to talk during lunch. well, that and we were given assigned seating and we had to sit next to boys. can you imagine?

so, first grade comes, and we are finally given a reprieve from the excess weight of the pin during lunch. so, the weeks go by and i finally begin to like the eating period again. until the milk carton incident. and if you don't believe me, ask taylor, she saw the whole thing because she was sitting right next to me.

before i explain the following incidents, though, i must give you some background information. The lunch ladies at porter were all very nice. they always said hello and they would even let you charge if you happened to forget to bring your money--a thing unheard pretty much unheard of in middle and high school.. so, they were all really cool, except this one lady. bernice* was the meanest lady i had ever and have ever met in my life. and she was the loudest. pick any day of the week at any time of the year, and you were bound to hear her yelling at some unsuspecting, innocent victim--well sometimes innocent--all the way across the room. i would wager that you could probably even here her outside of the school. well maybe. but anyway, she wasn't very happy and she had a strong inclination to not be very patient.

so, anyway, now you have met Bernice*.

ok, so one day, we--the kids of mrs. graves' class--were sitting at our table and we were waiting to be dismissed. i was so excited to leave--i guess we were going to do something cool in class when we got back--that i had already gathered up all my supplies: lunchable, lunch box, and a milk carton....or so i thought. i was sitting next to richard* on the left and taylor on the right. so, bernice* comes over to our table and is fixing to dismiss us when she sees a milk carton on the ground. well that just ticks her off so bad, and so she starts yelling for whoever's it was, to pick it up. well, i was just glad that it wasn't mine....because it couldn't be could it? i had already picked up all my trash and i certainly didn't drop mine to the ground? so, i looked at the assortment of trash in my arms and--much to my surprise and dismay--realized that i didn't have my milk carton. i had no clue how it had gotten knocked to the ground, but i didn't want bernice* to have to pick it up. as it turns out, richard had knocked it down on the ground out of spite, but i didn't know that yet.

so, anyway, i reached under the table and grabbed it. i was moments away from throwing it in the trash when all of a sudden, bernice* starts to yell. and she yelled and yelled and told me that i had to sit by myself the next day during lunch at the hoodlum table. well, long story short, me being my first-grader self burst into tears when we went back to class and mrs. graves went to talk to Bernice*. when she came back, she said that Bernice* had said that she had specifically told me to pick it up and that i refused. i still can't believe that she lied, but oh well, the next day i still had to sit by myself. i'm telling you, it was tragic. the woman never liked me from that day on either, because the next day, i was checking out my lunch and the lady at the cash register told me to have a good day or something, and Bernice* pops up out of nowhere and says, "oh, this little girl almost got her whole class in trouble yesterday; she's not a good girl" i'm not even joking. it was quite depressing.

But anyway, i slowly got over it....ha....and so that is where my aversion to confrontation comes from....Bernice*

*name has been changed. if you would like to know real name, ask.

Successful failure

2008-09-20T08:08:00.001-07:00

have you ever heard the phrase 'a successful failure'? i really don't know if you have, but i have my own definition of it. a successful failure is when you are aiming to do one thing, and although you fail at accomplishing it, you succeed at something else--whether more, or less, or of no change in consequential value.

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Now, as most of you already know, he was not looking for a new land, he was looking for a faster way to India--as we all learned probably before we were even in kindergarten. They were sick of paying taxes to the Muslims and all those other detriments that come by land trade, so the sea seemed like a logical place to go, right? So, blah blah blah Columbus makes it to land (some caribbean island named Watling Island....memorize that, it could be a jeopardy question one day) and is just so ecstatic and overjoyed to not have been killed in a mutiny on the way over, that in his overabundance of emotion, he automatically assumes that this is the West indies (or was it east? i really can't remember to well). So, here is Mr. Columbus who is probably cavorting around the island and jumping for joy when he happens upon these people. he calls them Indians, naturally, because they are in india. i mean what are the odds that he--Columbus--is wrong? these people look different and speak different, so yeah, definately indians. So, you know the rest, our valiant sailor sets his way back to ms. isabella and Mr. Ferdinand. he then makes three more trips later on in his life back to the caribbean but never figures out that it is a whole new continent. it doesn't even dawn on him that he didn't find the indies. so, later on, christopher columbus dies never knowing that he found something extraordinare. he found what would later become America--and Canada, mexico, peru, brazil, chile, and all those other fun places. So, even though he made this great discovery, i would still say that he failed, because his goal was not to find a new land. His goal was to find a better trade route, and to that, he failed. That is why i would classify him as a successful failure--probably the most successful failure, but that's beside the point.
i know that was a long-drawn-out story just to give you the meaning, but i wanted you to understand what i meant. That way when i tell you about my grades this first 6 weeks at db you'll completely understand why i consider my self to be a successful failure.
my whole school career has been based on one thing: to always make A's. simple enough, right? i actually got the idea when i heard that my cousin elyse never got a B in her whole high school career. i thought that was pretty neat, so i decided to do the same. So, that has been my philosophy....until this school year. Now, understand me when i say, that HHS was not any less hard than db is. it just has to do with the classes i took, i guess. whatever it is though, these first weeks have been the hardest of my whole 11 years of the school process.
My first two years of high school sort of passed like this. i would go to my classes and all that fun stuff and then--when i got homework--i would have, maybe, 1 or 2 nights a week where i would have about 30 min of homework. Most of the time, though, and i'm embarrassed to admit this, i wouldn't even do it. unless it was math. you have to do your homework in math or you pretty much fail; but you already know that, because all of you are either in school or have been to school....unless you are in pre-k....then i seriously doubt that you are reading this. but so anyway, i would just wait till the next day and, during free time in history, i would finish english hw. then in english, i would finish history homework....well you get the picture. and it was great because the teachers never made the tests too hard, so you would never have to study until 5 min before class.

well, this year at db, it's been a little more challenging. now, i have about 3 nights a week where i have at least 3 hours of hw and then normally at least one night with 4 hours. then on fridays, i take the night off because i have all weekend to do the work. i love the weekends. but so yeah, i have actually had to do the work at home....and those of you who know me well, know i never do my work at home. But, the teachers here are also all about trying to make every test as hard as they can. they don't care if you grasp the general way of how to do the objective, they purposely choose the hardest problems to "challenge" you....which i have decided is just a fancy way of saying that they are trying to "fail" you. so, even though i have made my first B on a progress report, i have to admit that i'm proud of it. i'm proud of that 88 because it really is the hardest i have ever had to work for a grade. and even though all my other grades are lower than normal, i am more proud of them than i am of any of the other classes i've ever taken. because i know that i have done my best; i have actually had to try my hardest. and even though i might have failed at what i had wanted, i still feel like i have succeeded. So, im happy with my b and i'm happy to be a successful failure. i can live with that.

a true db-er

2008-09-20T05:41:00.000-07:00

"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."

so, im really not sure who all reads this, but just in case, i have taken this one off. i was afraid that it might offend some people. if you would like to read it, email me at forrests@live.com and i'll send it to you. sorry for the inconvienence....

forrest

key west '04....or bust

2008-09-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

so, my momma has finally fixed her bathroom up in this new-ish house.

you may wonder why this is such a great achievement. or you may ask, "why 'finally'?" you see, this bathroom project has been in my momma's mind for about, oh i don't know, 3 1/2 years i'd say. in the summer of my 6th grade--long time ago, i know--we took a family vacation down to key west, florida. it was brian and brad's graduation trip. they could pick anywhere they wanted to go, so--in the end--it came down to hawaii or key west. well, you already know the outcome if you've been reading.

so, while brian, brad, and two of their friends slept soundly in their beds like any other normal or diurnal person--or anyone with common sense, now that i think of it--would do, we were up and ready to go. while they were going to take a short, around 4-hour, plane ride; me, garrett, and my parents decided to show our inward-pioneerness and brave the 17-14 hour ride down there....in a car.....whoo!

we really had an excellent time down there. our hotel was right across from the beach--though that particular ocean floor was covered with rocks and seaweed; very sharp and slimy. we went kayaking out to a small island--me n my momma got a little sidetracked and almost went out to sea (as a thought, who in their right minds put me and my momma alone and in charge of a kayak). garrett and me bought our own scuba materials--mine was yellow--and used it--i lost that yellow flipper in the sand. we visited an old fort--which fort have we not visited in the entire us? we saw a silver man--who insisted i get my picture with him....for five dollars. there was also a lot of people who just loved to camp--in the bushes....indefinately. we almost went on a real scuba trip to the dry tortugas (pirates of the caribbean anyone? name that quote) out from a boat--but the boat broke down. also, we visited the "southernmost tip" and got our pictures taken with it--and then glanced to the left and saw a topless water party....(now let's play: name that commercial). all in all, though, it really was fun.

so, those were only some of the interesting facts about Key west--the southernmost point of the continental usa.

how does this fit into the bathroom? rhetoric question (literary term! i failed that test in english just recently, i guess i should study more....anaphora, epanilepsis, irony, fallacy, and the lovely list goes on and on). well, while down there, my mother the world-renown interior decorator--or at least east-tennessee-renown--bought these brightly colored lizards. she decided that when we got home, we were going to redo the bathroom and hang the lizards on the wall. a great idea, actually, because they are rather cute....and bright.

so, fast forward 3 1/2 years and the bathroom is now done. my parents worked on it all last saturday. it really does look cute, though, and to be honest, i have only one complaint. look at the picture below and see the lizard in the middle right above the toilet? i'm quite scared that i'll sit down on the commode one day and that very lizard will fall right on my unsuspecting noggin and knock me out. mark my word, that thing is heavy enough to cause a slight concussion--very slight, but still.

oh well, though. enjoy the bathroom and if you see them, tell my parents you did. they'll be happy to hear it. have a stupendous day.

# 51 and almost #30

2008-09-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

So, many of you may have wondered if i had forgotten my bucket list--unless of course you forgot yourself....which is a high possibility--but no worries, i had not let it slide; i just hadn't completed anything on it. shocker, i know. but, i have now recently been able to cross a new number off of my list (almost two, actually, but i'll discuss that later).

#51--wear a dress to school all day long.

now, to most of you, this may not seem like a big thing. for all i know, you may wear dresses to school everyday (if, in fact, you are still in school; i'm not too sure what the average age of my few readers are). or maybe you never wear dresses unless its to Church. you see, i sort of fall into the latter category. the only time in my whole life--before this event, of course--that i remember wearing a dress to school was fourth grade. trust me when i say, (and those of you who knew me can attest to this) fourth grade was definately one of those awkward stages in my life....just saying. but, some of you may be thinking--or probably no one, but just go with me on this--that since i have actually worn a dress to school, shouldn't that not be on my list. well, i don't think so, because i say the list started the day i finished it--07/08/08 to be completely accurate. if not, then i wouldn't be able to have # 42--try out for a tv show. because techinacally i have already done that. in 7th grade--haha but that's a story for a later date. So, that was just to clear up any lingering thoughts or questions on item eligibility.... if by happen chance there were some.

as a sidenote, i almost also accomplished # 30 -- laugh until i cry-- the other night. almost, but not quite. we were watching America's got talent--which i recommend to anyone. my favorite is eli mattson--but after it was through, we didn't know what to do. it was too early to go to bed, but still too late to really do anything. so, we channel surfed until we came to fox. Now normally, i don't find much to watch on fox--to be honest, i normally limit my tv watching to Survivor, biggest loser, so you think you can dance, america's got talent, the occasional american idol (i just can't get into that show), and chuck, of course. that's about all. i don't do one tree hill or any of those romantic shows; or those extremely dramatic ER episodes; or even the funny (or so ive heard) Office ones. i'm more of a reality person, plus chuck, who i find utterly hysterical. so anyway, we found fox and there was this show on called "hole in the wall". and i really don't know if you have ever seen it or even heard of it--i hadn't--but it had to be the funniest thing ever. it was a gameshow and actually reminded me of those oh so famous ones in different languages where you really have no clue what's going on. so, we were intrigued. it had funky lights, an over eager host, a 60's sounding dance track, and a completely random objective. what else do you need to define a show with real, wholesome entertainment? there were two teams of three--the georgia peaches and the new york chiles (or something)--and the whole point was to not get knocked into the water. determining on which round (1, 2, or 3 with the corresponding number of participating team mates 1, 2, or 3) you stood at the edge of a water pit and then, on the count of three, a huge wall comes moving towards you. now the wall has either a cut out human form or just a normal shape and as it passes, you have to either clear the wall without breaking it, or be knocked into the water. and i know that i'm not explaining it well, but it had to be the funniest thing ever, cause not a single round went by that any one of the teams made it through without being knocked in. i really don't know how to explain it, but it was hilarious, but don't take my word, watch it yourself Thursdays at 9:30 on fox. they should definately pay me for advertisement or something.

why?

2008-09-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

so the other day, i was thinking through a blog that i wanted to post, and then it hit me. why does everyone love to blog so much? if you think about it, tons of people have them (just take a gander at the few to your left) and my question is why? why do we like to talk about our lives? while some people's everyday activities are really interesting, mine aren't. so why do i like to talk about it and then post it up for everyone to see and fall to sleep to while reading? i brainstormed it for a while--well as long as it took till i got bored and changed the subject in my head. and i can't speak for anyone else who takes the time to blog, but i have found the reason why i think i write.

Blogging is pretty much just a journal. it focuses on not always what is important in the world--thought that is the case with some....like the olympics--but also what is important in your day-to-day life and what you think of it. . now, of course, this isn't a complete version of a diary, because who in their right minds would post all their thoughts and feelings on the web? blogs are just how you sort out what you think about it--i guess a watered-down version of a true journal.

That is why i like it so much, though. because i can express my true thoughts and then see what others think....sometimes. this is like my diary....well....a diary with bland sophistry, overblown verbiage, and a slideshow (just kidding, i don't go around saying sophistry and verbiage! those were just vocab words in english). not to mention it also has its own soundtrack that you may be listening to right now....depending on whether your volume is turned up and if you muted the songs. but anyway, i don't know how everyone else feels about their blog, but that is what mine is.....

2012 London Olympics

2008-09-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

So, as it is being so close to the last olympics--in Beijing if for some reason you have been living in a shell and didnt already know--i'm so excited about the 2012 olympics coming up in London. Of course i'm wondering how they will fit all the courts, fields, and arenas in such an already dense place, but that is besides the point. Today i'm wondering what new sport they should pick to replace baseball and softball.

I've been brainstorming a lot, now--in Physics, mainly, which probably isn't too smart....-- and it is actually really hard to think of an actual sport that is not already in the games. So, i've had to broaden my horizons and extend my term of "sportship" to different activities. Ok, so maybe they aren't all sports, but you try to think of different things to replace the two activities!

and the possible possibilities are....in no particular order:

Football--now this would seem like the obvious choice because it is so popular in America, but did you know that there really aren't that many other countries that enjoy this fine sport. Maybe it's because they are too preocuppied with soccer. Or maybe they just think that soccer is football since that's what they call it. Maybe they have no clue what football is. Because if they did, then they would definately want to play. Who doesn't want to run around and tackle other people? if i was a boy i'd definately play! But then again what would they call it....tackleball? or maybe Pigskin-ball? or soccer?

Ultimate frisbee--again, another sport that i'm not too sure is popular in other countries. They honestly don't know what they're missing. This is an excellent game that really does take skill--trust me, i would know because i definately don't have any talent at it.

Kickball--going back to my days in middle school gym, i think this would be an excellent pick. It is even sort of like baseball--sort of bing the key word. You have to run bases, you can steal bases, and you can even strike out. There is a pitcher, a catcher, outfielders, and basemen. Really the only difference is the ball--well, that and you kick instead of hit with a bat. But really, there's not that much difference is there?

Flagtag--another gym one. This one many people may not of actually played. You're seperated into two teams, and each person has long strips on a belt wrapped around your waist. These belts can easily be pulled off when tugged--and, if you get a bad one, even if you're just running around. Objective: run around and try to pull off as many people on the other team's flags as possible with out getting yours taken. if yours is pulled off, then your out. Last team standing wins. Now you can't tell me that wouldn't be exciting to watch.

Battleball--keeping with the gym theme, this would be a real winner, i think. It is also known as dodgeball--i do not recommend the movie; it was horrible and i didn't even finish it. But it is another one that would be great to watch on tv. But i do think that there would be some intense competitiveness. I've played at Church, and they were extremely into it, and that's only Church; not the olympics. But then again, isn't every game really competitive at Church....especially at camps--like the silent, water, and ice cream games, say.

Running Backwards--now i'm building off other sports....this one being track and field. In this section they have everything from sprints, to middle distance, to long marathons. They even have a walking marathon--in the Olympics! (and as a side tangent here, i'm not sure if you saw this event, but it is brutal! They are walking as fast as people run! it's unbelievable!) But since they do have all these events, why not running backwards. That takes skill! i certainly can't do it well. It is embarrassing though, whenever you had to do it in gym class, because invariably someone always fell and you just always hoped it wouldn't be you. Although i did once in elementary school.....

Kicking--also off of Track. They have people throwing everything from heavy metal balls to overly-hefty frisbees to spears--nicely called javelins. So why not give the arm a break and let the legs show off some. Now they wouldn't be able to kick something heavy--that would entail some majorly aching feet and quite possibly broken bones. They would just have to kick something like a soccer ball--other countries seem to love that sport already, so why not get some more use out of the beloved ball. I think it would be a winner.

Under-water-breath-holding--ok, this is probably the least exciting option i have. can you imagine watching this on tv? It sort of has to do with swimming. That doesn't make it exciting, though, i guess. So, actually, i have just talked myself out of this idea.

Spoons--now i know that you may think i'm crazy, but really, this is a fun game. Ok, maybe not olympic worthy. But it is at least something that everyone can do. It really is just how hard you can flick something and how much you can take. And, if you don't like to use spoons, you can use just about everything that is sproingy....like, say, the wooden handle of a free Mary Poppins on Broadway paper fan. Just saying. This is also a youth group favorite.

Cards--now i don't mean poker--although i guess you could ( i learned how to play last year at school....one of the coolest classes ever!). I think that other games would be just as cool, though. But, i don't think this is quite right either, because it is not a sport. and thus is not quite right for the olympics.

Last but not least:

Wii--maybe, this is a stretch, and not quite a sport, but it is hard! For those of you who have done the wii fit part, then you know what i mean. The yoga is almost impossible to balance and the running is hard, too! And trying to hit the soccer balls! Also, it is very trying to not jump when you are doing the ski jump....i guess this is also not exactly right, though.

So, those are my ideas for next year. Maybe i'll send them to the olympic committee....or better yet, maybe i'll just join the olympic committee. That would be fun!! enjoy the pics of what happens when you play spoons.

Moose: a memoir of fat camp

2008-09-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

OK, so if you have checked what I've been reading--down and to the left--then you'll see that recently i have had to read a book for English called moose. Now i don't recommend this book to anyone, because it is not very good morally--but i had to read it--however, it really did make me think about how everyone sees theirselves.

Now i believe that one of the absolute worst experiences ever is when you try on clothes at the mall--or any random store, i guess. Not only is it depressing whenever you realize that your normal size doesn't fit anymore--and not because the clothes are smaller, but because you are bigger--but they just have to put those big, imposing full-length mirrors in the stalls as well. So then not only do you have to know that the sizes do not fit anymore, but you also have to see it as well. Now I'm pretty sure that everyone has had this experience....unless, of course, you choose to purchase your articles of clothing off the world wide web. But even then your really just postponing the inevitable because if the clothes don't fit at the store, they won't fit at home.....even if they are bought on e-bay. Either way, it is quite demoralizing.

This inevitably makes one want to go on a diet/exercise--at least it does me. So, as of now, i've decided to get back into shape and whatever goes along with that, etc., etc. ( which did you know that et cetera is a latin word?) But then this makes me wonder and ponder....will i be any happier with myself once i'm at my goal weight? Is there anyone who is actually happy with their body? i know that i wasn't happy with my self when i was in 7th grade, and that was ? lbs ago. (did you honestly think i was going to tell you how much more i weigh now then when i was in middle school? if you did then your crazy....but you are reading my blog, so maybe you really are crazy anyway....nah i'm just messin). I honestly think that no matter what we weigh or what we look like, we will always think that we would look better with: a few less lbs, a few more highlights, shorter hair, less bangs, more defined arms, a sixpack, clearer skin, and whatever else you can think of. And deep down, i think that everyone does know this. But that doesn't stop us from trying. That doesn't stop some people attempting to lose weight to try desperate measures. And is it really worth it to look small if it just costs you your actual health.

But--i know i'm ranting now, but just bear with me--that is really what i've gleaned from the whole book: how very obsessed we are with what we look like. And how unhappy we are with it even when we do reach our goals. Me included, actually, me being very near the top. I dont know, but i do know that i still want to be in shape. And i also know that i don't have to be bulimic or anorexic to lose weight--although that may be easier. Nor will i have to get liposuction or a tummy tuck or one of those stomach bands. Honestly, i think that would be painful. That is one part of the 21st century i most likely won't take part in. Call me old-fashioned but i think i'll just stick to diet and exercise. I'll let you know when i've reached my goals!

Meet Gizmo

2008-09-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

So little stump had a visitor today!! It was great because he escaped yesterday. We are finishing the fence, so until it is completed, we have to keep him up in the back of the yard. Well, we came home from school yesterday and found that stump--whose collar had broken--had escaped and was missing. While my momma stayed and yelled for him in the front yard, i went to the nearby middle school--where we sometimes walk--and searched around. Needless to say, i was quite upset because my puppy dog was missing and for all i knew, he was hit by a car and in a ditch somewhere or --even worse--in a pound somewhere. But he wasn't, by the time i got back to the house he was just sittin there like nothing had happened; happy as a lark. So anyway, it was a very near-tragic experience.

But, as i said, my cousin Nicholas brought over his little puppy today and him and Stump just had a blast. Gizmo is shorter than stump, but weighs about 102 lbs. Stump is only 85 at the moment, but he's still growing of course. So, i hope you enjoy the pictures!!

WB vs DB

2008-08-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

So, i officially attended my first DB game this past friday night and i must say....i was completely excited. Not only did we get to beat William Blount, a former rival--well a Heritage rival not so much a DB one--but we also got to, well, go to my first DB football game. And just what got us all so excited about this game? The pep rally of course!

Ok, so actually the pep rally was last Thursday for the actual first ballgame against Tennessee High, but, well, i had three hours of math alone that night not including all the other wonderfully enriching subjects. So, i was sadly unable to attend. But, it was so peppily enthusiating, that i was still fired up over a week later....this past friday, two days ago. Yeah, it was that great. So, since i know that you are so excited about it, i'll share with you some of the stuff we did. Well, for starters it was only 15 minutes. But don't sell it short just because it was small. Great things come in small packages.

So, we all jam into the dome--which really we didnt have to "jam" that much because that dome is seriously big. As in thousands big and there are only, what, a little over 2,000 kids; so it really wasn't that crowded. Actually, the whole school could have fit on just one side, but of course there were those who felt like being different and felt like making a statement, so they sat on the opposite side, but, oh well, there'll always be those certain few. But anyway, so we all piled in and the varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders cheered and danced their hearts out and all the sports were called out. Then,what pep rally would be complete with out a performance by the "spirit shakers". So after they got up and did their thing, the cheerleaders came back and led us all in two cheers. The first was quite....original... A simple chant and repeat. The cheerleaders say it first, then the crowd follows....
I-I-I-n-d
I-I-I-n-d
I-I-I-a-n-s
I-I-I-a-n-s
I-n-d
I-n-d
I-a-n-s
I-a-n-s
(all together)
Indians Indians Indians are the best
Oh yes.
But, you know, the cheerleaders might have said "oh, yes" but that is definately not what the student section said. I dont think i have ever mentioned this, but the one weird thing about my new school is, well, two actually:
1. 99% of the kids carry backpacks (my books, pencils, etc now weighs around 36 lbs.....just in case you were wondering).
2. 99% of the student poplulation cusses.
I'm not joking either....from the skateboard dudes to the cheerleaders to the band to the "good" kids. They all seem to cuss. Which in itself i really dont understand because many of these kids will be wearing a Church or Church retreat t-shirt and then they will just, well, utter some explicitive. And it's not like they're even being mean to anyone or cussing anyone out, they just seem to slip it into everday language; for instance:
Brrrr its ****** freezing.
That ***** test was hard!
My homework looks like *****.
It's actually very weird. Everyone seems to....well i don't, but then again i'm not a native DB'er. Maybe that's just the way they do things. I don't know, but i definately don't plan on picking that habit up.

But anyway, instead of saying "oh yes", they say, "h**l yes!" Just thought that was something real nice and special about our student section. They don't get in trouble; which i thought was weird; but then again, who would get in trouble? They wouldn't be able to pin it on one person. Sneaky little student section.

Anywho, the last cheer was a copy of We are Marshall. Now i don't know if you have ever seen that movie, but if you have then you should know how sad it is. I watched it for the first time on our Church ski trip this past feburary; and, honestly, i cried throughout the whole thing. It was so sad. If you haven't seen it, just take my word for it and when you do see it--which you should now because i'm recommending it and i know that you guys watch all the movies i recommend, right?--be sure to not where a shirt you really like. Or else the sleeves will be all stained from wiping your eyes--and consequentially your mascara--on it. It was the whole "we are..db..we are..db". And i'm sorry, it would have been a great motivational cheer, a real pep-raiser, but i just keep thinking about that movie, something you really don't want to be thinking about at a time like that--i'm telling you, it is a sad movie. Now that i'm thinking about this, i have realized that i think about movies a lot....aren't you all--my one to two readers on a great day--just so excited to be learning about what goes on in my head? Fascinated, i'm sure. So, that was the pep rally, and although i have been making fun of it--sort of--it really was fun; i enjoyed myself.

So, since the pep rally was so invigorating, as i mentioned before, i was still pumped up and excited come friday. The game was actually a ton of fun and we won 42 to 6....woo woo! Go Indians! We did learn a lot though. For instance, we learned about reserved seating. We had seen on the little scrolling marquee sign outside the school that they were selling reserved seating to all the DB home games for 80 dollars. Well, of course we didn't buy it, because there are only 10 games a season and not all are home, so that is well over 10 a game and normal tickets cost 5. So, we waited and bought general admission. Well, as it turns out, the whole stadium is reserved seating. General admission is for the baseball stadium--their baseball field is part of their football field, so like-wise their side stadium also overlooks the field. So, we went over to the baseball seats and picked one--we had plenty of choices because it wasn't very crowded. We didn't stay there for long, though because when we looked out at the field we realized that the big, black net--used to keep unsuspecting spectactators from turning into unsuspecting victims due to foul balls--really sort of messes with the view. So, we headed to the only other place we thought we could go....the wb section. The visitors seats are these flimsy metal bleachers across from the big home ones. So, even though i enjoyed the game from the opposite section of the actual home crowd, i still loved my first db game.

The best event, however, had to be the halftime show. In case you did not know all the little tidbits about the high school Dobbyns-Bennett--also known as DB--then i'll fill you in on something. The db band has over 400 members, which makes it the largest high school marching band in Tennessee. And they are humongous, trust me, they just keep coming and keep coming when they walk in. But, for their halftime show, the singer that normally performs with them was unable to attend, so they had to go to plan b. A bagpipe group from Grandfather's Mountain. They were actually really great, though; don't think i'm making fun. There were only about 12 of them, but that didn't matter....as i said earlier great things come in small packages. So, we got to listen to the bagpipe band--along with our band--play everything from Amazing Grace to the song from braveheart to rocky top....no joke, rocky top; that was enriching, too; let me tell you.....It was cool though.

So, that was my Db experience and to be honest, i absolutely loved it. Enjoy the pics; i know you will....I have included the band, the baseball seats (also better-known as unreserved home seats), the reserved seats, the bagpipe players, and the final scoreboard. Also, listen to the video....it's the db fight song!!

My awful realization

2008-08-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

Ok, so at a Church softball game this past summer, our team--division champions by the way--was playing some other team and we were up like, i dont know, 12 to 8 or something. I really cant remember the details that much. But, anyway, it was in the last inning, and i overheard someone say, "Oh, i really hope they dont come back to beat us." I thought to myself. No, they probably won't; they would have to increase their own score by at least 50% to even tie. And then i realized: why in the world would that realization even of come to mind? It was then i came to the awful conclusion....i'm a nerd.

Yes, it's true. I know that you're probably completely surprised, right? It's true though; i love everything from Batman to Transformers to Star Wars. Which really isnt that bad, because how could you honestly not like those movies? But, if that wasn't enough, i have a bad habit of turning a lot of things into math problems....or physics questions, you can take your pick, they're not that much different.

Take for instance, Physics. Ok, so say i'm driving in the car, coming home from school, and i come to a red light. Of course i dont slam on my brakes, because what would be the point of that. The only thing gained would be a huge jerk forward and most likely one day a crumpled back end. But, anyway, i--like any law-abiding citizen--slowly and easily come to a stop by lightly pressing the brake pedal. Well, many times i begin to think what is my average acceleration on slowing down? Sadly, i'm not joking, this is what goes through my head:

well if my initial velocity is 42 m.p.h. and the red light is 20 meters ahead, what will my acceleration--or actually deceleration i guess--rate need to be? Express your answer in meters per second.

Can you tell that we do way too many practice problems in physics??

Actually, now that i think about it, maybe when i get older i could be a textbook word problem writer. I mean seriously, they cant be that hard. You dont even have to solve them, that's the poor kid who's taking the class's fault. Let them deal with it. And say--just say--that you completely mess up and the solution isn't real, then people will just think that you're trying to test the kids' knowledge and really make them use their brain--once again, a teachers' favorite thing to say. I dont know if i could be as creative as some of these experts are right now, though, i mean come on, who can beat the guys who wrote my physics book?

At the moment this sentence was written, I was in New York at a latitude of just about 41 degrees N. .....At what speed was i moving about the spin axis while sitting here at "rest"? Where are you and how fast are you moving.

A pack of hounds running at 15.0 m/s is 50.00 m behind a mechanical rabbit, itself sailing along at 10.0 m/s. How long will it take before the rabgit is caught

Suppose that a fly were to go back and forth, essentially without a pause, from one runner to the other in Problem 89 at an average speed of 10 m.s. How far will it have traveled in total by the time the athletes meet?

Standing still sniffing the air, a dog observes a kid on a bike pass him at 10.0 m.s heading due north. Fifteen seconds later the .....

A robot on the planet Mongo leaves its storage closet and heads due east for 9.0 km, It then turns south for 12 km and stops.What is the magnitude of the robot's displacement?

While meandering on a blanket on the grass at a picnic, and ant takes 603 steps north from a cookie crumb. It then walks 804 steps due west and stops at a raisin. what is the displacement of the ant from the crumb? Give your answer in ant-steps and provide the direction.

I mean really, who can beat that? It is sort of hard to focus on the actual problem, though, because they are so creative. I for one can't concentrate on displacement when i keep remembering that the final solution will be in ant steps. As for the mechanical rabbit, i'm wondering what the hounds are going to do when they figure out that that rabbit isn't real; it's a mechanical one and you definately can't eat metal. I'm just saying.

So, that is all i really wanted to say. It is something that has been heavily weighing on my mind....ok well not really, but that at least adds drama to this silly post.

Little Puppy Stump gets a shave

2008-08-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

so, it has come to my attention that i haven't let you all know anything new about my little puppy stump. Due to the hot weather--and his abnormally thick and bushy sheepdog hair--we decided to give him a small trim. Well, not really a trim per-say, we--or actually PetSmart--shaved the miniture horse. He looked sort of like a great dane, poodle, goat mix, i believe....ill let you be the judge of that though....The little dog absolutely loves it however. I mean come on, if it was a blistering hot, humid summer day, would you rather be in a parka or naked....It did take him awhile to get used to it, though. He also sort of developed a nervous tic, which is weird because i never knew dogs could be schizophrenic or whatnot. When he was first shaved, he would walk around and shake his head every few feet like he couldnt believe that we would be so mean as to shave his lovely locks. But he soon got over that when he realized how much cooler and lighter he was. Enjoy the before and after pics....

2008 Olympics

2008-08-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

In lieu of the 2008 Beijing Olympic games--check your local listings for more information....you should hurry, though, because today is the last day--i thought that i should at least share my thoughts on the whole subject. You know, at least hit the highlights--the things i thought were hightlights, anyway--and give you all my thought(s) on the matter(s).

As for Michael Phelps, i honestly believe he is the fastest swimmer the world has ever seen, and i was quite happy that i could see him perform. As for volleyball, may-treanor and walsh were absolutely great, but i have to admit. By about 2 games into the tournament, i was sick and tired of beach volleyball. You can only take so much; and then they played about 15,000 hours worth of the long and tedious sport. The same goes for diving. And though i understand why they played the stuff before the gymnastics, track, and swimming--to sell more advertisement--it doesnt mean i have to like it. I have watched more diving and beach volleyball then i have my whole life. That's wasn't that hard to do, though, because the only volleyball games i have ever seen were ones from Beach Camp trips....but do those even count?

But all the diving on tv has made me decide to put in an application to be a judge the next time the four years come around. i mean, honestly, it cant really be that hard. "ooh that was an absolutely unbelievable dive until the very end....She arched her back a little when she entered the water.....her entrance wasnt quite at vertical....she needs to hit the pike position longer....notice her flat feet, she should point her toes." I think that woman that announces can actually be quite mean. Maybe i should apply for that job instead. But being a judge would be pretty fun....i mean i do have a history in diving.....

Four years ago--after the athens' games--i decided that i would pick up a career in diving. I mean i had already tried like a thousand other sports, so why not? Lets see i had tried: basketball, gymnastics, cheerleading(though is it really a sport?), track, swimming, well, you get the drift. maybe i have a problem with commitment.... So, anyway, i thought that i might have some natural ability--or something--because i had done gymnastics and tumbling since i was like five. The only problem was that i had no clue at all how to actually perform a dive. So, i signed up for the beginner's diving class at UT. I went into the little water building for our first class all excited and decked out in my new one-piece, blue swim suit. They dont let you wear two-piece bikinis....i guess because the actual movement of performing a dive would make them come off....surprising, i know. So, anyway, i come strutting in and i look around for the other kids in my class. At first, I couldnt find anyone, and I thought that maybe--just maybe--I had come at the wrong time. Then i looked down. And that thought was banished. As it turns out, not only was i the oldest, tallest, and biggest kid in the class, but i had a good 10 years, 3 feet, and 30 lbs on most of them. My guess is that the average age was probably 4 or 5--although there were some 3 year olds. I guess "Beginner's Diving" really is for beginners. And not only people new to diving, but new to life itself. I betcha that there would have probably been some 1 and 2 year olds, but one of The University of Tennessee's rules is probably that you have to at least be able to walk and talk. "That's ok," I thought, "their just beginner's, too. They have no clue what they're doing....just like me!" So, i gathered in to hear the instructor talk--which wasn't that hard because i could stand in the very back, behind all the others, and still see the woman clearly without obstructions. So, here i was, waiting for her to instruct us on the proper techniques of how to enter the water smoothly without making a splash....though i was wanting her to tell me how to just dive in general to be honest. So, first day, first 15 minutes in, she says, "ok, before we go off the board, i just want you all to dive in from the side of the pool. Ok, go." So all these little pre-k and kindergarteners start doing dives. I started thinking, did i miss something? Isn't this the reason i'm taking this course? I mean i'm not even joking, i had no clue how to dive. Well, as you can probably guess....i was the worst one in the class. Sad, i know. As the weeks went on, and we advanced to harder stuff, i began to learn new things. Not how to dive, of course, i still dont know how to do that. I'm talking about other stuff. Like did you know that when your legs smack the water, they make an extremely loud cracking noise. Trust me. I would dive off the board--or attempt to dive i should say--and it would make this loud firecracker noise that echoed throughout the whole aquarium of a place. The parents had a little sitting area up at the top, so they could watch. Whenever i would go and make that lovely sound--because i invariably made it with 95% of the dives--then all the other parents of the little pre-k proteges would look at my parents like, "ouch, that had to hurt." Yeah, isn't that special? And also, i learned that water can and does bruise. I came out of that class with black and blue thighs. i guess that's what causes that firecracker sound, now that i think of it....popping blood vessels. Yeah, even more special isn't it? That's the stuff that i learned, though. Not how to dive, but real, useful life lessons. One of the worst experiences,though, i have to admit, was the day that the teachers got the brilliant idea of making us all go off the 3 meter springboard. I really wish that they would tell us this stuff the week before, that way if I was to mysteriously get sick, then I would be sure that it happened the week we would be jumping from three stories above the water. Who's brilliant idea was that anyway?? Now, that i think of it, I probably made a big mistake trying to dive, because i really can not stand free falling. I mean, honestly, i almost passed out on the Disney Tower of Terror--ask Olivia. It was tramatic. At Beach[ed] Camp, there was this thing at the ropes course called the "giant swing". "It's not bad, forrest, trust us. There's barely a free fall at all." So, i went up there all brave--ha!--and finally it was my turn to be harnassed up.

Instructor: Ok, we are gonna step to the edge and on the count of three you're gonna jump off the edge sideways.
Me: won't i fall?
Instructor: yes, that's the point, but the swing will catch you and you will swing back and forth (like a pendulum is what i kept thinking....anyone ever read "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Poe? Trust me, Poe is not what you want to think of at a time like this)
Me: ok.
Instructor: ok, let go of the rail and step to the side
Me: ok hold on a second
Instructor: you have three seconds just let go off the rail
Me: ok (i proceed to let go)
Instructor: great, 1 2...3 (on three of course i dont jump, i lunge back to the rail)
Me: ok hold on a minute let me think this through
Instructor: What is there to think through? It's not like you're risking your life. There's nothing dangerous about this! (nothing except maybe gravity).
Me: i know, but i just want to think about it
Instructor: you ride in a car everyday and those are like little aluminum death traps. Just let go of the rail. You're not gonna die, you're not even gonna get hurt. (yeah, except maybe a heart attack or the whole gravity thing).
Me: ok
Instructor: 123

of course i didnt jump; This time, he sort of just picked me up and threw me off, but hey, i sort of conquered my fears....right? Ok, how in the world did i get this far off on a tangent? Back to the diving.

They really shouldnt have made me go off, i mean honestly, i was obviously the worst in the class, i could kill myself, and i'm extremely scared of free falling--they of course did not know this, but then again, they didn't ask did they? So, i made my way up the steps feeling like a convict going to the electric chair (ever read "the green mile" by steven king? another one you dont really want to think of at a moment like this). So, i got up there and what they told us to do was just lean forward to go off and momentum and gravity would do the rest. Now, i wasnt in physics yet, but i did know that momentum + gravity did not = a perfect dive with no pain. It may have for the little genius divers, but not for me; not for someone who couldnt even dive off the small diving board or the side of the pool. Thinking back, i must have been a huge disappointment to the instructors. If they had statistics of taking the class and learning how to dive, then i completely ruined them. (There is an 85% chance that if you take this class that you will learn how to dive. It used to be 99 to 100% but then we had this little freak of nature girl who just could not dive and she ruined it....) Thankfully, they didnt have statistics, though, i hope. So, anyway, i stepped up to the end and the nice instructor women told me to take my time and then go. Well, i took her at her word and took my time; it wasnt like i was ever gonna go anyway....me dive from 3 meters in the air? Haha! So, i waited and stood there and took so much time, in fact, that the women came up behind me and pushed me off. Pushed me off. All these little kindergarteners were going off like little seals, and she had to push me off. It made the popular cracking noise, of course.

I decided not too sign up for the Intermediate level, surprisingly. It was a sad day to the diving world, i'm sure.

So, that's the beginning--and consequently the end--of my diving career.

Those are some of my thoughts on the olympics, though. I can't wait till '12! Oh, and when i heard that there was not going to be any soft or base ball anymore, then i got to wondering....what sports will they choose to induct into the next games to take their place? i'll get back to you of what i think should become the new sport; i'm brainstorming ideas....

Tuesday tidbits

2008-08-19T14:40:00.001-07:00

ok, so i know that if you have ever attended school--or if you have ever worked i guess--then you can sympathise with me when it comes to Tuesdays.

Many of you do not know this, but out of all the days of the week, Tuesday has got to be my very least favorite. I really do not like it. You know that even when you do make it through the day, you're still not even half through the school week. im not a tuesday person. So, this morning, i woke up and did not want to get up. So i just layed there and laid there until finally i had to get up. so, i roused myself and went into my closet to find something to wear, and i decided to go all out and wear a comfortable t-shirt. See, i have been trying to dress up--at least in my eyes--just about everyday, and the first week, i didnt wear "just a t-shirt" at all. I even wore a dress! remember that, ill discuss it later. but anyway....in fact, i have only wore two undressy shirts--my Making Malorie and my Beach[ed] Camp shirt--these past 10 days of school. So, today i decided to wear my old Cuz's shirt. Now Cuz's is a barbecue restaurant that is in an old barn up in the Virginia country. it has great food and i definately recommed that you try it if you ever find yourself around Tazewell County. See the pictures below. So, i wore that shirt and an old pair of blue jeans. i even ironed it myself....im not very great at ironing; i know that surprises you. So, you may wonder why i told you all that, because it doesnt sound very important, but trust me, you'll see later.

So, i headed off to school, and got there early as usual. im not sure if i've mentioned this yet, but since my momma's work is like 45 minutes from db, i have to be dropped off very early. 6:50, to be exact. School doesnt actually start until 7:35, so i have some time to kill in the mornings....and the evenings. She doesnt pick me up till about 4:10; school gets out at 2:50. Anyway, i was sitting in Mr. Epling's room and this one girl walks in and starts talking about buying a vocab book and im sort of eavesdropping--i have a really bad habit of that--and she says, "and i forgot my picture money." Yup, today was junior picture day. and im wearing a barbecue shirt....my bad. Now that may not seem like a big deal, but you should have seen how dressed up these kids get. Sweater vests, dresses, skirts, button ups, polos....yeah, they really get into picture day here. at heritage, you barely saw a difference. overalls, camo, "dixie sweethearts", and a few other bits of dressy apparrel. That's about it, so anyway, that's how my junior pictures went....and did you know that this will be my last picture day, because seniors get theirs during summer, right? *sniff*....not. anyway, that was at least a great way to go out, i certainly won't forget it.....

As for lunch, we have had a tragedy. As of tomorrow August 20, 2008, i will no longer be sitting at the same table. i have decided to ditch my old lunch table for unsportsmanlike conduct. and really, to be honest, i dont care if they read this. they shouldnt, because no one at db knows about my blog, but even if they found it, i really could care less. anyway, 3 out of four of them are really not very nice; at least they haven't been to me. There was 3 guys and me and this other girl. They were all sophomores except one guy and me. So, anyway, the girl is dating the junior guy at the table and--at the begining--she was very nice. But, her boyfriend started talking to me, not in a flirty way, but just talking; and man, the change was fast! She never smiles, talks, or even looks at me anymore unless it is to smirk or glare at me. honestly, i dont know what i did to offend the girl!! so, after going the past few days without her even side glancing at me, today was the straw that broke the camel's back--dont you just love those crazy little phrases? I love to try to figure out where they came from....that's probably just because im a nerd, though. just guessin. Back on topic, i was walking to the table today and i saw her actually looking at me. i was like, "yes, maybe we can actually talk today." So, i smile right back at her. boy, i promise you that this was the worst look that i have ever recieved in my life. now, for some reason or other, in my whole age of 16, i havent had an extreme amount of hate-looks. i mean, i dont walk around trying to make enemies of people, it's just something i dont do. So, she shot me the death look, and then immediately looks at her beau to see if he was looking at me. The girl is psychoticly jealous or something. Anyway, so i sort of unsurredly sit down and no one says a word. She's close pals with the other two guys, so i wasnt very surprised. So, her bf said hi--he's at least nice--and asked me some question--and lunch went on.

So, i had decided to get myself some cookies today. I still havent found 2 of the 4 lines--i really am not sure where they are hiding them--so im still going through the same 2 (sandwich and ala carte). So, anyway, i got the cookies. Now, otis spunkmeyer cookies--extremely tasty and satisfying--come in packs of three, and i really wasnt in the mood to eat all three. i had just eaten the chicken off my chicken sandwich; i was pretty full. So, i pulled one out, set it on my tray, and then folded up the package and stuffed it into my backpack. I mean, come on, im not gonna eat the other two then because i wasn't really hungry, and im not gonna waste 66 2/3 cents by throwing them away. That's not too far out there is it? Am i doing something too radical? So, when i look up, they are all staring at me like im crazy. So, i just sit there and one of the guys says to the other, "don't you wish you could be that cool," in like the most smart alec way ever. i was like are you serious? just because i dont eat all three at one time like you do, does that make me a loser? i didnt say that of course, im scared of confrontation (ask james), so i just sat there. But i mean, people haven't really made that much fun of me....well they have, but not in a mean way. So, i didnt even try to talk anymore. And tomorrow im gonna sit with these other kids from my physics class, they already told me i could. So there....take that cookie haters.

on a brighter note, disney trip is back on!!!! well maybe, they're not sure, but they think so....me in front of Cuz's, note the pink shirt, ribs from Cuz's.

Stars and Dots

2008-08-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

ok, so if you do not believe that God speaks to people, then...well....you're crazy. I dont mean like prophet-speaking--like Moses and the burning bush, although that would be the absolute coolest thing ever--i mean speaking through other people and through events. Anyway, i really believe that He spoke to me today in Sunday school. If you will remember my 730 days post that i just made yesterday, then this will most likely make more sense. But if you dont have all my blogs completely memorized--which if that is the case, you had better get to work--then i'll refresh your memory.

i was talking about--in a summarized version--that i was really nervous about being myself because i was scared about what people would think. i was scared that i would mess up and then what would people think? so it was about what my peers think of me, anyway, that's the general gist of it. So, as you avidly read--or just look at in a glazed over fashion--this post, remember that.

So, this morning in Sunday school, our teacher started off with reading us this old children's book that i remember from when i was little. i really don't remember the name, but chances are, you've read it. just to make things more interesting, ill do a quick recap of the events.

So, anyway, there once were these little wooden people called wemmicks. They lived in a little wemmick town and they were all made by the same carpenter/wood-worker, Eli. Now Eli lived on top of the hill in the little wemmick village. Anyway, all day long, the wooden wemmick people would walk around and stick stars and dots on each other. Exciting life, i know. If a wemmick did something real cool like jump high, sing, or recite long words; or if the wemmick was really pretty with no chips or dents or scratches, then the others would give them a yellow star. If the wemmick couldnt do anything cool or if they said stupid stuff or if their paint was faded and chipped then the others would give them a gray dot. So, pretty much there were two types of wemmicks--cool wemmicks and loser wemmicks. Now one wemmick--named Punchel or something--was a loser wemmick. He couldnt do anything right, so he was completely covered in gray dots. I mean from head to toe. He got so depressed that he decided that he didnt even want to go outside anymore....he was quite sad. So, one day he sees this girl wemmick named Lucia--i think--and he sees that she has absolutely no dots or stars. He sees people try to put stars on her--for having no dots--but they fall off. And he sees people try to put dots on her--because she has no stars--but they fell off, too. So smart little Punchel decides that this is how he wants to live his life. So finally one day he works up the courage to confront her, and he proceeds to ask her why nothing sticks to her. She replies that it is because she visits Eli every day up on the hill. So, our pal Punchel hikes up the next day to see Eli and when he gets there, he gets scared. Everything is so much bigger than him, that he decides to sneak out and leave, but just then Eli calls his name....and more or less, He tells Punchel that he should not care about what others think because their opinion does not matter. It only matters that he--Eli--loves him and thinks highly of him. So, Punchel is pleased as punch--sorry, i know it's corny, but i had to put that in--and all his gray dots fall off. and Punchel lives happily ever after. The end.

ok, so i know that the whole story was cheesy and it was written for little kids.....i know. But if you really think about it, it can speak to teenagers, too. In different ways. Not just that we shouldn't care what others think--a jab at myself--but also that people will notice if you live for God and will wonder why? People will notice and will ask questions. (see the Lucia part). But, anyway, take what you will from that story but it really did help me today.

As a sidenote, if any of you have actually made it all the way through one of my posts--without sleeping--then you have probably noticed that i say "so, anyway," a ton. I have no clue why, i just noticed that. Sorry if it gets on your nerves.

Movies-2

2008-08-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

so here's my second installment of movies that you should all see....if you really dont feel like going through the hassle of having to pick one yourself.

Definately do's

Batman Begins
Click
Braveheart
The Cowboys
The Bourne Identity (if you enjoy this one, i also recommend 2 and 3)

Definately dont's

the boogeyman
chocolat
the picture of dorian grey
ladder 49

730 days

2008-08-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

ok, so last night, i went to the one and only Blount County Jamboree in Maryville, TN. For any Kingsportians who are reading this--if there are any--it is not pronounced Mareeville, it's Mearville. Trust me, if you ever go there and say it the former instead of the latter way, well, you'll probably get shot....or just mistaken for a northener....either way, it would be tragic. So anyway, i went to the big jamboree and although Heritage tied one and lost one--not a huge letdown--it was still an absolutely great night. I got to see both my school and my youth group pals. To name a few: my yellow team leader, my youth pastor, pt pals, my "romanian" friend, my senior home room friend, 1st block "rocky", otis spunkmeyer girl, beef, holls, and mojo, and Amy Cantrell!

And really the whole best part was not only being able to see all the people that i love, but also being able to really just talk and be myself; to be outgoing and to laugh without constantly having to worry about what impression im leaving on others. dont get me wrong, i love db, but i have to always watch how im acting, because these are those dreaded "first impressions" times and what i say or what i do is going to define me for the next 730 days of my life. for those of you trying to do quick calculations in your head, that would be 2 years....not including leap days. So im really having a hard time being my complete self--that being the forrest who constantly moves when she eats, wheezes and sometimes coughs when she laughs, and who really doesnt much care if her shoes or socks match; i mean really, if the shirt is great enough who's gonna be looking at the feet anyway, that's my philosopy, but anyway. So i have to watch it, because what they see as me right now, they will continue to see and if i slip up and do something stupid or i say something wrong, well, that could most likely become a detrimental mistake to my social life. and we couldnt have that now could we....That's just what im thinking right now, anyway.

and 730 days seems like a really long time, but really it's not. It's only two years. Which brings me to my next topic....

Have you realized--class of 2010--that we only have two years of high school left. And if youre not going to college, 2 years of school at all left. I mean that's absolutely crazy. I no more have a clue what im going to do as an adult as to where im even going to go to college. I mean, i have a few ideas, but really i dont know! do i want to go instate to vanderbilt or do i want to choose an out of state like clemson. or do i want to go somewhere far away like nyu or cal-tech. or maybe a specialized school like that one in illinois. i definately dont know. i have no earthly idea.

Another thought, will i ever talk to these people i go to school with again?? where will they go to college? what will they become? will i be too busy to come to a class reunion? Even more pressing, will i still remain close to the people i care about most...well excluding family, because i will always be close to them. But my really close pals, the people that i think i will never ever forget or let down, will i still talk to them? im not just talking about school kids, but also the adults that have impacted my life....will i still see them after i graduate? i sure hope so. but anyway, it's also exciting. Here's another mindblowing thought--to me anyway--in about 10 years maybe a little more or maybe a little less, im gonna be married!! im gonna have a husband. isnt that crazy??

But anyway, that's how my mind is going over things right now. and that just shows me that these last two years of high school are really not that big of a part of my life in the big scheme of things. who really cares if im not the most popular kid or if i dont hang out with the coolest children. If i live to be 100--which would be absolutely amazing because my great grandma lived to be 100--then its really only 1/50 of my life. and that is what takes all the pressure off of how to be yourself at school. i mean really, it's only 730 days out of 36,500.

disney trip depression....

2008-08-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

Happy National Sweatpants Day!!

So, anyway, i have found out that i happen to be the absolute unluckiest person like ever! When it comes to class trips, that is. Last semester, i took Probability and Statistics at Heritage High. And i was so very excited, because at Heritage, if you take calculus, prob and stat, or physics, then you get to go to Dollywood! I mean come on, Dollywood on a school day with all my lovely pals....i was pumped. Well, as it turned out, it got canceled because although all the "higher people" approved it, they would never approve a date.....oh well. The class ended up being great anyway, though....just ask mitchell!

Fast forward about 4 months. Now, im taking Physics at db. So anyway, i was just sitting there that first day listening to him tell us all the teacher stuff about the class. you know--be sure you bring paper and pencils, tests will be worth 40% of your grade, and (my favorite) this class is going to challenge you/it will really make you think--i cant stand that last one, it is honestly my personal pet peeve....if any teacher is reading this, please dont say it. It's not original, everyone says it. Anyway, all bitterness aside, out of no where, mr. sir says, "Now tell me the truth, how many of you signed up for the class just so you could go on the disney trip." I had absolutely no clue that we were going on a disney trip, but, nevertheless, we were! a four day trip all the way down to disney world!! I was so excited! Well, imagine my dismay when--today--he said that even though he had been doing this trip for 13 years--since i was three years of age--it didnt get approved. So, now no disney trip for forrest :( Oh well no big deal. i wouldnt know what do with myself if i was able to go on a 4 day, extremely fun disney trip anyway.

Ew, and i have just been watching olympic news stuff and they showed this guy from Hungary that was lifting a weight, when--as he was lifting it up--his forearm bent back and dislocated from the elbow! ew! if youre not too squeamish, you should watch it. poor guy.

Have a spectacular day!

Taylor and Livie's Road Trip

2008-08-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Taylor and Livie decided to take their first big road trip to come and visit me up here in Kingsport, Tennessee. They actually rode by themselves--Livie drove and Taylor copiloted--all the way from Maryville. That means, they even had to drive on the interstate! But anyway, they made it and we had a great time watching the olympics and making videos and all that fun stuff! It was great, so here is one thing we did....see how many shirts i could put on at once.
at the beginning, i had actually wanted to put on all my shirts--which is over 130--but we ended up only getting to 40. i weighed my self afterward and i gained 14 lbs....14 lbs of shirts!! Taylor had to help me get the last ones on, and then, it took forever to get them off. It was great practice, though....maybe ill break the world record....maybe, ha! oh and the sweaty shirt picture shows you just how hot you get when your wearing 40 shirts....
Enjoy the video of us trying to get the top shirts off.....which was harder then we thought it would be because they were sort of stuck....

Physics, Latin, Econ...oh my!

2008-08-11T13:22:00.000-07:00

Cheesy, i know, but trust me: that was exactly how i felt my first week.

ok, so maybe some of you--my avid readers--would be interested in my schedule for my first year at DB:

First Semester:

Unified:Analytic Geometry/Calculus
English 11 ap
Latin 1
Advanced Physics--more on this later
Advanced Economics/Government
US History ap

Second Semester:

Unified: Analytic Geometry/Calculus
English 11 ap
Latin 2
Advanced Chemistry
Advanced economics/government
US history ap

you may wonder why some classes are year long, and that is because they are called singletons, and they last for only 50 minutes. The semester long classes are 90 minutes.

But, too be honest, i have absolutely no clue what im doing in some of these classes....for example, physics.

Now, for those of you who know me well, you know that i like math the best. It has normally come naturally to me. So, when i was making my schedule, i needed something to fill in for C Block, so i decided, "hey why not, it's math-based, right?" So, i go into this class, and as it turns out, it is nothing but word problems. Also, even though the teacher is an absolute genius and is great at teaching, the class is right after lunch; and who doesnt have a hard time staying awake after lunch....especially when listening to exciting school notes. But anyway, that's not what's bad, what's bad is the word problems. For me, word problems are very confusing, i have to read and reread them at least like 10 times before i can figure out what im even supposed to be doing. And these word problems are even harder to focus on, because they are on crazy stuff.

For example, this is from our text book:
A chicken is resting at a location 3.0 m north of a stationary farmer who weighs 185 lb. The chicken then meanders to a new location 3.0 m east of the farmer in a time of 2.0 s. Compute the bird's average velocity during its little journey.

im not even joking....now how in the world am i supposed to focus of average velocity when all i can think of is a chicken meandering around a farm. Do chickens even meander? honestly....

but, other than that, it really isnt as bad as i say it is. im sort of giving it a bit of dramatic effect....but that seriously was one of the problems. But anyway, that's how my schedule is.....

Go DB!

2008-08-10T08:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, so in case you havent heard, i am now a DB indian and this past Monday was my very first day of school. It was definately an experience because i went in knowing absolutely no one at all....except the few teachers i had met when getting my schedule. So, this is my experience....i sort of figured that it would be easier for me to type all this....instead of talking on a video because actually, those things are really hard because you cant like backspace or anything, so you have to have a running dialogue going on inside your own head. I felt like i was talking to myself the whole time....a very weird feeling, trust me. Anyway....

My guess is that most of you have not seen Dobyn's Bennett and even more of you have never seen the actual inside of Dobyn's Bennett. But trust me when i say, it is humongous! Instead of wings, they have "pods" and they have like 5 or 6 of them. Now, referring to the amount of kids, DB really is not that much larger than Heritage is. There are only about 200 more kids. But size-wise, it is a lot larger. Which is great, because the school is not overcrowded, but bad for those who are new to find their way around. There are stairwells, but it is a lot easier to use the ramps, so that is what i do. Now the pods are arranged like in English, Math, Foreign Languages, Science, etc. And from each pod, there are other pods branching off for the indiviual rooms. One neat thing is that most rooms arent really square, but a weird shape and most do not have windows. That makes lock down drills fun, because it becomes pitch black....anyway, now that you somewhat know what it looks like, ill describe my day.

When, i got there, i had about 13-17 minutes to find my homeroom class. My homeroom is next to the "little theatre" in some far off distant place where barely anyone ever travels, so i really had no clue where to go. Oh and yes, it is the "little theatre" because they, of course, have more than 1 theatre....also known as an auditorium. So, i wander into the school and decide to pick a direction to go. Sort of just a guess, but they do have signs on the walls at all intersections, so i figured, hey it cant be that hard. So, i first wind up in the Math pod....which would be great if i was looking for my first class, but i wasnt, so i headed on. That was about 7:33, and i wouldnt be late until 7:50, so at that point, i wasnt really worried. So, i kept working my way around at a leisurely pace, and surprisingly, i ended up in the science pod--which would have worked for c block....but you know. Then, i found my way to the Foreign Language and English pod, respectively, and then i started getting nervous, because by that point, it was about 7:46. i really wasnt joking when i said it was a big school, it takes a while to get around it--especially when your lost. So, i found a person of authority--thats what you do when your lost, right?--and asked them where the Little Theatre was. Long story short, i got lost again but finally made it with about 30 sec. to spare.

Inside my homeroom, i had my first up-close experience with my fellow DB students. It may or may not come as a surprise to you, but they really are like all other kids. In fact--as a side note--the only really big difference of walking around the halls, is that there is definately not as much camo, overalls, and carharts. Or rebel flags. Other than that, though, they look the same. So, i went into my homeroom class, and found a seat that was next to people....i thought, why be unsocial?--and sat down. Now, i know what its like to be a new kid, and trust me, if you are a student and you are reading this--which is doubtful--and you do see a new kid, at least make an attempt to speak to them. And dont just say "hi, whats your name", and then turn around and go back to your pals, try saying at least 3 sentences. Trust me when i say, they will not think you are crazy, they will be completely grateful. Anyway, no one said a word until our homeroom teacher--she is so cool, and im so glad that she did this--told them to introduce themselves. So, i met a couple new people, and two even agreed to show me where the math pod was when we went to first class--i know i said i found it earlier and i did, its just i had no clue how to find it again. So, the rest of the day went well, nothing really exciting, until lunch. I took my stuff to Physics, and our teacher said we had first lunch, so i headed to the cafeteria.

Now, there are four different lines in the cafeteria and even now as i write this after having an entire week at this school, i still have only found two lines--the sandwich line and the ala carte line. This first day, i picked the line that had a fair amount of people in it, because i guessed that meant that this line was pretty tasty comparitively. So, it took awhile, but i finally made it through with a quasidilla and french fries. I sat down at 11:20, and lunch was over at 11:21. So i had 1 minute to eat. I ended up with 4 fries and two bites of my quesadilla. Then i threw away my stuff and left. Needless to say, by the last class, i was hungry. I--on Wednesday--found another line--the sandwich one--and got a croissant. I could not really figure out how to get the meat, though, because it was behind a big, glass counter. So, i had a croissant sandwich. I was hungry that day, too. People probably thought i was crazy....anyway, though, that was just another sidenote for those of you who are interested......

Now, it may have crossed some of your minds--or probably not--that you may want to know, where i sat. DB's cafeteria is half circle tables with about 5 chairs around and half long tables. So, the first day, i just found an empty seat at one of the circle tables, and asked if i could sit down. The next day, i found a different table and i also sat there wed, but they really didnt say much. So, thurs, i found a table with 4 people and asked if i could borrow their chair. They said sure and so then i said "you know what, can i just sit here?". So they said sure, and now i sit there. They are all actually extremely nice, but anyway, that's how i found a lunch table.

Then, we finished school and so on and so forth.

Now, one weird thing i have noticed about Dobyn's Bennett, is that almost everyone--like 98% of the school--carries a backpack. They dont have to be see-through either. But they carry them because we have so many books, and the school is so big that you cant really use a locker, so you just carry a backpack. Well, you know the saying, when in Rome.....so, even though i havent carried a backpack since the beginning of 6th grade, i got a backpack, and ill admit, it is so much easier. The only bad part is that it is heavy--26 lbs. to be exact. So, i now add that to my school stuff.

Well, that was my first day, and i hope you enjoyed the recap--im sure you did--and hope you like the pics!

Monday, July 28th, 2008

2008-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

So, here is my first little video blog....i had just finished going out to eat with my two best pals livie and taylor....you can see their blogs too on my others list. The packers had come that day to put all the stuff in boxes....so all i had left was the piano....enjoy!

Internet

2008-08-10T07:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, so i finally got internet back. Charter was actually supposed to come on August 4th, like i said earlier, but they just came this Saturday. So, i have been making video blogs that way you once i put them up, you wouldnt feel left out of my life story....i know that would be tragic.
So, im now going to be putting up the last videos....enjoy!

My definition of New York

2008-07-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as it turns out, even though the movers are here, i can still play on the computer till they pack it up. And i need to try and get as much of the New York trip done before they take it out, because we wont have internet at our new house until aug. 4th.

so, as for my definition of new york.

if i had to describe new york in one word, i would say it is intense. Everything is fastpaced and hard paced. Everyone is always doing something, there is not downtime. Even on the subway, most people do not just sit there. Neither do they talk, of course, but they will either read or listen to their ipods or do whatever they do on their phones. They are all so busy and absorbed in their own lives that i actually wonder when the last time they talked to a stranger was. Not counting someone that is associated with their work, or like fast food order takers or anything. I even wondered at one point, what would happen if someone were to just drop dead on the streets. I wonder how long it would take someone to notice. Most people would probably just think that he was a homeless person asleep. Or on the subway. We saw people asleep on the subway at sometimes, and what would be the difference if they had just died. I mean who would notice? No one would speak to each other on the subway. Most of the time, they wouldnt even make eye contact. A lot of times when you try to smile at someone, they just sort of look at you like they dont understand; like they didnt know why you were looking at them. At one point early in the week, a woman sat down beside me in the subway and i sort of felt obligated to talk to her. i mean, hello, she is sitting like right next to me; i thought that it would be more awkward for me to not say anything....almost like i would be ignoring her. So i was trying to think of something to say and i decided to compliment her. i mean what better way to make friends with someone....or so i thought. So i told her that i liked her pants; they were really pretty. and ok, in retrospect i see that maybe that wasnt the best way to start off a conversation. it actually sort of sounds like napolean dynamite--i like your sleeves; they're real big. But anyway, she just sort of stared at me like i was psycho and then her husband sort of thought i was crazy i think. did i mention her husband--or brother, i really do not know--was there, i dont think i did. Anyway, she preceded to not only not talk to me for the rest of the trip but also completely ignored the fact that i was sitting next to her. So that was one of my first little crash course lessons in new york.

I also learned that although there are some of the nicest people i have ever met in New York--check out Brooklyn Tabernacle--there are many short tempers, and i believe that there are many people who just dont like me for some reason. The first night, i got told off twice by two different people for not walking fast enough and also for having my picture taken on the sidewalk. Now i would understand the latter, except for the fact that everyone was taking pictures, and i was on the far side where i wouldnt be in anyone's way. Oh well, though. It doesnt matter....at least i got the picture...haha. Another time later on in the week, i was walking with everyone down the sidewalk and this little woman comes through the middle and decides to choose me out of everyone else in the group to shove past. I mean she really shoved, she used both hands. And there were other kids everywhere. If you dont believe me, ask Cameron or David Headrick. They'll back me up.

Another thing about new york, is that i dont think a lot of people understood me. At one point in the week, we went to the White Castle, which would have in itself been an adventure, but i also had a fun time ordering. They had these things called chicken rings that you can get in different flavors like regular, ranch, or barbecue. Now for the day before, i had had chicken fries from Burger King--as a quick sidenote, did you know that even though they have accents in New York, they do not say Boiger King? I thought that was really cool--anyway, so i decided to stay with the whole fried chicken in weird shapes. So as i get up to order, this is what happens:

Her: what would you like
Me: can i get the ranch chicken rings?
Her: uhh we dont have that flavor, do you want the other type? (they do have the other flavor, i saw it on posters....maybe they were just out)
Me: sure that'll work (i cant stand barbecue actually)
Her: regular flavor or barbecue flavor?
Me: regular (like i said, i dont like barbecue)
Her: ok, so you want the number 1?
Me: ummm i guess so (i wasnt sure where that number 1 came from)
Her: you want four hamburgers?
Me: ok sure (at this point, i didnt really care what i got)

I ended up with four hamburgers, fully loaded, with a drink and fries....no chicken rings. now of course i didnt say the stuff in parenthesis out loud, but oh well....the hamburgers were quite tasty.

That is really all of the run ins i can think of. When we were handing out flyers, one guy made fun of the way i said hot dogs, but other than that, everyone was really nice--like i said, check out BT.

So, all in all, i really actually did love new york. I may even want to live there for awhile when i get older. It would be a nice adventure, i think. The really sad part, though, was how the whole town seemed sad and alone. I mean that sounds confusing, i know, because there are like, what, 7 million people there or something. But, as i said, no one speaks to each other. Everyone lives out their own lives, and if they dont try to talk to someone, then no one will speak to them all day long. Its like they can be all alone. it is also sad how you can see how lost people are. You can actually see the darkness and sadness in their eyes; at some points, it was really depressing.

But anyway, it is an amazing city, and i love it. There is the picture of me that i got told off for, the taxi shows how fastpaced the city is, see all the people on the street?, and the empire state building shows why i love the city: all the beautiful buildings.

Welcome to the 21st century

2008-07-28T05:26:00.000-07:00

ok, im gonna have to make this fast. I know that im right in the middle of my New York blogs, sorry to those who are anxiously awaiting them....if anyone is actually anxiously waiting for them. But i dont really have a lot of time to type this morning. The movers were supposed to be here at like 8:00 so its now like 8:26, so they could be here any minute. once they get here, im going outside with stump that way i dont mess them up on anything. anyway, that means that i have to make this little blog short.

Right now, i feel extremely technological. I mean like everything is online. and it actually sort of almost gives you a headache. i have a myspace, facebook, blog, and an email account. And the confusing part is that my myspace is on my mom's email account, my blog on my old email account, and the facebook on my new email account. Confusing right? i told you it could give you a headache. So now when i "check the computer", i have to be sure i have at least like 15 min. to have enough time to look at all the stuff. Crazy stuff, right? but anyway, this was just a random forrest thought i was having....so enjoy it!

That's all i really have time for, i gotta go!

New York Bucket Lists

2008-07-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

OK, so this trip was so much fun--and long--that im going to have to break it up into different posts. My definition of New York, Bucket lists, New York BT, and New York sights.

ill start out with Bucket lists.

On this one trip that went from Saturday the 20th of July at 12:30 a.m. to Saturday the 27th of July at 12:30 p.m. i accomplished 6--count them 6--goals. Each in itself was extremely exciting and if you would like to hear any more of the details--which im sure you will--just ask me!

#6 Go to Park Avenue in New York.

This was the like really fancy shopping section, i believe. It was actually on 4th avenue--handy little tidbit of info if you were wondering. And although i didnt buy anything--a real louis vuitton handbag may be just a little over my price range....just saying--it was cool. Anyway, we got to look around and see the trump tower place and even go into the tiffany and co. building. Though buying a tiffany ring was just a little too pricey.....once again im just saying. I did get to see a $26,000 bracelet, though. It was very pretty and gold and diamondy. But anyway, it was definately worth the experience.

#33 See the statue of liberty.

This was also a really cool thing. In fact, throughout the trip, i saw the statue of liberty like 2 or 3 times. And even though i didnt see it up like extremely close, it still was so cool. it actually--though it is cliche--gave me chills. i guess because you have heard about it and seen it all your life. and when you actually see it in real life--well, just trust me, you need to definately see it. to be completely honest, though, i have to admit that it was a whole lot smaller than you think it would be. All in all, though, i have to say it is really cool and congrats to the French for giving it to us.

#35 see a broadway play in NY.

A complete surprise came on Wednesday this week when our leaders took us to see Mary Poppins on real life broadway in NY. Now before i explain further, i need to clarify something that you may not know about the broadway in New York. I certainly didnt know it. As it turns out, "broadway" is actually not just one theatre. It refers to where a lot of theatres are in New York--a street called broadway. So anyway, we went to see mary poppins. i even got a shirt! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. ha! as a side note, we saw it in the New Amsterdam theatre, just in case you were really eager to know. i know you were!

#37 ride the ny subway

This was one of my favorite things about the whole trip. The subway trips we took were a blast! not only could we play the tongue game--by the way, who ended up with it?--but we could also just talk, think, or sit. Some kids even acted like the new yorkers themselves and listened to their iPods. Although it was sort of nasty and you did get the weird, dried pee smell at random intervals--and that one time we had the disturbing death smell--it really was exciting. It definately made me feel....sophisticated. because hey, i was riding the new york subway in new york city. Ha! I even made a video of our ride home on Thursday the 25th of july. Sadly, though, it is too long to put on here. But if you want to see it, check out my myspace page www.myspace.com/johnnycashlover.com. Before you watch it though, know that it is very shakey. The subway rides--though extremely fun--are extremely bumpy and curvy. That and i sort of move a lot. Either way you take it, though, just be prepared. If you cant watch it--which i wont take personally, i guess--at least listen to it. i try to introduce you to everyone from the group. Oh and the part with Tracy has to do with the guy sitting next to her asking a question. I guess testing her, i dont know. You'll see what i mean when you watch it. And another side note, it is filmed from my eye level that way you get to see everything from my perspective. It's like being in forrest's shoes....i know that has to be exciting!

#38 Eat a hot dog from a street vendor in New york.

This was actually the last bucket list goal i accomplished on the trip. I almost didnt remember too, but jarred and james reminded me on the last day while we were in Chinatown. So, at like 11:30 in the morning i ate a hot dog with ketchup from a street vendor in Chinatown, New york city, new york. The vendor guy--in the pic--told me that he would give me a special deal, too; only $2.00. Now wasnt that a bargain?? I would definately recommend everyone to try it, just at a later time in the day....say 2:00 or 5:00. Early morning dogs just sort of make you a little nauseous.

#74 go to Chinatown

.this is sort of obvious because i got the hot dog mentioned aforehand in Chinatown. but anyway, we went and it was so cool! I bought a prada bag--and even got the guy to go down $5--and some guy did his best to get me to buy his perfume:

Him: Are you looking for something?

Me: No just waiting for them (james, ryan, richie, and clark looking at watches).

Him: Try this perfume. doesnt it smell good?

Me: Yeah sure.

Him: only $40. good deal. see its ralph lauren.

Me: no that's ok.

Him: Ok ok, ill say $20.

Me: no im fine

Him: ok, it smells good, right? for you $15 dollars.

Me: no thanks, i dont need any.

Him: what is your asking price? come on $12.

Me: No trust me, i dont need any.

Him: Ok ok, just $10. look ill even give you the big bottle.
Me: No i dont need any.

i ended up not buying it. which i felt really bad about, actually, because the guy definately didnt seem to want to keep it. I reckon i just have amazing hackling skills, because he lowered it from $40 to $10 and i didnt even want it. oh well, it was fun, though!

So those are my newly aquired achieved bucket list goals....hope you enjoyed reading them as much as i did accomplishing them. enjoy the pics! There's one of louis vuitton, the hot dog vendor, a sign in Chinatown, the statue of liberty (look between me and taylor), and the place we saw Mary Poppins.

Moving

2008-07-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

ok....so we just got home from our mission trip to New York City, New York. And dont worry, i will be posting all about that trip--trust me--but right now i sort of have a more pressing thing. Strange, i know, because every other student and leader who has a blog--which really isnt that many i guess--will be typing all about it like immediately. I will try to hurry, though. anyway, this trip has definately been the best Church trip i have ever taken. it even beats out lift this, beach [ed] camp, and the ngl waverly trip--sorry jarred,but waverly will definately take a close second. and i just think that it worked out great being the best, because it will also be my last 3:fifteen youth trip as one of the students....maybe even ever, depending on if i get invited(*cough*taylor and livie*cough*). It was sort of great to go out with a bang, i guess. and in the upcoming blogs i will explain all the fun little details and etc. but i just wanted to go on and work this out of the way. The whole "last trip" sort of thing.

so, since i only have like one more day to be a resident of seymour, tn; i thought that i would just like to tell all of you how much i appreciate you. dont worry, it wont be mushy gushy....if you've ever read my true feelings blog, then you will know what i mean. I just wanted all of you to know that im just so thankful for you being there for me, not just when you all found out that i was moving, but the other 11+ years (taylor) or less that we have spent getting to know each other. you all have always been so nice to me and i really could not ask for better friends, role models, and mentors. Even though im leaving, i will still always love you guys--my maryville friends. I will miss you all imensely--honestly, you have no idea--but i also have to say that im very excited about this opportunity.
you see, i believe that there has to be a reason for this move. i believe that God has a plan for me--though i may not know it yet--up there in johnson city. maybe it will be at dobyn's bennett or maybe at the Church we end up going to. i have no clue, but i really do believe that it has to be something. He has been preparing me for sometime now--for instance, deciding not to try out for cheer. and i dont believe that He would be sending me up there without a reason; He has a plan. Jeremiah 29:11. Also, this whole trip prepared me in the way that we had to talk to complete strangers and try to build relationships with them. ill have to be doing a lot of that at my new school. it will be almost like stepping out into a completely new mission field. like someone told me recently, it's like im a missionary sent out by 3:fifteen. i thought that that idea was pretty cool, so now im completely psyched.
anyway, that really is just about all i wanted to say. If you guys can please--please please--continue to read my blog or myspace or text me or email me if you want to. i would absolutely love it because i absolutely want to continue talking to you guys! Thank you all so much! ill be seeing you soon hopefully!
love you guys!
forrest

New York City, New York

2008-07-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

So this Saturday at 12:30 in the morning, the 3:fifteen youth group student ministries--which im a part of--is going to new york! New york! we are going to be witnessing and handing out stuff to the people of new york...both homeless and homeful (is that the right word). We are also going to be joining with the Brooklyn tabernacle youth choir to sing with them at a block party thing. I can not wait. I am so excited. even if we dont see any of the sights--which we are actually going to see some--i dont care. im just so excited! YAY! So i thought i would just give you some heads up on what an upcoming blog may be on. My trip to new york city! Did you know that there a ton of people in new york?? like more than there is in knoxville, maryville, and seymour combined. It's gonna be huge!! and the central park place--not the restaurant but the actual place--is like 2 miles long! that means if i ran as fast as i could from one side to the other it would take me 13 minutes! im so excited! We also get to attend not only Sunday services at Brooklyn Tabernacle, but also the Tuesday night prayer meeting. To be honest, the prayer meeting is what i am most looking forward to. I have a feeling that it is going to be amazing. i hope that when i get back i am going to be a totally different person. im so excited!!

Merry Maids/Cribs

2008-07-17T05:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so if you have been keeping up with my blogs--and that may just be wishful thinking on my part--then you will already have read the House Hunters one. How we chose #2--with the "enticing" mudpuddle and the whole story about the woman just gettin up and leaving one day. Ok, so since she just got up and left out of the blue, it kinda goes with out saying that she didnt happen to clean up before she left--hence the fact that she left half her stuff. So, after the really nice realtor lady moved her seemingly unwanted items, she promised us that she would clean the house. But you know, one person's clean is definately not another's, so, on Tuesday, the Merry Maids--me, my momma, Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Tom, and my mammaw (as the supervisor)--went in to clean.

I must admit that i have accomplished a first from this whole cleaning shinanigan. I cleaned my first toilet ever. Honestly, i do not know why it was not on my bucket list. And actually for the most part, it was sort of fun. I mean all you had to do was scrub and there was all this blue liquid and stuff. The only part that i didnt like about it was that whoever the lady was who lived there before us must have had extremely long hair and must have shed everywhere. How she got hair all over the toilet i dont know, but she did and it was absolutely disgusting. See, many of you may not know this about me, but i cannot stand hair that has been detatched from the human head. I dont care if its long, short, curly, or straight; if it isnt on the head anymore, i think its nasty. Especially if i do not know whose it is. That was just a random forrest fact for anyone reading. Back to the story--

So anyway, there was hair all over the toilet, and it would keep getting stuck in the brush and just trust me, it was nasty. So, that was my pot cleaning experience. Oh, and not only did i get to clean my first ever toilet, i got to clean two! Can you imagine my excitement....

The rest of the cleaning went by pretty easy. So easy, in fact, that if Vanderbilt or Clemson doesnt work out with my neruology or engineering degree, then i think i will start my own cleaning company. I bet that it would actually make a lot of money because i dont like to clean and i bet a lot of others dont either. Anyway, back to the point, the house is nice, but its a rental....it is definately not one we would buy. The vanishing lady practically did her best to destroy it, i personally think, because there was bumps and nicks and scratches and dents everywhere....but anyway, i think now i will take some time to show you some of the finer aspects of our new home.

Welcome to forrest's miniturized version of cribs:

Forget the inside of the house--who hasnt seen one of those?--we are gonna talk about the spectacular yard. Now, not only does it have naturally growing grass--though not everywhere--it also has naturally growing holly. Holly is a lovely plant used to decorate at Christmas time and--because many of you may not know what it looks like--i have inserted a picture below. Note the prickers all over it....astonishing. Also, in the backyard, there is a swing that came for free with the house! Can you believe it? The only problem with it was that the actual bottom part you sit on was missing, so you had to use the part your back is normally on. I tried to swing on it, but i was sortof too scared to lift my feet off the ground. I wouldnt want it to break and have myself fall into all the holly plants. If swings are not your things to play on, there is also a great tire in the back yard. Sort of like the ones there were in kindergarten....unless Porter was the only place to have tires for kids to play with. i would have investigated that, but i was a little afraid of spiders and snakes(advice taken from my aunt Marilyn). The back yard is set at a little bit of an elevation higher than the house is, so from it not only can you see the roof, but you can also see the backyard of a Christian Church. We arent gonna start going there, though, because we are more of the Baptist denomination--dont worry Jarred. Anyway, back to the roof. Much to our surprise, the mysterious woman left us a couple of presents on the top of it. A block of wood, a mini-flower pot, and--best of all--a shoe. Note the picture. We havent quite figured out how to get up there yet, but we're guessing i'll probably just have to climb up there--betcha there will be a blog from that experience. So anyway, that about wraps up our backyard....except for the puddle of course. The really nice realator lady said that she would plant grass on it, but to be honest, i dont think that grass could actually grow on it. No matter how much you watered and fertilized it. Somehow, it has molded into a lovely shade of green, and then dried. trust me, i was too scared to touch it, but i threw a rock at it. it's dry as dirt. So, im thinking that stump's gonna like turn green or something from it--i dont know.

So anyway, that's our house. And it is spotlessly clean. If you ever stop by be sure you use the first toilet upstairs, because that will be the cleanest pot you have ever used....trust me. The only problem we have now is that i dont know what color i want to decorate my room in. Brown and either: purple, light green, red, dark orange, cerulean blue, etc. Other than that though, everything's working out great. i know i have been sort of making fun of it, but i actually do like the iside of the house....just not the yard. Hope you love the pictures.

Strawberry Jam--or jelly

2008-07-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

ok, so have you ever had something that you thought was special and unique. Like a secret that only you and a couple of people knew that was really important. Well, that's how i was. You see, my mammaw is an amazing cook--like most people's grandmothers, are i suppose--and she is always making homemade stuff. Like homemade biscuits, homemade fried chicken, homemade corn bread, etc. Anyway, one of the best things she makes--besides the biscuits--is homemade strawberry jelly. I was so excited this year because i was finally gonna be able to make it by myself with help from my momma. you see, i seriously thought that this was an old ancient secret family recipe and i was stoked that i was gonna get to learn it. So anyway, we got all the stuff out and preparing and such when my momma looks at the back of the sure-gel bag and starts reading off what to do first. i have to admit, i was crushed. it turns out that not only is it not a family recipe, it is a printed recipe that everyone who buys sure-gel knows. go figure. i was quite depressed and dismayed. i almost have tears in my eyes as i type this now, just remembering that moment....well almost have tears. ok it wasnt that traumatic. anyway, i then thought, "hey, i wonder if the homemade biscuits is a secret, too." Turns out it isn't; which means i know no secrets. but then i decided that hey, although everyone may know the recipe, they dont all make it. so hey, at least i can make the jelly. so, that is my strawberry jelly story, if anyone is interested. also, if you would like these recipes, just ask. i would be delighted to tell you....i mean its not like its a secret or anything.

Surprise Party pictures

2008-07-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Last night, my super spectacular friends threw me a surprise going away party. ill tell you all about it in my next blog because right now im just gonna put pictures. im not operating on much sleep at the moment,and i wanna be sure i get everything said. so, check in soon to find out the whole story and just enjoy the pictures right now..... there is one of the tshirt quilt they made, me and taylor on the couch, and then one of us falling off, one of James, and then one of a couple of us. The movie was filmed at 3:00 in the morning, in case you were wondering.

Movies--1

2008-07-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

ok, so many of u may not know this, but im a movie fanatic! From adventure to comedy to scary to musicals. So i have decided to make a list of movies that everyone should see. of course there are way too many for me to put in one post, so i will make them in installments. 5 that you should and 5 that should never have been made.

Definitely must see

P.S. I love you--my favorite movie right now, has my favorite song in it too (more time, by needtobreathe).
Transformers.
The Phantom of the Opera
The Count of Monte Cristo
Made of Honor

Definitely dont waste your time

The wicker man--absolutely the worst ending ever, it surprised me too because i thought that it would be great.
Dodgeball--i honestly thought that it was a huge waste of my time.
Vanilla Sky--an old Tom Cruise movie that, not surprisingly, made no sense.
Good Luck Chuck--didnt even finish it, it was too nasty.
Borat--wasnt even close to finishing this, it was so gross it was disturbing.

House Hunters

2008-07-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

So, the other day we went house hunting in johnson city and we have finally found one to rent for a while. we are waiting to actually buy a house until we sell the one we have right now....so until then, we are renting. The first house we checked out was very very eclectic. i liked it, it was just weird. It was three stories, with a small loft at the top. you got to that loft by this really small spiral staircase. when we talked to the owner he just got all excited and said that it was carved from a tree that fell in "grandmother"s yard....it was....unique, i guess. Also, as aunt marilyn said, the house was very stump--small horse--friendly, and he would have made many new friends, like deer, squirrels, raccoons, and foxes. anyway, the couple who built it was a german scientist and an indian woman. He said that they added their flair to the building....and i agree, there was definate....flair. one of the bedrooms was painted with like pictures of people dancing and had words like kindness and love and peace and togetherness painted all over it. there was even stuff on the ceiling. and did i mention that it was painted in all rainbow colors....like red, green, orange, yellow, and blue....yeah it was pretty. and boy was it special. so, that was house one in a nutshell.

House number two was ok. The realtor lady said that the woman who was in it had to leave in hurry and wasnt even able to get all her stuff. an sure enough, there was furniture--and just stuff--everywhere. except the fridgerator....she had been able to take that..go figure. any way, this one has a huge fenced in backyard for stump. That was great, too, except for the fact that there is a huge mud puddle in the middle of it. evidently the realtor said that the woman had an above ground swimming pool. I guess she was able to take that along with her fridge....go figure again. im beginning to think that she just left the stuff she didnt want. who knows. anyway, i like this place because it has a huge basement where i could put my room..yay! oh and they cleaned all the stuff out so now there isnt any of her seemingly unwanted stuff left. so that is number two in a nutshell.

number three, i dont like so im not even gonna talk about it.

so, it was between houses number

1--with grandmother's tree and the colorful bedroom.

2--with the weird puddle and missing refridgerator

3--like i said i dont like it so its not even in the running.

the one we chose over all and the house we are gonna rent for 9-12 months is....number 3.

nah im just messin its number two. yay!

below is a picture of "grandmother" s staircase, a big picture of the eclectic house, and me next to the big mud pit at house two.

true feelings

2008-07-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

ok so i was just thinking....

why is it that people are so scared to show their true feelings? Now im not talking about--oh i have a crush on you--or like a secret admirer or something. im talking about the people that you hang out with every week. the people that you look up to and admire. the people that you love--in like a friendship way not a crush way. people--me included--have such a hard time of both showing that they appreciate people and telling them. For example--and i know this sounds horrible--i cannot remember the last time that i said "i love you" to someone outside my immediate family. i mean why is it so hard for me to go up to one of my close friends and tell them that i appreciate them and everything they do. that i care for them and love them. to me, even thinking about saying that to someone--whether in person, on the phone, or in a note--makes me wanna run and hide. it literally makes me cringe. and it is not because i have a heart of stone or anything--at least i dont think i do--its because im afraid of what they will think or say. im laying my "true feelings" out to them and for all i know, they could laugh at me or tell me im stupid. thats what i have so much trouble with.

just recently, though, i wrote my "true feelings" out to someone in a note and i delivered it. you can not imagine how scared i felt. i really think that i must have a condition or something, because there is no reason that i should get so worked up over something so small as thanking someone for all that they have done for me. i have no clue why that scares me so very much. but anyway, i delivered it and i seriously thought that the person was gonna think i was crazy. But much to my surprise, they werent. they were actually--dare i say it--happy to have gotten it. But you see now i have conquered one of my many fears and who knows? now i may go around writing letters everywhere.....maybe. ok probably not everywhere....

oh and as a side note, that was the first thing i have accomplished on my bucket list:

#17. Write my true feelings to someone for once.

How to give a small horse a bath.....

2008-07-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

this post is for aunt marilyn when she asked how we washed our little puppy.

ok, so we decided to give stump a bath yesterday because....well....he sort of stinks. So anyway, this task that we thought might take like a total of 20 min tops ended up taking like forever! It ends up that stump just isnt to keen on getting wet..or staying still for that matter.

i really wish that i had taken pictures of the actual washing, but then again, im not too sure how we would have managed to actually hit the button. My assisstant--or mother--had hold of the leash and the puppy bubble soap. I on the other hand had the hose. We started off by just trying to talk him into sitting still while we wet his feet, but as it turns out, he doesnt like cold wet feet....who could blame him? any way after about five min of chasing him in a circle around and around, i had the absolute brilliant idea of putting him between my legs sort of like riding a horse. now i didnt sit on him because even though he is big, im much bigger and he probably wouldnt have cared to much for that. anyway, i had him wedged between my legs so that he couldnt escape...or so i thought. everything was going well and i was sudsing him up when he finally figured out that yes i was still washing him. at this point, he goes crazy. he starts bucking up his back and then....he really is a smart puppy....shakes water--and mud--all over us in one of those dog shakes you see on tv. after he figured out we didnt much care for that, he started doin it like every two minutes. so, after about like 40 min, i gave up and just chased him around the entire back yard with a hose trying to rinse him off. yeah, that was an adventure.

so, if you ever need to wash a small horse or a big dog, just call me and ill be right over.

Beach [ed] Camp games

2008-07-08T15:34:00.000-07:00

ok so in my beach [ed] blog, i sort of forgot to mention the three really cool games that i learned to play.

The first game really doesnt have a name it is just screaming and it was definately my least favorite out of the three. I mean ive never been to good at screaming and i dont really like games of pure luck like this one is. Other games of pure luck would be like rock, paper, scissors or gorilla man gun....get my drift?? any way all you had to do was stand in a circle and then on the count of three look at someone and if they are looking at you, you both scream and are out....it goes on and on till theres only one--or two--people left. another reason i dont really care for it....how can you win when there are two winners. anyway, it is a loud outside game and i dont recommend it for your kids at school, aunt marilyn.

The next game was called elbow tag or something. and to be completely honest i was completley shocked that no one wound up with a dislocated knee cap or a torn acl. Out of the three interesting games, this one was by far the funniest to watch because we picked the best time to play. It was like right before dark when the grass starts getting wet and slippery. you definately should have seen all the people falling....it was great. i cant really explain it though, you would just have to watch it being played....and have a cell phone ready to call an ambulance when someone tears or breaks something. again, aunt marilyn, not a game for your second graders.

The last game i was actually reminded of today while we were riding up to johnson city to check out houses. my lovely youth pastor jarred sent me a picture text of a plastic spoon. what the game is, is that you and another person take turns slapping each other with a spoon. i really dont know how you win....maybe its whoever causes the biggest bruise, or whoever gives up first. i dont know but trust me, even though it may sound stupid, it is actually pretty fun! Even though i lost....

well those were the games we played. i would have felt bad if i hadnt of mentioned them so well there you go.

Who will i be

2008-07-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

OK so as you all should know by now, i am moving to the Johnson city/kingsport area in about two, two and a half weeks. as of right now, we do not know what school i will be going to, but if you are that intrigued, keep reading and ill be sure to post when i find out. anyway, i really do not care what school i go to myself.....my guess is that they are all pretty much the exact same....for the most part. Now im not talking about size or what the place actually looks like, im talking about the lovely kidlets that adorn the hallways from 8:30 to 3:30 (or 7:00 to 2:00 at some schools we are looking at). i believe that they are all pretty much from the same mold....

you have your:

preppies skateboard gothics artists farmer thugs nerds jocks music drama

there are these kids pretty much wherever you go, along with the a couple other little twists. that's the way it is at heritage and my guess everywhere else in the world. Now don't think im upset at that..on the contrary actually. i bring this up because i now happen to be in the dilemma of deciding what my identity (or using beach camp '07s phrase: image) will be. i dont want to go into this place--wherever it might be--as a boring old version of myself. i want to be sure that on the first day i have decided who the exact forrest is going to be or else i may find myself in the wrong clique. [ as a sidenote and maybe a future blog subject: yes i do believe that there are cliques in school..big time. ] so that brings me to what forrest should i be:

preppy forrest--i love polos and pretty, dressy clothes; but i also like to dress down

skateboard forrest--i would definately break something.

gothic forrest--i dont own enough black clothing and hot topic is just too expensive.

artist forrest--drawing..hahaha! thats funny

farmer forrest--i dont know that much about farming or fourwheeling..also a little too girly girl

thug forrest--i dont quite think that im quite tough enough for that

nerd forrest--even though i may be, no one wants to go into school wanting to be labled that

jock forrest--not quite skilled and coordinated enough.

music forrest--too bad i cant sing worth a lick

drama forrest--one problem..i cant act.

Now dont think that i have anything bad or that i have a vendetta against any of these groups, because i dont. in fact, i have a friend in every single one of these categories. im just trying to figure out exactly where i fit in. im still working on that though and im beginning to think that i--and many others--are actually a mix of a couple of these. That maybe everything isnt quite so seperated into categories but that sometimes, people may blend in to many different ones. for example, try to place yourself in just one of these categories..knowing that by doing so you cant have any thing to do with the others....harder than it seems, right? Saying that you were only preppy would be like saying you only eat meat. or that you only eat dessert. i think that this whole blog of trying to find my identity has actually seemed to have taught me something. That i shouldnt categorize people just by what they may seem to be, because there is probably a lot i dont know about them. Very cliche i know, but im sort of seeing this from a different perspective. Sort of how i know that i cant categorize myself into exactly one of these categories.

And after all that does make sense because if everyone did just fit into one of these places, then that would definately be a boring world. God was way to creative to just do that!

Ha! I have now thought about this for a full 15 min. and i still havent thought of who im going to be and im beginning to think that ill never be completely sure of the exact forrest. i just hope that at whatever school i end up going to, they arent to quick to categorize....i know that im going to try to do that less now that ive actually taken the time to think it through.

so, thats enough of tryin to be philosopher forrest, ill leave that to professors and psychologists and people.

me as jock, farmer, and prep

Bucket Lists

2008-07-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't seen the movie Bucket List, i'll make a quick definition. A bucket list is a list of things you would like to do before you kick the bucket. Anyway, the other night we watched the movie and even though it was a sad one--dont be fooled by the "comedy" label--it actually had a great point. So, I have now made my own bucket list. It consists of 91 items....because i was born in '91. As I accomplish one of the items, I will be sure to post it in one of my extremely interesting but barely ever read blog posts. They range in everything from #52. Operate a cotton candy machine, # 80. Drink a whole venti Double Choclatey chip Frappocino from Starbucks, and # 57. play a real golf game with real golf clubs, to #45 go to the kentucky derby and #29 eat with chopsticks in Japan. The rest will just have to be a surprise....unless you ask me and then i will be happy to share it with you. So that is what bucket lists are and if you dont have one, you should definatley look into it.

Oh and this is another picture of Stump.

Beach [ed] Camp '08

2008-07-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so i just got back from our beach camp trip and it was amazing. So maybe it wasnt on, at, or located relatively near a beach --hence the little [ed] tagged on. It was still extremely fun. i accomplished a whole list of firsts..from eating something called steak tips to hanging out in a not-so-lazy lazy river. i even jumped off the giant swing. Actually i had to be pushed off because im not so great at free falls, but the details are fuzzy. i also came in second in a staring contest thanks to mitchell. but everyone in our room was talking about their blogs which made me want to actually try one, which is why you are now reading this. on a more serious note, i actually learned a bunch about how everything is simple. how Christ came to replace all the old testament sacrfices with His one all encompassing self sacrifice. And because of this, we no longer have to sacrifice a ram or a bull everytime we lie to someone or something like that. It is so much more....simple.

Stump

2008-07-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

To be completely honest, i have no clue what i am going to say in this blog. There isnt much exciting about my life, and i dont have very many adventures....or travels. I am moving though in about a week or two. we even have a house picked out, though we arent going to stay there for long....just until we sell our old house. ill find something to write about sometime, so keep reading.

In case you didn't know, I have a puppy dog named stump. He will be nine months old come july 22 and he weighs a wopping 80 something. Thats him at the top of the page....isnt he precious?