Blog 63: BFF

My best friend is Macy Wallen. I met her when I moved from Mt. Gilead to Mechanicsburg in the fifth grade. She was one of the first friends I made at my new school and the best friend I have ever had! I love this girl so much. We always joke about how we have morphed into the same person over the years; it’s like we share a brain! We agree on everything, finish each other’s sentences, laugh at the same things, you get the point. Even when our teachers would refer to us they would say “the girls” and that meant us; everyone knew that. In junior high and high school we were pretty much inseparable. We were basically president and vice president of everything; the dynamic duo, if you will. We did most of the same activities and had almost the same schedule. Macy (along with my other friends) made school worth getting up for every morning.

Since we go to different colleges it’s hard to see each other, but we make time. Every time we are together you can bet it will be a good time! I’m so grateful to have a best friend like Macy. She has always been there for me; through thick and thin. Before I signed the lease for my apartment Macy had to see it, before I decided on a car Macy needed to see it, and before I date a guy Macy knows all about him. I really don’t know what I would do without her; she’s my partner in crime, my shoulder to cry on, and my best friend of all time.

Blog 62: Our Spot

I’m not sure I can pick a favorite place; favorites have never been my strong suit. I don’t have a favorite song, movie, or food. But for the sake of this blog, I will chose a favorite place. In North Lewisburg, Ohio there is a trail next to the North Lewisburg Park. It’s about ten minutes from my mom’s house. You can go during any season and it’s always a beautiful place for a stroll. The path is paved so it’s good for walking, jogging, or bike riding. The trail runs alongside a creek and is surrounded by trees, flowers, raspberry bushes, and wheat, corn, and bean fields.

My boyfriend and I have been there multiple times. The first time we went was on December 14^th, his birthday. We actually weren’t dating at the time, but he asked me to be his girlfriend the next day. Even though it was December, it was a beautiful day and we went on a walk before having lunch at Crabill’s Hamburgers, in Urbana, Ohio. While we were walking along we saw an off-road path and decided to see where it went. It led us to the creek beside the trail. There was a large tree that had fallen, and we sat there and watched the water flow over the rocks. It’s such a beautiful and romantic place. That was one of my most memorable experiences, I guess that’s why that is my favorite place. You could probably even say that’s mine and Blaine’s “spot.”

Blog 61: Story time!

Beware of What’s Lurking in the Shallow Waters

Many years ago my family took a trip to San Diego, California. It was during summer vacation, in the month of June. Our first day there we went to the beach and there was an odd chill in the air. Since it wasn’t very warm when my stepsister and I waded out into the Pacific Ocean we didn’t let the water go any higher than mid-thigh. While wading around in the shallow water we were trying our best to avoid the multitude of seaweed floating in the water. Little did I know I should’ve been trying to avoid a greater evil, jellyfish! All of a sudden, my calf began to burn and I thought it was a cut from the saw-like edges of the seaweed. I ran quickly onto the beach to inspect my leg and saw what looked like rug burn, but was really a jellyfish sting. My leg burned for hours; stupid jellyfish!

Attacked by a Killer Parrot

About a decade ago, my mother and I took our cat to the vet’s office for some routine shots. While we were waiting to be taken back to the exam room, we were being entertained by a lively parrot. The parrot was kept in a cage in the waiting room. The receptionist saw how amused we were by the parrot, and told us that we could get him out of his cage if we wanted. She came around from her desk and showed me how to put my arm out for him to walk up to my shoulder. Once he was up there, I looked over at my mom and said, “Hey mom look, I’m a pirate.” Next thing I knew, I was being attacked! The parrot had sunk its beak into my neck muscle and his talons into my shoulder. The receptionist threw a towel over him and removed him. Who would’ve thought that a trip to the animal doctor for my cat’s shots would lead to a trip to the doctor for my tetanus shot?

Ants in My Pants Really Made Me Dance

One day I was out in the yard, thinking about what a beautiful day it was. I decided to go inside and get my camera to take a few pictures. I looked up at the sky and saw how puffy the clouds were. I proceeded to lie down in the grass, stare up at the sky, and take a few snap shots. Out of nowhere I felt a sting on my lower back. I jumped up and brushed an ant off my back. Thank God that was over, right? Wrong. I then felt stinging sensations on my butt and legs. I ran in the house, threw my pants to the ground, and found multiple ants crawling all over me! I slapped at them trying to kill them all and then saw that they had crawled out of my pants and were all over the hardwood floor. I stomped on them until they were all dead. Next, I threw my pants in the bathtub and filled it with water, to hopefully drown any that had survived. After I had massacred the ants, I collapsed on the floor while my ant bites swelled to perfection. I guess they showed me for lying in the grass and watching the clouds go by!

Blog 60: DUDE!

The word “dude” has got to be one of the most popular words in American culture. You may say that this is something that started with California surfers back in the 70’s. However, I found that the word dude can be dated back to 1883, in New York City. The word dude can be found on album covers, in song titles, in musical artist’s stage names, in musical’s titles, on the cover of books, as the name of magazines, in film titles, in commercials, and so on. I know people that actually start off the majority of their sentences with the word dude. So, you may ask yourself, what does this word that can be spoken, heard, or seen from coast to coast mean?

The word dude can be defined as slang for any man, a man who is overly concerned with his appearance, or a man from an urban environment. However, we all know the word dude has so many meanings in day to day life. A great example of the versatility of the word dude can be found in the last link. The link will take you to a montage of Bud Light commercials on YouTube.com. For example, dude can mean: you’re in my personal space, stop, check that out, help, what are you doing, ew, are you kidding me, shit, over here, get lost, are you there, hey, wait, whoa,  uh oh, that’s awesome, etc! Trust me, this video is very funny and illustrates my point better than I could have ever hoped for. Enjoy dude!

http://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy&hl=en&q=define%3A+dude&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dude

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xBQHA7ZKU4

Blog 59: My Major

I actually haven’t actually declared my major yet, so I’m in University Exploration. However, I am close to a decision. I always thought I might end up being a teacher, but I never knew for sure, or what age range. I know that I don’t want to teach high school, but I’m torn between early and middle childhood education. Early childhood education ranges from age 3 to grade 3 and middle childhood education ranges from grade 4 to grade 9. Both are under the Human Development and Family Science major in the College of Education and Human Ecology.

As of right now I am leaning towards early childhood education because I think I would enjoy a career that dealt with that age group. I think kids are great and I would love to be a positive role model in their lives and teach them things they will need to know to move forward in their education and in their lives. Right now everything I have taken has applied to the course work for both majors, since I haven’t truly decided. I hope to make a decision by autumn quarter. In order to declare the pre-major there is an application to fill out and an information session to attend; I plan to do this spring quarter. I also plan to apply to participate in the First Education Experience Program (FEEP) during spring quarter. I hope that after the application process I will be able to participate in the program autumn quarter. I also hope that FEEP will help me make my final decision to declare my major.

Blog 58: Conference

Blog 57: Dreams

This blog is a tough one for me. I can’t remember any of my dreams. I usually remember them when I wake up, but later that day it’s hopeless. I’m sure a lot of people probably have certain dreams that they remember, but not me. I guess the only dreams I have to talk about is the one from last night and the night before. Since I saw this blog was coming up, I wrote down what I could remember of my dreams when I woke up.

The night before last I had a dream about the Writing Center. That morning I had an appointment at the Writing Center, so I think that must have something to do with the dream. In my dream, I was late to my appointment and tried to make it in before my time was up. I walked in just as my appointment would have ended; I felt so badly for taking up the appointment time. Also, I was worried that it would have an effect on me scheduling future appointments with the Writing Center. Although I can’t remember my dreams, I do remember that they usually have to do with something that I have to do that I’m anxious about.

When I woke up this morning I was all ready to jot down my dream, like I had the morning before. The only problem was, I couldn’t remember anything. Sorry to disappoint! I wish I had some epic dream that could be mistaken for a blockbuster movie, but unfortunately that is just not the case.