
"O great Creator of being grant us one more hour to perform our art and perfect our lives." -Jim Morrison
Friday, March 16, 2007
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
I Gotta Wear Shades
I have discovered I am determined, strong, and will meet my goals no matter what hurdles lie before me.
I have discovered who my friends are and to what extent they will go for me.
I'm am so thankful for the lessons I've learned and for the friends and family I have that have supported me every step of the way on this voyage over the last year.
I have learned to never compromise my happiness for a false sense of security ever again.
I'm glad to finally see the person that other people see me as.
I'm glad I don't have anything to angry about anymore.
"Well I'm heavenly blessed and worldly wise I'm a peeping-tom techie with x-ray eyes. Things are going great, and they're only getting better I'm doing all right, getting good grades. The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades."
Monday, March 12, 2007
Sunshine Came Softly
It seems to daylight change has brought with it some spring like weather too. Today's high must have been in the 60's. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer! I'll take it!! There's only one more week of winter left anyway. Bring it on!!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Practice Makes Perfect
Now, it seems that this SPD is going to be bittersweet for, well at least one person in our group of friends. It seems duty calls and NittanyBri will be working for the U.S. Army that weekend. Aw...I promise we'll send pictures!
So, the gang is going to a local place to celebrate SPD where our favorite band The Luv Gods will be performing. I think the bar opens at 7:00 a.m. (yikes, that could get ugly.) There will be food and of course lots to drink. Today we will be making our SPD t-shirts. Maybe we'll make it a yearly thing with new logos every year. I'm sure pictures will follow.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
When I Was A Kid
When I was a kid, I wanted a pony or a horse. I wanted one BAD. I swore I would take care of it, and that it could live in my suburban backyard. I still think it wouldn't be a bad idea. The consolation prize was that my dad mostly would take me to see horses, you know the kind that are just out standing around. He'd usually remember to pack carrots and apples so they'd at least come to the fence.
When I was a kid, I wanted my ears pierced. I wanted it BAD! All my friends had their ears pierced but not me. I had to wait till I was 18. Guess what I did on my 18th birthday? Now I have a total of 4 holes in my ears. I think I'm done.
When I was a kid, my best friend and I had the same first name and same date of birth. She was one year older than me. I even remember that we had the same winter coat. It was an ugly red, yellow, orange plaid with a really ugly yellowish woolly collar. It was the 70's what do you expect?
When I was a kid, I went to a babysitter because both my parents worked. My mom told me not to take my bike to the babysitters (which was just down the street.) But, the kids wanted to go bike riding. So, I ran down to my house, got my bike and we went riding. We were careening down a hill and around the curve and I slid in a pile of stones. 10 stitches in my knee kind of explains why I shouldn't have taken my bike to the babysitter.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a school teacher. I had my own black board and would have class all the time. I would sometimes get extra papers from my teachers so I could use them in my class. My favorite part of being a teacher was sending kids out to the hall and reprimanding them for their behavior. Hmm, wonder where I would have ever gotten that idea?
When I was a kid, I also wanted to be a Go-Go dancer. You know, dancing in a cage, knee high, white patent leather boots, funky dress. Still sounds like a cool idea!
When I was a kid, I was in love with Donny Osmond and Richard Thomas (John Boy Walton). Go ahead, laugh.
When I was a kid, I wanted a pet. Not just the horse or pony but a dog or cat. I used to bring home all kinds of animals but wasn't allowed to keep them. I did have fish every once and a while. I had a salamander once too, but he got out of the container I had him in and dried up near the furnace in the basement.
When I was kid, I made prank phone calls with my friend. You know, "Is your refrigerator running?" "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" Or we'd call and hang up on the one neighbor we didn't like. I ratted us out thinking I was being really slick about it but she was on to me. Thank goodness she didn't tell my parents.
When I was a kid, my family always thought I was doing bad things. Smoking, drinking, messing around with guys, when I really wasn't. Instead, it was all my supposedly innocent friends that were doing all these things. And yes, now I'm making up for lost time!
Friday, March 02, 2007
Hey This is Fun!
“If your life were a film, what would your soundtrack be?”
So, here’s how it works: 1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc) 2. Put it on shuffle 3. Press play 4. For every question, type the song that’s playing 5. When you go to a new question, press the next button.
Here's mine:
Opening Credits: Amerika--Rammstein
Waking Up: Shut It--The Damned (well if that ain't the truth!)
Life: Drank My Wife Away--David Allan Coe (hilarious!)
Falling in Love: Private Idaho--B52's
Make-out Scene: Head Over Feet--Alanis Morissette (wow! )
Breaking Up: Talk Talk--Talk Talk
Mental Breakdown: Jane Says--Jane's Addiction
Driving: Blues From a Gun--The Jesus and Mary Chain
Getting Back Together: It's Five O'Clock Somewhere--Alan Jackson (can't make up with out a couple of drinks now can you?)
Wedding: Breaking the Law--Judas Priest (am I marrying my cousin?)
Birth of Child: Personality Crisis--New York Dolls
Final Battle: Out All Night--The Pietasters
Death Scene: Genius of Love--Tom Tom Club
Funeral: Only Want to be With You--Hootie and the Blowfish (aw!!)
End Credits:Ferry Cross the Mersey--Pat Metheny (now that's a fine ending!)
A Lovely Day

Spring seems to be imminent. The breeze outside is a soft one, like in the spring. You can smell the earth and you can see the water running down the sides of the streets from the melting snow. Even the spring flowers are poking their heads up. That Punxsutawney Phil was right!!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Mid Terms
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Illegal Aliens
I was recently reminded that this is a huge issue for some politicians at least here in PA. Mayor Lou Barletta of the city of Hazleton, which is north of Harrisburg, is one person that isn't tolerating illegal's in his city. I think most people would agree, that if you are from another country and your here illegally, you should be sent home, punished. Then there is the issue of employers employing illegal immigrants and landlords who house illegal immigrants perhaps unknowingly. So, what do we do? The mayor of Hazleton has pioneered the way of resolving this issue and has gotten city council backing with what is called Illegal Immigration Relief Act. He has enacted a plan that would revoke the licenses of business owners that hire illegal aliens and fine landlords that house illegals. He and city council also voted that English would be the official language of Hazleton meaning all city documents would be in English. (This part gripes me a little. What language should it be in?)
While I hear most people say that illegals shouldn't be in this country and should be sent back to where they came from, what I don't hear is what the naysayers think should be done about it. The mayor of Hazleton has taken some abuse about these new rules and has even been called a Nazi. It's always amusing to me to hear people backing a guy like Mayor Barletta but when asked if they would uphold new policies like this, they become shrinking violets and claim these new rules are too harsh.
What do you think? Has he gone too far? Would you like to see policies like these enacted in your city?
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Being Green Part 2
GreenDimes has provided some interesting statistics on junk mail. About 100,000,000 trees are chopped down and 28 billion gallons of water are wasted EVERY YEAR producing junk mail. You know, the stuff that usually ends up right in the trash or recycle bin.
According to these guys junk mail is a major source of identity theft as well. Yet another good reason to get rid of the stuff. The basic service only costs $4 a month! Or you can give them a one time amount of $360 and they'll plant 240 trees for you right now and clean out your mailbox. Where do I sign up?? Click here!
P.S. It's Engineer Appreciation Week! Stop by and say "thanks...for all the widgets 'n stuff!"
Monday, February 19, 2007
It's Easy Being Green
We then got to watch the Al Gore movie An Inconvenient Truth. Now whether or not you are Republican or Democrat or something else, that all needs to be put aside. Global warming is not a political issue, it's should be everyone's issue. Everyone needs to watch this movie. What Al's got to say makes sense. What would be the point of him yanking our chain about the dissolution of the arctic ice caps, or the fact that malaria has moved to higher elevations in Columbia, or that many animals could be extinct by the year 2050? You know, I just don't want to wait around and not do anything and see if all this really happens. Let's just pretend this is a hoax. Is there really anything to lose by discovering alternative fuel sources?? I actually saw a sign on the PA Turnpike this weekend for a bio-diesel product. Is there anything wrong with planting more trees?
Michael over at Smoke and Mirrors has a friend that runs his VW Bug on veggie oil. Watch this video to learn more about it.
I learned about this groovy website where you can basically buy redemption for your CO2 sins. The folks at Terrapass will help you evaluate your CO2 emissions for your car, for your airline travel and how much you emit while at home. I have found that my home emissions of CO2 are average for the state of PA. Fortunately, I'm obsessive about turning off lights when I'm not in the room, though I do need to buy some compact flourescent bulbs instead of the incandecent ones I currently use. Terrapass will tell you how many terrapasses you should buy to offset the estimated usage and will provide you with tips on how to cut down on energy usage. TerraPass funds clean energy from sources like wind farms, methane capture facilities (poop collection), and you get a groovy decal and bumper sticker to show how green you can be.
There's a link on the site that tells you all about Terrapasses business partners. For all you eBay folks out there, check out the green shipping alternative called UShip.
I hate to contradict Kermit the Frog, but it's pretty easy to be green!!
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
There's Booze in the Blender
Hearts and Snow
My favorite radio station WXPN from the University of Pennsylvania is counting down the top 88 and 1/2 love songs today. You can see the complete list here. You have to love a station that plays The Doors, White Stripes, Neil Young, The Beatles, Joy Division, LL Cool J, Ike and Tina, Barry White and The Clash as part of a Valentine's Day countdown. You can listen to this station live from the link on my sidebar!

Sunday, February 11, 2007
Bei Kunrong
Friday, February 09, 2007
Boycot Exxon
This past week we were discussing the recent news release that scientists have determined that global warming is due to human activity. Duh! I think we all knew that. The plus side is we can certainly slow the process down, the down side is that it can never be reversed, that is unless someone knows how to make ozone. That's way out of my league.
The other disturbing thing we talked about is that it was reported recently that a thinktank funded by Exxon tried to pay off scientists so they would say global warming was a farce. Ironically, this little tidbit of information was released the same day Exxon reported its 5 billion dollar profit for 2006-a good reason to never buy their products. As if we needed yet one more reason.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Arctic Freeze
Yesterday when I was walking to class, the wind was in my face (not at my back like the Irish Blessing hopes for) and made my sinuses ache like when you get a brain freeze from eating or drinking something too quickly. It was horrible. I'm sure my sinuses are dried up little raisins and a sinus infection is imminent. And there just isn't enough lotion in the world to moisturize my skin. I think a week in the Caymans with my skin slathered in oil should do the trick. The air is so dry that the hair on Jasmine's ears stands out straight. Well, that is if they aren't full of water or cat litter (ew!)
Yesterday we started week four of school, the semester is moving along very quickly. A sure sign of that was that I got to buy my cap and gown yesterday. Complete with the colorful "hood". I've always wanted to wear one of those.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Super Sunday
There will also be somewhat of a birthday party since it is someone's birthday tomorrow!
My sister is bringing her dog Daisy today too. I've been telling Jasmine all week that she's going to have a play buddy. We'll see. Daisy is a "soul sister" too just like Adeline and Jasmine. Maybe, if all the planets are aligned, we can get a picture.
Norwich Univ. hockey game is going to be televised today on ESPN. My nephew doesn't play hockey, but it'll be fun to watch!!
Did you see where Chewbacca got arrested??
Snuggle up on the couch with some of you favorite munchies and remain there for as long as you like! Go ahead, you're allowed!!
Friday, February 02, 2007
This Just in from Gobbler's Knob

Today it is official according to the most reliable weather man we have in the state of Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil. Apparently he did not see his shadow this morning which means we're due for an early spring! He's got to be more reliable than the clowns that are supposed to be "educated" in the weather. They predicted 1-2 inches of snow overnight. I don't think a flake even fell. I hope they know they've let down every child in the central Pennsylvania area who thought they were gonna be off school or at least get to go into school later than usual. I'll be there were even some adults hoping they wouldn't have to go work this morning either.
Happy Groundhog Day!!

