It's Coming

"Learning to let go should be learned before learning to get. Life should be touched, not strangled. You’ve got to relax, let it happen at times, and at others move forward with it."
—Ray Bradbury

Change is coming. Do you feel it?

Does anyone else feel like something wicked this way comes? Not wicked, in an evil way, really, but in a more...radical way?
I was watching an Allstate commercial this weekend, and it talked about how much this past year has changed all of us. Family time means more board games and meat loaf and less box seats and filet mignon. Cars are purchased because they can get you somewhere, not because they show how far you've come. Things aren't taken for granted. Coupon clipping is no longer for the kleptomaniacs. Christmas this year was slimmer, but I didn't really hear anyone complain. Times like these are humbling. It seems like more and more, high-maintenance people are seen with sadness, not scorn or jealousy. Not sadness because not everything wanted can be had, but sadness because they have all they want but are still unhappy.
Last week, I brought out my brother's old set of lincoln logs, probably more than a decade old, and spent two hours building a fortress. I have discount cards to at least 5 grocery stores, and don't mind store brand. It's not a crime to be frugal, and it seems like more people are starting to realize this, whether they're short on cash or not.
This is what I'm seeing more of. People aren't just taking everything they're told. They're questioning tradition because I believe they're starting to see the corruption. I think people are ready for a change.
I'm not talking about the change we're being fed by the government. Why has government become a dirty word? They're no longer who we look to for protection and correction. We fear their interference and decisions. People are making change for themselves. They don't want fakes and scams. They want the real thing. Not even the real thing! They want something that works. I think people are growing tired of get-rich-quick schemes. Tired of smooth-talkers and shiny new do-nothings. People are taking a bit better care of themselves, and a bit better care of others.

I don't know, but I guess I'm rambling a bit here. I mean, there are still plenty of jerks and snobs and wasters out there, but what truly makes me happy is seeing good people. The teenage boy who opens the door for a mother with a stroller, the woman who buys an extra sandwich for the homeless man outside, the teenage girl knitting hats for the local orphanage. It makes me so happy that these things actually still happen. It's like, the world is not lost. Miracles still happen. Good people still roam the earth, doing random quiet acts of kindness. There's a website, called http://www.givesmehope.com/ . If you ever want warm fuzzies, read a few of these. They can brighten any day. I think change is coming. I think the me generation is making way to a you generation. I think that people are learning to work smart, not hard, and that the next generation is one of problem solvers. We may not be the ones who can do it, but we can at least work towards figuring out an answer. I think people are starting to realize that we don't have to go back to the past, but maybe the past way of looking forward isn't so bad.

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By the way, for those of you waiting on pins and needles, No, I have not heard back from any colleges yet.

Elder Allen

EEK!!!! I'm so excited! I just got my first email from my first missionary in the field! And writing a letter back to him now! Elder Allen is serving in Vancouver Canada and speaking Spanish. If anyone knows any Spanish phrases he absolutely NEEDS to know, tell me!

Much Love,
Katie

Dear Hollywood

My dear friend Brianne just introduced me to an amazing group of kids involved in something called Project Chaste. It's a group of a bunch of Christian teenagers who have decided that the media is done telling them how they are supposed to be, and they have taken a pledge to chaste.
I also wanted to take the time to appreciate how awesome it is that these kids have higher standards than a lot of Mormon kids I know. And not only do they have high standards, they are VOCAL about it. I know I'm not shy about this kind of stuff, though I've never come straight out unprovoked and just said "I am chaste, hear me roar". But I'll always speak my mind when asked. This was a lesson for me. How am I supposed to be an example if I hide? Major props to the teens in this video.
I will not put up with the media's lies any longer. Being unchaste is not what being a teenager is about. My emotions and my HORMONES are not in control of me. The 'love' portrayed on TV is not Love, and I'm allowed to have higher expectations than their kind of love. I don't need that kind of love.

Dear Hollywood, I choose to live a chaste life. I am stronger than you think.

Here are the links to the videos. Watch for my "Dear Hollywood" video. Coming soon!
http://growinguplane.com/project-chaste
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elf2N12slHc#

Good Books

EEK!!! Ok, so this really good friend of mine recently introduced me to my new addiction. It's http://www.goodreads.com. Find books, share books, talk about books, find and save quotes from books, and...spend time fawning over my non-human best friends (Behind my puppy-dog of course).
So log in, let me know, I'll be your friend :) and you can scour my books for ones you've read, or search others. SO much fun!

By the way, HUGE congrats to Chris, Anna, and Sascha, and welcome to their new little girl, Adelle!
Girls are catching up! it's only 13 to 6 now!


I also found out that I have a very balanced brain, and am only slightly left-brained. (That's the writing, reading, analyzing side). Seriously, we took a test getting a loose grading of all this, and my scores were 9 left to 7 right, and 6 left to 4 right. Cool, huh?

Love, peace, books.

A little addition

Brianne updated her blog about our amazing adventures, but with pictures!!! You should look at them...and read her post...here

-kt

The Challenge

Please excuse the Haphazard assembly of what follows. I've had 3 hours of sleep in the last 38 hours.

I know I'm supposed to post on EFY. And I will, because EFY was an amazing experience that deserves it's due. As this is the case, I feel a need to filter out the stuff that does nothing, save making the entry longer, and that takes time.

As you may have noticed, the title of this post is not "Why I haven't posted about my trip to Washington". I titled this post, "The Challenge" for a reason.

A few months ago, some friends and I heard of a seminary class that tried to read the entire Book of Mormon straight through, and see how long it took. We heard they finished in a little more than 23 hours. Now, Seminary students are studying the Book of Mormon this year, and I, as the failure I was, had never actually read the whole Book all the way through. As you may have guessed, that is what we decided to do.

The Challenge: Read the entire Book of Mormon from start to finish
Who: Me, Brianne, Jared, Karissa, Will, Taylor, and Bailee
Start Time: Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 7:30 am
Time Frame: No more than 24 hours
Rules: Someone had to be reading aloud at all times. Cell phones were all to be on 'silent' and in a basket, which was set aside, to be checked only every few hours.

We started on the couches. Bailee actually didn't join us until later in the evening, somewhere around Alma 27. But the rest of us started, first each reading a page. Then when we started losing focus too fast, we'd each read a column. Sometimes we'd read two versus, sometimes three. The actual reading was flexible. We'd go through periods of 'easy' reading, other times we'd get behind schedule and pull a "Ok guys, 10 pages in 25 minutes. SPEED READ!" We had foods like fruit snacks, chips and salsa, granola bars, and smoothies. For Lunch, we all gathered around the table and ate cheeseburgers. Dinner, we gathered around the table again for Pasta. Somewhere around 2 am we met around the table again for DiGiorno Pizza. Then at last around Ether we met around the table one last time because it was the least comfortable place and we needed to stay awake. We also read around the more comfortable dining room table while the main room was cleaned (which is also where we found that Brianne's hair holds 33 Crayola Twist-Up colored pencils, the scripture marker of choice), then migrated to the floor next to that table, then back to the main room, couches, floor, back to the couches, all over in that room, standing when need be, moving whenever we got too comfortable. We made 1-2-3 cookies around Mosiah 27, and my mom brought slurpees around 10 pm. Those were our only doses of pure sugar that we allowed ourselves. At 6:40 pm we made it to page 270. 4 pages past the half way point, and 50 minutes ahead of schedule, we took the one and only true break. 20 minutes of no reading. Then we picked right back up and trudged onward, through the steep mountainous pass that was The Book of Alma. Around 2 am Will's mom brought us the pizzas and helped us get them cooked. In her infinite wisdom, she took my scriptures and made us all walk around the kitchen while she read to us, and then she continued to read aloud while we ate our 2nd dinner. After, she made sure we were taking care of ourselves, and then let us go. Bailee and Taylor fell asleep sometime around 4, and woke again around 6, staying awake enough to listen to us finish Moroni. We speed read all through Ether, not enjoying the unrighteous war book that included EVERYONE dying. We mostly just picked it up and read until our voice cracked, then let someone else take over, only to read again in two or three pages. By Moroni, we were all sitting at the kitchen table attempting to stay awake, and just wanting to finish the book. We read two versus each, knowing we'd stay awake better if there was less time between when each person read. Finally, after then sky was already light again, we finished, gave each other high fives, and crashed. Karissa drove home, Bai and Taylor slept in the nursery, Jared fell asleep on the couch, I'm actually...not sure what Will did...he wasn't there when I woke up, and Brianne and I fell asleep in her bed. I think I moved to the floor around 7:30 (Brianne was in a bed hog mood :) ) and woke up again at 10:15, through on my clothes, and went to work for the day, weak-knead and slap-happy delirious. And did I mention, we did it all without Caffeine and sodas? Purely Juice and Water powered.

Finish Time: Thursday, August 13, 2009, 6:36 am

Total Time, not including The Break: 22 hours, 46 minutes.

What'd I learn?
-Somehow, it's easier to read for 23 hours straight than to set aside 10 minutes each day
-Ether is a bloody book
-The people of Ancient America desperately needed a baby naming book. It's hard to keep up with which Nephi, Lehi and Gidgidoni your on.
-The Righteous Warriors of the Book of Mormon are AMAZING
-The Book of Mormon tells an incredible story
-Pride Cycles make people look stupid
-When reading straight through, the coming of Christ to the Americas feels MUCH more real, and incredible and amazing to a words don't describe degree
-The Book of Mormon is kinda a really sad story. I almost cried twice.
-Isaiah WILL make sense eventually. It made more sense yesterday than it ever has before
-Moroni is my new hero. Even while falling asleep, his story is really inspiring.

Would I change anything?
Well yes. I'd start earlier in the Morning, and I'd plan it so I didn't have work the next day. But really that's it.

I'm REALLY glad that my first full adventure through the Book of Mormon was experienced as it was. I got so much more out of it then when just reading a chapter a night.

A big thank you to Brianne, Will, Jared, Karissa, Bailee and Taylor for making it awesome.
A BIGGER thank you to our Moms for letting it happen.
The BIGGEST thank you to the Moms who helped it happen:
Mama Kelly, thanks for letting us destroy (then clean, to help stay awake) your house
Mama Baker, thanks for keeping us sane, and bringing us pizza at 2 in the morning!
And last, but far from least, thanks to my Mommy, who brought us Juice and Slurpees, and who let me participate in the first place.

Love you all,

-a VERY weary reader

Trips

Hey Y'all. Just letting you all know I'm off to EFY in Tacoma, Washington this week. I'm in a bit of a hurry so please excuse me while I write as if I DIDN'T spend a year or two in advanced English classes. I'm adding Diction and Jargon to enhance the credibility that this was written by a seventeen year old girl. K? Anyway, I'll be back late Saturday. Everyone enjoy life while I get spiritually pumped. Love you all!
-KT

Thanks Everyone!

Ahh, Seventeen. In honor of my birthday today, I've added two songs to the top of my playlist: Seventeen Ain't so Sweet by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and Seventeen Forever by MetroStation. My last year of Childhood Innocence; one more year of getting away with stuff because I'm not a legal adult; one more year of city curfew; one more year of high school; one more year. That's all I have left.
I must admit, however, that this was one of the best birthdays I've had in a long time. I was with my family for most of it, no one was rushed into emergency foot surgery *coughcough GARRETT coughcough*, I absolutely LOVED my presents, and they were WAY more than expected, People called and texted and facebooked me all over wishing me a happy birthday, from family, to friends, to those awesome buddies in other states that I've met through other people and have become awesome friends with even though I've never met them in person. Even the girls at work took me out to lunch and got FATTY costco cupcakes and lunch with the office at Rosa's Cafe.
So my AWESOME day, just a runthrough so I can remember it all.
Woke up SUPER early because of blasted leg cramps, after a pretty trippy dream based on the book I've been reading. I read a bit, came downstairs and mom made me an awesome breakfast. After getting from work, dad came HOME from work early, so I opened presents. THE BEST birthday presents I've gotten in a LONG time. A REALLY nice Casio Exilim with 10.1 Megapixels AND a BS button! (That's Best Shot for those of you sniggering alongside me). I also got tickets to the BODY WORLD exhibit! SO excited to go on Wednesday.
After work, mom and Bailee and I went to Olive Garden, then home to have cake with some friends. The Robertson's gave me a gift card to Barnes & Noble, which was promptly spent on a new journal for my 17th year. Brianne gave me my own copy of Forever Strong, one of my favorite new movies! Once Home I tallied everything up. 20 facebook notifications, 12 text messages, and 1 day of pure amazing.
BIG thanks to EVERYONE who made my birthday special.
Now I get to wait for the lasting add ins to my birthday: Brianne's Kidnapping of Me thursday/friday, Body Worlds on Wednesday, Working Windows and Car Radio (Same Day), and a bit of pool action Saturday!

Home Again

He thought you meant to find fault with his work.

That's what the average farmer would have meant.

James would take time, of course, to chew it over

Before he acted: he's just got round to act."

-The Code, Robert Frost

Ok I'm going to say it right now: I REALLY don't want to go back to work tomorrow. I'm really enjoying not working. And no one is to say I NEED the job. I manage fine without the extra money, and I could always find less...committed lines of work, like tutoring or cleaning or teaching piano lessons. However, the extra cash is a blessing, I really do love my job, and I simply can't leave them short-handed right now.
As this is such, I will be waking up tomorrow and returning to work after my break off. *Sigh*
I got back from girls' camp on Friday. The trip was shorter than normal, which stunk because it was my last year, but I had a blast. There is a ton to write about but only so much I can say before anyone who bothers to read my blog suddenly gets bored and decides to go do something more fun and exciting, like...get the mail, or...scoop cat litter. Yeah. SO: Highlights: 1) Being a YCL, 2)Getting lost but not really* on an incredibly long hike, 3) High Ropes course, 4) Eating a ton of junk food on an already sick stomach on the last night, having it all come back up, then going on as normal for another 3 hours, because I could, 4) learning a new verse to the frog song, 5)pretending I had a venomous snake bite and a first degree burn.
Want to hear one of the MOST embarrassing things of my life? I got my Report Card last week. Sadly, the Most Important report card in my highschool career is also my worst by far. Worst of all, I failed second semester Pre-Calculus. I don't think I have time to repeat it before I turn in my college applications either. Looks like I really WILL be spending my first year or two in community college. Bummer. Seriously, I really am upset with myself. I actually TRIED in that class. I also mysteriously missed all of this year's deadlines for the ACT and SAT, with no help from my school counselor. Senior year will be rough. I'm still excited for my AP English and AP Psychology classes though.
Some weird thoughts have been wrestling in my mind lately.
1) By this time next year, I'll be headed to college (of some persuasion) and life on my own
2) Liberty Jail is one of the biggest oxymorons of our time
3) This is my last summer as a legal kid.
I'm burning through books faster than I can borrow them from the library. In the past two weeks of summer I have read the first three books of the House of Nyte series (I don't recommend them), the last two books of the Twilight series(I had started the first two during school, so it doesn't count), Graceling by Kristin Cashore, and The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman. I REALLY recommend Graceling and The Other Side. The last one is interesting if you're against the whole, 'Global warming and socialism' thing. :)
That being said, I'm reading a book of Ray Bradbury's Short Stories to break the tedium between library trips. Does anyone have anything they recommend? I'm liking the fantasy/young female heroine/handsome mysterious gentlemen the heroine falls in love with thing right now. Maybe it's because I want a boy in my life. I don't know. Oh well.

Love, Happiness, and Music to all!

*My definition of getting lost: Having no points of reference as to where you are, not knowing where you are, no way of finding where you are, no communication to help you find your way, and not remembering which way you were supposed to be heading. Basically, being on your own and helpless in the middle of nowhere. There's a reason I say I'm never lost: I've never not been able to find the place I was going to.

Where'd She GO?!

Hi friends, hello family!
I JUST realized that it has been nearly a month since I last updated ANYONE on what's happening in Temecula. Well, it's really quite simple. Now that the stress of balancing high school, a job, and a college class are behind me, and I get a simple 18 hour work week to have fun with, I don't feel a need to relax in front of a computer for an hour every night. I've even cut back on my Facebook social life. (I know, BIG shocker)
So here's what HAS been happening lately. Finals week rolled around, I studied more than I ever have before (EVER), got sick, almost missed finals, and STILL ended up not doing well. As sad as it is to say, the most crucial report card of my high school life is also my worst.
Something fun and exciting: I got a tumor removed! Okay, some of you may have managed to catch that bit of news flitting around facebook or twitter two weeks ago, but here's the juicy details! I went to the dermatologist for a routine acne prescription check and refill. I decided I might as well get a mole and the funny bump on my leg checked out. Good ole' doc said the bump was a little tumor, benign most likely, and he'd gladly get rid of both it and the mole. SO they did. It was really weird seeing someone attack the underside of my arm with two scalpels, but that's all I got to see. Contrary to my wishes, I wasn't allowed to watch them get the tumor. I had to lie down all the way in case I freaked out or something. But mom said it was cool, and they used a neat little tool that looked like a scrapbook punch. Two stitches and some bandages later I was on my way.
Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy. (Except for when I had a reaction to the undearm bandaging, but that doesn't count.) I just got the stitches out about 45 minutes ago. It'll be nice to be able to swim and shave like a normal person again.
Bailee and I are off to Girls Camp tomorrow; her first time, and my last. SO depressing. But I'm not packed and somewhere between work and our final YCL meeting today I need to come up with a devotional and scripture study lesson, and finalize some certification activities.
Exciting news, two of my guy friends are heading for their missions in 3 months! Wade just got his call to Albequerque, New Mexico, and Jared turned in his papers last week. SO excited to see where he goes, and how they both do. Jared is actually going to get a blog up and running, that Brianne will update with letters and pictures and stuff. You'll find it here.
Enjoy your lives! I need to go to work now, and I'll be back in a week after camp.
Views: 380

Love you all!
-Katie Helen

New Moon

For all you twilight fans out there...thought I'd post a little teaser!
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD


Want more? Visit the author's website!
Stephenie Meyer

View Count: 366

Ketchup

What happens when you neglect your blog? Bad things happen. Like, family and friends being out of the look that is your life. Anyway, I've got a lot to cover, so hold in.
AP
Finished my AP tests. Both went well, I think. The Essay topics were easy enough. Sadly, though, that makes me nervous. Oh well, I simply will keep it out of my mind until the middle of July when I get my scores.
HEAVEN
After that, the next big event was Great-Grandma Helen's funeral. It was very beautiful, and I don't think it could have been improved upon. It was one of those bittersweet moments. I'm very sad she's gone, but I know where she is, and I know she's free now.
It DID cause the biggest game of Pre-Algebra catch-up since last fall. Oh well. SO worth it.
INTOXICATION
This past week in school there was a program called Every 15 Minutes. It was a 2 day long event that demonstrated the effects of drunk driving and driving under the influence. Both days, roughly two dozen kids had their faces painted white, with black circles around their eyes. They weren't allowed to speak, as a reminder that every 15 minutes, someone dies in an alcohol related accident.
On day one we met on the football field, and after a staged introduction, a screeching of tires and the blast and smoke of a car crash, a tarp was pulled back revealing two smashed cars, one upside down with alcohol bottles falling out of it. No one was moving in either.
The police were called in, then the fire engines and the paramedics. I guess it served as a training day for them too. Teenagers inside both cars were painted up bloody and gruesome. One girl in the car that the drunk driver had been driving was pronounced Dead on Arrival. The mortuary van was called in, she was put in a body bag, into the van, and away she went. Another was pronounced critical by the paramedics, and so she was airlifted to the hospital, and died there. (I must admit, I was jealous here. Although it was all staged, she actually got to ride in a helicopter!! All the way to the hospital!) The jaws of life were used to cut the top off of the upright car, and all of the kids inside wheeled off on stretchers, then into ambulances. The girl who was drunk driving was the least injured, and arrested on the spot.
On day two, we were called into the gym for the funeral. It started with all of the white-faced kids wheeling in a coffin to the front of the room. Each of those kids had to stay the night at the hotel; to really live the feeling as if they had died in an accident, they weren't allowed to go home overnight. They were all asked to write letters to their families; what they would say if they really WERE taken from this life. The parents were asked to do the same to their children. First a boy read his, one that had been involved in the simulation the day before. His was so heart wrenching. It was unbelievable. A girl shared hers next, which was almost as bad. Then two parents shared their letters. After that, a husband and wife stood up, the couple who organized the Every 15 Minutes program stood and shared their story.
Their son had been riding his bike home when he had been hit by a drunk woman driving her car. It was her fourth offense of DUI. Now the couple travels all over to try and stop things like that before they happen. Next came a small family, a mother and her two daughters. This one hit me hardest of all. The little girl spoke first, small and spunky, about my sister's age. I promise the two could have been twins. Her older sister spoke next, a girl about my age. Both were mourning the loss of their nineteen year old brother, who had been living near home, but not at home and had been sober, but had been out with drunk friends. It all just hit WAY too close to home.
It put me into one of the biggest funks ever.
MISS
JUST to drive the moral one step deeper, I had my own little experience Thursday night. I was driving home from a friends house a little after nine. I was driving a LITTLE fast through the meadow, but not more than 5 over the speed limit. It was just fast for me because I usually drive 5 under through it. Anyway, here is a little picture for better example:

The pink line is the direction I was going, the yellow X where my house is, the red X where the DRUNK DRIVER was arrested. Literally, the SECOND I pulled up in front of my house, the siren went off, pulling over the driver of the vehicle at the red X. He was no more than 30 seconds behind me. Creepy right? If I had been driving 30 seconds slower, my car could have gotten in a fight with that persons car.
PROM
All of this was planned perfectly, because last night was prom. It was nice, there are pictures on my facebook, and I hate them all. My date was a perfect jerk. Although we agreed to just go as friends, it didn't give him the right to flirt with and or compliment EVERY OTHER GIRL right in front of me. For the record, I didn't get a single "you look pretty" or anything similar from him. Just, you know, something you'd expect from your prom date. He ended up sitting away from my on our drive home and falling asleep on another girl's shoulder. However, I DID have fun, especially with all the 'firsts' in the night.
First:
1) Time in a limo
2) School dance
3) Time getting ASKED to a dance
4) Prom
5) Dinner at In-n-Out in a formal dress.
Needless to say, I declined going for food or more partying after, and just went home. Oh well. It gave us plenty to talk about in Laurels today!

LINK
Interested in the Every 15 Minutes program? Good. I HIGHLY recommend seeing one if you ever get a chance.
Every Fifteen Minutes
SADDStudents Against Drunk Driving
MADDMothers Against Drunk Driving

Drive safe, everyone, and have an awesome Memorial Day!

350 views! WHoot!

I'm Tired by Robert Hall

I'll be 63 soon. Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs, but job-hunting every day, I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years. I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired .....very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth around" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy or stupid to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes." Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help. But if they bought Mansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the leftwing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble help them-with their own money.

I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers. In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the religious freedom and women's rights of Saudi Arabia, the economy of Zimbabwe, the freedom of the press of China, the crime and violence of Mexico, the tolerance for Gay people of Iran, and the freedom of speech of Venezuela. Won't multiculturalism be beautiful?

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor;" of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers;" of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery;" of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that "race doesn't matter" in the post-racial world of President Obama, when it's all that matters in affirmative action jobs, lower college admission and graduation standards for minorities (harming them the most), government contract set-asides, tolerance for the ghetto culture of violence and fatherless children that hurts minorities more than anyone, and in the appointment of US Senators from Illinois. I think it's very cool that we have a black president and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the emancipation proclamation. I just wish the Black President was Condi Rice, Colon Powell or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual and less in an all-knowing government. I believe "a man should be judged by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin."

I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that think Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful. That thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of Presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress, that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his, that slammed Palin with two years as governor for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama with three years as senator as without question the best president ever. Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue. I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America, while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate. My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs. We also own a three-bedroom condo where our daughter and granddaughter live. Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses while they tried to fight it off? I don't think Gay people choose to be Gay, but I [dang] sure think druggies chose to take drugs. And I'm tired of harassment from cool people treating me like a freak when I tell them I never tried marijuana.

I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime. What's next? Calling drug dealers, "Undocumented Pharmacists"? And, no, I'm not against Hispanics. Most of them are Catholic and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion. I'm willing to fast track for citizenship any Hispanic person who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military. Those are the citizens we need.

I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military. They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad mouth better people then themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet. Do our troops sometimes misbehave? Sure. Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years-and still are? Not even close. So here's the deal. I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan,
or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq, or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia, because the girls were Christian. Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers-bums are bi-partisan. And I'm tired of people telling me we need bi-partisanship. I live in Illinois, where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats and Republicans has worked together harmoniously to loot the public for years. And I notice that the tax cheats in Obama's cabinet are bi-partisan as well.

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught.

I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor. The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor." The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.

I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions.

I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination, or big-whatever for their problems.

Yes, I'm [dang] tired. But I'm also glad to be 63. Because, mostly, I'm not going to get to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.


Robert A. Hall is a Marine Vietnam veteran who served five terms in the Massachusetts state senate. He blogs at www.tartanmarine.blogspot.com

Ok, so I know...

...I'm a little bit late updating this with actual updates from my life. I'm sorry! I've been busy building a person.
NOT LIKE THAT!!!!!
Building a life sized skeleton for anatomy. It's supposed to be modeled after my partner, but we decided that while the skeleton WILL have female bone structure, it still is more like a guy. It's just our natural reaction: "Katie, is this piece too big for his leg?" "No Catherine, the femur is the largest bone in his body, it's allowed to be that big." Any suggestions for a name? I was thinking Franky. Or maybe Seymore. You know, like Seymore Bones? I crack myself up.
Ugh, if the skeleton were alive, I'd kill it. I hate it that much.

I'm also studying up for my two AP tests, so school is my focus for now.
Seven weeks of school left. That means One year, Seven weeks of childhood left. Ugh. I'm dreading it. In other news, my idiotic probationary period is up exactly six months from today. For those of you who are unaware of California's laws, the supposedly conservative state has made it illegal for new drivers under 18 to drive anyone else, for any reason, for an entire year after they are licensed. I understand why they feel a need for this rule. I really do. There were two accidents caused by teenage drivers outside of my school last week alone.
But REALLY! "Ok everybody! You must all cahpool to wuk to save gahsoleene and enahgy, except fo the teenagahs, you must all drive yoh own used, 200,000 mihle, barhrely pahssing thee smog test cahs, so yu don get distrahcted."
Oh I'm horrible.
By the way, I love comments. I really do. It is a more than welcome break from the monotony that is my life.

Feeling

I cannot live without books.
-Thomas Jefferson

*Sigh* Whenever I finish a good book part of me dies a little, until I pick up the next one. Just when my life starts feeling hollow and emotionless, my best(school) friend, Jadon, decides to lend me a new book, and it was just what the doctor ordered. It is actually a series of five books(so far), titled Maximum Ride, by James Patterson, and let me tell you, they are phenomenal. Nothing else makes me feel in love one moment, extreme pity the next, then laughter then horror then sorrow then adrenaline then back to love, besides a good book.
Is it bad that good books practically aremy emotions?
I swear, they are like a drug.
Brief overview of the plot line:
Set in today's world, there are six kids, Angel(6), The Gasman(8), Nudge(11), Iggy(14), Fang(14), and Maximum "Max" Ride(14). Max is the acting leader of the group of kids, who were all orphaned after they escaped from the School four years ago. These kids, though, they're not like the rest of us, and the School isn't a school. It's a genetic mutations lab. The "flock" of kids were all sent to the School as infants (by rather heinous ways), where their DNA was spliced with Avian DNA. As a result, the kids have air sacs in their bodies, hollow bones, high recovery stats, high heart rates, and...drum roll please...a wingspan of at least 10 feet. Once helped by the mutinous Jeb, a former lab worker, they find themselves suddenly all alone and being attacked on every side by Erasers. Erasers are mere children that raced into adulthood due to having had their infant DNA replaced with Lupine DNA. Yeah, that's right. Essentially, those poor kids are werewolves. Poor little Ari, a 7 year old boy and Jeb's son, has the body of a full grown wolf/man, the mind of a trained killer, and the heart of a little boy, whose father only ever loved the bird kids. One of the bird kids is taken by an Eraser back to the school, and by developing special gifts that seem to come along with the wings, the kids must go and rescue their little sibling, falling into numerous scrapes along the way, learning whom to trust and whom not to, and learning how tight the Flock's bond really is.
Patterson has done an exceptional job with this series, the first being The Angel Experiment. The story is told mostly from Max's first person perspective, but Patterson seamlessly switches to the third person point of view when the reader needs to know what happens to the other characters. Max is a believable character because she sounds just like my friends at school. The characters speak cleanly, but have a few quirks picked up from the flock's primary education: the television and the internet. Readers come to love the Flock, pity the enemy, and question where the lines of good and evil really lie. Each page has a question answered with three more questions. The series is full of action, mystery, slight romance, awe, dedication to the family, and, my favorite part, good clean fun. Emphasis on CLEAN. When a character swears, it is written out as, "The flock had a language lesson when Angel stubbed her toe and shouted some words that would have made a sailor blush" or "a slew of colorful words ran threw my head, but I restrained them." Granted, the characters do slip out a few words, but by the second book, I can count those instances on one hand.
The only other problem I can REALLY find with the series is the occasional lapse in information. Unless I missed the information (a rare occasion), I didn't know that Max is a girl until the eighth chapter. I didn't know Nudge is black until the second book. I haven't caught anything else, but it's just like the author got so caught up in his characters that he forgot that we don't all see them as clearly as he does.
For all you Twilight fans out there, I think you will love Maximum Ride. The English is a bit better, and it's not as sappy, but still just as thrilling.

Enjoy!

The Temecula Tea Party

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
-Thomas Jefferson

THAT is what my sign says.
As much as my parents (and I) disagree with excusing me from school to make a statement, today was a special occasion. Temecula was having a Tea Party!
Just after Anatomy today I left school and headed down to the duck pond, just to, you know, check it out, stand there with a couple other people, just be another head to add to the count. Well, that is what I intended. I was unprepared for the honking and flag-waving and shouts of joy from nearly two thousand people! All of whom were there to let T-mec know that they were not going to stand for taxation without representation. In a single intersection, every corner held at least twenty people, with the corner by the duckpond holding well over one hundred.
Back behind the duck pond were even MORE people, with people talking on bullhorns and handing out stickers and being, in general, very peaceful and well-behaved. They weren't trying to start a war. They were not making plots to assassinate anyone. The people were simply exercising the vocal chords God gave them and the freedom of speech that the Founding Fathers fought for; that men died for.
Now, I must admit, I was apprehensive about leaving school for this thing, and it was NOT because I love Chaparral. I secretly (but I suppose that's no more) have a fear of public expression of...well...almost everything. Especially my political views. As much as I love the adrenalin of it all, I was terrified of going out there, just as I was terrified of standing on corners with "Yes on 8" signs. And when I say terrified, I mean I was shaking all throughout Anatomy (haha my anatomy was shaking in Anatomy). But I saw all the people and decided that no one was going to be a taxation supporter and pull a gun on all of us. Not to mention that would be very hypocritical, to support the people who want to ban guns by using a gun. (Guns don't kill people, gaping holes in vital organs kill people...if I can blame the murder on the gun, then I reserve the right to blame that misspelled word on the pen.)
All in all, I stayed at the protest longer than planned, but it was worth it. I spent half the time laughing in stupor. Don't get me wrong, I am MORE than happy to pay the taxes that pay for my education, my protection from people, my protection from fire, my protection from terrorists, my streetlights, and my judicial system. What I DON'T want to pay for are benefits for other people that I will never get to see again, stuff that's supposed to chill in a nice little fed bank for the next 40 years while I live a life. I don't want to pay for someone else's yacht. I don't want to pay for some hoo-hah to buy a nice house while my FRIENDS are kicked out of their own. That's just not cool.
Want to read awesome quotes from some dude that lived 200 years ago? Sweet, click HERE.

Just a check up on my daily life, well there isn't much to say. I promise you this has been the longest week of the school year, and the weather is making me nauseous with it's bipolar disorder, but STAR testing is next week, which means party time.

Happy Easter Everyone!

There comes a time when you must choose between what is right and what is easy.

Just me saying "Hey all!" and Happy Easter!
Have a wonderful holiday and remember everything that today stands for!

I found the cutest way to dye eggs, and it should be checked out!
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/silk-dyed-eggs.html
I didn't get a chance to try it personally, but I'm looking forward to it!

Oh! And I got my prom dress yesterday! I'm going to Mormon Prom next month and decided that, regardless of whether or not I get asked, I'll still need a dress. So it's pretty and green! It's got me really excited!

Also, yes, I changed my layout again. The other one may have been a tad too dark, and the text was hard for even me to read!

Little Bon-Bon

Democracy is a process by which the people are free to choose the man who will get the blame.
-Laurence J. Peter

Bon-Bons are my Orchestra Directors way of saying, "What follows is a tasty little morsel that holds little value and is a space filler", usually used to describe little easy songs used to make our concerts longer.
This will be a bit more of an informative filler post, just to catch things up.

Pictures from the Orchestra Trip:
Part I, Part II

Videos of the Orchestra:
YOUTUBE

Places I Can Be Found:
Facebook
Youtube
Twitter username: musical_kt
Email: ask me

Dad's Favorite Political Stuff:
HERE
Mike Church on Twitter
Glenn Beck

And, as always, I love staying on top of the news. So!
How d'y'all feel about the rocket N. Korea launched this weekend? SUPPOSEDLY it fell out of orbit within a day, and SUPPOSEDLY it was just transmitting revolutionary songs. Look into it, and you can decide. I'm just not sure I like China telling us to remain calm and not to act out of proportion.

Also, what about the three(? or was it two?)major earthquakes in the past two days, in places earthquakes don't really happen? The one in Italy has claimed over 100 lives, and counting.

Six o'clock - TV hour. Don't get caught in foreign
towers. Slash and burn, return, listen to yourself
churn. Lock it in, uniforming, book burning, blood
letting. Every motive escalate. Automotive incinerate.
Light a candle, light a motive. Step down, step down.
Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh, this means no
fear cavalier. Renegade steer clear! A tournament,
tournament, a tournament of lies. Offer me solutions,
offer me alternatives and I decline.

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine.

My Father's Proxy

Reasons like seasons
they constantly change
and the seasons of last year
like reasons have floated away

Hey y'all. So my dad has this new request of me: I am to update all of our right-wing friends and family with whichever fun political videos or rants strike his fancy. Therefore, per daddy, I'll be updating this thing kinda regularly with links to videos on youtube and such. Dad also has me on twitter.com so if you want easier, more automatic updates, you can stalk me there. You can search my name, or my username, musical_kt.
In keeping with my new found task, there are a ton of awesome political videos that can be found HERE (Mike Church is his favorite, next to Glenn Beck)
By the way, please excuse capitalization errors for the time being. I know i love capitalizing random letters for emphasis, but seriously, right now my right shift key has something jammed under it, and I can't break habit long enough to hit the left one. I'd rather get angry at the right one.
In sadder news, this is my last official day of spring Break. My last school day off. So, here are some highlights, in rapid succession for the fun of it:
mondaytuesdaywednesday workworkworkworkwork. BORING! ThursdayFirdaySaturday Orchestra competition we tied for first YAY BOO sunday sick stay home visit Thompsons mondaytuesdaywednesday work work work thursday babysit 2 preteens AHHHH nightmare run away screaming. Today, I am going to sit in my pj's all day long, maybe swim if the pool's warm, and actually have a break while reading As I Lay Dying for English.
I have a new musical love. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that at some point in my life, whether I be 18 or 81, I want to learn to play the cello. These guys are some of my new inspiration. It's a Metal band from Finland called Apocalyptica. Ok I know what you're thinking, if you've never heard the group play before. Sweet little Katie? A fan of Metal music originating in radical Europe?!? (Haha metal fans haha) Well yes. These four-ish (the number changes a lot) musicians met at a music academy in Helsinki in their cello class. They all decided that while Mozart is awesome, so is Metallica. Their first album is all Metal Covers. Now they're onto playing their own stuff, and among which are my favorites, Romance, and I Don't Care, featuring the lead singer of Three Days Grace. (It's not linked because the music video is mildly scandalous). The way those boys play cello is just incredible!!!!!!
So enjoy if you would like, check out those political videos if you want something to discuss with my dad, and enjoy your weekend!

The Competition

A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski

Well, we did it. We won. You can watch all our songs HERE. But you wouldn't think that if you looked at our orchestra Saturday night. We looked like someone died. I'll explain:
Thursday the Orchestra left Temecula after one last practice, and headed to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was nice, but got old fast. I found out after two exhibits that there were embossing stations at most of viewing areas where the little tour books could be stamped. I made it my goal to accomplish the feat of getting all the embossments, and I accomplished my goal. I was proud. It was fun. But as I said, there is only so much to be done at an aquarium. One of the best parts about the orchestra is that we, as a class, are so tight knit that as long as we have a few decks of cards, an iPod, and speakers, we can be left alone for hours. Although we listen to incredibly varying types of music, it all has a similar core because we all know what real music sounds like. Regardless, 4 hours, 2 walks around the aquarium, 1 walk around the docks, 28 games of Egyptian Rat Screw, 15 games of BS, and 1/2 an iPod battery later, we were on our way to Medieval Times. The dinner and show were both incredible. My knight lost,(we were green [the evil one] but the blue knight was definitely cuter) I was called barbaric by my favorite viola player/good friend, and I almost caught a rose from one of the knights. Eventually we made our way to the bus, and on to our hotel.
Hotel trips are always fun with the Orchestra because the nights are filled with tradition. Boys are always a floor above the girls, the doors are always taped to make sure we don't sneak out, and nothing scandalous ever happens. But BEFORE curfew, half the kids are wandering the hallways in pajamas, sitting in front of rooms talking, and, as always, playing card games in front of the elevators. We're all too much of friends to be scandals, and we wouldn't want to wreck the trip by being stupid. There's also a general unspoken rule about not really dating inside orchestra, as a drama reducer. It happens, but it's rare, and weird. When you are in the same class for as much as 7 years, you simply know everyone else too well. It is nearly all of these aspects which separate our trips from band trips.
Friday, after the most annoying Six AM wake-up call ever, we went to the Getty Museum in LA. It was nice, but everyone was strict and distrusting of a group of teenagers. I took more pictures of the gardens than anything else. The best part was when our First Cellist discovered that all of the rough walls were hollowed out to varying densities, and therefore made different tones when struck. There is probably no odder sight at that regal museum than that of fifteen musicians hitting rock walls with open hands. But hey, entertaining is what we do best!
Saturday we had our competition. The Orchestra before us bailed, so we were at our leisure to perform whenever we wanted. Our Director, Mrs. Fuhr, switched the order of the songs last minute, but other then that we sounded ready.
We came. We played. We conquered. Literally.
The adjudicator with the task of critiquing us directly had little to say negatively, and was full of praise. She commented on two of our songs, but mostly just with style tips, and didn't say anything about our slow piece. It sounded like we won, but alas, we wouldn't know for sure until later that night. We spent the rest of the day in Disneyland, and it was incredibly hot and crowded. I have some friends in Orchestra who also take Sign Language, so we were practicing while taking a break, and one of the Disney employees came up to us and signed "Can I help you?". I signed back, "We're fine, thank you" and she smiled and left. It was so awesome! I wonder, do all workers know basic Sign Language so as to better help their patrons? We all went to California Adventure later that night for the Awards ceremony, which took place at 9 o'clock. Turns out that we received Gold, but we tied for first place with scores of 98, 95, and 89 (each of one hundered), and only won the Adjudicators Award along with it. Had we all just tried a little bit harder we could have won everything. But no. We tied. Just as good as the next group. Might as well just call us average. And only one award? It was a let down after making a clean sweep of every category last year. In all of Mrs. Fuhr's history of teaching in Temecula, in all of the six years she has been my teacher, she has won every year but one. That was Boston, and we lost to a Private Music Academy from Canada. We don't talk about that year. Tieing and only one award really was a let down for us.
We didn't get back to Temecula until around 1:30 the next morning. I was so drugged with sleep loss that I hugged two boys goodnight who I normally avoid. I don't particularly remember driving home from the school either...
You know those shirts that say "I_______ and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt"?
Well, "I worked my fingers raw for 3 months, lost my voice, got sick, and had my hopes dashed with a certain boy, all on a school trip,and all I got was a little competitors pin. And I suppose bragging rights."

Note: If you have made it this far into the post, please give yourself a pat on the back and a cookie.

Orchestra Update

Hello Everyone! Tis me again. Just a couple things I wanted to say today, and I'm not going to go into any epic rants about life. I promise.

First, I just wanted to mention the passing away of a dear member of our ward and our choir president, Brother Robert Welch. He was incredible man, though maybe misunderstood. Is it wrong to say that his funeral inspired me? All six of his kids are very talented string musicians, with the exception of one daughter, who sings opera. But to hear two sons pick up the cellos, one on viola, and a son and daughter both on violin and play tributes to their father, all made me realize that while I may have, in his life, thought of him as a proud man, he had good reason to be proud! He was an incredibly accomplished man, and deserves the praises he had been given. Since he moved into our ward, I think I've played my violin in sacrament or at church functions four or five times. Each time, including at each practice, Brother Welch was the first to stand up and thank me, tell me I played beautifully, or say how much I'm improving. With his passing he has inspired me to improve my musical talents, and be sure I spread the love of music onto my future children. Also, never before have I been so touched while singing that by the 3rd line of the verse did I need to just mouth the words. Brother Welch was also a very patriotic man, and so the ward choir and congregation sang Battle Hymn of the Republic as a closing song. This is the verse that got to me:

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Thank you Brother Welch.

Also on a musical note, (haha, I'm so punny) Chaparral High School String Orchestra had our "Showcase to LA" last Friday, and I think it went pretty well. Better then expected, anyway. My mom recorded all but the first two songs, and I'm in the process of getting them all to my YouTube channel. If you get a chance, check them out please! http://www.youtube.com/user/KekiPele

Whoot! Spring Break starts now! No plans, other than work, and our Orchestra competition. Interested?
Fullerton College, I assume in the theater or performing arts center
Saturday, March 28
Listeners must be inside the performing center by 9 o'clock sharp.
Free of Charge!

Same Play, Different Actors.

SOME say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost

I'm really becoming a fan of good poetry. But good is a subjective term, so oh well.
A few qualms have come up in life. I'm now going to rant about Twilight, boys, and history. Just a fair warning. : D

Brianne and I were discussing Twilight yesterday. As for the movie, I hadn't seen it since the midnight showing, due to a little grounding...anyway, we saw it again last night. It's a lot nicer without 100 screaming teenagers, but still pretty ridiculous. We were also discussing the book itself. Many critics, and a few English teachers, have put down Twilight because of it's poorly written quality. Brianne and I decided that while, yes, the book is not likely to become core-lit for High School English classes world wide, it will probably continue selling copies for another decade or two. Why? Because the book was not written to be torn apart in the classroom. It was meant to entertain young teenagers, mostly girls, and maybe send across some subliminal messages about morals. Not only has the book entertained it's prospective audience, it has gone above and beyond to reach those of all ages and genders.

As for Boys...Forgive me for this bit, I'm a teenage girl XD. I'm really liking the entire concept of Mormon dating. You know, like the Strength for the Youth says, about dating a lot of different people and doing group dates and all that good stuff. It doesn't talk about needing to shrug off the world's criticism for dating two different boys in two weeks and being a player, but hey, they're just jealous, right? On the flip side, getting to know different boys can have it's bad aspects. For example, sometimes a girl can agree to a date, which gets postponed a bit, then comes to realize the guy is making her his #2 choice. And he likes to tell her that, and how much he still wants to date her though, too. Not like I cared, because I just slapped a jerk label on him and tried to send him packing. However, I'm sorry to say I'm getting more and more annoyed with boys who think that everyone hates them. Seriously. Hate is such a strong word. Few people in the world actually hate anything. Really dislike, or are annoyed by, maybe, but hate? I mean, I personally hate politics and propaganda, but that's just me. I really dislike shrimp and coconut, and I'm annoyed by nosy neighbors, but I don't hate them. So over-dramatic boys that text you wondering why your best friend and all your guy friends hate him, is just plain annoying.

So...history. Economists (at least, the ones that aren't blind) say that we might be heading for a nice little second Great Depression. I would like to hear everyone's views on the last depression, specifically Franklin D. Roosevelt's impact. My History teacher would like to argue that FDR did everything he possibly could, and that he did about as well as anyone else could in ending the depression. My dad/Glenn Beck would like to argue that the only thing FDR did with his "New Deal" was prolong it. I personally think he did a really good job and few people could have done better. So, what do you think? Was FDR a socialist Commi that had no right to enforce minor martial law? Or a good man that got the nation out of it's rut? Also, because I love patterns, is History repeating itself? If so, will Obama be the next Hoover, or Roosevelt?
(That was deep. I should write for the AP board!)

Have a nice week everyone! 3 more 'till spring break!

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for life
And the world makes you king for a day,
Just go to the mirror and look in the glass,
And see what that man has to say

For it isn’t your father or mother or wife,
Whose judgment upon you must pass.
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one looking back in the glass.

Some people may say you’re a straight-shooting chum
And call you a wonderful guy.
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

He’s the fellow to please never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end.
And you’ve passed your most dangerous difficult test
If the man in the glass is your friend.

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

-Anonymous

I know I posted this on my facebook too, but I just love it so much! My Eighth grade english teacher made us memorize a lot of poems and passages, including the Preamble and the Gettysburg Address. I realized that after three years, I still remembered most of this poem and the Gettysburg Address. Cleaning through my room yesterday I found them both, typed up nicer copies, and taped them to my closet doors. It made me feel happy inside.
I guess I haven't updated otherwise because not much is going on. I'm helping plan girls' camp, and am both excited and weirded out because my little sister is coming this year, and it's my last. She's so little! I forget how young I used to be, until I remember that I was the same age she is, way back on Fiesta Island in San Diego for my first year of camp.
I've been on a couple dates with different boys from Chino in the last two weeks, and they were fun. I'm finally finding joy in dating to get to know someone, and group dates.
I also have been progressively driving farther and farther from home lately. I've had my license for just over four months, and for the longest time the farthest I had ever driven was to my chiropractor's office in Wildomar. Then I had to do a service project with NHS, so on Valentines day I was up at 5:30 in the morning, driving to Lake Elsinore. Then I had my first date with a Chino boy, but it was pouring rain and we were just meeting in Corona. Still: longest solo road trip+rain+dark+car with over 202,000 miles and as old as me= a very new kind of road trip. And THEN!!! Friday I had a date with a different boy in Chino, and it was a group date with two of my old friends and their boys, so I drove ALL the way to Chino, an hour drive, spent the night, then drove back home in the morning. The greatest part was that it was my second time ever making the 91 and 71 interchanges, and my first time making them alone! And I didn't die! .........it was a major accomplishment for me..........
ANYWAY have a great March everyone, and a happy Spring!

Akeelah and the Bee

I watched this movie with my mom a few days ago. I loved it more than...most other movies. I don't think I've ever been so worked up about a spelling Bee before, not even my own! But on of my favorite quotes was in the movie:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
-Maryanne Williamson

When I get a chance I'm going to have that framed and put in my room.

It reminded me of Girls Camp, because while we were thinking about themes, we wanted something to go with Virtue, (for those of you who don't know, Virtue is the newest Young Woman Value, and its color is gold) and I thought of Proverbs 31:10, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies", and from there we decided the theme of GC this year will be "Far Above Rubies". It's ward camp, so we are doing ALL the planning. It's camping. [Camping is intense and in-tents]BUT don't tell my sister! It's her first year of camp, and my last year, so I have to carefully keep her out of the loop for EVERYTHING!
Also, March 26-28 my high school orchestra is competing in the National Heritage Festival in L.A., at Fullerton College(I think). If anyone will be around that weekend and would like to hear us play, I believe it will be on Saturday that we actually perform. You are ALL invited. OR, sometime before that we are having our Showcase, so you can hear us perform our Festival pieces and others in our stash of music, right here at home. More details to come!

Hmm...

I was talking to my English teacher recently about which 12th grade English course she would recommend me to, and she was automatically set on me taking AP English Literature. She always gives me high marks on my essays and says she loves to read what I have to say. The following is what I DON'T show her:


You know when you've just kind of hit an...emotional slump? Like you have plenty of reason to be perfectly happy, but you just can't seem to perk up?...yeah. With the exception of school, I was kind of like that all weekend. I don't know why. Maybe it's because another Single's Awareness Day is coming up, or my brother is leaving for the Border Patrol academy soon, or just nothing. And I've had my iPod on shuffle just randomly going through songs, and it seems like it's playing all of the ones that fit my mood, meaning they are slower and not always the most cheerful. Oh well.
I DID say with the exception of school, right? RIGHT!??!?! CAUSE AT SCHOOL I WAS A SPAZZ!!! I was sitting there, bouncing off the walls. It was FUN! And I was conducting in Orchestra and was like bouncing-bouncy-bouncy-boing boing boing ladee dah WHOA got off track...But yeah and we were playing this HORRIFICALLY slow song and the violins kept telling ME to SLOW DOWN (Even though I was conducting so they should have been following me regardless)(speaking of which, ~zimcod7 where WERE you!) and Mr. Wall just sat there and laughed as I bickered with the viola's regarding whether or not they were allowed to ask me a question. It went something like this:
Mark: KT KT KT CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION??????!?
Me: NO YOU CANNOT! YOU JUST DID!!!!
Mark: but wait I need to ask you something!
Me: NOPE You LOST your privilege when you asked me a question without asking!
Mark: But but but....KTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKT *waves hand frantically*...
Me: WHAT!!!
Mark: I can't remember, what was I gonna ask you?!
Sean: KTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKT...HI.
Me: SEAN I DID NOT GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO SPEAK!!!!
Sean: But but but
Me: FAIL!
Mark: Hey KT! HI!
Maria: *to the whole class* HEY GUYS SHUT UP!
Someone: No Why don't YOU shut up?!
Me: We have GOT to be the nicest class EVER!
Maria: Hey guys, Shut up PLEASE!
Me:Thank you Maria. Ok, ready? GO!

I loved the Doritos commercial yesterday. The one that was like:
Hey look I've got a REAL crystal ball!
No way.
Yeah huh. Watch. Mr. Crystal ball,will we get free doritos today?
*Throws Crystal Ball at doritos vending machine*
*glass front of vending machine breaks, exposing Doritos*
Sweet we do!
Also, My boss talked to the crazy lady (the one that chewed me out last week) today, and after he was done he just walks over to me a bit:
"She's a wild one isn't she?" says he.
"Well...she's not the...most understanding person I've ever met" says I.
Boss gives me this face like, "Now that's an understatement if I ever heard one"

I ate the deep fried Oreos today at EZ Take-Out Burger today. I HIGHLY recommend them. Jared compared them to a funnel cake. I've never had it, but he IS the culinary genius, so I'll trust him with that comparison.

A Lashing

"'Welcome to the Real World' she said to me, condescendingly, 'take a seat'".
No Such Thing by John Mayer.
Humans make mistakes. This is a truth widely accepted. I make mistakes. This is a truth widely known.
Yesterday at work we were trying to call around to fill up some empty appointments for today's schedule. My Coworker suggested I try a woman scheduled for next week, so I did. I called and offered her either the 2:30 or the 3:30, and she said 'oh that's good'. [me]"ok, so 2:30 is ok? Great, see you then". [her]'ok.So today 2:30 rolls around and we're wondering where she is. She strolls in a 3:30 for her appointment, a spot I had already placed a different patient...
I apologized whole heartedly and admitted my mistake, but that doesn't always work in the professional world. This woman was UPSET. I kind of just sat there nest to my coworker for a good 15 minutes trying to work something out with her, but she was just so MAD! She finally leaves after re-making her original appointment.
10 minutes later, she calls and asks to speak to my boss. I apologetically tell her I'm sorry, he is with a patient and can't come to the phone.
'That's fine' she says 'put me on hold. I'll wait.'
So I go tell my boss the situation, and he gives me this 'you're kidding' look and tells me he is not going to sit there and take the heat for the front desks' mistake. So my supervisor gets on the phone with her and somehow magically gets the woman to accept that the Doctor will call her back later.
Nevertheless, I wanted to go home and curl up in a ball and cry. I mean, I know I've made mistakes in the office before, but I can count them on one hand...
My supervisor called me after I left to remind how grateful they were that I helped out as much as I did and that I don't have to schedule anymore if I don't want to...
But I think It'll be ok. One indecent won't crush me...I just never want to see that woman again...

Hmm...

Inauguration Day. Yummy.
I have decided to take it upon myself to be as respectful as possible towards the new leader of our country. He won by majority rule, which is the fairest method on Earth today that I can think of, with the exception of the calling of the President of the Church. Actually, I didn't even know today was the inauguration until around 9 o'clock last night, and then I had work this morning so I didn't watch it.
My emotion towards the new President is more curious than anything. I'm not about to go burn effigies along with our friends in the middle east, nor am I going to put his framed picture in my bedroom. I am just curious to see what his plans are, how many of them will actually be carried out and other things. WILL he really bring our country down, or will he surprise the other 48% and raise us up? We'll just have to see. After all, if he does well, no harm done. If he does poorly, hopefully he'll be removed from office quickly enough before major damage is done. But I will admit, I was one of those who have been praying that he is moved by the Hand of God just as our previous successful Presidents have been.
One interesting tidbit that could be related:
When Thomas Jefferson was running for President against John Adams and eventually won, the Government shifted from being dominated by Democratic Republicans to Federalists, and did so in an essentially peaceful manner. It was considered Jefferson's Revolution because the power shifted peacefully, without the threatened civil war and with John Adams' head still on his shoulders. (It was a much debated topic:What happens to Ex-Presidents? A popular choice was to behead them, but luckily some people had more sense and figured they should just disappear peacefully into forgotten-land.)
So, once again, the power has been shifted peacefully, with both President Bush and President Obama still living, as expected.
Now is the time for us to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, for no matter what happens, it is sure to be one.

Coolest site I've found in a long time

Ok, so I just found out that the church has produced a new website for the Youth, and it's REALLY cool! I'm so dang excited about it that I'm sharing it with everyone! The website is called A Brand New Year and is here*. But I mean the site is loaded with Scripture mastery games, talks, new era issues, songs, books and EVERYTHING that is awesome about the Church, directed ESPECIALLY towards the Youth!

So check it out and let me know what you think! I want to know I'm not the only one excited about this!

-KT

*If the link does not work, the website itself is http://abrandnewyear.lds.org

Back to the Grind

I loathe school. I decided if (or when) I become a teacher, homework will be done away with...or graded for credit...or participation. Yeah, something like that. I really don't like the whole "go to school for eight hours, then expect at least an hour of homework per class each night." I PROMISE you that is what it says on all my class sylibi...sylluby...shoot the plural of syllabus! My AP classes say expect 2 hours! How can I expect another 8 hours of homework plus have a job and extra after school class? OH no. I guess I don't loathe school. I just loathe homework. The extra practice is fine, I guess. But if it's PRACTICE it shouldn't be GRADED!!! grrr... death to finals. Ok, not really, but still...I'm an angry Katie.