Seafoam Green's Blogspot

Our Future

2007-08-21T18:51:00.000-05:00

The education of our children is in the hands of idiots.

Unfortunately.

So, we had another in-service today. This one was about helping English Language Learners (ELLs) in the classroom. Our first activity of the day was to write down what we thought about students who are ELLs. Posters were put up in the hallway and each group was to go around and write down what they thought about each prompt. These prompts included thinks like 'what they wear' 'Socio economic status' 'Who are their friends' 'Where do they eat' 'What language do they speak' etc.

Of course me automatic answers to all of them was 'well, it depends.....' but it seems that most of my collegues believe that ELLs are Mexican, they are poor, eat fast food, have no parental involvement etc.

I can't believe that people could make these generalizations about ELLs. It's terrible... especially since EVERYONE in the room but 2 people were Mexican. First of all, Spanish is NOT the only other language that is spoken in the world. Texas receives immagrants from ALL over the WORLD. Second of all, how can you think so low of people you don't even know. In college station we had tons of ELLs that belonged to a very high economic group.

I really do think that this has a lot to do with the Eagle Pass mentality. Most people have only ever lived here. That depressing... its like civilization inbreeding.

Awww! It's a puppy!!!

2007-08-18T17:40:00.000-05:00

OK, so it's been over a year since I posted on here, that's terrible. Especially since I had promised I was going to keep up with this thing. So... this time I'm not gonna promise I'll keep up with it and maybe that will work ;)

So, I guess a lot has happened since I last posted, some interesting stuff and some not so interesting.

I'll stick to the interesting....

My new puppy!!!
He's a Great Dane and his name is Cooper. Isn't he cute? :D He was a little tired when this picture was taken, we had just spent a long day at the Nueces river. He sleeps a lot... even if we haven't been at the river all day. It's crazy. I guess puppies need the rest. He's getting bigger by the day :)

Up a creek without a kayak

2006-05-24T13:48:00.000-05:00

Goodness is certainly been a while! hmmm... much has happened I guess...

My education classes went alright this semester, despite my profs (lets call him Mr. Reading/Language Arts) severe dislike of anyone who challenged his teaching... which most of the time turned out to be me... ok ok, it was ALWAYS me, but come on... it's crazyness! For example........ He gave us this RIDICULOUS assignment... we had to creat a BIG book... ok... um, im getting certified for 4-8th grade... a big book is just NOT going to fly in a 4th grade class, least of all any other grade i might be teaching so i decided to voice my opinion and bring up the fact that not everyone in this class is going to be teaching kids how to read... (most 4th graders know how to read by then, i hope) so...

um... sir... i'm getting certifide for 4-8 and i don't think a big book is going to help
well thats what our text book says! this IS the text book we are using!
*lifts textbook and slams it on desk*
uh, yes, sir, but i don't think 4-8th kids are going to get much out of a big book talking about how a dog went 'ruff ruff'
well WHAT do u suggest!?!
um... can we maybe write a book thats smaller but has more text
yes, i guess thats fine
*student raises her hand* even if we're getting certified for 4-8th is it ok if we write a book like yours *points to example with the happy dog going 'ruff ruff'*cuz its easier
(yes! she really did say that, by the way this is the same girl that had a revalation during one of our group activities, her group was assigned The Magic School Bus goes to Outer Space and during her presentation she said 'they even go to the asteroid belt, i didn't even know there was an asteroid belt floating out there! there are even inner and outer planets, the ones inside the asteriod belt and the ones outside!')

it amazes me how people want to cut corners so much... (do i sound like a snob yet?)

Dr. Lopez (from my wildlife mgmt class) always said 'do your best with these mgmt plans! don't think that this is JUST practice, that this is JUST an assingment, you may be writing these mgmt plans for a living, you can't do things half way and assume when its 'for real' you'll do a better job of it, thats not how it works'
I believed him... still do

Mr. R/LA's dislike of me did not stop there... i had 2 classes with him, of course... it could not stop there, lol... one day he decided to put in an OBSURD T/F question on our test... i got it wrong... so of course... i argued... everyone got 2 extra points on their test...

we were all suppose to present a dramatization of a poem, one day no one scheduled for that particular day showed up... so of course he starts asking the people scheduled for the next week.... he goes down the list 'im not ready yet... not yet, im not ready yet either' then he gets to ME...

Alejandra?
im not ready to present either
Teachers are ALWAYS ready Miss Martinez
my friend Michelle turned to me "he really hates u, doesn't he''

The last day of class he comes up to me 'you're book was really nice, you did a great job'

I got an A in both his classes

I am soon to be employed at the wonderful Memorial Jr. High!!! (2 minutes flat from my house, including red lights) i am VERY excited. I stopped by my alma mater the other day to check things out, met up with the science dept head and she introduced me to the other science teachers and other staff... some of the people that were there when i attended are STILL there... including the patronizing band director we shall call Tattoo, along with the relatively new guy who use to condescend so low as to be in charge of us silly clarinets during marching season my senior year... he also happens to be dating someone that -im pretty sure- graduated AFTER me... which makes him....... TOO old to be doing that

Other than all that things seem to be great, everyone is SUPER nice and i am VERY excited, my classroom has WINDOWS!! (how cool is that! :) ) and the incoming 7th grade crop is reported to be 'sharp', the instructional officer desperately wants me to teach the pre-ap class but scheduling conflicts with the training make it impossible 'oh well', she said 'next year' i find it surprising that they would allow a first year teacher to teach THE pre-ap class for 7th grade science, but... apparently... they are not happy with the woman who is now teaching it...
i also stopped by the high school to say a quick hello to Mr. Laurence, silly me... talking to Mr. Laurence is never a quick thing... i'll be working with his wife next year (she teaches 8th grade science) and he assures me i will do fine...
"just stick with Phyllis and you will be fine", he says, "and keep your mouth shut, some of these people who have been teaching for 20+ years don't like the idea of someone coming in and knowing more about the subject than they do, or someone who is willing to do more with the kids... that kind of stuff... this is your first year, sit back, listen and just say 'ill take that under advisement' you know what you're doing, and set boundaries within the first 2 weeks... that's when the kids learn how u handle late homework, tardies, that kind of thing.........."
i seriously think that in a couple of hours of sitting with Mr. Laurence during his conference period i learned more than a semester of student teaching could have ever taught me... and he also convinced me to buy a kayak :)

i'm shooting another rodeo next weekend... eagle pass doesn't have the luxury of a fall or spring... it sucks... but the money is good and sometimes i get some really great pictures out of it... that makes it all worth while...

in a couple of weeks i take off to a month long of college station fun... and field work with didi, after that another month long of vacationing with the family... Debbie has decided we should travel the east coast, and i have NOOO problem with that... the BEST part of it is that on our way back to TX we are touring the CNN center in Atlanta! i know, im a nerd, but come on... how many channels can u turn to ANY time of day and there is always something you should be watching... im addicted, its the best channel out there and i can't stop watching, CNN THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN NEWS... and it really is... at least i think so :D debbie prefers fox news.... 'it is not biased' she says... of course not... it tells both sides to every story... uh huh (by the way, have u seen the Stephen Colbert speech at the correspondents dinner! sooo harsh, yet so true, at least i think so - google it)

well, thats enough for today, i promise i'll try and keep up with this thing :p

Fact or fiction

2005-10-30T20:48:00.000-06:00

So....
Education is interesting. :)
Lately I have been substituting in a pre-k class.
I can't believe that children THIS small are allowed to attend school. It seeme the education system has changed since I was that young.
I must say the song singing is lots of fun. In the spirit of halloween we are dancing and singing to songs like 'Skin and Bones' and (my personal favorite) 5 little pumpkins.

I was very surprised to discover something about kids that age. It turns out that they believe that anything in a book is 'make believe'. I definitely don't blame them for it with all the stories they read (or are read to them). I just think its strange how at my age now... books give more credibility... especially when considering the kind of stuff I was required to read for my classes...
well...... that was my strange observation of the day :)

cheers! :)

The future

2005-08-18T14:26:00.000-05:00

People seem generally dissatisfied with the answer I give them when they ask the unavoidable question: So... what are you going to do now?... SOOO... I have come up with a brilliant plan to combat this annoying custom that usually accompanies a graduation.... I am going to start making stuff up :) Here we go....

I am writing the great America novel, haven't you heard?

I'm joining doctors without borders! sure... I don't have a medical degree and nothing that remotely resembles one, but it's a third world country, who will notice?

Didn't they tell you? I'm moving in with you!

I have decided I am going to navigate the Rio Grande in search of fresh water squid, know where I can find a used canoe?

More to come... I'm sure :p

dude whats with this huge space... i can't get rid of it

2005-08-13T18:57:00.000-05:00

So I am now back home and much has happened... ok, not much, but it's definitely not as bad as I thought it would be. I have discovered several things....

Never believe anything my mother says. She tends to embellish. I have now had the great opportunity to experience things and then hear her tell other people about whatever it was that happened. I'm only sorry Didi isn't here to help me convince her that that in fact, is NOT what happened. lol
My family is freakin' awesome. My aunt has again decided that we should see our great United States. Next summer the 'Clan in the Van' will be embarking on another two week tour, this time of the entire eastern U.S. Note to self... we will need to do a redesign on the caps... people in the south might not know what we mean by 'clan' especially if they can't spell, like me. They might mistake us for racists Mexicans instead of the dorky partially Scottish people we are.
Baby raccoons are a lot like cats
There really are live armadillos in Texas!
It does rain in Eagle Pass
White lantern lights are sooo *sigh* nice :D
Dryers do swallow socks
Pressurized air cans (for cleaning camera equipment) are awesome
The Wal-Mart photo center just might be better than the HEB one, especially when your internet connection is so slow.... you could die trying to load photos
Stephen Spielberg is not good at remaking movies
Christopher Nolan is :)
Dads do not like shopping for clothes
Feathery, flamingo shaped pens make me happy
Hiking boots are awesome in the rain
There are no fish in the Medina River
Teachers make a lot of money.... at least compared to what I'm use to
Not everyone is lucky enough to turn their passion into a career

more later.....

When I grow up..........

2005-05-11T02:09:00.000-05:00

It is my last night as a college student... and technically it was my last day. I have one final tomorrow at1 pm and after that i will officially, no longer be a college student. This saddens me to no end. Although I have been looking forward to this moment for so long, it is bitter sweet. It makes me think... was I really looking forward to it, or just waiting for the inevitable? I knew that one day it would be over. No more tests, studying, stressing over grades, and I was anxious for that. But when I started this whole thing out my freshman year I never expected this whole experience to be so wonderful. I have met so many people. Experienced so many wonderful things and have grown so much. I don't even remember who I was before I was an Aggie. I know God has so many more things in store for me but I'm finding it difficult to imagine they could be as good as or better than my experiences over the past four years. I find myself wishing it wouldn't end, but I guess it is time to move on. I'd probably feel a little better about all this if I knew I had some sort of security in store for me... but I don't... I shall float on... not knowing what will become of me until something big happens. I have this fear that one day things will be so bad... that I'm gonna wish I was back here.... back when I felt like I belonged... when I was surrounded by Aggies... by Christians I could have fellowship with... surrounded by people who understood me, and who I understood.

Field trippin' it

2005-04-24T22:40:00.001-05:00

Another 406 trip this weekend, the last one... aww the memories...
I think Nikki said it best: If they knew about all the stuff we get to do and see, everyone would be a wildlife major.
True that. :)

First we got lectured to about the Houston Toad in Bastrop... we were all a little dissapointed about not being able to see or touch one... but apparently its against the law to touch one. We all came to the general consensus that if we ever did come upon one, there is no way some stupid law was going to keep us from picking it up :)

Next we went to the browning ranch and got to see some fun stuff done with a bobcat and some unwanted trees. It was actually pretty cool. We were all very impressed. We saw a great-blue heron rookery! it was awesome!

Then we drove up to the hill country and went spotlighting. They've got exotic ungulates on this ranch we stayed at so I got to see some sable, thomson gazelle and impala! reminded me of Africa :) We got into all sorts of trouble, but in our defense, those clearings really did look like roads... :)

We spent the night in the bunk houses on the ranch... woke up and did some browse surveys... yey! surveying more vegetation. I think i can consider myself a vegetation surveying expert with these past 2 weekends...

Lopo didn't seem to be in a very good mood througout the trip. He was much more relaxed on the ferrel hog trip... I wonder what go into him... he gave everyone this lecture about leaving a mess of beer out... I am very glad that I did not drink... I had nothing to do with that. He said something like 'those that made the mess, you should be ashamed of yourself' everyone pretty much got a kick out of that... can you say hipocritical? he's the one that BOUGHT the beer last time... sometimes I just don't get people...

Karla had her C.S. bridal shower today... i only got to stay for 3 minutes, literally... :( 4 tests, 1 paper, and 2 six page essays... yuck!

nighty night :)

Where are all the lady bugs?

2005-04-17T22:11:00.000-05:00

I'm totally haveing one of those 'What more can I do' Under the Tuscan Sun moments... except this isn't a moment, its pretty much been a whole weekend

I didn't get the internship. Ever have one of those days where you feel like you whole world has fallen a part? That was Friday... Everything is pretty much going horribly. I'm only seeing one set of footprints in the sand, and I'm pretty dang sure they are mine and no one elses.

I went on an overnight field trip with my 406 class... we surveyed ferrel hog damage, that was tons of fun. They bought us this really potent beer, steel reserve. Ever heard of a more corny name? it had 8.1% alcohol, double that of a regular beer... didn't taste so great... not my favorite beer, but it did the job. Everyone was very celebratory. Even me. I was really thinking about skipping it but now I'm glad I went. Lots of laughs. It was a lot of fun. I got to spend time in the wilderness. I got free beer. lol.

out of africa

2005-04-10T22:10:00.000-05:00

i've noticed something...
people have countries... countries that have changed them... Eric has Austria, Michelle has Russia, Leslie has Australia, Didi has New Zealand, my Aunt Debbie has Canada, Cindy has all of Asia and I have Africa.
the truth about it is that through all this, the country has become a part of them and they have become a part of it. its a sort of magical thing that only some people get to experience. it is truly amazing...
i miss Africa.... every time i look up at the sky i remember the skies of Africa. Isak Dinesen said something about the night sky... she said it was different in Africa... and it was... you could see farther into it... so many more stars and the band of the milky way stretching across the sky... i look at the sky now and wonder how long it will be before i look at it again from Africa... its strange, everything was so different there... the stars, the sunset, the ground, the people, the music, the dancing and the wildlife... so surreal and amazing

I feel the earth move under my feet

2005-04-08T21:40:00.000-05:00

i seem to be in a sort of pensive mood tonight, so i decided i would write in my blog.
i can totally get use to this whole 'no test' thing :)

i went on a field trip with my habitat mgmt class today... i am very exhausted. it turns out wetlands clean water, whoda thunk it? :) it was fun... from the flinging of banana peels to the slamming on the breaks by our driver (who thought it was hilarious). i must say, it is much more entertaining riding in an all student van than the prof van :) no matter how funny lopo (dr. lopez) thinks he is.

today i have realized a certain misconception. things are not always what they seem, no matter how much u think something is true in the first place, and no matter how strongly you feel about it, it can still surprise you down the road. today i got to talk to someone i had previously never met and who i had thought very badly of, to say the least... i must say, this is probably the first time being so wrong has been so refreshing. you must not jump to conclusions about anything just because of some little hints, you can be totally wrong, as i was- that is my little bit of wisdom for today... it can be a little hard to digest... but there it is nonetheless :)

on a more sort of ranting note....
what is up with people this day and age? is there like some disease going around compelling intelligent individuals to become connected at the hip to their significant others? i really just don't get it. when did my friends cross that invisible line between 'sure i can go' to 'oh, i have to see if (insert boy/girl-friend) can, if he/she can, then sure' and im left there thinking - what-? i asked you... i wanted to hang out with u, when did they come into the picture and completely consume your life? am i just being selfish? or anti marriage? i guess im a little bit of both... but can you blame me? i think it a waste to spend your life looking for that 'certain someone' or becoming surgically attached to that 'certain someone'... there is so much more to do

this just in! an earthquake in my home town!!!
http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/neic_wkbb.html

and with that, i am dragging myself off to bed. goodnight :)

Nobody drink the beer! The beer has gone bad!!!

2005-04-03T14:10:00.000-05:00

can't hardly wait is an awesome movie. :)

so, we went to the third floor cantina yesterday to see jeremy's band play. they were awesome! we had a ton of fun. michelle was there and so was shelby! miraculously - they played a song that i know! greenday, boulevard of broken dreams, i was a little dissapointed that the guy didn't know the words so well though... but they are a rockish-country sort of band anyway... all in all they were really great! :)

time change today, ok, what moron thought this 'brilliant' idea up? ok, so maybe it made sense in the beginning, when everyone farmed, but now? i don't think so. it only confuses things... like star charts and people who want to sleep in... like me... i am so with arizona, no daylight savings time! yey! go arizona!

Here there be dragons

2005-04-01T16:19:00.000-06:00

so....

national geographic thinks i have potential but they feel i can further develop my skills
my interview this morning about this washington d.c. internship didn't go so hot
newspapers aren't exactly lining up to hire me
and my mom asked me if it was too late for me to apply for grad school

im deffinetly in that region where the map makers would write 'here there be dragons'

too many dragons

is there anyone out there in the world who actually enjoys interviews, or at least doesn't mind going to them. never have i been in such a judgmental situation. it was ickyness all over. it makes me wanna do that whole eternal sunshine of the spotless mind thing so i can just forget about it all... im not sure how that would turn out though, since i haven't seen the movie yet.... its good to know ive kept my sense of humor through all this, isn't it? :)

this past week has been one of reunions... i've run into a lot of people from my past who i haven't seen in a while, all of which have been people i am very glad to see, which is very unusual because mexicans don't usually like running into people they know, trust me, ask george lopez.

my camera is finally here! after months of patiently waiting, it has finally arrived. never have i bought something so expensive, never have i had so little in my bank account and never have i ever been so sure as this about spending all my money. :)

my tear away 'lifes little instruction calendar' this wednesday said 'never forget that the right decisions make all the difference'.... well duh, sometimes i wonder why i bought this thing.... but i guess it does make a good point, it just doesn't make me feel any better about my future :)

honk if you heart robins

2005-01-31T18:04:00.000-06:00

it seems that the american robins have invaded college station... at work today they were covering the playground. i've never seen so many.... but i was very proud of myself when i was able to identify them... robins are not native to my home town so they were a surprise to me when i first got here....

its super cold today, and i seriously doubt that my astronomy class will last very long.... considering the overcast... the cold is bad enough, but the muggyness is horrible... these clouds are just waiting to rain down on us....

on the way to my class at blinn a truck passed me... somone had written on it "I'm 40 today, honk if you 'heart' geezers" i thought it was super funny

isn't it amazing that i have nothing profound to say?

whatever tomorrow brings

2005-01-30T21:25:00.000-06:00

this semester is super awesome so far, of course not much homework has been handed out, if you know what i mean... my tests don't start for a week or so.... i think that has something to do with it :)
taking atmo, habitat mgmt, physics, astronomy, physiology... sounds like tons of fun, huh?

it turns out im an awesome photog, ha whoda thunk it?:p.... im a finalist for this huge collegiate contest :) out of 30,000 photos turned in by photography students all over the U.S. and Canada, one of mine was in the top 5%... a girl could live on this for a while ;)

only10 more weeks and i can afford my own-very fancy-digital camera... im really excited!!!

i've applied to like a million internships, now all there is to do is wait... and see... i hope i get something :) either way, im excited about plan B.... anything that involves a donkey and the grand canyon - count me in! :)

A Zoo

2004-10-11T14:07:00.000-05:00

My mammalogy class went to the Houston Zoo this weekend... I felt like a 2nd grader... It was all kind of sad seeing all these animals trapped in concret cages when I just saw a bunch of happy wild ones this summer :( Any-who, we all walked around the zoo following Dr. Honeycutt for as long as we could stand the slow pace, then we took off on our own and answered the questions on our handout... The prairie dogs were especially cute. I took some pictures for the batt... but im not sure if any will make it in... i doubt it... they kinda sucked...

I have a test on Wednesday in mammalogy... its gonna be bad...
I don't understand how I can study SO much for it, and yet get a bad grade... seems so unfair...

Didi, Bryan, Amelia and I all went to Planned Parenthood on Friday to pray... We met this guy named Charles who was there for one of his daily shifts during the 40 days for life campaign... He said he had been praying for someone to come by... and then we did... isn't that amazing... i thought it was really cool... although im sure by the time we got to talking he was praying these seriously annoying people would leave :p

We talked about this one photographer in my photo class who just lived on sugar water... It made me realize that I really don't need much... I would totally be willing to do that if I just got to take pictures of people... things... even if they aren't all over the world... its amazing how interesting home can be...

politically star struck

2004-09-25T22:08:00.000-05:00

So, I have finished my photography project a week in advance... thank goodness for not being able to get enough of darkrooms, otherwise i probably would have put it off for a lot longer... there is something special about a dark room, its nerve wrecking, yet exciting. The pictures aren't exactly pulitzer prize winners, but they will do i guess.
I talked to my photo prof about what i should do once i graduate. she sugested i join the workforce and start begging for an internship somewhere, anywhere... she thinks i can do it, but my mom is deffinelty not on that same wave length. she thinks i should go to graduate school. she says "a graduate degree in wildlife will help too" can you believe that? its like she chooses not to listen... and im kinda like... well, no matter how much u wanna THINK im doing that... im not going to... it frustrates me sometimes,
anywho, so i don't know about this advice my prof gave me, so i found this geographic photog who is from somewhere near laredo, and get this... she's an Aggie! so i emailed her and desperatly asked for guidance. i sure hope that she responds, it would suck if she didn't

Rachel has got herself a new beau, and i deffinetly like this one. clayton is way cool. eat ur heart out chris, haha, she was way toooo good for him :)

I finally got around to shooting something for the batt, hopefully i can get something in this week again.

We took our first mammalogy test this monday. I actually made it out alive, now all thats left is to see if i made it out with a passing grade. This class is a trip! i don't like it :(... if it wasn't for all the info, it'd be cool, but then i guess it would be kinda pointless, grrr

i don't think i'm going to be able to make it to church tomorrow... I had this all day long conference with the battalion today. It was called News Makers/News Breakers... all sorts of important people were there. Even congressional representatives. I got to meet Chet Edwards! :) (he's a news maker, and im a news breaker... sorta...ok...not at all...leave me alone :)

there are so many spelling errors in this thing, its not even funny....

Anticipation

2004-09-14T22:37:00.000-05:00

People never cease to amaze me, whether it be in a good way or a bad way... they always surprise me... i should spend more time anticipating these kind of things... it would definitely cut down on the initial shock occuring after someone does something...

Jazmin has returned her dog that was too much trouble, I have to say, i actually did anticipate this... i just had a funny feeling about this dog, i knew it probably wasn't going to stay around long... poor Sam... i hope she finds a good home

My mammalogy class seems to be turning out a lot more difficult that i had anticipated... i guess there was the one part of me that was trying to kid myself into thinking it wouldn't be bad at all... but then reality kept saying "this one is gonna be a doozy" and so our test is on monday=no fun weekend for ale... :(

On the bright side... there is no way that this class can kill me..... right?

Darkrooms

2004-09-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

i've been stressing about several things going on in my life lately.... and i think i have come to a realization... set backs only make you want to try harder next time. and they really do, its not just some cliche that i am going along with. the problem is... how do u know u will try hard enough the next time? or if ur best try will be good enough. i mean... in my line of work (so to speak) trying hard ALL the time doesn't necessarily give you the results you want or need... it is all very sad. the solution is to just try your best and move on with life... not everything will always work out perfectly, but what can you do about that? there is no use in worrying..... i sure hope i can stop :)

school continues with its usual ho-hum-ness... except for my photography class. we have started printing now, which is always the best part, along with the most expensive... i think i should buy more print paper :)

scooby doo! where are you???

2004-09-08T18:39:00.000-05:00

much has happened in the past few months since i last wrote in this stupid distraction called a blogspot... i figured that i should start writing in it again because, like most everyone i know, i need a distraction from school :).... so... what has happened since i last wrote?

ALOT....

Africa has got to be the coolest place on the planet... its people... environment... everything... its all so unbelievable... there's too much to write here... I can't wait till i go back.
I also just finished reading Out of Africa... a book i had decided to read BEFORE i went to Africa, that didn't work out so well. It is a really great book... totally unlike the movie... i recomend it to everyone... even those who don't totally understand Africa....

tootles :)

8 days to go...

2004-06-30T07:48:00.000-05:00

lately much has been going on...
i've been trying to anticipate everything i might need for the up coming trip... i only hope i can think of everything
i havn't yet decided if i will be taking music with me... it is a lot to carry, and i don't think i will make much use of it, im kinda leaning towards not, since i don't even think my cd player works... i might have to enlighten myself with books :)
A lot to do today... meeting with jessica to see the terminal... picking up the camera for this weekend, i think im shooting a fireworks show... meeting my english group late so we can get SOMETHING done and then rest... maybe... in between all that i have to go pick up a book at dr. schlitters office and go to wal-mart... or maybe not, since i don't really know what it is that didi needs from wal-mart... and if i go it'll just be a waste of gas...
lily and i got very excited yesterday thinking of our upcoming adventure... Dr. Teague seems to be pretty cool, not as easy going as dr. shlitter, he seems to expect a lot more from us, academically, but i think we'll live... i mean, if i can make it to S. Africa on a plane with out supervision... i think i can make it through anything. :)

my pitcher runneth over

2004-06-28T07:40:00.000-05:00

i hung out with tracy on saturday, (harry potter is fun! :) ) then went to a party at kat and selena's, u know... i don't get those guys that carry pitchers with them throughtout the whole party... whats the point of having such a big container? its not like they ever fill it all up... they just carry it around, with the same amount of beer that would fit in a regular cup... doesn't make any sense at all. even if they did fill it all up, and they managed to chug it, by the time they got to the bottom, it'd be all flat. cheap beer is bad enough, but cheap flat beer is the worst :P

"I don't want my picture in The Battalion"

2004-06-23T22:42:00.000-05:00

so.... today started off pretty uneventfully... i started taking the typhoid vaccination pills,... every other day now for 8 days... class was all the same, except for a super hard music test, im hoping im not the only one that thought that
today was staff appreciation day at the battalion...
i took some pictures of Gina's fish camp group painting banners. this other group had this guy who didn't want his picture taken, he was like "I don't want my picture in The Battalion" I was like "seriously?" and he was like "yeah" thats deffinetly a first. I still have to think of other stuff to put in, maybe one will make it :) If you hear of anything going on, let me know! :)

Soooo sleepy....

2004-06-22T07:37:00.000-05:00

so... the parental units came into town to celebrate fathers day... ironically, it was me and didi that got all the gifts, and not my dad... sucks to be him, but we're broke! went and shot this survivor audition thingy, was pretty interestin. boy are there some really weird people in this town. one chick ate worms, another guy played the turkey baster. i go get my typhoid injection today... hopefully all will go well... im soooooo sleepy... i need my 8 hrs of sleep... i don't think im going to make it through class... not a chance...

A new beginning

2004-06-16T07:41:00.000-05:00

Yeah... so, I've decided to reinstate my blogger career... yey! it will be fun to comment on lifes many adventures again, and hopefully make didi laugh... again... although, i seriously doubt she was actually laughing in the first place...
stay tuned for more updates on ale's wonderful and full life, hehe :)

2004-01-31T22:55:00.000-06:00

The post oak mall shoot went wonderfully :) it was tons of fun, the little kids looked awesome. I am currently searching for a good grad school... if anyone knows if theres like an advisor we can go talk to about choosing a gradschool, let me know :)

2004-01-30T21:46:00.000-06:00

I am currently studying ornithology... i never knew birds had so many feathers and bones, and now i have to learn them all by name... those of you that think wildlife is easy... IT'S NOT....
I joined the TAMU photographers club... i don't know if i've mentioned this yet... It seems pretty cool so far. Tomorrow we are going to Post Oak Mall to volunteer at this fair. The little kids dress up as what they want to be when they grow up (costumes provided) and we take their picture :) should be tons of fun... little kids can be fun :)

Speaking of kids... went to work today... i deffinetly like fridays... I filled the snow clouds the kinder kids painted with stirofoam packing material (aka - snow) so that they could be puffy. Mrs. Felderhoff is going to hang them in the room. :)

I think we are going to be signing the lease for the apartment tomorrow... too soon? nah... :)

My uncle wants to come over to college station, along with the rest of my family, for our birthday... that should be a ton of fun... ha.... ha.... at least it will be interesting. maybe cindy will wanna come too. :)

Self defense was fun this morning, we learned how to punch and kick..... haaa! yaah!...hehe :) this class should be fun :)

2004-01-28T22:12:00.000-06:00

We found another wonderful apartment... its really homey looking... i like it... all we have to do is sign the lease... im really excited... i wish we had a ton of money to decorate, hehe

2004-01-25T12:30:00.000-06:00

On friday kinder was painting... sometimes my job can be very exhausting... if you havn't been in charge of about 20 kinder kids that are painting (all by yourself, i might add), you have not lived :)
Didi, Jazmin and i have started appartment hunting... i think we've found one! now all we have to worry about is jazmin being able to convince her dad! :)
im so excited! :)

2004-01-21T09:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first day of school... it was deffinetly a long day, as all tuesdays and thursdays are sure to be... I have yet to attend my ornithology class... i go to that this morning... i am deffinetly NOT looking forward to it... although, birdies are funner than fishies :)
Amanda Jones is leaving mother rudder!... she is moving on to bigger and better things (ie. the RA job at Legget) we will miss you Amanda! :(
Dick Gephardt has dropped out of the presidential race! i wanted to cry!!! i really wanted him to be our next president... He sent an email and everything explaining why... something about his political career comming to an end and how he loves representing Missouri in congress.
Anywhooo... i'm gonna have to see who i like better out of the other democratic candidates, or find out who Gephardt is backing....
Tootles!
P.S. For those of you that were complaining that my comments weren't working, its working now...
and for those of you that check out my blog and don't comment... I know who you are! and you are not getting away with this!!! hehe.... no, seriously... comment :)

2004-01-19T19:41:00.000-06:00

Sooooo.... it appears that my uncle has now decided to get a divorce... gee... i wonder if he actually will this time.... it also seems that some peoples morals have made a turn for the worst... how does that song go....

Don't argue amongst yourselves
because of the loss of me
I haven't gone anywhere
except out of my body.....

2004-01-12T23:57:00.000-06:00

The past few weeks have been... eventful :). At least some what.
Begining with Christmas... my parents bought me this wonderful digital camera. now there's nothing thats holding me back! hehe, I'm on my way to getting that Pulitzer! Cross your fingers! :) It's so cool being able to edit pictures so easily, Andrew was right :)
My uncle decided to divorce his horrid wife... but now he has changed his mind. it makes me sad for Tesla's sake (my uncle's daughter from his first marriage). His current wife doesn't like her much, to say the least, for some reason...
New Years was spent at home with my family, as usual. Its so much fun when all 7 of us are together (well, actually, for this once, it was 8, because of my uncle who was, at the time, getting divorced)
I found the coolest twin lens reflex camera at this huge flea market in San Antonio, it is sooo cool. Another (3rd) wonderful antique camera added to my growing colletion (thanks to Bobby, Debbie and Cindy for making it official by buying my second one :) ) You must have a look through it with my focusing cloth. It is unbelievable :)
We finally got together with Emily and we were finally able to give her the wedding gift. Ahe gave me the cutest giraffe house slippers. I'm trying my best to the get them too dirty :)
I finally cleaned out my closet here at home! :) this wasn't the half-ass job i usually pull off either, I actually got rid of all the junk! yea! It looks really amazing in there, its all clean... its a miracle!
I tried commenting on Bryan's blog spot, but it didn't work, (i don't like macs) so i guess i'll attatch my intended comment on to this blog (for proof, that i tried, of course! hehe) He probably won't check mine any time soon, keeping up with blogs is hard during breaks, i should know, but here it is anyway:

Hello! How have you been?
anywhooo... getting back to the purpose of this shout out thingy..
a few thoughts on your thoughts... (cuz thats what shout outs are for, right? :))
Stigmata is deffinetly a good movie... made me think about the church too... havn't really come to any conclusions - yet :)
I think everyone wonders about their place in this great big world... i know i do :) Affecting the world in a philanthropical kind of way is a good idea! :)... I think im more in the category of getting people, wildlife or scenery noticed... through photography - of course, hehe:) I want people to be able to look at my picures and say "Wow... i want to see/help these people/places/animals!" does that make sense? :)
Anywhooo, i better write a little something on my blog... see you when school starts! :)

And there it is, See everyone when school starts!
Vote Dick Gephardt! :)
Tootles!

2003-12-17T12:11:00.000-06:00

isn't it sad how some people are just sad people? thats gotta be the worst way to live... i mean, why would u be sad when you can be so happy? and it all depends on you... on how happy you want to be. only you can make urself an unhappy person, no one else...
its like those people that hate a lot of other people, whats up with that? :)

2003-12-16T18:37:00.000-06:00

It's getting dark out a lot earlier than it usually does... or am i just imagining that?
i really like coffe station... the choo choo chino is to die for :) yum!
i went to pick up my prize money for the photo contest... the guy kinda looked at me funny... jazmine says maybe he admired my work... it was this weird kind of smile... i sent them a thank you note saying something like "thanks for giving me the oportunity to participate in my first contest".... didi thought i was extremly rude for not wishing him a good day as we left... so i sent the note...:)
on to other things....
some insightfulness!!!:
don't u hate when people don't go through with things they say they will?
like the study abroad office... they said they would have the applications up by a certain day... but that day came and passed..., and thats just one example... i guess it really is one of my pet peeves... this whole breaking promises thing...
i guess its because its king of a let down thing... someone letting someone else down is not fun...
tootles

2003-12-15T20:02:00.000-06:00

i think im going to start carrying my camera around more often... now that i know im not a phony :)
i have noticed that my entries have become less and less insightfull as the year has progressed... whats up with that? has my insightful well run dry?
i am done with finals... yey... now i have the next two empty days to look forward to... no fair, why couldn't didi be done earlier... we're giving jazmin a ride again... i think, and we are probably going to stop in uvalde on our way back home to see diego, my aunts new donkey, who im told is adorable. :)
i really want a digital camera for christmas... and pirates of the carribean... and a hammock :) thats pretty much it... ill be cool after that :) ........... someone at my stage of photographic experience should be taking a lot of pictures.... right? :)

2003-12-12T20:42:00.000-06:00

Today is the best day in the history of the world!
not only did i get an A in organic... but I WON THE PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST! thats right! i got 2nd place for black and white and 1st for color!
Check em out here
im sooooo happy! im actually doing something with my life! I'm bursting with happiness!
tootles!

2003-12-10T21:18:00.000-06:00

soooo, what is new? :)....
yesterday i took my o-chem lab final... what fun... not.....i know i have to take chemistry because its required... but why do i still HAVE to take it? am i making any sense? maybe it's because they want us to have a better understanding of the world around us...
after our test, me and bryan chilled in the blocker lab, then i joined him at his chem 101 si for molar support (he he, get it? :)) after that we went to eat at micky d's...
today i went to a mini study session at a friends house... got stuff done! wow! :)
today is the judging of my photographs... no phone call yet... i think its a sign....

2003-12-08T22:51:00.000-06:00

people who are stressed, depressed or angry are 3 times more likely to get sick than people who aren't! isn't that amazing!!!
im trying to avoid studying... isn't it obvious? i highly dislike finals... getting exempt in highschool was sooo way cooler than this... but if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off, right? ;)

2003-12-08T13:02:00.000-06:00

im trying to figure out which is better... or worse... knowing what u want to do, but being afraid of failing at it... or not having a clue at all.... who was it that said they would rather be bad at something they loved, than good at something they hate... some famous actor, i think
i have my first final tomorrow... organic chem lab... according to some reliable sources (our t.a.s) its not a question of how good u can do, its a question of how badly you can fail. they make the test impossible... or should i say impassable... nothings impossible ;) (alice in wonderland)
im gonna be has got to be the ultimate love song ever... soooo... just to be stupid, im including the lyrics right here in my blog for today! hehe

I'm Gonna Be (500 miles)

When I wake up yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you
When I go out yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who goes along with you

If I get drunk yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I haver yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's havering to you

But I would walk 500 miles
And I would walk 500 more
Just to be the man who walked 1,000 miles
To fall down at your door

When I'm working yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's working hard for you
And when the money comes in for the work I'll do
I'll pass almost every penny on to you

When I come home yeah I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who comes back home to you
And if I grow old well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who's growing old with you

When I'm lonely yes I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man whose lonely without you
When I'm dreaming yes I know I'm gonna dream
Dream about the time when I'm with you....

2003-12-06T22:05:00.000-06:00

we attended a dinner party tonight at tim's appartment...
lorri gave me the best christmas present yet! BENNY AND JOON!!!! i love that movie :)

2003-12-05T23:20:00.000-06:00

I'm Phoebe Buffay from Friends!

Take the Friends Quiz here.

created by stomps.

2003-12-05T20:11:00.000-06:00

much has happened today.... it was a good day...:)
work was as wonderful as it always is... i can't believe im so lucky... i get to work at a wonderful job and get lots of money for it :)
Mrs. Felderhoff's class got a letter from a fourth grade class saything that had spotted the elusive gingerbread man at the libary!!! he was in one of the books... Mrs. Felderhoff assured the little kids that she would go check as soon as she could... of course it wasn't soon enough for the kids... then she remembered that no one had checked the supply closet! she picked a student to go check and everyone stood up from the excitement, they all ran to the closet... and there was a note from the gingerbread man himself!!! it was all scribbly (due to the fact that he lacks fingers, im sure) saying something to the effect of "ha ha! you can't catch me! i'm the gingerbread man! eat my snack if you can can can!!!" and low and behold!!! a box full of cookies was beside the note :) a little girl who could hardly catch her breath turned to me and said "OH OH OH! he must have come in when we were out side!!!" i felt like i was a kid again... it was wonderful :)
after work we dropped my negatives off at Specialties Photography for the contest! i was very nervous... ill know the results by wednesday, so if i don't mention something to u first... don't ask, hehe
we then went to eat at lubys with jazmine then to old navy to exchange stuff... hastings for gifts then we watched Benny and Joon, i love that movie!!! it is sooo going on my imaginary christmas list :) johnny depp rocks! :)
santa's wonderland is planned for later tonight... :)

Sam: How sick is she?
Benny: Oh, she's plenty sick.
Sam: Oh. Because you know, it seems to me that, aside from being a little mentally ill, she's pretty normal.
Benny and Joon

2003-12-02T22:17:00.000-06:00

listening in on strangers conversations can be so cool sometimes.... it gives you an insite into other peoples lives...... this guy i sit next to in my wilderness class is really into Disney... he did an internship there for like 7 months... he knows sooo much about the company and the rides.... i guess u just tend to learn a lot about something ur around for a very long time...
incubus is releasing a new cd in february... hope it lives up to my expectations... however hight they may be...
i have finally finished my ecology report... i think
lori has already started planning the rest of her future with tim... when she said "oh! tim's taking that class too!" i couldn't help say "oh.. uhhh" i guess the voice doesn't come through so well on this thing... just imagine it as a dissapointed/that sucks, kind of way... not to be mean or anything, of course. i just don't like him... maybe it was that time he asked if i was a fake mexican or "do u really know spanish?" or when he kept testing me to see if i knew what certain words meant... i passed every time, so HA!... anywhooo...
on a totally different subject.........
ever notice how people who know they are really smart act kind of jerkish... is it that smart people are jerks, or are jerks just smart?... another wonder of the world.... it kinda makes me glad im not smart

2003-12-01T23:43:00.000-06:00

didi isn't going to new zealand anymore... we can't afford it... opportunities being lost sucks....
talk about clipping wings....

i still havn't settled on any names for my photographs... am i kidding myself? life can be so confoozing...
why is it that when ansel adams uses a polarizing filter he gets the most beautiful work in the world..... and i get a darker looking chester (chester is my aunts dog)

i have a million and one things to do this week... almost to many to even finish... i have a test on wed and a huge... i mean HUGE project due before friday... not to mention the naming and turning of the pictures before saturday...

some day ill be so damn much more..... (bigger than my body - john mayer)

Thank you bryan, for the comment! you rock!!! :)

2003-11-29T22:51:00.000-06:00

Christmas time is finally here... arguably the best time of year... i think all the decorations are what does it for me :)
Thanksgiving was awesome... except for the ensuing mysterious stomach problems my whole family was subjected to... hehe
We gave jazmine a ride then proceded onto the homestead. the rest of tuesday was spent in piedras eating food from the best restaurant mexico has to offer. :) wednesday was full of preperation for the big day and thursday we ate some more :) Friday we went to uvalde for some antique shopping... i got some pretty good black and white pictures of the ranch :)
we finally got to meet sunshine, our new kitten that our other cat thomas brought over from somewhere. she is very cute! my mom has bought debbie a donkey... have i mentioned this before? ... now all we have to do is figure out a way to get it from caldwell to uvalde... it sure is going to be an interesting christmas :)

2003-11-22T22:23:00.000-06:00

its amazing how long ive had this blog... its been over a year... its weird looking back at all the stuff that was going on in my life... kinda like its weird thinking about what the future holds... wouldn't it be cool if we knew what the future had in store for us...
i wonder if i have a hard life ahead of me.... photographers usually do... but what a great gift it would be to capture all these images.... if i knew that i was going to fail... if i knew i wouldn't make it... would i still go through with it?... i think so.... i can't think of anything i would rather do than be a photographer... so i might as well try, :)
i bought only you a couple of weeks ago... that has go to be one of the best romantic comedies ever... makes me wonder if there is someone out there for everyone.... someone you are meant to be with....
but i guess the world really was made round so that we wouldn't be able to see too far down the road :)

2003-11-22T01:04:00.000-06:00

we went to see pirates of the carribean again... we can't seem to get enough of this swash buckaling movie! jazmine loved it too, so it was aaall good :)
went to work today... im so lucky to be able to have such a great, fun job that pays so well :)
me and christine were finally able to finish our frsc 461 project... i swear... thats like the toughest project i've ever done... now all we have to do is present it on tuesday... i have an organic test on monday that i need to start studying for, yuck! i think me and bryan are gonna get together tomorrow and start working on that... after me and didi get the car serviced and stuff... that all means i have to get up early tomorrow.... which sucks...
im gonna catch some winks now :)
tootles

2003-11-20T23:05:00.000-06:00

Christmas is comming! i m so glad! i really like christmas... i think its cuz its so cold on the outside and yet so warm on the inside... like most things are :)
my parents have found a donkey for my aunt... merry christmas, heres a donkey! hehe
don't have much to say today...
comment! hehe

2003-11-19T22:42:00.000-06:00

i fixed it! i fixed it... and now you can comment! yey! anywhooo...
i think we are going to be taking off on tuesday of next week for thanksgiving
i taked to the study abroad people today... everything is cool... im gonna need to go to a bunch of seminars in the spring :)
i registered this morning and i got all the classes i wanted... im going to be taking self defense *haaa yah!!* :)
me and jazmin saw the meteor shower last night, although we didn't stay out to long, it was cold! we saw three shooting stars, and we made wishes...

may all your wishes come true too! :)

2003-11-19T22:07:00.000-06:00

i think i broke my blog

2003-11-19T21:48:00.000-06:00

trying to get the comment thing to work....

2003-11-19T14:02:00.000-06:00

for some reason i can't get the stupid comment thingy to work... i guess u can just try it out... let me know if it works... sometimes it does, sometimes it doesnt. usually takes a little while to load too... hum...

2003-11-18T10:49:00.000-06:00

i recieved the who's who in my photography class in highschool... there were probably 6 periods... about 20 people in each one... and out of all those people i got the award... and that does mean something... no matter what didi says... no matter how much she keeps saying that wasn't a real class.... or how much she mentions her who's who in environmental science right after i say it... its like those people who try to convince you their life is so much harder, that much worse has happened to them... or how much luckier they are... i don't like those people...
one day i will be famous... i'll be a pro... and i'll be able to turn around and say, "where did that who's who get YOU?"( in a totally nice, loving, sisterly way of course... :)) because dreams do come true... im going to go to south africa... despite mr. rodriguez's laughter when i told him that in 6th grade....
i actually get to go.... isn't that amazing? :)
im still trying to name my photos for the competition... its so hard naming your own work. i suppose its because the pictures mean so much to you... that you can't really put it into words....

2003-11-16T20:46:00.000-06:00

^look at what i just added! comments!!!!!!! please feel free to comment :)

2003-11-15T15:51:00.000-06:00

cracker jacks used to have such cool prizes... tiny plastic airplanes.... de-coder rings... and now they have stickers or foldy paper things, like i got today... what's wrong with the cracker jack company? have prices really inflated that much? i feel really sad about kids today not being able to experience the cool cracker jack prizes... and it makes me think... what's going to be in the boxes in the future? can it get any worse than pieces of paper?
last night we celebrated selena's b-day at her house... it was cool, the quote of the night was: (drum roll...)
"something tells me i'm not going to remember this"
- willie (as he took another drink from his pitcher)
i think we are going to tracy's later for game night and some good clean fun.... unlike last night, hehe

2003-11-12T20:54:00.000-06:00

natasha is a bitch, sorry for the language, but its ok to use it if it's the absolute truth, right? :)... anywhoo, she slipped these letters under our door saying we had a fire code violation and our choices are to accept responsibility and get a letter of repremand, accept responsibility and go to a formal hearing or accept responsibility. This is a bunch of shit, and im majorly pissed. (language again, but its the truth) whatever happened to fixing the placement of your microwave and everyone living happily ever after? I never though I would say this but i wish casandra was still our GHD (graduate hall director). at least she gave a grace period. I did not dream of comming to this university so i could get written up over a stupid microwave not being directly plugged into the wall. I've wanted to be an aggie all my life and ill burn in hell before i get written up at this university. watch your back natasha! lol just kidding, but we are gonna fight this!
anywhoooo.... me and bryan are trying to come up with names for my photographs that im entering in that contest.... if you have any ideas or wanna help out, let me know!
tootles

2003-11-11T15:22:00.000-06:00

i was wondering why the letters on a keyboard/typewriter are arranged in such a random way, so didi looked it up online... turn out that the reason they are like that is because it is inefficient... yup, inefficient.... apparently they didn't want people typing to fast... the little spokes wouldn't be able to keep up with super fast typists (picture typewriters back in the day) i was very shocked by this... it would have never occured to me... and if you still can't believe it, go to the website :)
http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20001130.html
i picked up some cake and ice cream (a la mode) at the commons for lunch but by the time i brought my outbound home, it started melting.... so i decided to put it in the freezer for a few minutes , and just realized (4 hours later) that it is still in there... my cake is frozen solid... would it be bad if i microwaved it? lol
happy veterans day!
tootles

2003-11-10T23:54:00.000-06:00

I joined didi and tracy at their bible study today. we spoke of conviction and stuff... i don't understand how people think that movies and music and Friends are the devils spawn.... just don't get it... if God really didn't want that stuff around, it wouldn't be around... and don't give me this "it's the devil's work" thing because the devil in NOT more powerful than God... the devil is just an angel, and God is GOD.... i think im going to buy one of those rainbow bibles... i want one :)
After bible study we rode with andrew to Afterdark, a christian conversion attempt that didn't really sway me all that much... i am going to try and be a better person though... i wrote my secret sin on the note card so that they could nail it to the cross so that Jesus could forgive me... and i picked up a chain link that is suppose to symbolize my heart being 100% linked to God... It's not 100% linked... but i keep the link to remind me that one day it might... i don't want to be angry at God anymore, and i've tried to get over it, but i can't... i want my grandma back.... this thanksgiving and christmas is going to be unbearable
the speaker kept talking about God being your dad... someone that will always suport you and carry you over the finish line... i wish i had someone that supported me that much... im always hearing stuff like "ale, you need to get a 'real' degree first so you'll have something to fall back on" and i guess thats the smart thing to do... but what about having faith that everything will turn out good?... and do i really want to be carried over the finish line? or do i want to bust throught the ribbon all on my own?... is that even possible? doing it on your own, without God... since you're not really on speaking terms anyway?... i don't know...
i have an 8 o'clock on west campus tomorrow... nighty night

shopping... :)

2003-11-08T23:56:00.000-06:00

i got to meet some people in didi and tracy's famous bible study... this guy named andrew actually knows stuff about photography... i hadn't talked about it with someone who knows stuff in like forever... i can't even remember the last time...
didi, jazmin, rosemary and me went shopping for like 5 or 6 hours yesterday, i can't believe we shopped for that long! we went to hobby lobby, the mall, heb and hastings... we even went to eat at olive garden and it was delicious! I got to look at some wedding books at hastings for engagement picture ideas and all that kind of stuff... i don't think i would ever be able to do actual wedding pictures... the church lighting would frustrate me. :) after all that we watched a walk to remember *tear* hehe...
i don't have any tests this comming week, except a paper due on monday... which ive already kinda finished... i don't think i can add anymore to it... anywhooo... its gonna be a relaxing week :) yey!
tootles!

2003-11-05T23:15:00.000-06:00

We went to the pet store yesterday and me and jazmin saw a turtle eat a little grey fish! it was scary! very wild kindgom-ish...

2003-11-03T23:09:00.000-06:00

These orange frozen popsicles remind me of being a kid... they taste just like the outside of those ice cream filled ones i use to eat, except these don't have ice cream in them... maybe we should buy those next time...
didi and tracy think i should go to bible study with them next monday... i just might...
I have a test on wednesday in my animal ecology lab. i've been studying, but it sure is a lot to remember....
the biggest portion of my o-chem project on citric acid is due next monday. Its worth 60 points... he wants us to have "serious discussions with serious schemes" im sorry, but you just cant creat schemes for stuff in chemistry for everything.... it'll be nothing but repetition. there are only so many ways a molecule can react! duh! :)
I don't think we're gonna end up going home this weekend... i think surviving 2 weeks withought a real weekend break could possible kill me :)
tootles...

2003-10-31T23:38:00.000-06:00

Halloween is deffiently one of my favorite holidays... its the only time of year i can dress up like an idiot and not feel weird about it :) We went to eat at applebee's, my FAVORITE! :) then we (me, didi, and jazmin) went to the carnival/festival thingy at central baptist. I got a yellow flower balloon to match my costume! :) Tracy, jessica, neil and lacey were there along with some of didi's bible study friends... they want me to go to church with them on sunday... i just said i didn't believe in churches... i dunno... maybe i'll go... if i finish studying and writing that paper... but now that i think about it, i don't think i'll have time to go.
I got a 52 on my organic test. yey!... well, ok, so its not that great, but the average was like a 45 and i talked to Dr. Simanek, and he said i have a good chance at getting a B... so if i do really awesome on this next one and the final, maybe i can push it to an A...

Happy Birthday Grandma...

2003-10-30T22:10:00.000-06:00

The Thunderbirds were sooo awesome... me and Jill were sooo excited about it. They did all these twisty things and they passed right over us, so close that we could feel the heat from their engines. I got some really great pictures... jazmin met jill, bryan, rachel, didi and me at the msc and we ate downstairs, yummy stuff :) it was tons of fun...
i've decided to stop doing nice things for didi...

2003-10-29T21:43:00.000-06:00

I saw the Thunderbirds practicing today, it was really awesome... hopefully i can go to the actual show tomorrow :) it should be cool...
Today was a good day... except for the quiz in organic that i didn't do so good on...
My wilderness group was finally able to get together today... well most of us... The main chick that wanted to meet up didn't show though, whats up with that?
should i take my camera to the air show?....

2003-10-28T18:39:00.000-06:00

I've decided that i should update this thingy more often... its kinda cool to look back at everyting and read what was going on in my life... even if it was just a few days before... :)
I have to give a presentation on thursday in my wilderness class. Me and 8 other people... on chapter 10... i think my prof is just getting lazy... this is stupid
i'm getting sleepy.... but i have to go meet my conversation partner at the commons at 7:30... not that i don't like meeting with him... its fun, but im sleepy, hehe

2003-10-27T22:56:00.000-06:00

hum... so what is new? I bombed my organic test this morning. it was deffinelty not fun... i really do believe that even if i had studied and infinite amount more, i would not have done better. it was super hard. my prof claims that as long as u take all the tests and turn in everything, ur guaranteed to pass. is that even possible?...
I went to mass this sunday, it reminded me of my grandmother... i bet she was really glad that i went to mass.... I don''t really know if i'll be going again though... im not really on speaking terms with God yet....
Halloween is going to be especially hard this year... I remember we threw my grandma a surprise bithday party one year... she totally suspected, but it was still tons of fun... she acted super surprised. i remember walking up the sidewalk to our house with her, everyone inside... waiting....
If heaven is anything like this world... it must be awesome..
tootles...

2003-10-19T23:18:00.000-05:00

This weekend i was able to participate in one of the greatest traditions here at Texas A&M... REPLANT! it was tons of fun, even though we only got to plant one tree (they ran out of trees, hehe). i think its so awesome that aggies still make it a point to go out and plant all these trees all over bryan/college station even though bonfire no longer burns... it was tons of fun.
Other than that, i've been feeling much better. I'm finally over this flu thing or whatever the heck it was, :)
I am deffinetly not looking forward to getting up early tomorrow, yuck....
cheers!

2003-10-16T22:58:00.000-05:00

I've been sick for about 3 days now, and let me tell you, being sick is deffinetly not fun at all. Other than that, everything has been going wonderfully :) I was accepted into the Study Abroad program, yey for me! i get to give away more money! hehe.
I'm one step closer to Africa! Isn't that wonderful!!!:)
Cheers!

2003-10-12T00:52:00.000-05:00

so, i officially have like 20 bucks left in my account... that camera bag i bought is starting to look more and more expensive... did i make a mistake? :( why does photography have to be such an expensive profession/hobby? i wish i was rich.... everthing would be easier... money rules the world....

2003-10-10T22:46:00.000-05:00

Sooo... I finally got my wonderful canon camera today. A wonderflu UPS man delivered it and it is absolutely beautiful. I also bought 2 lens filters, one for each of my lenses. I tried putting them on and they didn't fit... i got so angry. so... while i was pondering the entire speach i was going to give the horrible people at the camera shop, i thought to myself "maybe i should try one more time" and i did, and it turns out i was putting them on backwards :)... i know.... no one will hire me now right, cuz im stupid. so... the people at the photo shop aren't so horrible anymore :) it does comfort me to know that ansel adams once damaged a lens with the weights on his focusing cloth though... now THAT'S dumb. just kidding :) I have yet to buy a bag.... i really need one now, one that i can fit both cameras in along with the lenses and all the cleaning equipment.... a good one will probably set me back 25 bucks or more :( but I'm so glad that im lucky enough to have all this equipment... and that i have friends that actually believe in me and want me to take pictures for them (thanks Jill and Amanda!!!)

cheers!

2003-10-06T22:11:00.000-05:00

I finally met Dr. Schlitter and he is awesome... he told me all about what we're gonna be doing in South Africa, what shots i need and all that interesting stuff... i can't wait...
Jill has asked me to take her and Jame's engagement pictures! Isn't that awesome!!! im sooo excited... I do need to buy a softening filter before all that though...
I ordered a new camera body on sunday... it should arrive on thursday or friday... i can't wait...
cheers

2003-10-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

I must have sneezed 8 times today and i didn't get a bless you from anyone!!! THE HORROR!!! What is this world comming to??
I tried to fill out my study abroad application this morning at Nagle after my Organic and Animal Ecology tests but the application wasn't available! so I stopped by the study abroad office and the girl at the desk said, half laughing, that i would be available later this afternoon. Is it my fault im anxious abou the whole thing? anywhoo... the applications still aren't up and its already 2:30... whats up with that. don't u hate when people can't be counted on? grrrr... it gets on my nerves. people should do things when they said they would... anywhooo :)
tootles...

I've lost my marbles...

2003-09-29T22:44:00.000-05:00

The wonderful, insightful blog i wrote yesterday has been lost in the abyss of all lost blogs, and yes, i truly believe there is one... Lets see... what did i write about?
There is a trip to Big Bend planned in my Wilderness class in November... Should prove to be a trip with wonderful photo opportunities... if everything goes well and we end up going...
I have 2 tests and the study abroad application this week, yuck... ah such as college life... i will be very glad when wednesday is over, for it is the most disguisting day of my week...
Incubus is having a press conference on october 2nd... im gonna have to write that down somewhere so ill remember...
Cheers!

2003-09-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

I met with my conversation partner yesterday. It was tons of fun, I'm already learning a bunch about what its like to live in Korea. Other than that class after class after class... im not sure if i will be able to live through all these 8 o'clocks...
thanks and gig'em :)

2003-09-11T13:54:00.000-05:00

It is September eleventh again.... i can still remember, like it was yesterday, walking through the commons when it all happened.

I have decided to participate in a international student conversation program where American's get matched up with an international student and talk to each other once a week. Sounds like fun... I need to surround myself with different people, especially if i am planning on becomming a world traveler this comming summer. :)

Got to get back to work now...
God Bless America

2003-09-04T14:52:00.000-05:00

Ahhh... school... its sooo... sooo... bothersome, and yet, i don't know what i will do when i finally leave this wonderful place i love so much.
My organic chemistry class seems like its going to be difficult, but its not like i havn't delt with that before. The lab will also probably be very confusing. Feel free to volunteer your help :) hehe. My forestry science class is going to put me into such a deep sleep, that one of these days im just not going to wake up, hehe. My wilderness class is going to be very time consuming and because of this i have decided against taking the America reads and counts course, even though i would be earning hrs while working. (the journal and huge project would be to much to handle this semester, i think) Animal Ecology seems to be my most interesting class so far, and that is not saying much.... but everyone has to go through these computer knowledge courses. How can you calculate populations without skills? :)
Along with all these classes, I have been running back and forth for study abroad meetings and appointments. (Feel free to donate to the "Ale in South Africa Fund" you know where to reach me :)) for now, i must wory about applying and scholarships.... I'm so excited i could explode :)
I start work on friday and i am very much looking forward to seeing Katie, my tutee from last year :)
Cheers! :)

2003-08-31T12:43:00.000-05:00

School starts tomorrow... and i am deffinetly not looking forward to all the 8 o'clock classes, but there is one good thing about them... at least i won't wake up late.... then the day would have been wasted sleeping... i hope everyone has a great day tomorrow :)
cheers!

2003-08-25T19:09:00.000-05:00

I'M BACK!!! and the room looks great, you should deffinetly come by and see it, we have an actual couch! its totally cool. We are about to order pizza and maybe watch a movie with Rachel and Amanda. :)
Tootles!

2003-07-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

It is finally Sunday, one more day and im outta here! on my way to S.A. to see Pirates of the Caribbean (the best swosh buckling movie of the summer!) and then im off on vacation! yey!
but i have to get through tomorrow before that... history, yuck... im probably not gonna do very good in that class over all, but oh well, the point is, i got it, along with speech over with :) and all in just 37 days! :)
Anywhooo... it was great being here, keep in touch with us, u know our new bad ass cell number to our bad ass cell phone. tootles and cheers!!!

oh, p.s., if u wanna help us move out (it'll be TONS of fun :) ) give us a call!! :)

2003-06-30T21:38:00.000-05:00

Dirk Lance has left Incubus... now theres some bass player from the Roots in his place. how could that happen??? that is sooo sucky, i really liked Dirk. he was an awesome bass player. well, at least i got to see them when they were all still together, the original band. At least this guy likes to draw... he'll fit right in...
cheers.

2003-06-29T22:49:00.000-05:00

the party last night was tons of fun, despite all the dares... at least i wasn't the one who had to do an interpritive dance of MMM Bop, (sorry Tracy, it was totally Jessica's idea!)
I have finally finished my LBJ paper and my speech, now all i need to do is practice my speech.
8 more days of school, 19 days till vacation... im so glad this summer session is almost over :) i can't wait

anywhooo.... i thought this was funny :)

Joey: Alright
Monica: No! Joey, we swore we’d never tell!!!
Chandler: They’ll never understand!!!
Joey: But we have to say something! We have to get it out! Its eatin’ me alive!.... Monica got stung by a jelly fish
Monica: Alright!…..Alright…. I got stung…. Stung bad….I couldn’t stand, I-I couldn’t walk….
Chandler: We were 2 miles from the house….scared and alone,……we didn’t think we could make it…..
Monica: I was in too much pain-
Joey: And I was tired from digging the huge hole….
Chandler: and then Joey remembered something….
Joey: I had seen this thing on the discovery channel
Ross: Wait a minute, I saw that on the discovery channel, Yeah! About jelly fish And how if you – EWWWWW! You peed on yourself?!?!
Phoebe and Rachel: EWWW!
Monica: You can’t say that! Y-you don’t know! I thought I was gonna pass out from the pain!…Anyway, I tried…. But I – I couldn’t bend that way. Sooo, [Monica looks at Joey]
Rachel, Phoebe and Ross :[looking at Joey] EEEWWW!
Joey: That’s right! I stepped up!... She’s my friend and she needed help! If I had to, I’d pee on any one of you!........Only … I-ahh… couldn’t… I got the stage fright… I wanted to help, but there was just too much pressure! So, so, I-ahhh turned to Chandler
Chandler: [squeals]……Joey kept screaming at me “Do it now! Do it! Do it! Do it now!” Sometimes late at night, I can still hear the screaming.
Joey: That’s cuz sometimes I just do it through my wall just to freak you out.

2003-06-24T23:58:00.000-05:00

hello! 13 or so days left till first session is over, i can't wait to go home. can you believe that? i NEVER want to go home, but this time it's different. there is vacation to look forward to :) LBJ is like the best president ever, vietnam was not his fault, blame it on kennedy. :)
im done with speech #3, present on thursday, have speech 4 left, my LBJ paper, and another history test to go.
Cindy is going to come help us move out, along with my parents, Cindy is like the BEST cousin ever :)
Pauline, my grandmothers best friend came over from california this past week to visit my mom and stuff. She said i could live with her when i go to school in Santa Barbra, isn't that awesome! anywhooo,
cheers!

2003-06-19T23:35:00.000-05:00

wouldn't it be nice if there were more hours in the day? then i would actually be able to finish all that needs to be done... but then, there'd just be more hours to count down to vacation. but there would also be more hours of vacation... anywhoo, if i had to wish for something, i doubt it would be that anyway.
LBJ has got to be the best president ever... although, i havn't exactly gotten to his presidency in his biography. Dr. Blanton really does over work us with all these books, tests and papers, even though this book is kinda good. I got another B- on my speech... i deffinetly was a lot more comfortable in class giving it this time though. im glad i decided to take speach now. The people in this class are pretty awesome :) deffinety very supportive. My next speech is on a policy... ive chosen the environment...
tootles

2003-06-16T23:34:00.000-05:00

Amanda is here in town doing all that orientation stuff so that she can officially become an Aggie. isn't it exciting!!! well, im excited
My speech test wasn't all that much fun.... yuck, talk about trying to trick us... what a dork, really, why couldn't i have a teacher with an actual degree?
Tomorrow i give my speech on the Roman Senate, "We've all had to read Julius Ceasar at one point in our lives, but how did the senate that was so desperate for democracy actualy work?" (didcha notice the alliteration? didcha? :) hehe)
other than that... hummm... what else has been going on?... history, ewww... im so glad im done reading Cannery Women, although, im not looking forward to finishing Jim Crow... blah blah blah...
and in the famous words of Brandon Boyd...
Cheers!

2003-06-14T22:32:00.000-05:00

The T.P. survived Peter's driving, but it didn't survive Didi :)
Camping was awesome. deffinetly tons of fun! a little rain was NOT going to stop us.... ok, maybe it was a lot of rain, but no big deal!
We soldiered on! the rain stopped just enough for us to cook, eat, and set up our tents, then it rained all night... the swimming didn't work out so great, but it was still a blast.
Thanks Alisha!
tootles

2003-06-02T13:20:00.000-05:00

well, were finally back in cs again, and today was the first day of summer school. History promises to be completly BORING and full of reading. I have yet to attend my public speaking class. I am NOT looking forward to that class. i hate speaking in front of large crowds. Schumahcher seems like it will me alright, although, our sweet mates seem to have something stuck up their butt. Wouldn't it have been nice if us and Heather and Lorri shared a bathroom instead of just a water heater? Then we would only have to share a water heater with these incredibly unsociable people. Then again, this is only 5 weeks... only 36 more days... then the summer will be filled with 12 passenger vans, red wood trees, vegas casinos, whale sightings, big foot sightings, canadian glaciers, souveniers and much much more!

2003-05-04T00:09:00.000-05:00

shhhh! didi is in a really really bad mood, its so scary! If for some strange reason i dissapear... RUN!
ok, enough said about that.
finals suck, and studying for them sucks even more... This semester did pass pretty quickly though... and i didn't expect it to. It was deffinetly a wonderful semester. one i will never forget...
i met a couple of great gals down the hall who i would have never run into if we hadn't decided to live on the 4th floor again... had some fun times with Kat and Selena (who better come visit us on the 1st floor next year!!!)
This summer promises to be a busy one. Just a few more days and then 3 weeks of sorting through my grandmothers stuff and organizing things to come back to college station for the 1st summer session. Then, 5 weeks of history and public speaking, then about 1 and a half weeks of nothingness... then 14-16 days of family fun (vacation with Debbie, Bobby, Cindy, Mom, Dad, and Didi), then another 3 weeks or so of nothing, and then... FALL! Yey for rm 116! :) (wow, broken down like that, summer seems REALLY short, but fun filled none the less... except for the first 3 weeks.... Is it weird that i feel like every time i leave somewhere, someone else will die on me?... i think so... anywhooo, good luck on finals,
cheers.

2003-04-27T17:04:00.000-05:00

rodney branigan was absolutely amazing... he really can play 2 guitars at once. its unbelievable!!! totally amazing. target was fun... i have an oceanography test tomorrow, and i don't think ill be studying anymore tonight... i wonder if my wfsc prof is going to want an excuse for my absence or will proof from the mortuary be enough? this past week has been absolute hell... and there isn't much to look forward to this summer besides vacation... us grandaughters are going to have to figure out what to do with all that our grandma left us... sell the car? rent the house? we aren't even grandaughters anymore... how can there be grandaughters with out a grandmother?
my mom has decided to join the rest of the clan on our excursion accross the western united states. debbie really wants her to, and so do i. i really wanna see whales

2003-04-26T01:35:00.000-05:00

why aren't some channels working? they've changed to this weird college station channel... i can't watch old ER re-runs anymore! :( no fair...
finally, this week is over. its been the worst week ever... lots planned for this weekend... movies, target, the guy that plays 2 guitars at once ............thats impossible!

2003-04-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

my grandmother was buried on earth day.... i feel numb to the world... will this nightmare ever end?

2003-04-14T15:08:00.000-05:00

im finally done with all those stupid taxonomies in my wildlife class. yey! can you believe it! i can't hehe.... this semester has gone by surprisingly fast... and its sad in a way... in a few weeks, ill finally be a junior! what fun :) Today is my last day of canoeing... were taking a written test, so, were not even getting in the boats. :( and thats just depressing. were suppose to meet at g. rollie in about 30 min, so theres no use in going home... so i chose to spend my time after chem at the scc...
we went to Richmond/Houston this past weekend and it was fun... Lorri showed us the Museum of Natural Science in Houston and we went to an awesome mall. I found a great gift for Jill. It's a cooking encyclopedia, she loves cooking. i think shell love the book. Me and Christine bought Amanda a 20 dollar gift certificate to Texas Roadhouse for giving us all those rides to canoeing...
today is a really beautiful day!
tootles!

2003-04-02T09:58:00.000-06:00

i finally mustered up enough courage to go and talk to my wildlife and fisheries prof. he was hopeful... meaning, there is hope for me. and thank god, Q dropping this class was never an option. i can't wait till its all over with, then i can finally take some interesting wildlife classes. well, at least we have finally reached mammals
Silver Taps last night was cool, in a very sad way. it reminds me how glad i am to be an aggie. other than that, i have a test tomorrow i havn't even started studying for. so don't bother me today. ok ok.... you can bother me just a little :)
from the one with the sweater (friends) when ross and chandler are fakeing the wedding pictures they lost
stranger at wedding: but your finger was covering the lens!
chandler: who are you? Ansel Adams? get out of here!
Ansel Adams has got to be the most famous photographer in the world... he is so awesome. i can just stare at his pictures forever and ever. im so glad my mom bought me that Ansel Adams calender for christmas. i hope one day, that i can be as good as he was...
cheers!

2003-03-30T23:41:00.000-06:00

this religious discussion that has erupted between didi and lorri these past few weeks has really got me confoozed...i don't understand how god could send everyone who doesn't believe in jesus, to hell. it just doesn't make sense....i think beliefs ruin the world... ideas are deffinetly better :)

2003-03-28T23:35:00.000-06:00

so, the war has been going on for a few days... will i ever be able to stop watching cnn? all of you who read this (yes, you, the one person that reads it :)) please don't let ur kids watch cnn if theres ever another war... i never thought about it before, but it kids really do pay attention to it. The little girl i tutor kept talking about it today, and it was just sad. "Iraq... its spelled funny... and now its orange [meaning out terror level] and they have guns. please, if you ever have kids. don't let them watch it.
on a lighter note. me and didi had a once in a lifetime chance to participate in the Capital Convention, a HUGE thank you to all those people who donated money to A&M so that we could reach the $1 billion mark for Vision 2020. it was awesome, all Aggie clubs were represented. (not to mention the very HOT fire-fighters) Heather was there with the equestrian team and we were there with America Reads and Counts... i love this job. it is so awesome. i guess you don't realize it until you've had the job from HELL. im so glad that i'm lucky enough to have a job, and one like this is even luckier:)
a big road trip to boerne with lorri is planned. were gonna go fishing, canoeing and shopping in those little antique shops. i can't wait till easter :)
I will be entering my first photography competition this comming week. isn't that exciting. when im a famous national geographic photographer you can all say "i knew her when she first entered her pictures in a competition" :) i can't wait... and it doesn't even matter if i don't win. everything is going to be announced at the wildlife bbq on april 12. thats gonna be tons of fun too. i can't wait to taste the duck and quail. hehe.
listen to the new godsmack song! its awesome!
-cheers!

2003-03-23T13:21:00.000-06:00

im done with my tests! yey, finally... now i have to work on chemistry stuff, yuck. im suprising doing alright in chem 102. it was my understanding that this class was suppose to be impossible and q-drop worthy. but NO! :) im sooo happy about that.
the war is still going on, unfortunatley, i support our troops and our president but, can't we do all this and no one dies?....
tootles

2003-03-16T21:21:00.000-06:00

everyone is back from spring break ready to start the next 5 horrendous weeks... can't wait till good friday.
i have two tests this week, and both in the same class, eww... anywhooo... guess i better get on with doing something productive
cheers!

2003-03-04T23:57:00.000-06:00

"Maverick: Request for fly by.
guy in tower: Negative ghost rider, the pattern is full."
(Lorri quoting Top Gun)
We (Jessica, Katie, Mike and me) had a wonderful fancy dinner at Jess's house... real food! yum... i feel so special.
only a few more days till spring break... yey

2003-03-03T22:39:00.000-06:00

ok ok, long time no post. for those millions who look forward to all the interesting details of my life, im sorry :)...
so, whats new...? hum... i partied like it was my birthday on thursday (thanks to everyone who was there!) i will forever remember my 20th b-day when i hear that Pour some sugar on me song, hehe. hum... what else... many, many tests this week. can you belive my ocng prof. forgot to show up for our review? how messed up is that... like, hello!
We played sharks and minnows in canoeing today, tons of fun. its like tag, except u ram into other canoes instead of just tapping someone's shoulder. we almost flipped over about a million times. guess who won? dennison of course... hello... he teaches the course, hehe. me and christy got chosen my dennison to be the leaders for our follow the leader game... canoeing in the wind is deffinetly a work out.
spring break is only a few days away... i can already smell it... oh wait... i have no sense of smell. cheers!

2003-02-27T08:19:00.000-06:00

Feb 27.... a special day... and im so sleepy. comming to ur 8 o'clock class for the soul purpose of waisting time watching people present, sucks. and the part that sucks about it most is the waking up early, knowing you only have to get up to sign a little role sheet. would it be rude to just leave after that role sheet passed my desk? awww... i can't do that.... or could i? im so sleepy, and today is going to be a specially long day.... first this class, then chem lab... which reminds me, i gotta finish that lab report (hehe)... then oceanography, a chem review for the test comming up and then SI till 10 (and yes, im going even though today is feb 27, trust me, i wouldn't be going if i understood all this crap) and then after 10 we're going out... Salty Dog... i think... to celebrate... i have to make it to my morning class tomorrow.... but is that at all possible? hehe
cheers....

2003-02-24T12:52:00.000-06:00

William Miller: Don't you have any regular friends?
Penny Lane: Famous people are just more interesting.
(Almost famous)

Sean Astin rocks!... anywhooo, on to other things...
being sick is deffinetly not fun. how many more days till spring break? 12? ewwww... stop the madness...
im glad that i don't have any taxonomies to memorize this week... so this is what it feels like to not be driven insane by King Phillip who Came Over For Great Soup.... i had almost forgotten
We finally watched my Big Fat Greek Wedding, just in time for the series (My Big Fat Greek Life) isn't that ironic... i think the series is going to miss the magic that is John Crobatt... maybe he's back on Sex and the City, considering the very last season is comming up...