Hey to everyone out there, I wish you a happy belated Thanksgiving! I apologize, but with the holiday-related festivities, I didn't manage to crank out a post for you. Two years ago, I wrote a list of little annoying things we should be thankful for. I am going to post this list again, as well as some additions.
>Be thankful when you have to park at the other end of the parking lot - the exercise is good for your health.
>Be thankful when your friends irritate you about your eating and sleeping habits - it means that they care about you.
>Be thankful when you can't see relatives very often - it makes time together even more precious.
>Be thankful when you have loads upon loads of laundry - it means that you are more fortunate than many people and have plenty of clothes. (Lots of people meaning most of the world, not people in the U.S.A.)
>Be thankful when there are lots of dishes to wash - you have plenty to eat.
>Be thankful when your siblings won't leave you alone - they will be your greatest allies in times of need.
>Be thankful when gas prices rise - you recognize the value of the local tourist activities.
>Be thankful when your little sister puts her knee in your pumpkin pie - it's not going to change the taste, just the appearance.
>Be thankful, even when your shape is not what you would like - in God's eyes, you are beautiful (or handsome).
>Be thankful for the recession - it is giving us a chance to reevaluate our spending habits and to change into wiser consumers.
>Be thankful when the government seems to not be doing what we want it to - it makes the average citizen care about what's going on in Washington, D.C., and therefore increases awareness of bills and laws being passed.
>Be thankful for Obama - even though most of us are not happy with his administration, he isn't a permanent leader. He makes us count our blessings.
>Be thankful when your alarm goes off - it means you get to experience another day.
>Be thankful when your computer crashes - you have access to technology that wasn't available even 60 years ago.
>Be thankful when Facebook is down - there are still other methods of communication!
>Be thankful when small children are singing the same songs off-key over and over - in God's ears, their voices make sweet music.
>Be thankful when some won't listen to advice - it gives you a chance to pray for them and with them.
>Be thankful when homework eats your free time away - it teaches you self-discipline, deadlines, and gives you valuable information as well.
>Be thankful when responsibilities seem to weigh you down - the more responsibility you have, the more opportunities you have to change the world.
>Be thankful when life knocks you down - you're in the perfect position to pray.
>Be thankful for the opportunity to walk on this path called life.
And now, a silly little something before I bid you adieu...
Spell Checker
(Author unknown)
Eye halve a spelling checker;
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marks four my revue,
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word,
And weight four it two say,
Weather eye am wrong oar write;
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid,
It nose bee fore two long.
And eye can put the error rite;
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it;
I am shore your pleased two no,
Its letter perfect awl the weigh.
My spell checker tolled me sew!
-enna
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
ask a child: love edition
HOW DO PEOPLE IN LOVE TYPICALLY BEHAVE?
“When a person gets kissed for the first time, they fall down and they don’t get up for at least an hour.” -Wendy, age 8
CONCERNING WHY LOVE HAPPENS BETWEEN TWO PARTICULAR PEOPLE
“One of the people has freckles and so he finds somebody else who has freckles too.” -Andrew, age 6
“No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so popular.” -Mae, age 7
“I think you’re supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn’t supposed to be painful.” -Manuel, age 8
ON WHAT FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE
“Like an avalanche where you have to run for your life.” -John, age 9
“If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long.” -Glenn, age 7
ON THE ROLE OF BEAUTY AND HANDSOMENESS IN LOVE
“If you want to be loved by somebody who isn’t already in your family, it doesn’t hurt to be beautiful.” -Anita C., age 8
“It isn’t always just how you look. Look at me. I’m handsome like anything and I haven’t got anybody to marry me yet.” -Brian, age 7
“Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are lasts a long time.” -Christina, age 9
REFLECTIONS ON THE NATURE OF LOVE
“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too.” -Greg, age 8
HOW DO PEOPLE IN LOVE TYPICALLY BEHAVE?
“Mooshy...like puppy dogs...except puppy dogs don’t wag their tails nearly as much.” -Arnold, age 10
“All of a sudden, the people get movies fever so they can sit together in the dark.” -Sherm, age 8
CONCERNING WHY LOVERS HOLD HANDS
“They want to make sure their rings don’t fall off because they paid good money for them.” -Gavin, age 8
“They are just practicing for when they might have to walk down the aisle someday and do the holy matchimony thing.” -John, age 9
CONFIDENTIAL OPINIONS ABOUT LOVE
“I’m in favor of love as long as it doesn’t happen when ‘Dinosaurs’ is on television.” -Jill, age 6
“Love is foolish...but I still might try it sometime.” -Floyd, age 9
“Yesterday I kissed a girl in a private place...we were behind a tree.” -Casey, age 7 (it should be noted that he means where they were standing, not whatever perverted thing it could be construed to mean)
“Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me.” -Dave, age 8
“I’m not rushing into being in love. I’m finding fourth grade hard enough.” -Regina, age 10
PERSONAL QUALITIES YOU NEED TO HAVE IN ORDER TO BE A GOOD LOVER
“Sensitivity don’t hurt.” -Robbie, age 8
“One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills.” -Ava, age 8
SOME SUREFIRE WAYS TO MAKE A PERSON FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
“Tell them that you own a whole bunch of candy stores.” -Del, age 6
“Shake your hips and hope for the best.” -Camille, age 9
“Yell out that you love them at the top of your lungs...and don’t worry if their parents are right there.” -Manuel, age 8
“Don’t do things like have smelly, green sneakers. You might get attention, but attention ain’t the same thing as love.” -Alonzo, age 9
“One way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure it’s something she likes to eat. French fries usually works for me.” -Bart, age 9
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF TWO ADULTS AT A RESTAURANT ARE IN LOVE?
“Just see if the man picks up the check. That’s how you can tell if he’s in love.” -Bobby, age 9
“Lovers will just be staring at each other and their food will get cold. Other people will care more about food.” -Bart, age 9
“Romantic adults usually are all dressed up, so if they are just wearing jeans it might mean they used to go out or they just broke up.” -Sarah
Ah, for the innocence of childhood. While many of these are laugh-out-loud funny, some of these children seem to have a better grasp on what makes a relationship work than many adults today. While many of them mentioned superficial things (in their own unique way), some of the children picked up on some things that make relationships work. Not just romantic relationships, either. For example, our little friend Robbie mentioned said, "Sensitivity don't hurt." While his grammar is questionable at best, his point is valid. If we ignore other people's feelings, our relationship isn't going to be very strong.
More thoughts on love at a later date. In the meantime, laugh at our young naive little friends. :) I'm also going to put together a survey for children 3-12 soon, and post the results at a later date. Kids are so cute when they're trying to analyze adulthood. ^_^
-enna
“When a person gets kissed for the first time, they fall down and they don’t get up for at least an hour.” -Wendy, age 8
CONCERNING WHY LOVE HAPPENS BETWEEN TWO PARTICULAR PEOPLE
“One of the people has freckles and so he finds somebody else who has freckles too.” -Andrew, age 6
“No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so popular.” -Mae, age 7
“I think you’re supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn’t supposed to be painful.” -Manuel, age 8
ON WHAT FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE
“Like an avalanche where you have to run for your life.” -John, age 9
“If falling in love is anything like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long.” -Glenn, age 7
ON THE ROLE OF BEAUTY AND HANDSOMENESS IN LOVE
“If you want to be loved by somebody who isn’t already in your family, it doesn’t hurt to be beautiful.” -Anita C., age 8
“It isn’t always just how you look. Look at me. I’m handsome like anything and I haven’t got anybody to marry me yet.” -Brian, age 7
“Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are lasts a long time.” -Christina, age 9
REFLECTIONS ON THE NATURE OF LOVE
“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good too.” -Greg, age 8
HOW DO PEOPLE IN LOVE TYPICALLY BEHAVE?
“Mooshy...like puppy dogs...except puppy dogs don’t wag their tails nearly as much.” -Arnold, age 10
“All of a sudden, the people get movies fever so they can sit together in the dark.” -Sherm, age 8
CONCERNING WHY LOVERS HOLD HANDS
“They want to make sure their rings don’t fall off because they paid good money for them.” -Gavin, age 8
“They are just practicing for when they might have to walk down the aisle someday and do the holy matchimony thing.” -John, age 9
CONFIDENTIAL OPINIONS ABOUT LOVE
“I’m in favor of love as long as it doesn’t happen when ‘Dinosaurs’ is on television.” -Jill, age 6
“Love is foolish...but I still might try it sometime.” -Floyd, age 9
“Yesterday I kissed a girl in a private place...we were behind a tree.” -Casey, age 7 (it should be noted that he means where they were standing, not whatever perverted thing it could be construed to mean)
“Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me.” -Dave, age 8
“I’m not rushing into being in love. I’m finding fourth grade hard enough.” -Regina, age 10
PERSONAL QUALITIES YOU NEED TO HAVE IN ORDER TO BE A GOOD LOVER
“Sensitivity don’t hurt.” -Robbie, age 8
“One of you should know how to write a check. Because, even if you have tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills.” -Ava, age 8
SOME SUREFIRE WAYS TO MAKE A PERSON FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
“Tell them that you own a whole bunch of candy stores.” -Del, age 6
“Shake your hips and hope for the best.” -Camille, age 9
“Yell out that you love them at the top of your lungs...and don’t worry if their parents are right there.” -Manuel, age 8
“Don’t do things like have smelly, green sneakers. You might get attention, but attention ain’t the same thing as love.” -Alonzo, age 9
“One way is to take the girl out to eat. Make sure it’s something she likes to eat. French fries usually works for me.” -Bart, age 9
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF TWO ADULTS AT A RESTAURANT ARE IN LOVE?
“Just see if the man picks up the check. That’s how you can tell if he’s in love.” -Bobby, age 9
“Lovers will just be staring at each other and their food will get cold. Other people will care more about food.” -Bart, age 9
“Romantic adults usually are all dressed up, so if they are just wearing jeans it might mean they used to go out or they just broke up.” -Sarah
Ah, for the innocence of childhood. While many of these are laugh-out-loud funny, some of these children seem to have a better grasp on what makes a relationship work than many adults today. While many of them mentioned superficial things (in their own unique way), some of the children picked up on some things that make relationships work. Not just romantic relationships, either. For example, our little friend Robbie mentioned said, "Sensitivity don't hurt." While his grammar is questionable at best, his point is valid. If we ignore other people's feelings, our relationship isn't going to be very strong.
More thoughts on love at a later date. In the meantime, laugh at our young naive little friends. :) I'm also going to put together a survey for children 3-12 soon, and post the results at a later date. Kids are so cute when they're trying to analyze adulthood. ^_^
-enna
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
welcome to the masquerade
We've got the fire, who's got the matches?
Take a look around at the sea of masks
Come one, come all, welcome to the grand ball
Where the strong run for cover and the weak stand tall
I'm not one to scare the masses
But there's somethings that melt the plastic
Try and dig down deeper if you can
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
Welcome to the masquerade
We've got the power, who's got the action?
Break it down 'til there's nothing but a mere fraction
Out of the fire, rise from the ashes
Reject your doubt and release the passion
Let's get on it, believe if you want it
Step into the realm where the real ones flaunt it
Come back, rewind, another time on it
Reach out, take that but now step on it
I'm not one to scare the masses
But there's somethings that melt the plastic
Try and dig down deeper if you can
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
Welcome to the masquerade
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not one to scare the masses
But there's somethings that melt the plastic
Try and dig down deeper if you can
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
Welcome to the masquerade
This is a song by Thousand Foot Krutch. (To save myself time, I will call them TFK for the remainder of the post - and history.) This is off of the album Welcome to the Masquerade. As I said in another post, this album is a phenomenal piece of work. It came out in September of 2009 and happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time.
Regardless of my personal bias for this album, this song in particular addresses something that I've come to realize about society nowadays.
We all wear masks.
We're all scared to let anyone see who we truly are, or how we truly feel. Whether we don't want to bore anyone with what we really think or if we're scared that who we are just isn't good enough, we find a mask to hide behind. Stereotypes galore exist - preppy, cheerleader, jock, slut, nerd, geek, gamer...the list goes on.
Here's a question for you: what is the most predictable answer to a question in the U.S.? I'll give you a hint: the question is, "How are you?"
You may laugh, but 99% of the time, you're one of the one's saying, "I'm fine," or "I'm doing ok," or "I'm good," or...you get the idea. We all say we're fine to anyone who asks, regardless of what we truly feel inside. I know I'm bad at this...and by "bad" I mean "I always answer with 'fine' or 'ok'". Even when "fine" is about as far away as the moon.
I do not think that this observation is going to change society. We will still say we're fine when we're not. But maybe, when it's someone that we know truly cares about us, we will stop hiding behind our masks and admit that we're not OK.
And we'll find that they still love us anyway.
(This is actually the official video for the song - not a fan-made copyright-infringing video.)
-enna
Take a look around at the sea of masks
Come one, come all, welcome to the grand ball
Where the strong run for cover and the weak stand tall
I'm not one to scare the masses
But there's somethings that melt the plastic
Try and dig down deeper if you can
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
Welcome to the masquerade
We've got the power, who's got the action?
Break it down 'til there's nothing but a mere fraction
Out of the fire, rise from the ashes
Reject your doubt and release the passion
Let's get on it, believe if you want it
Step into the realm where the real ones flaunt it
Come back, rewind, another time on it
Reach out, take that but now step on it
I'm not one to scare the masses
But there's somethings that melt the plastic
Try and dig down deeper if you can
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
Welcome to the masquerade
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not one to scare the masses
But there's somethings that melt the plastic
Try and dig down deeper if you can
I'm not afraid, I'm not ashamed
I'm not to blame, welcome to the masquerade
I'm not ashamed, I'm not afraid
I'm not okay, welcome to the masquerade
Welcome to the masquerade
This is a song by Thousand Foot Krutch. (To save myself time, I will call them TFK for the remainder of the post - and history.) This is off of the album Welcome to the Masquerade. As I said in another post, this album is a phenomenal piece of work. It came out in September of 2009 and happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time.
Regardless of my personal bias for this album, this song in particular addresses something that I've come to realize about society nowadays.
We all wear masks.
We're all scared to let anyone see who we truly are, or how we truly feel. Whether we don't want to bore anyone with what we really think or if we're scared that who we are just isn't good enough, we find a mask to hide behind. Stereotypes galore exist - preppy, cheerleader, jock, slut, nerd, geek, gamer...the list goes on.
Here's a question for you: what is the most predictable answer to a question in the U.S.? I'll give you a hint: the question is, "How are you?"
You may laugh, but 99% of the time, you're one of the one's saying, "I'm fine," or "I'm doing ok," or "I'm good," or...you get the idea. We all say we're fine to anyone who asks, regardless of what we truly feel inside. I know I'm bad at this...and by "bad" I mean "I always answer with 'fine' or 'ok'". Even when "fine" is about as far away as the moon.
I do not think that this observation is going to change society. We will still say we're fine when we're not. But maybe, when it's someone that we know truly cares about us, we will stop hiding behind our masks and admit that we're not OK.
And we'll find that they still love us anyway.
(This is actually the official video for the song - not a fan-made copyright-infringing video.)
-enna
Thursday, November 11, 2010
salute
Before us they stand
Always before us
Before us they stand
Facing outwards
Before us they stand
Between their country and danger
Before us they stand
Ready to defend us
Before us they stand
A reminder that our freedom isn't free
Before us they stand
Sacrificing their families
Before us they stand
Sacrificing their dreams
Before us they stand
Sacrificing their innocence
Before us they stand
Sacrificing civilian life
Before us they stand
Scared but going anyway
Before us they stand
Sacrificing limbs
Before us they stand
Sacrificing health
Before us they stand
Sacrificing sound bodies
Before us they stand
Spilling blood
Before us they stand
Giving their very lives
For us
Before us they stand
A reminder that our freedom is not free
Have you thanked a veteran today?
-enna
"This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." -John 15:12-13
Always before us
Before us they stand
Facing outwards
Before us they stand
Between their country and danger
Before us they stand
Ready to defend us
Before us they stand
A reminder that our freedom isn't free
Before us they stand
Sacrificing their families
Before us they stand
Sacrificing their dreams
Before us they stand
Sacrificing their innocence
Before us they stand
Sacrificing civilian life
Before us they stand
Scared but going anyway
Before us they stand
Sacrificing limbs
Before us they stand
Sacrificing health
Before us they stand
Sacrificing sound bodies
Before us they stand
Spilling blood
Before us they stand
Giving their very lives
For us
Before us they stand
A reminder that our freedom is not free
Have you thanked a veteran today?
-enna
"This is my commandment: love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." -John 15:12-13
Friday, November 5, 2010
NaNoWriMo
No, I am NOT just throwing random letters and sounds together. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. And I have decided to take part this year!
What's my novel? Good question. It doesn't have a title yet. BUT I will tell you it is a Zephanaian story. We're looking at about 700 years after the events in The Battle of Zephanaia. It's fun - I'm taking the characters to totally different geographical places within the world. We'll get to see ocean, mountains, a small isolated nation called Bielnun - it will most definitely be an interesting adventure!
I'm currently at 1,919 words. It has to be at least 50,000 by November 30. Here's to hoping I can do it...
-enna
What's my novel? Good question. It doesn't have a title yet. BUT I will tell you it is a Zephanaian story. We're looking at about 700 years after the events in The Battle of Zephanaia. It's fun - I'm taking the characters to totally different geographical places within the world. We'll get to see ocean, mountains, a small isolated nation called Bielnun - it will most definitely be an interesting adventure!
I'm currently at 1,919 words. It has to be at least 50,000 by November 30. Here's to hoping I can do it...
-enna
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
RIP
I just found out that Marcus Berquist passed away. I wanted to let everyone know, and thank you for your prayers.
May he rest in peace.
-enna
May he rest in peace.
-enna
a civic duty
Today - November 2, 2010 - is Election Day. For me, this was the first time voting. Granted, I technically could have voted in the primary, but I didn't get registered in time. Oops. Anyway, I have first-time voter observations.First off, my little hometown is an annoying enigma. It's half a mile south of the county border. So if we wanted to vote somewhere besides in our hometown, we'd have to go south at least ten-fifteen minutes. BUT we can't do that, either. Why? Our state and federal district line lies DIRECTLY BETWEEN our community and the closest community. So the ONLY place we can vote is in our hometown.
I have to leave at 6:30 AM for school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
So...we were at the polling place by about 6:05 AM. My alarm went off at 5:00. I was about ready to throw my alarm clock (read: phone) across the room.
Granted, for me, that annoyance is simply based on where I live, the fact that my school is an hour and a half away from home, and that I have an 8:30 class and won't be home until after the polling place closes. (Well, Thursday is after it closes...I will explain this some other time. Let me just say that I spend at least one night a week in a veterinary clinic on an air mattress in an exam room, where the decor is a picture of hookworms, heartworms, whipworms, and tubeworms, as well as models of hips with and without hip dysplasia, an arthritic knee, and a cat's ear [all plastic].)
Anyway, another observation I had was on the number of races that I'd never even heard of, let alone known that I was supposed to be voting on them. Many of them also only had one candidate. For me, this was very surprising. Granted, I had known that there would be a couple of referendums on my ballot - for example, the Illinois amendment to the Constitution that voters can choose to remove a currently installed governor and hold a special election to replace him. Personally, I feel that more could have been done - at current, it has to be approved by members of either the House or Senate (I'm blanking on which) - but I do think it's better than nothing. Blagojevich was horrible.
That would be my discourse on voting for the first time. And it was a cold walk. And dark. The stars were still out in force.
Since I'm in a patriotic mood, I'll end with a quote from Alexis de Tocqueville.
"America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great." -1835
-enna, granddaughter of two U.S. Veterans - one Air Force, one Army
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