4/27

I see my last day of school ever.  I don't know whether to be happy or sad about it.  I'm happy because I've worked hard for this day to come, but it's sad because it means I'm really about to grow up.   I'll definitely miss all the great friends I've made and the days of staying up all night and getting to sleep in, and not really having any real responsibilities. Now though, it's time to be a grown up and get a real job and make real money.  It's exciting and scary to think that everything's about to change.....but bring it on, I'm ready.

4/25

I saw a very fun Easter yesterday.  Every year my whole family, aunt's, uncle's, and cousins, pile into my grandparent's tiny house.  My grandmother hands out bunny ears that we all wear and Easter baskets.  Then she counts to three and we race to the backyard to find the eggs she's hidden.  It may sound dumb, but it's actually really fun.  My family gets very competitive and we all usually have to watch out for my dad who will sneak up behind us to try and steal eggs out of our baskets.  All the eggs have candy in them, and a few have quarters, dimes, nickles, and pennies.  There is one though that has a $20 in it.  I've only ever gotten it once.  Ever since i could remember this is what my crazy family does for Easter.  I hope there never comes a day that our fun tradition ends.

4/22

I see old people not knowing how to text.  My best friend's mom is like a second mom to me.  She has six kids and I'm like her seventh.  Almost everyday she sends us all mass texts saying good morning or good night, or she'll tell us good luck if she knows we have a test.  After everything though she says "lol"...all of us are always wondering what's so funny about what she's saying since lol means laugh out loud.  We've kind of made it a joke between all of us and we'll randomly say it when we're talking to her, we've never asked her why she says it though.  About a week ago her grandfather died.  We all knew he had been sick, so it wasn't a complete shock, but she sent us all a text that said "I'm so sorry to tell you all that Daddy Ray has passed away this morning, lol."  I was with my friend when we received the message and my friend messaged back saying "mom why's that funny?" her mother replied "what do you mean?" and my friend said you said "lol" and her mom said "yes, why's that bad?" and my friends said "Mom, that means laugh out loud..."  My friends mom immediately called freaking out saying that this whole time she has thought that lol meant lots of love and what was she going to do now because she sent that message to a lot of people.  My friend and I still haven't stopped laughing out loud about this.

4/20

I see my cousin finally getting his life back on track today.  A few years ago he was out with his friends driving around.  They were shooting at signs with their air soft guns from the car.  Apparently somewhere along the way something went very wrong and my cousin ended up shooting a guy on a motorcycle.  He said it was an accident, but come on, how do you accidentally shoot someone?  He obviously had to of seen the guy coming down the road and why were they driving around shooting things in the first place, did they not think anything bad would happen?  The man on the motorcycle turned out to be an off duty cop who call his friends.  The police chased the car down and arrested my cousin and his friends.  He's had this incident follow him for the last three years and had to go to court several times, was put on house arrest then diversion, had to take classes, and do community service.  He is also in the army and was in a lot of trouble with them when they found out.  Today though marks the 3 year anniversary and since he did everything he was asked to do it is taken off his record.   I hope he's learned a lot from this situation.  It definitely taught me to think about the consequences of my actions.    

4/18

I see my cat not feeling well.  He screams every time we try to touch him and hardly gets up to walk around or eat.  He looks like he's in pain from something.  After a day we took him to the vet where they discovered he had a fever.  They took x-rays and did blood work, but everything came out normal.  The doctor gave us pain medicine, but a couple days later we noticed some blood on his leg.  After looking closer we found a big nickle sized open soar on the top of his leg.  We took him back to the vet and she told us that this sometimes happens in cats, they will get big boils under their skin and then they will pop open.  Sometimes they can be pretty painful too.  I'm so glad that's all that was wrong with him, and it was nothing more serious.

4/15

I hear sirens and I see a firetruck and police cars on my street.  I go outside and they are parked outside of my neighbor's house getting the hose out from the truck.  My other neighbors are all standing outside watching too.  Apparently the parents across the street were out for the night and the kids had decided what a wonderful idea it would be to have a fire in the fire place since it was a bit chilly outside.  The fire had somehow gotten out of hand and spread out from the fire place into the living room.  I don't understand why they weren't taught that using fire when their parents aren't home is probably a bad idea...at least they were smart enough to call 911.

4/13

I see a yard sale my parents are having with our neighbors.  It's always fun this time of year because we all get together for a few days and have a huge sale.  Normally everything goes fine, but today I had an odd experience.  A man bought something for $5, he handed me 5 ones and left.  I took the money over to where my mom was sitting, by our little cash drawer and set it right next to her hand.  She was talking to an old couple who were buying something for $2.  The old woman then reached down and picked up the 5 ones I had just laid down and tried to hand it to my mom to pay with.  I saw this and reached for it and said "oh, no, I just put that money there it's from another customer."  The woman and her husband spent the next 5 minutes arguing with me that she had taken that money out of her purse and put it there and i was trying to scam them.  Even the guy behind them in line stood up for me and said yes I had just set it there.  They finally paid with other money and left, but 20 minutes later they came back to say that they didn't want what they had bought anymore since I had stolen her money.  They literally stood there yelling at me for something I hadn't and would never do. My dad finally came outside and told them to stop speaking to me like that and to get off of our property.  I'll definitely remember that experience for many yard sales to come.

4/11

I work at a casting company in Kansas City and we usually order lunch every day and have it delivered.  Most of the time everything is fine and all the food is right.  There is one place in particular though that messes up the orders every single time we decide on them.  We go over it on the phone multiple times before hanging up to make sure it is clear, but still they always seem to fail.  They have done everything from bringing us the complete wrong order to only bringing two peoples when we had ordered six or seven.  The food is very good when it finally comes since they are also always late, but we're all wondering if it's worth it to keep giving them our business or not. 

4/8

I'm beginning to see someone with bad luck when it comes to airplan travel.  My flight from Texas on Southwest was canceled because the plan I was booked on was one of the type that was having problems with the cracks.  The good news was I got to stay an extra day with my friends.  After the scare over winter break when the plan I was on lost its engine and we had to make an emergency landing, I keep wondering what's going to happen next.

4/6

I see an incredible and heartwarming success story from Japan.  The dog that was rescued from the floating roof has found its owner.  She recognized her dog from the TV coverage.  This is just like the story in KC about the woman finding her dog after a month after a house fire.  She thought he had run off or was dead, but the dof had been trapped inside because the doors were boarded up.  When the owner was notified to come back to the house to turn off her car alarm, she heard scratching on the boards.

4/4

I see a news report about a dog rescued after the Japanese tsunami.  It's been about three weeks and a Coast Guard helicopter spotted a dog wandering on a rooftop way out i the ocean.  They were able to lower a stretcher and get him.  What a great story to hear after all of the tragic reports that we keep hearing and seeing on the news.  It would be so coo if the owner could somehow be found, but with all the death, that probably won't happen.

3/25

I see a great spring break about to start.  I'm going to Las Vegas for 4 days with a friend. She's never been on a plan, she's actually never been anywhere besides Kansas and Missouri in her whole life.  It should be fun to see how she reacts to it all.  After Vegas I'm going to Lubbock, Texas for a few days too to visit my two best friends at Texas Tech.  I can't wait for all the fun to start!

3/23

I see a beautiful black and white cat named Whiskers.  He is the oldest of my three cats and is so full of personality.  Drama surrounds him.  hen he wants his way he'll get on the 2nd level railing over the foyer threatening to jump with a look that says, "I'm ending it all here and now if we can't see eye to eye."  If he gets hungry and it's not dinner time he gets on top of things and pushes stuff off until he gets a reaction out of us.  In the end, he usually  always ends up getting what he wants.

3/21

I see a familiar face once again as I’m flipping through channels.  I’ve taken a bunch of film production classes in the past and have made some friends along the way who share the same passion for it as I do.  One of my friends name is Jeremiah Watkins and he has certainly been making a name for himself since he’s moved to Hollywood.  He is in numerous episodes of 90210, VH1 shows, as well as some stand up comedy shows.   When I visited LA last November I had the privilege to go see one of his improv shows at Second City, which was hilarious.  I’ve watched him grow a lot as an actor and comedian over the years, and I really feel that his talent is going to take him far, and we will be seeing a lot more of him on our TV screens. 

3/18

I see a homeless man digging through the trash cans.  He's finding soda cans, punching holes in them, putting them on a string, and dragging them down the street to the next trash can.   So far he has a string of them trailing behind him that's about four feet long.  He's probably collecting them for money or something, or maybe he just has a really cool art project he's working on.  Whatever it may be, it's certainly interesting to see.

3/16

I see a bunch of stage moms and their babies.  I work at a casting office where commercials, ads, and movies are cast.  Today we were having a casting for a baby food commercial.  So many proud mom’s showed up with their bundles of joy, however most were just bundles; only a few could add the joy part.  All parents think their kids are cute, but there are only a select few who have the “it” factor and really shine.

3/14

I see a horrifying disaster in Japan.  I can't even imagine what it would be like to only have minutes warning before a tsunami hit.  Families were in separate places because it was midday.  Not to be with your child, spouse, or whoever you are close to would make it even more terrifying.  The whole thing is just heartbreaking, one minute everything is normal and then within a few minutes everything is gone.  It makes me feel so guilty to even think that I am having a bad day.  It really puts life into perspective. 

3/9

I see the snow falling outside.  And I hear everyone complaining about it.  I don't know why.  Snow is awesome, I love it.  It's fun to play in, sled in, drive in, not to mention it's beautiful.  In may backyard we have a huge hill that all our neighbors come to sled down.  It seems like every time snow's in the forecast though, so many people complain and have a problem about it.  I'm a cool weather person, I love to wear sweatshirts and get hot drinks and be under a lot of covers when I go to sleep.  I would much rather it be cold outside than really hot.

3/7

I see something else I loved going away.  It seems like every time I find a restaurant, menu item, perfume, hair product, store, TV show.....basically anything, and it becomes my favorite, can't live without thing, it ends up closing, being discontinued, or canceled.  It happens almost every time.  When I start to like something now, I usually find myself trying not to, because I know if I do it will soon be added to the list of things that someone has decided to stop making.  It really makes me wonder if it happens to other people a lot, or if I just have really bad luck.

3/4

I see a yellow balloon floating away in the sky.  It makes me wonder, whose it was?  Where did it come from?  Why did someone let it go?  Was it an accident or on purpose?  Maybe a little kid got it for their birthday and it slipped out of their hands.  Maybe someone was using it to signal someone else.  Or maybe someone let it go because they just didn't want it.  It will always be a mystery. 

3/2

I see an invitation to an Arbonne party my friend is hosting.  Arbonne is a type of makeup that people sell and they throw parties to try and get their friends sucked in to buying it.  Even though they swear it's not a pyramid scheme...it is.  The last makeup party I went to I didn't buy anything and my so called "friend" got mad and still brings it up from time to time.  Being a supportive friend though, I know I'll end up going, and be bored to death and then feel pressured to buy overpriced things that I don't want or need, once again.

2/28

I see a new upcoming musical artist with a lot of talent.  His name is Chris Love and he has just recorded his first album.  I work on a lot of productions in town and I had the privilege of working with his team on his first ever music video.  He was very talented and I think he is definitely someone to watch for in the future. 

2/23

I see a conflicting story about murder.  The Amanda Knox story was on TV last night and I keep thinking about it.  She and two others were found guilty of murdering her roommate and were sentenced to 26 years in an Italian jail.  The prosecution never produced and physical evidence tying her to the murder scene and the DNA evidence was said to be too little and too contaminated to be used.  She was only judged on her nonchalant behavior immediately after the killing, changing her story, accusing an innocent acquaintance, and ambiguous statements in a document she wrote.  I'm just glad I wasn't on the jury.  I'm not sure what to believe.

2/18

I see a film that has 4 Academy Award nominations, but probably won't win any of them.  That's ok though, because just getting recognized is amazing in itself.  "Winter's Bone" is an independent film that cost about $2 million to produce.  This film was not a favorite of mine, probably because it moved so slow and was very depressing.  I agree with the nominations though, except for Best Picture.  I think it's very exciting for small filmmakers to know that their efforts can and do catch the eye of the industry.  It just gives hope that you can compete on an equal playing field with the big movie makers.  

2/16

I went to see"Lend Me a Tenor" at the New Theater Restaurant.  It was one of the best I've seen there.  Everything came together, the script, perfect casting, great performances, and an extraordinary set.  There were a lot of misunderstandings and mix ups in the plot.  At the end the cast reenacted all the actions that had happened as if it were in fast forward.  It was a very funny, well done show.

2/14

I see a huge problem with the way retail stores handle credit card charges.  They rarely ask for any ID and many times not even a signature.  I know there are many fraudulent schemes going on that are next to impossible to monitor.  Ordering online with a stolen card is one.  It just seems that having to show your ID would help eliminate a small portion of identity theft.  Requiring photo credit cards might also help, and some kind of fingerprint confirmation would be even better.  My dad travels a lot and has his card number stolen at least once a year.  He's lucky that the card company covers the bad charges.

2/11

I see a problem with the school's administrative personnel.  I don't know if it's just me, but no one seems to have answers to what should be pretty simple questions.  I transferred from another school where I could walk into an office with a question and out with an answer.  The first time I went to an advisor for guidance here, I was sent to other people, none of whom ever gave me the information I wanted.  No one ever seems to know what they're talking about and they all give you completely different answers about everything.  It's pretty frustrating. 

2/9

I see a moment from the past each time I hear a certain song or smell certain odors.  Somehow the brain makes an instantaneous connection between the two and, more than just visualizing it, it's as if you were there experiencing it all over again.  It's usually a great feeling or memory when it occurs, but unfortunately it can also happen with a horrible memory that would be better off forgotten forever.  Hopefully though, the good ones will always outlive the bad. 

2/7

I see a case of road rage.  I was going north on 69 highway late last night.  There were two other cars on the road with me.  A red truck and another white SUV much like me in the right lane while I was in the left.  At 75th street the SUV exited.  Nothing seemed unusual until the truck then pulled up even with me and the driver and passenger stared at me with mean looks.  The car then swerved into my lane towards me honking and the passenger was yelling and pointing at me.  When that didn't satisfy whatever their point was they did it again acting like they were trying to hit me.  Thankfully no one was to my left as I was forced to swerve into the next lane.  I still have no idea what I did to make them mad.  Maybe the other white SUV had done something and they confusedly thought it was me, or maybe they thought I looked like someone else.  I don't know, but it was pretty scary.

2/4

I don't understand how some people think.  We are in the middle of a huge snowstorm with deep drifts all over the road and some people still think they can just drive their small cars through the unplowed streets with no trouble.  Today, a neighbor's car was stuck for over an hour in front of my house.  My family was outside shoveling and after a few minutes of watching the lady hopelessly spinning her wheels we went to help.  She called her kids to come help push too and we all finally got her moving.  A truck went past us easily, but not a small car.  Come on, what did she think would happen?

1/31

I see an endless pile of plowed snow lining the neighborhood streets and it reminds me of piles of fall leaves raked into the gutters when I was a kid.  My friend and I used to bury ourselves in the piles and jump out and hide in them as cars approached.  We pretended we were hiding from some threatening enemy coming to get us.  Years later, I was driving down such a road and watched as an oncoming car filled with teenagers swerved up the street running over the piles for fun.  A chill went through me as I though..what if they had been on the road those many years ago while we were hiding in those same piles of leaves?

1/28

I see an empty bird feeder out my kitchen window.  The snow has covered everything and is still coming down, there is no way we can go out now to buy more of the birdseed we've run out of.   Before the storm we'd fill the feeder and they would flock to our house to eat.  I see some fly near it today, but it's empty and covered in snow.  I feel so bad for them while I'm in my warm house eating lunch and they are flying around freezing with no food.  Hopefully it'll stop snowing soon.

1/26

I see a photo of Nick in the newspaper.  He was my friend, I had classes with him, he helped me get an internship, and he was such a fun loving, full of life person.  Not anymore.  Last July he was murdered in his own home by a burglar who stole his TV and drove off in his car.  The 20 year old killer was eventually caught, and just had his trial where he received two life sentences plus 97 years.  I see their side-by-side flat pictures, but Nick was much more than that.  He was incredibly 3-dimensional, only the killer is of a flat single-dimension. 

1/24

In my dream I see an airplane falling through the air.  I can feel the drop.  Two weeks ago I boarded a plane in Atlanta to fly home.  Fifteen minutes into the flight there was a huge bang and the lights went out.  The plane fell through the air, climbed back up and fell again.   As it shook, the pilot announced there was a problem and we needed to make an emergency landing as soon as possible.  Most people stayed calm except for one screaming girl.  We finally made it back to the airport where firetrucks and ambulances were waiting for us on the runway.   The plane ended up landing safely and everyone clapped, but it's no wonder I still have bad dreams about it.

1/21

Like we talked about in class, we all know someone who is a non-stop talker.  For me it's my Aunt Mary.  When she calls the conversation can last for hours and you can barely get two words in.  When we see she's calling we all freeze and look at each other and then argue over who should have to answer.   Usually the voicemail intervenes and we all sigh with relief, but then we have to decide who gets stuck with the delightful job of calling her back later. 

1/19

I see a bright pink sofa that's covered in snow sitting in the middle of a busy street.  Everyone has to slow down and get into one lane to go around it.  I wonder where it came from, how it got there, who it belonged to.  If it fell off someone's car, surely they would have realized it and come back.  Or maybe some guy finally had enough of his wife's pink sofa and it "accidentally" fell off his truck.  Whatever happened,  I wonder if it will still be there tomorrow.

1/14

I see a long line at a check out and it doesn't seem to be moving.  The clerk calls for some backup and another clerk eventually walks up to help.  He goes to his register, and says over the intercom "Lane 2 is open, I can help someone." SOMEONE?  No, it should be, "I can help the NEXT person in line."  All the customers from the back of the line hurriedly go to the new register, while the people in front, who have been waiting for quite a long time, still have to wait. 

1/12

I see a newspaper headline: "Ferret attacks sleeping infant."  How can a mother be asleep in the same room as her screaming baby while seven of his fingers are being chewed off by an animal?  Why would you own an exotic animal with small children and dogs in the home?  The parents had even been warned by the landlord to get rid of the ferret.  It's sad when parents have higher priorities than the welfare of their kids.  I guess they felt they have the right to have the pet of their choice.  Too bad the baby didn't have the right to have protective parents.