The results are in!

Grades for this quarter:
Lit of American Culture- 3.5
Interculture Communications- 3.5
Spanish 1- 3.6
Quarterly GPA- 3.53

Which puts me on the Deans List! :o)

I'm sick, again. I can't get away from these head colds!
Steve and I didn't work out, oh well, it's alright.
Christmas break until Jan 5 (I think), Kelsey and I plan on spending it watching Season 3 of Veronica Mars on DVD.
I'm ready for Christmas, all my shopping is done. Only one more week!
Yay for Bob winning Survivor Gabon! Well, I'm off- I have some DVR shows to catch up on!

Almost Over!

Only 3 more days before this quarter is over!! Woo hoo!! Looking back on it, it seems like it ended really quick.. but boy am I ready for month off of school! I've been working really hard this quarter so I am definitely anticipating my break. Next quarter should be pretty difficult with the classes I'm taking... Bio Lab... I haven't taken biology since the 9th grade. Good thing I have a mom who just took lots of biology classes and a sister that speaks Spanish so I have 2 built in tutors at home!

I don't have any finals this quarter (I am exempt from the final in Spanish since I got good grades on my first 2 tests) so all I have to do is finish my English essay which is pretty close to being done, but definitely taking me longer than the other essays I had.

Thanksgiving was good, very fun. I ate waaaay too much, I was up till 3:30 in the morning sick to my stomach! That didn't stop me from eating a 2nd Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday though! I think Steve enjoyed himself, he played Rock Band for a little while with us.

I plan on spending my Christmas break in my PJ's and at work. I'm taking it easy and catching up on a lot of TV, haha.

Mom bought Kelsey and me our plane tickets to go back to PA over Spring Break! Yay! So excited to visit home. Lauren said she would pick us up from the airport in case anyone was wondering if they were going to have to get us, although we are flying into HBG so it's better than Baltimore or Philly.

New poll. Gotta go to sleep, school early in the AM!

So I guess the first and most important update is this past election we just had. I still can't believe Obama is our president. I'm so excited (for the first time ever) to see what he does first and how our country is going to change while he's in office!

So when it rains here, it's like walking on ice at my school. I was walking down the stairs on Friday after class, getting ready to head to the doctor to be checked for bronchitus (sp?). Well, I slipped.. and I didn't fall down the stairs, I kinda just went up and then right back down again onto my back in the middle of the stairwell. Thank god there weren't a lot of people around- just one guy who asked "OH MY GOD, ARE YOU OKAY?! THAT LOOKED LIKE IT HURT!" I said, "Yeah, it's really slippy there!" and took myself towards the bathroom right away. I got really dizzy and nauseaus (sp?) and my ears started ringing really loud. I thought I broke my back! Good thing I was headed to the doctor. (By the way, I have the greatest doctor ever). After some x-rays he said he couldn't tell if there was a small crack or a weird shadow so I might have a small fracture and to keep it wrapped in a soft cast for about a week and it should be okay. My back hurts worse though, it's really bruised and cut up and hurts really bad when I bend over at all. I didn't have to go to work on Friday, because my doctor wrote me a note, and Saturday I wasn't very helpful so they let me go after 2 hours. We'll see how tonight goes!

I have a new boyfriend. His name is Steve and he will be 25 on November 17 (also Isaac Hansons birthday, hahaha). He has an AA degree from my school and will be starting UW Bothell in the next quarter or 2 to work on becoming a History teacher. He's a really nice, responsible, mature guy. Big step up. Oh, and he has the cutest pit bull ever named Chica. Steve is going to come to Thanksgiving here at our house this year... we just had a Halloween party last month as you probably read in Beaglehaus.

School is going really well, but I'm ready for this quarter to be over... only about 3-4 more weeks. I got a 94% on my first English essay! It was a personal narrative so it was pretty easy. I have another one due on Friday, it's an analysis of "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston. Spanish test on Friday as well... if I get above a 75% (which I'm sure I will) I get to skip the final, which is super cool. I have an appointment with my advisor for this Thursday to figure out my classes for next quarter... I was thinking of adding another one and taking 4 classes instead of 3... we'll have to see how it goes.

Love and miss everyone! New poll!

Just a couple things...

Only 10 people showed up to my walk. Pathetic. Not even my mom came.

I got an A on my first Spanish test.

Me and Kelsey are both sick with head colds and fevers.

I finally started my supervisor training.

I bought a Little Red Riding Hood costume for Halloween.

Class, Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation

So my English class, the coordinated studies one, is all about class, race, gender, and sexual orientation, so we've been reading a lot of books on that topic and having to go to lectures and all that. Now, we have to write a personal narrative essay on any experience that we have had with dealing with any of those things.
This class is really wearing me out. I'm really tired of the material, even though the bulk of it is very interesting and leads to great class discussions, but it is pretty much the same thing over and over told in different ways by different people. I really did not enjoy the lecture we went to the other day by a black professor from Baltimore who, during the speech, I thought was a great speaker and had great things to say and it was interesting to listen to, but after I got home and started talking to Mom and some of my friends about the stuff he said, I really didn't agree with almost anything he talked about. I brought it up in our seminar the next day, and only 1 or 2 other students agreed with me.. and they are both from the East Coast.
This professor said to us that "all white people think that the black folk are gonna rise up one day and take over the country and kill all the white folk" and that we have "nothing to worry about, they aren't scheming to kill us all". I have NEVER in my life thought that or felt that way. Then he said "they tell us to 'remember the Alamo', and we have Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but when slavery is brought up we are all told to 'get over it' and 'forget about it'"...... We have Black History Month and MLK Jr Day, which he didn't mention. He made me feel very guilty as a white American that I personally should feel responsible for the mistakes that my ancestors made. He said it doesn't even matter if your family didn't arrive in America until they came to Ellis Island, we are American citizens now and because of that, we should take responsibilites for the history of our country.

So, with that, there's a new poll.

I'm off to finish reading "White Like Me" by Tim Wise.

Quick Update

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks, I have been BUUUUUSY!

So firstly, school. I'm taking Spanish 110 and a Coordinated Studies class which is Women's Studies and English 256. I think I'm doing really well so far, but it is a LOT of work! I have a lot of books to read for my Coordinated Studies class (it's 3 hours every Mon, Wed, and Fri) and I get a lot of homework every night in Spanish (which I have every morning at 9am) but it's good because it keeps it fresh in my mind and keeps my practicing... I also go to an hour long "conversation", which is basically tutoring, every Thursday for extra practice, and extra credit points. It's only the 3rd week of school and I have already had to read 2 books for Coordinated Studies, including "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" which is a very difficult read, but very interesting material so it was... well... kinda fun. ;o)

I'm still working 5 days a week like I was this summer, so that is sort of wearing me out but I'm loving my paychecks... even though this week it seemed to go way too fast and I still have another week before I get paid again. Next week I should (hopefully) begin my supervisor training and get my raise to $10/hr... which will be lovely for my pocket. My work is very understanding and leniant (sp?) though, and they know I'm a full time student so I usually get off early if we aren't busy, or I can study at work.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is going good, I just saw Jaelen on Sunday... we went to McDonalds for lunch. 2 weeks ago I took her to Greenlake to ride the paddleboats (which is harder than it looks) and we had pizza and ice cream. She said she likes hanging out with me. She's really funny too, she always has something to say and is continuously cracking me up at her 7 year old mind and the way it works.

October 17th is my "Take the Walk" walk. I don't know how many people will actually show up but I have been hanging flyers, making t-shirts, and spreading the word. I will let everyone know how the outcome was after it's over.

Other than that, everything is good... I'm pretty much balancing all my responsibilities really well and being able to find time on the weekends to go out with friends and take a break from all the hardwork so... so far so good!

Miss everyone!

P.S.
Nanny- you have to invite me to read your blog- if you need my e-mail it's wyld3cg@hotmail.com

Like, OMG I totally met Taylor Hanson!

So this weekend was crazy filled with concerts!

Saturday, 9.6.08 was Backstreet Boys at Marymoore Park in Seattle. There's only 4 boys left in the group, so it was weird to not see Kevin there (sorry Mom). It was a great show, Kelsey and my friend Gaia from school came. They played for a long time and we met Aaron Carter and got his autograph... we didn't know what exactly he was doing there on tour with the BSB, but we figured since his career is pretty much dead, he really has nothing else better to do with his time then follow his older brother Nick's success.

Sunday, 9.7.08 was Hanson in Portland, OR. We got there around 10am, and met some really cool girls. It was nice to meet Hanson fans from the West Coast. We were about 25th in line, which was pretty good. The walk started at 2:45... for those of you who aren't familiar with what the walk is, and the cause we walk for, I encourage you to check out TakeTheWalk.net and see how you might be able to help out. Soon, it was 5:00 and time for me to get with the other fans who had Meet and Greet passes, and we met up in front of the Aladdin venue and went backstage in 2 groups. I was in the second group, which was cool because our time with Hanson was a little bit longer then the first groups. First, we all shook hands and introduced ourselves to the guys- I was super nervous. I gave Zac my drumstick to sign and he said it looked like one of his, which it was. I told him he gave it to me in Atlantic City, NC last year. He said it was difficult to sign circular objects, I told him I thought it would be hard and I was sorry, but I thought it would be a good thing to have. He laughed and I moved on to Isaac. He signed my drumstick and I asked him how his health is now (he suffered from a pulmonary embolism but had surgery and had it taken care of). I told him that I lost my father to a pulmonary embolism, he gave his regards and asked if I knew if it was in his arms or legs, I told him I thought his arms, and he told me he has heard lots of stories about death caused suddenly by pulmonary embolisms and is glad that he caught his before it was worse. Then, finally, it was time for Taylor. He signed my drumstick, and asked why I only had 1 stick and if I played drums. I told him no, that it was Zac's. I had a stick on tattoo on my wrist of a strawberry and he said it was cool and asked if it was real. I laughed and said no, but that I had a Hanson tattoo, he asked to see it, and I showed him the one on my hip that says "The Music Lives". I was super embarrassed right away and wish I would have shown him the Beatles one on my neck instead, because he is a huge Beatles fan. But, he said it was really nice and it was cool. I told him that I just moved here from the East Coast so it was cool that the year I moved out here is the first year they toured out here in 5 years. He said they were following me and laughed. I told him thank you for his music, and that it is really amazing to me and that I have been a fan since the beginning. He thanked me for being a fan and said they couldn't do it without us. Then, I got into the show early so I could have front row.
Kelsey managed to make it up right behind me when she got into the venue and these girls beside us were causing problems and pushing so hard, but I wasn't giving up my spot or letting them ruin my time!!

Monday, 9.8.08 was Hanson in Seattle. Kelsey skipped last period so that we could make it downtown in time for the walk, which was much more then a mile because they couldn't find an open area to stop to give their speech. By the way, walking in Seattle sucks- there's so many hills. Being on the Washington Street Team, I handed out flyers to the people of Seattle who were around during the walk and Taylor asked for one of us to be responsible to organize our own walk, which we already have plans to do. The show was seated, and we had 2nd row- it was a good time, not as crazy as Portland.

250 people walked in Portland, and 159 in Seattle. The boys give a dollar for each person in each city to go towards 1 of 5 different causes (digging a fresh water well, education, food, shoes, and Aids research), and they are trying to have enough people walk to equal enough miles put together to walk around the world. Again, the website I gave gives more information.

I am uploading photos to my shutterfly account as I type this, but there's a lot so it's going to take a little while and I have to get to work, so I will post again later with the address so that everyone can go check out my AMAZING pictures!!

Let's Walk!

EDIT:::: I added a link on the left that says My Photo Website. You can find all my pictures there!

News from Africa

Okay, so if you don't know already, my ultimate goal in studying Sociology is to earn my degree and be able to join the Peace Corps and travel to Africa to help the citizens, especially the children, learn the dangers of AIDS and educate them on how to take care of themselves and their health and take care of their siblings. I was reading these 2 articles today about some of the recent events in Africa, and they aren't foolin' around over there.

The first one is about the rebels in the Congo, who recently had one of the worst battles on Thursday in the village of Matebe, which is where Ishameal Beah is origionally from. If you haven't heard of Ishamael Beah I highly recommend reading his novel called "A Long Way Gone" (I had to read it last year in English and it's an amazing story).

The second article is about a US Aid plane crashing in the Congo with 17 humanitarian aids on it. I know something like this could happen anywhere, but the fact that it was carrying Americans who were trying to help the other people in this world made it that much more sad.

Anyway, I still want to join the Peace Corps, but this is some serious stuff, and scary... just because there are Americans in Africa who are trying to help and not fight, doesn't mean they are out of the line of danger. It makes me want to help even more, but it also opens up the eyes to the realism of it all.

New poll.

Hanson in 2 days. :)

Now to watch some more of "The Office" before bed. G'Night!

Fall is here

So Mom and Jason are back from New Zealand! They brought us sand, (that's my new thing), fleece's, necklaces carved out of bone, we aren't sure what kind of bone... boxes for our sand, and the warmest slippers made out of sheep wool you will ever find.

Kelsey and I had a good time while they were away, we had 2 slumber parties with her friends, and watches Seasons 1 and 2 of Veronica Mars, and started Season 1 of Prison Break.... Season 3 starts today so I think I can say that I will not have time to finish catching up on that show.

Fall is officially here in Seattle and the weather outside proves it. It's starting to get chilly and windy and more rain then we had over the summer... all the Fall Season Premieres are soon, starting today, including One Tree Hill, so we are all very excited for our favorite shows to come back.

Kelsey goes back to school as a Junior tomorrow! It's only Rough Rider day, so they only have to go get their picture taken and sign up for yearbooks and stuff... I don't have school until September 22nd, but I think I'm ready to go back.

Today is Labor Day, no crazy plans for us... a friend of mine was supposed to be having a pig roast pot luck so I might go to that if they ever call me, if not, I'm happy hanging out here at home with the family.

Hanson this upcoming weekend, WOOO HOOO!!!!

New poll on the left hand side.... although no one ever votes, or reads, or comments lol

O-M-G!!!

Guess who got a MEET AND GREET pass to go backstage at the Hanson concert!!!


MEEEEE!!!!!

Yippee!! Because I'm a member on hanson.net, I was chosen at random, along with about 10-15 other girls, to be given a Meet & Greet pass, which allows me backstage to meet the guys before the concert in Portland. The only downfall is, Kelsey can't go... the pass only allows me to go to the Meet & Greet, so that kinda sucks, but she's taking it like a champ and is excited that I got one. I've met them before, but never a planned meeting, so this time I am super nervous as what to say... I don't want to act like a crazy fan! I want to be cool, calm, and collected. Ha. I'm taking the drumstick that Zac gave to me during the show at the HOB in Atlantic City to have them all autograph it, which would be really cool. I'm not allowed to take my camera backstage though, no individual pictures- they will take a group photo with all the other M&G'ers that will be available on hanson.net. So, very cool!!! I am very excited as I'm sure you all can guess!!

Tomorrow Kelsey and I will venture up to Saint Helens, OR to see Jack Johnson. It's about a 3 hour trip and it's an outside concert, so we are hoping it is nice and sunny and there will be no rain. I'm very ready for September to start, it's a very busy month with 3 concerts in a row, fall quarter starts, etc.

Mom and Kelsey just got home from Pennsylvania a few days ago, and on Friday Mom and Jason leave to visit Jonathan in New Zeland so Kelsey and I will be here on our own while they are gone, taking care of our flea infested beagles!

Well I'm off to watch Season 2 of Heroes, so I'll be ready when Season 3 starts next month!

Oh yeah!!! I auditioned for a new MTV reality show called "The Phone". It's somewhat like the Amazing Race, call backs should be sometime this week, so I will definitely let everyone know what happens! How cool would that be?!


....and who voted that Isaac was the hottest Hanson brother? ::cough mom cough::

Updates!

I met Jaelen and her family last weekend. It went well I thought, except Jaelen was very shy and didn't say much. She eventually warmed up to me and showed me how she does a cartwheel and told me about girlscouts and stuff that she likes to do. I'm planning on picking her up on Saturday for a trip to the park and some french fries at McDonalds.

I finished the last week of summer quarter today. Monday I have a review and my final is on Tuesday, then I finally have my break before fall quarter begins in September.

We got a new manager at work and they fired almost our whole staff... I was worried to go in last weekend but I ended up getting a raise, hah. I'm a pizza maker extravagent!

Mom and Kelsey head to Pennsylvania in a couple days and I'm very jealous that I am not going along... especially since Uncle Kirk and Aunt Kristen and the kids will be there too. :( After they get back, Kelsey and I have lots of concerts to look forward to, including back to back Hanson concerts, and Mom and Jason head to New Zealand.

I have an appointment tomorrow with the Orthodontist for my TMJ which has been super painful for the past week, I can barely even chew! Hopefully she will be able to figure out what we can do to fix it.

Well, miss everyone, I'm out like a fat kid in dodgeball.

I got a Little!

Yay! Big Brothers Big Sisters just called and they found me a match. Her name is Jae Lynn, she's 7 years old, she's been waiting to become old enough to get a Big Sister because her older sister who is 10 has one and she gets jealous of the fun her older sister has with her Big that she wanted one of her own. She is active and into sports like basketball and baseball and playing outside. She likes to go shopping and watch TV- her sister and her mom are really girly and aren't into outside activities so she's excited to have someone to go out and do all that with. I think it's exciting too. Now they will call her and her mom and tell them about me and ask them if they think it will be a good match. If they do, then I will go to her house with my adviser to meet her and her family. If they don't, then they will look for another match for me.
Pretty cool.

Big Brothers Big Sisters

I got my acceptance letter today! They said next time I will be hearing from them it will most likely be to propose a Little to me. I don't know how long that process will take, but I am really excited! I'll let everyone know once I find out who my match is.

Just some updates

So I'm almost half way through the summer quarter, I'm taking Psychology 110. My final grades for spring were 2.9 in English 102, 3.1 in Math 098, and 4.0 in Sociology. My GPA is a 3.3- only 0.2 points away from the Dean's List! (You need at least a 3.5 GPA for the quarter).

I went back home to PA for a week last month and visited with all my friends and the family, it was a very crazy hectic week but I think I managed to spend a significant amount of time with everyone. Brianna is coming out here to Seattle this weekend and Kelsey and I are so excited to show her around and have her here to visit.

I had an interview with Big Brothers Big Sisters, so now I'm just waiting to hear back if I got accepted or not, which I think I did. They are checking my references and going over my application and then they will let me know if I was accepted and if I was they will start looking for my match. I'll get a "little" between the ages of 7 and 16, a girl, who I have to spend time with 3 times a month. Hopefully I will be accepted and I'll let you all know about it!

Well there's lots of TV on tonight, Big Brother 10 started last Sunday, and the 2nd epsiode is on tonight, along with Wipeout and Japanese Game Show... Kelsey and I have already claimed our spots on the couch.

6 blisters, 3 burns, 1 cut, 0 cigarettes

To start, I smoked my last cigarette at 7:30pm May 8. I don't know how it happened... it started as a bet between me and Jason that he would buy me the new Mario Kart for the Wii if I stopped for a week, and the next thing I knew I was smoking my last one outside of Bartell on the verge of tears. Mom bought me the patch and Jason bought me the game and I haven't smoked yet. The patch really helps with the cravings... the hard thing is not going to smoke one at usual times during the day when I would, like after meals, at the bar, or in the evening when we are all watching TV. I was surprised what a good mood I was in yesterday, my first full day of no smoking. It didn't really bother me at school... it wasn't until I went out for some drinks with friends last night, and after eating a big sushi dinner that I really really wanted one. I chewed 5 packs of gum yesterday!

I also went for a jog/run around Greenlake yesterday and then out for some salad at Zeeks. I ran about a 1/2 mile and walked the other 2. It's going to take some time before I can do more, but I will keep at it. Last night we also walked to downtown from Capitol Hill instead of taking the bus or a taxi, which was another 1 1/2 miles... lots of exercise and let me tell you my body is feeling it today! Not to mention I was wearing very uncomfortable shoes last night and now have 6 new blisters on my feet to prove it. I also have 3 new burns across my fingertips on my right hand from grabbing the hot iron (not knowing it was hot), and a nice deep cut down the side of my right hand from a screw that sticks out of my closet door. All this and still didn't smoke a cigarette! That's definitely something to be proud of!

The spring quarter at school is almost done... Mid terms are over. I got a 90% on my Sociology midterm- my goal is an overall 3.5 GPA to get me on the Deans List. I'm working hard towards it and I think it will be a success- I haven't gotten anything less than a high B in English and my lowest grade in math has been an 88, so I think I'm doing pretty well. I'm thinking of taking 1 class over summer break to keep me working and rack up those credits so I can get my AA as quickly as I can. I've also been thinking of Seattle Pacific University (SPU) for my BA...

Tonight Mom and Jay are making hot dogs and cheeseburgers on the grill and Mom made Omi's favorite Potato Salad... Kelsey and I are waiting patiently to devour it! After dinner I have lots of Sociology to read. Tomorrow is Mothers Day so Kelsey and I are going to clean the house and make dinner.

Hope all is well with everyone else!

cheek piercings, sociology, and nanny in outer space?

One week into my 2nd quarter at North and already I can tell this one is gonna be hard! I have Sociology 101 at 9am everyday, an hour break, then English 102 at 11 and Math 098 at 12 except on Fridays. Already in English we needed to have 2 novels read (Bridget Jones's Diary and Fight Club) by the first 2 weeks. Bridget Jones's was due today for discussion, which I was able to finish.. and Fight Club needs to be read by this upcoming Monday and I work Tuesday-Saturday this week so I will be very busy! I got a 2.9 last quarter, which is a high B so I'm trying to aim for at least a 3.0 this quarter.

I've gotten the beginnings of a cold/fluish thing that's been going around but I haven't let it keep me from my responsibilities during the day- mornings just suck and I try to go to bed at an earlier time, shoving anti-cold medications down my throat everyday in hopes that it doesn't get worse.

I also got a new piercing, it's called an anti-eyebrow and its on my right cheek bone. Drastic, but I get a lot of comments on it. Once it's healed (2 months) I can downgrade the size of the bar and get diamonds instead of metal so it won't look as extreme. If I knew how to post pictures on here I would, but if you are interested in what it looks like you can Google it and you should be able to easily find pictures of others anti-eyebrows.

This Friday I'm going out to a bar called The Knock Knock room downtown with my new friend Carmell, so I'm looking forward to that. When I do have free time I'm mostly with Luke, so it will be nice to hang out with someone new and build a new friendship.

Hmm... I think that's about it on the update for me... 23 in 2 weeks... Uncle Kirk and Aunt Kris, it's the 19th not the 17th... ;o)

Oh, and I had a dream last night that me and Nanny went to Outer Space together and looked at the moon and the stars upclose... but we didn't wear space suits, we didn't float, and we had comfortable beds... it was like an apartment inside a space shuttle. Very weird- blaming it on Advil PM.

Where to start?!

Okay well, I guess most important is I moved back to Seattle, broke up with Robby, living with mom and the family again, and going to school. Things are great, everything is falling into place and I'm excited about what I'm doing.

This first quarter of school is almost over, another week until spring break. I'm taking English 101 and Math 097 this quarter, good grades so far... next quarter I registered to take English 102, Math 098, and Sociology 100- Introduction. Sociology is my major so after I get my AA at the community college, I can transfer to a University to get my BA and then maybe move onto my Masters? Right now I'm looking into some volunteer programs around Seattle, working with children and less fortunate families... my ultimate goal is to take a trip to South Africa with a volunteer program to help care for orphans... so I'm pretty much just working hard right now, having fun with my new friends and the family.

Kelsey and I are sharing the Scion, however she never drives it so I'm pretty much the only one who uses it besides when Mom and Jason need it to go to Ikea or wherever. I'm having fun hanging out with Kelsey, going to concerts and watching our shows like we used to. Nice to be around the Beagles again- stinky, but nice.

I miss my friends in Pennsylvania but I'm starting to get really settled and into a routine out here on the West Coast so there's no doubts, regrets, or complaints so far! Hoping to go back and visit PA sometime this summer, but I want to go to the 3 day Dave Matthews Band concerts at the Gorge here in Washington, and that's going to be close to a $500 per person trip so hello and goodbye to my tax return!

I'll try to remember to update more, but there's really nothing interesting to write about.

Love and miss everyone!