Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

It is so hot here right now!!! The high for today is supposed to be 101 according to the local newspaper. Usually the temperature here doesn't actually reach it's high until about now (4pm) or a little later but lately it's been about 88 degrees by about 12pm--that's HOT!!! I'm so wishin' for a pool right now. Maybe one day, I'll buy a blow-up kiddie pool and just sit in the water all day. Our poor flowers look so parched even when we do water them! I started feeling sorry for them just now and put out the sprinklers in the backyard. We hired a guy for $15 to mow our yard every Wednesday because it was just getting so hard for me to do it. I was so fed up with doing it. So, we decided to let someone else suffer--haha.


I have a partner from class coming over tonight so we can work on our project that's due on this coming Thursday. Hopefully we can get it done or pretty close to being done tonight. Wish us luck!

Long week of class

I just got done with one long week of class. The class actually lasts 2 weeks and it's only Monday through Thursday but the class lasts from 11:30am-4pm. It's LOOOOONG. The professor is one that I don't particularly care for because of his opinions. He's rather harsh sometimes and very intense. Since I've had him before though, I knew sort of what to expect and readied myself for it so I wouldn't get so offended this time. Well...guess what? He managed to offend me but this time I was able to keep control of myself and even though I was angry, I tried to let go. This time he decided he would talk about the series "Twilight". If ya'll have been paying attention, then you know that I'm quite obsessed with it mainly because it's a fun storyline and I like the characters (namely the leading vampire...hehehe). Anyway, he said that he rented the movie the other night because it was a movie he wouldn't typically rent. He said he enjoyed it. It was fun. Then something possessed him all of the sudden and he said that he was offended by it. DO YOU KNOW WHY????? Because he said, "My people weren't represented." My people meaning the Latino/as. What the heck????? I immediately fired back with something like, "Did it have to include Latino/as to be a complete story?" He said yes and that it didn't show any representation and that was racist. Then people in the class (who haven't even read/watched the movie or any of the books) started chiming in. Now, if I hadn't read any of the books or seen the movie, I would feel as if I had no part in a discussion about the series. Anyway, everyone was confirming or agreeing to this bullcrap that the book was racist in that it criminalizes the dark-skinned people (the Native Americans are beasts who have uncontrollable tempers and the only black person in the movie just happened to be a bad vampire). I got so upset with what was being said about this and I just felt like screaming but I just had to keep my mouth shut because I wasn't going to win since I was a white girl. The professor was saying that this particular interpretation could be debated depending on which side you look at it from. Obviously since I'm white, I'm not gonna see the "oppressive, racist" nature of the series. The author, Stephenie Meyer, is Mormon and apparently her faith had influenced her in writing this story. I read somewhere that according to the Mormon faith, the people of color had the mark of Caine on them and in order to save their souls, they would have to marry a white person to cleanse themselves and their offspring would lighter skin--therefore, cleansing them. Or something like that. So, in this series of stories, it's all about how the pale, beautiful vampires are the utmost in beauty and everyone wants to be like that. I also read that Stephenie Meyer was trying to watch out for racism in her book by not necessarily saying the skin was white but "diamond" colored. Anyway....all this aside, I was so mad that people who hadn't even read these books were making accusations and presumptions that they didn't have anything to back it up with. I was mad also because they were taking the joy out of a harmless story (in my opinion) and this series of stories made me start to read again for leisure. How dare they take that away from me and turn it into racist, white power material!!?? Does that make me a racist for enjoying the story line? I think not. Not every story has to have every nationality under the sun to be "complete". In fact, the stories I've been reading for him don't always include anglos so can I call him on that? No, because I'm white and I'm always represented. What a CROCK OF......


*sigh* Well, that's what I've been dealing with so far this week. I've got a project due next Thursday for the last day of class and a paper also. I probably won't be updating til after that but I will be sure to let you know what kind of other ridiculous argumentative debates we come across between now and then. :)

Holy Bladders, Batman!!

Lately I've been so unmotivated to start back up with my "strict" food watching but now that I've registered myself for the City of Trees half marathon again, I guess I need to get into gear now. I've started my gallon of water per day regimen just yesterday and I'm about to burst at the seams every 20-30 minutes at the very most. Most of the time, it happens at the most inopportune times such as sitting in class (the professor probably thinks I'm trying to ditch his class all the time) or after I've got a full cart at the grocery store. That happened yesterday and I just had to check out (very hurriedly) and shove the cart in a corner next to the restroom and run in. If I keep this up, I may just float away or my body will get used to it and I won't be in agony anymore.


Ugh..anyway. I've got about 4 pages done on my paper and I'm thinking I'll get about a couple more pages squeezed out and that'll do. :)

What happens in Vegas...and in Milford...

My attempt at gambling (with a dollar)...

Sadly, I did not win anything...I ended up losing a dollar. :(

With the parents!

Grandpa, Kyle, me, and Grandma out on the front lawn.

Happy 27th Birthday to me! :)


The Las Vegas Airport was a sight to be seen--slot machines EVERYWHERE!! I tried one just so I could say that I gambled in Vegas. Unfortunately, I didn't win any huge fortune. Darn it! Kinda sad, huh?

The trip to Milford, IN was great! It was nice seeing most of the family for the holiday weekend. We got to relax a lot and not worry about a whole lot. We also ate way too much on the 4th of July--well, at least I did. I felt like puking later that night and ended up taking 4 pepto-bismol tablets to ease the food-induced nausea. ICK! Overall though, it was wonderful and I hope to see the Brown clan sometime soon again!

I also got to see Chris one more time before he leaves for his 13 week bootcamp in San Diego...I'm sad. I couldn't get enough hugs from him before he left Monday night from Grandma's and Grandpa's. I cried a little later that night after we went to bed. He'll be fine though. I know he will. He's a strong person but that doesn't change me thinking about the little baby brother with white blonde, curly hair and a snot bubble being blown out his nose from a sneeze into playdough...

I love you, Chris.

Gotta get started

I had class yesterday and Friday. It's time to start getting my paper ready and finished (hopefully) before next class weekend (July 10th-11th). Now, I'm ready for summer classes to be done but I must say that classes in the summer are nice because I don't have anything else to worry about really. The only thing is the motivation factor but it's not too hard if I'm not teaching/subbing now. :)


We leave for IN on early Friday morning and will get to Chicago, Midway airport around 1pm. Then it's driving all the way to Milford from there. My guess is we'll be getting to Milford around early dinner time or very late afternoon. It'll be fun! I can't wait! I have a couple recipes that I'd like to make while over there for dinner and possibly something for the 4th. :)

Why is it always the ugly ones?

I went with Kyle to his thesis meeting at BSU today since he just wanted the company. I did some computering in the lab while he had his meeting with the professor. When he came to get me, we were about to leave when he realized he forgot something. I was just wandering/loitering in the hall while he ran back to the prof's office and while I was waiting, I saw a strange sight. There was this rather homely looking woman walking down the hallway in a one-piece dress toward me. Without staring and gawking, I casually looked her up and down as her back was facing me. Well, I thought something was a bit masculine about her and I was thinking how unfortunate it was to be that masculine looking when it hit me....it was a man. Just to be sure though, he-she walked back by me and I looked at the arms and the calves and yes, they were very man-ish. Also, he-she was thinning in the hair at the back of the head. He-she hadn't quite mastered the "feminine" walk and so he-she was just loping along the hallway. Those poor ballerina flat shoes were so not made for man feet! They were so stretched out of shape and all strained looking. It was definitely an interesting sight and if I had been tacky enough, I would've taken a picture but I guess I'm not trashy enough. hahaha.

Anyway, so when Kyle and I were clearly out of the building and headed back to the car, I asked him if he had seen this person. He did not but he had heard of a professor that was currently transitioning from a man to a woman and he was gradually starting that process by taking hormones and whatnot. He had been told by one of his professors during a class about this guy so that there were no surprises and extra, unnecessary talking in the building. Kyle said he wished he would've seen this person and that he's sorry he missed out on this opportunity to catch a glimpse of this "transitioning" professor. But seriously, why do these very masculine-looking, blocky males feel as though they need to be turned into women? Why can't they just be gay? I don't understand this concept of suddenly changing your sex. I mean, I feel bad for them because I know it is a feeling that you get early in life (or maybe later in life, who knows) that you're different but I mean, what about going to the bathroom? Do you go into your "real" bathroom, i.e. would this professor be expected to go into the men's room? Or would "he" go into the women's room? What would be considered appropriate for someone like that? Especially since people know that he IS a man...I wouldn't feel really comfortable with a male coming into the women's room but at the same time, other men probably wouldn't feel right for a "woman" to come into the men's room? So, why don't they just be gay and stay their own sex? And then, these people who change what they are, if they're still interested in the opposite sex, how do they deal with that? This is something I'm going to have research about and find out how these people deal with certain predicaments. It's intriguing but I know it's probably a pretty painful process for all who are involved, not to mention the person to whom this identity crisis is happening...I guess though, it's better that we allow these people who feel tortured in the bodies that they're in find who they really are and who they really want to be because if we turn them away and ridicule them for what they feel, that too can cause pain and oftentimes, these people feel so horribly about themselves that they end their life. It's a sad situation but I'm willing to open my mind and accept these people for who they are (even though it's weird, strange and unfamiliar to me).

Book Club!

Last Monday I started this book club thing with a fellow classmate from my children's literature class. She works with the state department of education in the literacy department. I had told her that I was possibly looking for a small job in the summer to make some pocket money. She asked me to do this book club thing for pay since I was a certified teacher and what we do is go to a local library and read a chapter book to kids and do activities with this book. The book we're doing right now is Moonlight on the Magic Flute. It's a pretty cute book and it's a quick read for me so that I can get ahead at least 2 chapters from the kids. My predictions are that this book is going to introduce the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We've already met "Wolfie" in Austria. I don't know exactly what's gonna happen, I just know right now that the 2 children, Jack and Annie have to use the magic flute that they've been provided by Merlin and their mission from Merlin is to help a brilliant artist bring happiness to people all over. My guess is that they are going to make "Wolfie" famous. I'll let you know if my predictions turn out true. :)