Mr. Barak Obama

If anyone is not familiar with this man, they should start. Some people may know of him courtesy of his appearance at the Democratic National Convention last year. He stole the show, so to speak. He is a senator from Illinois and the only African American currently on the Senate. At the convention he gave on of the most inspiring speeches I've heard in some years. (I watch both conventions so see whats going on and hear what the candidates are saying although I vote democrat) Shortly after the convention, people were buzzing about this charismatic senator who spoke about his personal experiences and how fantastic his speech was. Soon, people were also pondering whether he would run for President himself one day. He became a celebrity of sorts following his appearance. He even went on Oprah to talk about his situation and such. Then he sort of disappeared. At least from the national spotlight.

Fast forward to September 2005 and he's back. In light of the crisis in the south, he has come back into the spotlight speaking about how the government botched efforts to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina. He took a tour of the region along with former presidents Clinton and Bush I. He has also made it known that he's against confirming Judge Roberts to the Supreme Court. I know there are many people that hold the same stance as he does but this man is different. I can't help but feel that this man is a man of the people. I think more than any other politician today, he is someone who genuinely cares about the people. I just get a sense that he is empathetic to the pain and suffering felt by so many and he's not afraid to talk about it.

I sincerely hope that his man does in fact run for president someday. As long as he keeps in touch with where he came from and with the people, I would hope that most Americans would vote for him. I think that if there were more people in the government like him, maybe this country wouldn't be suffering as much as it is.

Could Be Better

I'm not feeling well this morning at all. I'm thinking I should have stayed home in bed. But since I don't get sick leave or anything like that, I figured it would be best if I came in. I could always leave early if I start to feel worse. I hate getting sick; I don't think anyone really likes getting sick.

I finally got my paper proposal finished. A week ahead of schedule, too. I'm just glad I'm done with it. Now all thats left for that is to actually write the paper but that isn't due for 2 months. I have other papers I have to work on though.

This weekend is the Fells Point Fun Festival. I'm supposed to be going on Saturday, but if I keep feeling like this I'll be home in bed sleeping the day away. I hope I'm ok by then...it's supposed to be beautiful again this weekend. Sunday I'm supposed to go back to the Renaissance Fair with Alison to protect her from Creepy Shawn's friends. I think Paul is going too but thats not set in stone.

I don't think I'm going to see Rob anymore. It was just way too forced and I need someone who'l talk as much as me if not more. As you can see, I talk about the same stuff all the time. I try to make conversation no matter what the subject is. I can ramble on for what seems like hours and he's either not a talker or he doesn't want to talk to me. It's all good though. Movin' on. Thats all you can do, right?

I think thats all thats going on right now. Nothing new has presented itself so I will leave it at that.

Beautiful Morning

Oh man is it gorgeous this morning. I walked out of the house and was surprised. There was a nip in the air and it smelled like fall. I don't know how to describe what fall smells like but it just smelled that way to me. I get pictures in my head of previous falls and how much fun they were. I think about camp fires and hay rides. Baking pumpkin and drinking apple cider. All things fall. I remember when I was in elementary school we went to the local farm where they grew apples and pumpkins and we got to actually make cider. I remember the bees flying around scaring most of the kids including myself. But we weren't that concerned with the bees when it was our turn to try and make the cider.

Then I remember Halloween. Probably my favorite holiday next to Christmas. I was always a vampire when I was a kid. Not always but more often than not. I don't know why I wanted to be Dracula, I just did. My mom was pretty creative with our costumes. She hand made them. I remember one year I was a spanish dancer, that was a lot of fun and my sister was a shock therapy patient. Mom has always been good at make up too. One year she went to her works Halloween party dressed like a man. And boy did she look like one. It was so funny.

Carving pumpkins has always been one of my fav fall activities even though I'm not good at it. I'm pretty bad actually but that doesn't matter, they're just going to rot anyway. I like the squishy feel of the pulp of the pumpkin and picking through to get the seeds out so I can roast them later. I think of the "Roseanne" Halloween specials and how much fun they were to watch. They were really creative on that show when it came to Halloween. I remember Dan going as the Three stooges and I remember when they scared the crap out of their prissy next door neighbor. Family tv at its best.

Just a great time of year for me full of happy memories and beautiful experiences.

Saturday

Saturday was very busy. Maggie just got a new job and she needed to buy some new clothes for it. She didn't have anything that would be considered work appropriate so we headed to Target. She got a few outfits, make up, and shoes for around $230. I know that sounds like a lot but everything she bought is interchangeable. I liked a lot of what she got; it looked really nice on her. After that, we went out to lunch. Her mom was with us which was cool. I like her mom but at one point she said that I was a bad influence on Maggie. I don't know what the deal is with certain parents thinking I'm a bad influence on their kids. Most of the time, they are like that when I meet them. They drink and all that stuff. I don't anymore so I don't know how I'm a bad influence. But thats all in the past. Her mom just got out of a bad relationship. I'm glad she got out when she did; it could have gotten a lot worse if she had stayed.

After that, I had a date. It's the first date I've been on in quite some time. Anyway I met him at Fells Point. He's not from around here and the only place he's really been here is the Inner Harbor. While its nice there, I figured I would change it up a bit so we met there. Then we ate some dinner at the Greene Turtle. We talked and then left and walked around for a while. We ended up in The Cat's Eye Pub listening to Irish folk music. It was a lot of fun. I was showing him where Homicide was filmed when he said that he wanted to see the pub. There were people in there Irish dancing and all that. It was fun. I hope he had a nice time. I don't know if I'll see him again. The ball is in his court. I wouldn't mind. I think all first dates are awkward so the second one is always better.

Yesterday, I went out again with Maggie to pick up some other things for her. Then I came home and did a little homework. I got the majority of my math done and did a little of the English. I just received my grade for that paper that was due last week. I got a 98! I was thrilled. I was just hoping to pass. So this week I really have to buckle down and think about what my final paper is going to be on. The proposal is due next week. I was so happy when I found that out; I thought it was due at the end of this week. Oh well, I'm in no rush to get that done.

Thats all that happened this weekend. The weather was gorgeous temperature wise. I could have handled some sun but I'll take what I can get. Today is kinda gloomy and makes you want to stay in bed. I wish I was there now.

Getting On With It

I finally started writing the paper. I actually have a page and a half. Not that its really that long because of my name and the double spacing. This is one of those times I'm happy that we have to double space. It makes it look longer. Anyway the topic is a pro-smoking website. Some of the things on there are a little out there. But thats all I'm going to say on it.

My sister's been sick for a while. She's been going through a really tough time. Her and her boyfriend are on a break and he moved out. I really hope they work things out because they are too great together. It would be really sad if that happened. I think she needs to slow down. Take a day off or something. With her working at the fair, she doesn't have a day off and thats bound to make someone sick. Hopefully, she'll get better and things will go alright for her.

School I guess is going alright. I think I'm going to look into getting a tutor. I think that would be the best thing for me since the teacher doesn't know how to explain anything. He gave us a ton of homework to do this week and I just got it done. Well, I didn't get it all done but the ones I knew how to do I did. The ones I didn't know I left blank but I did try to work them out, so maybe I'll get partial credit for them.

Well, nothing else is going on. Everything is quiet. Time to get ready and go. I get to leave in an hour. Yay!

Writer's Block

I have a serious case of writer's block. I know its probably getting old me griping about writing my papers but it's worrying me. I don't know where to start. I found a website and now I don't know where to begin. If I could just find an example of what I'm supposed to be writing, it would help me out so much. I couldn't find any examples. I found examples for my final paper but nothing of this one. I'm really starting to stress. I know it important for me not to stress but its getting harder for me not to. I think if I could just get past this first paper, I should be alright. At least I have until Friday to get it done. Maybe some of my classmates could help me out. I don't know if the teacher is ok with that so I'll have to ask her first. I don't want to get anyone in trouble and the last thing I want to be accused of is cheating. I just need a jumpstart, just a nudge in the right direction. Well thats enough bellyaching for now.

Went to the Oyster Festival at Fells Point on Saturday. It was nice. I went with Maggie, Longo, Beth, Eddie, and Maggie's mom. It was a beautiful day and everyone seemed to have a good time. Towards the end of the day though things weren't all that great. Thats because Longo drank a little too much and he was supposed to be the Designated driver. I didn't drink and Maggie had stopped drinking hours before we left. She only had 2 drinks anyway. So she drove home. She wasn't happy. But other than that, it was a nice day. There was also a Crab and Beer Festival at Harbor Point. We didn't go there though. The festival seemed a lot smaller this year than last year. I don't know if that was because of the other fest or what. In 2 weeks the Fun festival starts. I'll be going to that. It's always a lot of fun. Tons of people though. I'm not too keen on crowds but I always have a nice time if I'm with the right people.

This coming up Saturday, I promised Heidi I would go with her and some other people to the Renaissance Fair. I don't mind going, I have a lot of fun when I go. Besides, I wanted to get the girls flower wreaths for their hair and this way, they can choose which one they want. They'll look adorable in them. Heidi also wants to look into getting them costumes. I don't know about buying them there. They are really expensive but they are well made. I just don't think it would be a good investment considering they'll probably outgrow them in a year. At least Morgan will. Zoe is pretty much the same height and weight she's been since she was 2. She has grown a little. She finally fits into a size 3T. She's been almost the same weight since she was 9 months old. Morgan on the other hand doesn't seem to stop growing. She's a weed. I'm looking forward to spending time with them.

I finally got around to watching "Sin City". I don't know if I liked it. I liked the cinematography and I liked Bruce Willis in the movie. I also liked the way everything seemed to come together in the end. During the movie, I was questioning the relevance of some of the things in there but everything resolved itself in the end. I really really liked Bruce Willis in this movie and I'm not a huge Bruce Willis fan, aside from "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable". I still have to get through some more movies that I have at home. I still haven't watched "Crash". I have to watch that so I can send it back. And I have "The Bourne Identity" and "The Bourne Supremacy" at home still. I rented them for my stepdad but I read the book and I really liked the story.

Well, I should be getting back to attempting to write this awful paper.

Long-Range Paper Topic

I think I've figured out what my long range paper is going to be one. Thats that big one due at the end of the semester. I think I'm going to research the causes of the Cuban Revolution and its effect on Latin America. Hopefully, she'll go for that. I've read a lot about the Cuban Revolution in the past couple of years and its something I'm interested in talking about. The Cuban Revoltution has influenced many countries especially in Latin America. I don't think she'll have any issues with me doing a paper on it. I hope she doesn't. I was already at a loss as to what I should write my paper on when this idea came to me. I can write papers just fine as long as I have a topic. I have an extremely hard time finding topics. There is so much out there and its hard to pick just one. I also don't want to do anything that has been done before but thats inevitable. Its a research paper, not a discovery. It's all about how the author approaches it and what they glean from their research.

In other news, since Maggie and Longo have decided to get married, I've decided to support her. She wants me there when they get married so since she wants me there, I'll go. I think its a mistake and I told her I thought it was but I'm not her and its not my life. It's her decision. I don't like Longo. It took me a long time to start to like him but it light of recent events, I don't care for him at all and I don't think anyone should be in a relationship with him. But its ultimately her decision and I'll be there for her no matter what happens.

Since they're getting married at the court house, she's planning a small reception afterward. She wanted her sister to cater it for her but Amy, thats her sister, said that it was going to cost her. Come on! I wouldn't dream of charging a relative or close friend to cook for her small reception. Maggie was really upset with her. Maggie was going to buy the food all Amy had to do was cook it. Maggie was going to pay her but then Amy said that besides the food, she wanted to be paid for her time which was going to cost her. So, Maggie called her other sister, Beth and Beth was fuming. So she called and told me what happened so Beth and I have decided to do all the cooking so that Maggie doesn't have to worry about Amy. When Maggie called Amy and told her not to worry about it, Amy got all mad and said that it was a mistake to have me and Beth cooking. I was slightly offended. Amy has never had my cooking, she doesn't know how well or how bad I am.

I'm alright at cooking. I mean I make really good lasagna and all that stuff but what made me a little angry was that Amy was making assumptions. I know no matter how good the stuff I make is, Amy is going to criticize it. Oh well, I'll get over it. It's not about me. It's about Maggie and Amy would do well to remember that.

Quest has Ended! Hopefully

I think I have finally found a website to base my paper on. It has to do with censorship of reading material in schools. They are trying to ban so many books. Many of them I don't know why they're upset with them. I remember reading some of them in middle school and I didn't have a problem with the content. But I'm not everyone. Maybe if I was a parent I would change my opinion but I honestly don't think I would. I don't know. Some of these books are staples in English classes and I don't see why anyone would want to ban them. I am against censorship for the most part although I have to admit that there are things out there that I would want to protect my kids from. It's such a touchy subject.

Why would anyone want to ban "Of Mice and Men"? Thats a great book. So is "The Catcher in the Rye" and "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". Yes, their content can be hard to stomach but its reality. Those books deal with real issues. It's upsetting. I hope that when I have kids, that they are readers. If these books are banned, I will go out and buy them myself for them to read or even consider home schooling. It just doesn't make any sense to me. It angered me to see some of the books on that list. I think thats what made me want to review this site.

Everything is going alright here for the most part. Algebra was even more of a disaster last night. People were actually openly laughing at this man. I'm thinking about calling the dean or visiting my counselor to see what can be done about this. Like I said, he's a nice man but all this is so basic for him that he doesn't know exactly how to explain it in terms people like me can understand. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

For some reason my history professor wants to meet with me next week. It's weird because this semester I chose not to take a history class. I wanted to but I needed to get the math out of the way. So I have to call him to figure out whats going on. I can't imagine why he would want to meet with me. I guess I'll find out.

Corny

When we bought our textbooks for Algebra, we got a CD series for the computer by the author of the text. She is corny. I don't know how else to describe her. She's just weird. Mathmaticians tend to be quirky but she's off the charts. I finally got my homework done. He assigned a lot for this week and I'll have more tonight. Not looking forward to going at all. I'm starting to dread Tuesday and Thursday nights. Not good considering we are only in our 2nd week of school.

My quest to find a bogus website continues. I just can't seem to find one that she thinks is good to base a paper on. I can't find a overtly biased website at all. I don't know if its because I'm not searching right or what. Hopefully, I'll get somewhere with this by the end of the week. It's just not looking good at the moment.

Still loving the iPod. Probably the best investment I've made so far. Its a neat little gadget. Until my cousins whatever figure looks at my computer, I'll just have to charge it and download stuff at work. No biggie. I'll survive. My next investment with either be a.) a new home computer or b.) a digital camera. We'll see what happens. There are a lot of birthdays coming up soon and so is Christmas. In Giant they actually had some Christmas stuff up! Hello! It's September! No need to rush. I love Christmas and I know its not about the presents but still.

Ah well, back to the quest.

Good

Well I figured a way to get music on my iPod. I'll just do it at work so I downloaded some stuff this morning. So now I can listen to music on the way to work without bugging anyone else.

I'm still having trouble finding a suitable website for my paper. Thanks to Lance and Amy for the suggestions though. I'll just keep on keeping on I suppose. I just hope I don't run out of time.

I watched "Garden State". What an excellent movie. I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. It was a lot different than I thought too. I don't usually care for Natalie Portman's acting with the exception of "Star Wars" but she was really good in this movie. I like Zack Braff even more now that I've seen this. If anyone has the chance to watch it, they should. Definitely worth the time. I did get around to watching "Napoleon Dynamite" again. I have to say it gets funnier every time you watch it. I found myself quoting it. What a dork.

Not much else going on. I haven't heard from my dad but he was supposed to get out of the hospital yesterday. He was supposed to call me when he knew whether he was leaving or not and I'm scared to call his hospital room in case I get the new occupant. I don't want to disturb anyone. I guess I'll have to search to find my brothers number since he's staying with him for a while. I thought that was nice of him to let dad stay with him for a while. I thought originally Jimmy was going to stay with my dad and I thought that was a little strange but I had it wrong so that doesn't matter.

Well I gotta get back to looking for websites. Fun Fun.

Something Big, For Me Anyway

Today I did something big, I bought an iPod. Thats big because I don't like to spend that kind of money on myself. I've wanted one for a long time so while I was getting speakers for my POS home computer, I bought one. Only thing is this, I didn't realize that I didn't have the system requirements. I have Windows ME and they want you to have Windows XP or 2000. So now I don't know what I'm going to do. I guess I'll have to ask my cousins baby daddy to help me out. He fixed my computer before and all so I trust him.

I watched Napoleon Dynamite. I thought it was hilarious. It wasn't at all what I was expecting but it was funny nonetheless. I think I'll watch it again before I have to send it back. I still have a couple more movies here to finish up watching so I'll probably do that tonight and tomorrow. I should be working on my English stuff but I'm still having trouble Lance gave me a good website but my teacher said that it wasn't a good idea if I used it. So back to the drawinf board for me.

Dad is supposed to get out of the hospital tomorrow. I know he can't wait. He's been in there a little over 2 weeks and he's about had it. He was complaining about the beds and I told him if they give him a comment card, tell them they need new ones that are more comfortable and more suitable for some one his height.

Next weekend is the Fells Point Oyster Festival. Last year we went and we had a good time. I don't know if we are going to go this year. We'll see. I just like walking around down there. Thats where I grew up so whenever I walk around there, I feel like I'm 7 years old again. I remember when I was in the third grade we had out annual balloon launch. It was a fundraiser and all we did was let balloons go to see how far they would travel. That year was the last year I participated and my balloon made it all the way to Delaware. I know that doesn't seems far but considering it was a cheap rubber balloon, it was pretty far. And come one, when you're that age, the next town over is far.

Well I should get back to trying to find some bad websites. I really hate doing this.

He's Becoming a Joke

I had another algebra class yesterday. I feel so bad for this guy, everyone in class laughs at him and I'm guilty of it sometimes myself. I don't mean to do it but some of the stuff this guy does is just not right. Once again last night, he had trouble doing the problems he wrote on the board. He even gave wrong answers. I just feel really bad for him. There were quite a few people missing out of the class which makes me think that they've dropped it. I see more people dropping it as time goes on.

I'm still working on my paper for research writing. Thanks to Lance, I have a website to base my paper on. Thanks for that because I was getting nowhere fast looking different things up. I think it should be appropriate considering. Some of the stuff on there is incredible. I had to laugh, it's just too much.

I finally finished "The Motorcycle Diaries" which was really good. I already knew the story but it was nice to see it. I also watched another spanish language film, "Amores Perros". I'm seeing a trend in some of the spanish language movies, I've rented. They all have Gael Garcia Bernal in them. He's a good actor and I'm surprised he hasn't crossed over into American cinema yet. "Amores Perros" is once again a little on the graphic side so if anyone reading this is thinking about renting it, they should consider some of the content in it. Most of it is animal cruelty so dog lovers shouldn't watch it at all. I'm a dog lover and had a problem seeing some of the stuff in the film. Once you get past that though, it's really good. They like to curse a lot in these movies too. Lots of profanity, mainly the f-bomb. But it doesn't offend me. I don't use it because I think there are reasons they are called expletives. It's just not something that I say on a daily basis but I hear it. "Napoleon Dynamite" should be here today. I'm excited to see that. I've heard nothing but good things about this movie so I hope it lives up to the hype.

I think this weekend, I'm just going to stay home and get some more homework done and watch movies. I like doing that, just staying home where its quiet and comfy. The weather here lately has been gorgeous. Not too hot and not too cold. In the mornings there's a chill in the air that screams Fall. I love that. But with the fall comes lots of birthday's in my family. Just in my immediate family, all of our birthdays are in October and November. Then I have friends that have birthdays in the early winter and then there Christmas. But I want it to be fall for now so I'm not going to think about winter just yet. I already ordered mom's birthday present which should arrive today. I should probably give my sister a heads up that its being delivered.

School

I can't say that my first day of school was a success. My algebra teacher is a retired army engineer. Not that there's anything wrong with that but considering we have such a large class, I think he's going to have some issues. It's like he can't keep his train of thought. He talks in snippets like he hears it in his head but only pieces of it are coming out of his mouth. The girl that sat next to me kept on asking what he said and what we were supposed to be doing. I could'nt help her because I didn't know. He's just really confusing. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the people in the class dropped it by the time we meet next which is tomorrow. It's just too much for him I think. Too large of a class, nearly 30 people. He also gave out a ton of homework to be done by tomorrow. Of course no one is exactly happy when they are given homework the first day.

I finally figured out my online class. I think it's gonna be trying as well. I already have a paper due in 2 weeks. Unfortunately, I don't know where to start. We are supposed to find a website that is unreliable. I don't visit websites that are unreliable so I don't know where to start. But at least the teacher seems nice. I haven't met her yet but just by the way she's set things up and responded to our posts already I think she's a good teacher.

I just want to get decent grades this semester. I mean I got and A and a B last semester and I don't want to get anything under a B. I'm a little on edge about it but I think once things start to settle down I should be alright. I just have to keep up which shouldn't be too hard because I have time at work to do homework and I have time at home. I think I'll be ok.

The doctors said that dad should be home in a couple of days. I know he can't wait. It's been 2 weeks and I think he's had enough.

Well there's not much going on right now just school stuff. Time to get cracking.

Ren Fest

Well after all the drama of Sunday night, yesterday was fun. I found out more of what happened on Sunday. Apparently my mom saw my sister's husband hit her which is why they were shouting at each other. I have made up my mind that I don't like Claude one bit. You don't hit, plain and simple. I don't care if anyone hits you, you don't hit back. I have to say though that if I saw him hit her I wouldn't have hesitated to go after him. He probably would have killed me but still. I just can't deal with stuff like that. My mom was abused by her first husband and she doesn't want to see my sister go down the same path she did. She married young and was more in love with the idea of being married than the person she married. I think the same applies to Amanda.

It took a lot for Alison not to go out there and give him a piece of her mind and Alison doesn't care what people say about her. Ali and Amanda have never gotten along but when it comes to stuff like that, Alison always has her back. I don't know what to do with them. No one can talk to Amanda about it because she it constantly making excuses for him which as we all know is one of the signs of domestic violence. She feels its her fault, etc etc. I've seen her being beaten by her ex boyfriend and let me tell you that wasn't a highlight in my life. I wanted to beat the crap out of him but instead yelled and called the police. Of course by the time I got to calling the police, he had left so I reported him as a drunk driver. He was drunk and he was driving so I wasn't lying. I was worried that he would kill or hurt someone else. Of course nothing came of it. Anyway, off the depressing subject.


The Renaissance Festival was a lot of fun. It was a bit warmer that I thought it was going to be but it was good. Gage and Jason went along. It was their first time going so it was all new to them. We saw the contortionist and we saw a bit of a band play music. Mr. Mike went down the slide which was really funny to watch. He nearly flew off it. It was a good laugh. We walked around looking in the different shops and stuff like that. Some of the stuff there is absoltely gorgeous. Expensive, yes but still beautiful. I'm going to back on October 8 with Jason and then again the weekend of the 18 with Alison. I think i'm going to do a little bit of Christmas shopping while I'm there. There were a lot more people there than I thought there were going to be. I know it was a holiday weekend but I figured people would be elsewhere. All in all it was a good trip. I'm really looking forward to going back.

More good news for dad. They moved him and when I talked to him, he sounded like his usual self. He still can't wait to get home but the doctors said that he is doing extremely well. Thats great news.

I don't think anything else is new. I start school today but I'm having a hard time with the online class already. It's asking me for a password that the school issued me for the class but the school never did. I don't know. I'll have to call them later to see whats going on. I have class at 7 tonight. I'm nervous but I'm always nervous. I just hope the teacher is as good and cool as the teacher I had last semester for math. I hate algebra but I have to know it. Actually I wound up liking it a lot last semester so maybe I'll continue liking it and maybe even get really good at it. I've also been thinking about what I want to do with my history degree and all. I want to get my degree in history with an emphasis on Latin American culture. The culture there is fascinating. It reminds me of early Christianity in a lot of ways because they blend some of the their original beliefs with Christianity. Its neat.

Thats it for the time being.

Trouble

Yesterday I went to Heidi's Labor Day/ Mike's Birthday Party Cook out thing. It was ok I guess. Jenn, Mike, Shelley, Ryan. Jeffery, and Frankie came which was good because I always feel out of place when I go there. These people don't really know me nor I them. Heidi was trashed by the time I left. I think she was drinking before I got there or shortly after. Jenn and Mike were late but I kind of expected it. Frankie was late too and I expected that as well. He got lost, he wound up somewhere in Towson. I don't know how he got there but I didn't ask too many questions. Ryan, Shelley, and Jeffery didn't stay long. Ryan hurt his sciatic nerve so he was in a lot of pain. Mike didn't stay either but I expected that. He has a lot of issues and doesn't like to be around people. Frankie left early which I wasn't expecting. I guess it's because he didn't know anyone there really. Jenn left not long after he did and I left an hour after that. I wasn't drinking and it's not always that much fun to be surounded my drunk people when you're sober. I got home at around midnight.

Today, Alison and Paul came up to spend the night so we can go to the Renaissance Fair tomorrow. They brought crabs so we steamed them and were chillin and all that stuff. Then for some reason, Claude flipped out on Alison, calling her ignorant or something like that. I wasn't in the room and when she told me what happened I was just like OK. She made an innocent joke that no one wouldhave found offensive. She said something about slots in West Virginia and Amanda thought she said sluts. Alison said no, slots although I'm sure there are sluits down there. Innocent enough, right? Apparently not because at that point Claude started yelling at her and all. He has family that lives down there and he didn't appreciate her calling them sluts. Um, from what I heard, she didn't call his family sluts. I think he was looking for a reason to fight. He and Alison don't get along. Anyway this huge fight broke out while I was washing up the dishes between Amanda and Claude and then Mr. Mike and Mom got dragged into it. Just a huge mess all around. I hate drama. I try and appease people and keep my opinion and comments to myself as much as possible to avoid anything like this. I just don't like it. I don't know whats going to happen. It just seems so stupid to me.

Dad is a lot better. They moved him out of the Cardiac ICU to his own room. He's a lot happier there. He can move around and all. Yesterday when I went to see him, he was still out of it. He kept asking weird questions like "Why are you wearing a Girl Scout Uniform?" to Amanda and to me, "Can I have your cell phone?". I don't have a cell phone. Anyway I think it was the medication. He said that he was seeing things that weren't there and that he had ESPN. I started to chuckle when he said that, I thought maybe he was joing aroundm, but then I realizes that he meant ESP and said ESPN. It was still funny. But I'm just glad he's alright. Maybe by the end of the week, he'll be out.

Still floored by the situation in the south with all the hurricane victims. I just wish there was more that I could do for them. It's going to take a long time to get that mess cleaned up and most of these people don't have anywhere to go. They started recovering the bodies. I don't know if I could do that. I don't think I have the guts to do it. I saw some police officers on the news talking about the recovery efforts and they were near tears. It has to be not only physically exhausting but mentally too. I'll just keep them in my prayers.

I finally finished "Constantine". I liked it. I thought it was pretty good. I don't know a thing about the comics but the movie was good. I still have to finish "The Motorcycle Diaries" but I did get around to watching "Love Actually". I thought it was a cute movie and I might watch it again.

Well thats all for now. Tomorrow is the Renaissance Fair. It should be interesting to say the least.

Quick Update and Other Stuff

Dad is doing a lot better. They took him off the ventilator today because he's doing so well. They thought he might have been developing pneumonia so they started him on antibiotics because he had a fever and there was a lot of fluid in his lungs. The fluid in his lungs started to build up because of the damage his lungs received from 50 years of smoking. Because of the tube in his throat he of course can't talk but they wrote the alphabet down on a piece of paper so he could spell things out. I know it had to be frustrating for him. I suck at charades and hand signals so I'm sure he was getting frustrated with me. They were even talking about him taking a walk today so thats good news too. I think hopefully if everything else goes well, he should be out in about a week. So everything is going well there.


Hurricane Katrina is of course the big news here. It's so sad, just makes you feel so helpless. I know when Isabel came through here and we were flooded, a lot of people came to our aid. I know there are a lot of people volunteering and donating money. I think the only good thing the president has done is free up over $10 billion for hurricane relief. They're sending a lot of Guardsmen from here this weekend. Thats good because they need all the help they can get. The lawlessness that is going on in the Convention Center and other areas is horrible. Many of the troops that are being deployed were given shoot to kill orders. I don't think that was a good idea at all. Yeah, I know there are people there that went and stole weapons and they are shooting at innocent people, but is it really a good idea to give shoot to kill orders when there are so many innocent people around? No I don't think that violence should be met with violence. I can't suggest anything but thats just how I feel. As more time goes by the sadder the story gets.

Like I mentioned yesterday, there are people across the country that are opening up their homes to those that lost theirs. There are quite a few churches in my area that are urging their parishoners to take in some of the victims if they have room. Food and clothing is a lot easier to get than a home and the churches said they are taking any donations people can afford to give, whether it be food, clothing, or money. The Maryland Food Bank, is also donating food to the victims. Thats really a great thing considering that the food bank is always in need of more food. Especially with colder weather and the holidays coming up. Food drives are pretty successful around here so I don't think they'll have a problem replenishing their stock.



I watched a movie the other day called "Y Tu Mama Tambien". It's an older movie, I think it came out 3 or 4 years ago. It's a Mexican movie so naturally its all in Spanish. It's really good though. There was a lot of nudity and sexual situations in it but once you get past that, its a really good movie. It was funny and sad at the same time. If you can stand to sit through a movie with subtitles and don't mind sexual content, you would probably really like it. I have "Constantine" sitting at home waiting for me to watch it. Since I've been at the hospital and work, I haven't had a whole lot of time to watch movies. But I'm working on it. The reason I watched "Y Tu Mama Tambien" was because I wanted to send it back so I could get another movie. I knew no one else in the house would watch it because there were subtitles and the content.

The next movie I should get it "The Motorcycle Diaries". Another Spanish language film, but this one deals with the early life of Che Guevara. I already know the story, I read his biography a couple years ago but its really a good story. Che Guevara, for those who don't know who he is, was a Cuban revolutionary. He was with Fidel Castro when he overthrerw Fulgencio Batista. I know that sounds bad to most Americans, a couple years ago if you said that to me, I would feel the same way. But Che Guevara believed that he was helping free oppressed people which is what the mission originally supposed to do. But "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and in the end, he left Cuba to train revolutionaries in the Congo and Bolivia. He was of course on the U.S. watch list because he was a communist and at the time and even now, but more so back then, communism had the same stigma as the "f" word. Most people thought, and to some extent still feel, Communists were evil and they were against the way we live our lives. It's true that we live in a society the complete opposite of communism but if you look at him, the man, you will see that he felt he was doing something good for the people. He didn't like that there were so many poor people while there were also so many rich people. Thats odd considering he came from an upper middle class background. But anyway, he was a good person at heart, he was a doctor committed to helping the poor and sick.

It sounds like I'm espousing communist propaganda but I'm not. I'm talking about the person. If anyone has the chance to read up on him, they should. I think they would benefit from reading his story. I'll probably be the only one watching this movie in my house too, but thats ok with me. Everyone has their likes and dislikes. It's just a really interesting story, his life. I think he just wanted to help people and it always bothered him that some people were living the high life while others were starving or dying of disease.

Anyway, sorry about that. I just kind of went with it. Like I said though, if you have a chance to read up on him, you should. He led a very interesting life, full of contradictions like most of us do.

Helpful

I just read a truly great story. There are people throughout the country that are willing to house those who fell victim to Hurricane Katrina. I thought that was one of the best things I have ever read. These people don't have to offer food and shelter but they are, to total strangers. Unfortunately, many of the people that need it don't know its available because the listings are posted online and of course many of them don't have internet access. Hopefully, maybe the Red Cross or other volunteers can somehow get a listing and start placing people. The homes that are available are across the country so many will have to go far but you know its a place to live until they can get back on their feet. I love reading stuff like this. No only if people would open their homes up like this to the thousands of homeless that were in the streets before the hurricane. That would be great. If I had a house of my own, I would take in as many people as I could. I know people think its dangerous but more often than not, these people either lost their jobs or some other unfortunate event happened which made them homeless.

I hate to see children on the street. If I could I would adopt all the kids that need help. I think its a shame to see so many kids in foster care or in group homes. They don't get the attention they need and or that feeling of family. I think if I had a ton of money I would buy a huge house and have as many kids as I could live there, no matter what age. Not just the babies. Thats something that always bugged me a little. There are kids out there that are 8, 9, 10 and up that need homes but they don't find them because the people that are adopting want babies. I understand that people want babies, I do too, but there are more kids over the age of 5 that need homes than there are under that age. It just doesn't seem fair to me. It like just because they are older, they don't get a nice home with good parents and people that will love them no matter what. Where I used to go to church, a lot of the kids that went were either adopted or in foster care. I always thought that was cool, you know taking kids in that otherwise wouldn't have a chance of being placed permanently. I don't go to that church anymore, nor do I agree with what they taught but I always admired that they took in kids.

Maybe one day I'll be fortunte enough to be able to help. I know there are kids around the world that need help and maybe more people will take an active role in helping relieve this problem. Did you know its easier and cheaper to adopt from a foreign country than it is here? Sometimes it takes years to adopt a child whereas once you are approved in say China or Russia, where there are a lot of orphans, you can have a child in less than a year. A lot of people adopt from China because there are so many orphaned children, mainly girls, because of China's regulation on how many children a family can have.

It just breaks my heart. I know this post started out positive and kinda went downhill from there but thats me. I jump from one thought to another most of the time. Thats how I talk to. I don't know why I do that....it's just one of my many flaws.

Dad is still on the ventilator. They gave him antibiotics last night because he had a fever and they think that he might be developing an infection. I'm going up this evening to see him. I haven't heard from Jimmy yet, hopefully he'll call soon. He's the one who has all the info. I'll just keep on keeping on and thinking positive.


Oh before I forget.....It SEPTEMBER!!!! I love the Fall. :)