I haven't posted in a while, so I will attempt to catch everyone up on the oh-so-thrilling events of my life. First, I will tell you all about the AP Env. Sci UN conference we had in APES. Well, each student was given a role to play (of an actual person) and they had to stay in character while we put on a "population conference". Basically we were supposed to come up with a United Nations Treaty to help control the world's rapid population expansion. It would have been a lot more fun if I had even half-way agreed with my character on any of a number of issues. I had Paul Ehrlich, who believes that the U.S. should put luxury taxes on diapers, cribs, bottles, and all other baby necessities. While I understand where he is coming from (developed nation's populations use about 80% of the world's resources, while the developing nations use the other twenty, even though the population is much higher in developing nations.), I do not believe that this is a reasonable solution. He would like to give cash to any couple who goes five years without having a child (yeah, invasion of privacy. . .), and to any man who voluntarily is sterilized. He would like to FORCE (yes, force) the sterilization of any man in India who has more than three children. And again, while this is understandable in the mindset behind it, I believe that we must first help India to grow economically so that it does not rely on the production of crops to feed its people. That is one reason people in India typically have so many children--- to help farm. The last idea he had was the most unreasonable and radical of all, and it made me want to scream at him. Anyways, he wants to forbid privately funded organizations and government sponosored groups from providing aid and food to famine-stricken countries. Riiiiiggghhhht. We'll just all sit back and let them die of malnutrition while we sit over here gourging on Filet Mignon, garlic mashed potatoes and cheesecake. Them, they don't matter. Yeah, so it was extremely, (extremely, extremely, extremely) hard to debate in favor of ideas you don't agree with on even a marginal level.


Then, Coach Jones informed me that I did not meet the eligibility requirements to run track this spring. Why? Because I was absent from school for 21 days last semester. The thing is, you can only be absent for 12 days in order to be eligible to participate in a sport. Well, you see, if I had been out smoking pot for 11 straight days, and then came back to school and barely sqeaked out a 2.0 GPA, I would be allowed to run track. But when I am sick, running a fever of 103, adn going to the doctor 3 times a week (yes, she stopped charging us, and was so concerned about my condition that she asked that I come in N-C -- no-charge-- at least three times a week so she could continue to run tests), and sleeping 20 out of 24 hours each day, and miss 20 school days as a result, I am not allowed to run track. Hmmmm. . .the bureaucracy is getting the best of us. ;)
It's life. Take the good with the bad, and count your blessings. (2x for each blessing!!!) I got to manage the bball team, and I have a lot of other opportunities ahead. It's not my last year of HS, so I have a plethora of opportunties that lay in waiting, JUST FOR ME!

More later. Time for school. Have a great week everyone. :)

"Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God IS love." -1 John 4:7-8

I have realized a very unfortunate thing. I am apt to take for granted the people/things closest to me, who love me the most, and who/which hold the most value of everything in my life. I think often I look to the outside world for support and acceptance (i.e. sports, activities, etc), when, in actuality, the love I need is from family and friends. I think I focus way too much on the tangible aspects of life, when it is the intangible things that give my life's its deepest significance. I realized this after listening to a song by Lonestar. It is called "My Front Porch Looking In."


Oh yeah
Yeah oh yeah

The only ground I ever owned was sticking to my shoes
Now I look at my front porch and this panoramic view
I can sit and watch the fields fill up
With rays of glowing sun
Or watch the moon lay on the fences
Like that's where it was hung
My blessings are in front of me
It's not about the land
I'll never beat the view
From my front porch looking in

There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
And the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in, yeah

I've traveled here and everywhere
Following my job
I've seen the paintings from the air
Brushed by the hand of God
The mountains and the canyons reach from sea to shining sea
But I can't wait to get back home
To the one he made for me
It's anywhere I'll ever go and everywhere I've been
Nothing takes my breath away
Like my front porch looking in

There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Yeah the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in

I see what beautiful is about
When I'm looking in
Not when I'm looking out

There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Yeah the view I love the most

Oh, the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in
Yeah
Oh, there's a carrot top who can barely walk
(From my front porch looking in)
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong, yeah
And the most beautiful girl
(Beautiful girl
From my front porch looking in)
Holding both of them
Oh, yeah


I won't sit and analyze the song for you, because it is fairly self-explanatory, but it truly made me realize that the richest blessings are far too often the ones we don't realize the value of. So, to all of my friends and family, who read this, thank you for loving me and being there for me. :)

Great day today! Lady Phoenix Basketball team went to the Women's UNC v. Clemson game (UNC won--- BOOO! >GO DUKE!). Funny stories, and inside jokes like: "Cherry tomatoes", "nose" and such.

Anyway, right outside the gym, there were slips to enter a contest. Well, Chandler came up with the idea of putting Coach Jones's name into the box as many times as possible. So Rachel B., Rachel M., Chandler and I stood at the table, hogging all the slips, and entering Coach at least fifty times. Of course, Coach had no idea that we were up to this, and we had NO IDEA what we were entering her for. (hehehe!!!) At one point, she came over, and as we covered up what we were writing, she said "Are you guys entering to win tickets or something?" We all nodded. ;) It took forever to fill out all the cards because they wanted TONS of info, like address (how are we supposed to know? We used RCHS's), and her phone number (we used her cell number), and her age (hahaha. . .we made one up.... the UNC people think Coach Jones is 25!!!! ;)....thanks to us!), and her email address (@raleighcharterhs.org, which is a really really looonnng address to write, when you are doing "speed ballots!"). It was fun, though, and well worth it.

So, with about eight minutes left in the first half, they come on the loud speaker, and say "Will Wendy Jones and [insert name of the other winner here] please come down the the sponsor's table now? You have won the drawing." Coach looks completely bewildered. We all know she is thinking (because it's team day, and we all got in free, without tickets or ID of any kind) How did they get my name? and what drawing are they talking about? We just giggle and tell her to hurry up and go over to the table. Well, she does. And finds out that during half time, she has to shoot on the court. She must shoot a layup (which wins her a pizza), and then a free-throw (which wins her a Dicks Sporting Goods $10 gift card), and then a three-pointer (which gets her Chick-fil-A for a year), and then a half court shot (which gets her an American Airlines ticket). She only has, however, thirty seconds to complete all four shots. Well, she is in a dress shirt, and some kind of "non-sneaker" shoes, and goes out there, with us cheering at the top of our lungs, and misses her first layup (which is the thing she is always yelling at us to get "right", so you can bet we won't let her live it down.). In thirty seconds, she misses a layup, makes a layup, misses a free throw, makes a free throw, and misses two three pointers. All in all, she did well, and she won the gift card and the free pizza.

Alright, now I can tell the "icing story." We went to Lauren's house to celebrate her seventeenth birthday. Well, of course there was cake. And Jessi likes icing, so Rachel M. gives Jessi her icing. Now Jessi has a pile of icing sky high on her plate. Of course she doesn't eat it all, and after we have all finished and are sitting around chatting, Jess decides it would be funny to put the icing to use, so to speak. I was talking to someone, and Jess puts icing on Rachel M's face, and then suddenly turns to me and smears it all over my cheek. Thinking she has put water on my cheek (hey, it was cold, and slippery), I use the shoulder part of my shirt to wipe off the "water." Now, not only is there blue icing on my shirt, but there is icing ALL OVER the left side of my face. I go inside to get a napkin, and Coach Jones goes "Lindsay, what have I told you about fighting with inanimate objects? You know they always beat you!" I had to laugh.

It was a really really fun day. Too bad we have to go back to having boring practice tomorrow. hehe. [Don't tell Coach J I said that!!!]