Monday, January 31, 2005

It has come to my attention, unfortuneately (or maybe fortuneately for all you readers...who number probably two, tops) that I do not write anything substantial on my blog and it often is just the result of incoherent ramblings on my part. On that note, two things: One, I apologize. Two, I plan to fix that (though I might forget and publish something worthwhile once!) Anyway, I'm thinking maybe it would be a good idea to separate each of my posts into sections: life, politics, news, ramblings, God, etc.

Life: Well, I am currently brainstorming ideas for the Wade Edwards Short Fiction writing contest. Ideas are more than welcome and greatly appreciated. I love to write, though most of my drafts and compositions end up in some hidden folder on my harddrive. (so much for a novel, I suppose). IM me if you want to contribute an idea for the fiction contest. I'm still attempting to get out of APBIO. My doctor wrote me a note saying it was causing me "undue stress" and I honestly think that things would have been oh so much simpler if my teacher had just agreed to let me switch out when I asked back in October. It's not that I'm lazy or don't want to do the work, or that it's even too hard. The honest truth is that I have missed 19 days this year, and keeping up in a class like that (where upwards of 90% of the curriculum must be explained by a teacher) it's impossible to keep up. Maybe I need a tutor...hmmm...yeah, I bet my mom would pay for that. :)

Politics: The elections in Iraq seem to have been a fairly decent success, with around 40 casualties (not that that's good, per se, but it's better than expected). And apparently voter turnout (of all eligible voters) was higher than it is here...now I think that's sad. I also think it was interesting how they made ordinances saying that Xpercentage of the candidates had to be female. It would be interesting for us to do that in America: Xpercent must be this race, or that race, or female, or homosexual, or affiliated with such and such a religion. (Not that it'll go over really well, but what if...?)

Ramblings: I'm frustrated in English class right now because there are about three people who talk incessantly whenever we have class discussions...like it's only those three who ever get a chance to talk. There are about five of us who raise our hands and wait to be called on, but the teacher never gets a chance to call on us, and doesn't when she has the chance. It's very frustrating. And even when I get my 10 seconds in the 45 min period, my ideas or opinions are shot down by those three people. I love english, but loathe that class b/c I think it's the teacher's duty to maintain some type of order in the classroom and give everyone a fair chance to talk.

God: I highly recommend this book. My alltime favorite line in there is something like "I made you," he said, "and I don't make mistakes." One of my youth leaders gave it to me, and I read it every night because it makes me truly feel like I am a special, unique creation of God, and that He didn't just close His eyes and create me without thought or process. It was on purpose! That's soooo cool, to me. I also like this quote from Psalms:
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."—Ps 139:14

News: Funny how Michael Jackson managed to make headlines when such a monumental change was happening in Iraq...maybe that's just me.
We read a really cool book about the Cold War (by Dr. Seuss) in 20th Century History today. It's called The Butter Battle Book. Here is the editorial review:
A cautionary Cold War tale (first told by Dr. Seuss back in 1984), The Butter Battle Book still has a lot to teach about intolerance and how tit-for-tat violence can quickly get out of hand. Explaining the very serious differences between the Zooks and the Yooks, a Zook grandpa tells his grandchild the unspeakable truth: "It's high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that Zooks do. In every Zook house and every Zook town every Zook eats his bread with the butter side down!" He then recalls his days with the Zook-Watching Border Patrol, as he gave any Zook who dared come close "a twitch with my tough-tufted prickley Snick-Berry Switch." But when the Zooks fought back, the switches gave way to Triple-Sling Jiggers, then Jigger-Rock Snatchems--even a Kick-a-Poo Kid that was "loaded with powerful Poo-a-Doo Powder and ants' eggs and bees' legs and dried-fried clam chowder."
With lots of fun and more-than-fair digs at the runaway spending and one-upmanship of U.S.-Soviet days, The Butter Battle Book makes a chuckle-filled read whether you're old enough to get the historical references or not. (And with all the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroos still in service, this book's message is far from obsolete.) (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

It was soooo good.
Okay, my incoherent ramblings are hopefully a little more coherent (though certainly not succint!) Again, ideas for the Wade Edwards Short Fiction are more than welcome and greatly appreciated.

Saturday, January 29, 2005

I went to Metamorphosis this weekend. I guess I should explain what exactly it is. We went to the church about 7pm and were dismissed from there. All the high school girls and our three leaders went to Annie Hoyle's house. Once there, we played some random version of "2 truths and a lie," followed by a study of consolation and desolation, how they affect us, etc. Then we played around a little more, and watched Raising Helen. Then we finally went to bed around 2am. (SOOOO much fun!) We woke at 8am and ate a marvelous breakfast of plain and choco-chip pancakes, cooked with love by the Hoyles. After breakfast we headed back upstairs to have another devotional. This one was about reflection, images, feelings, and action. After that, we packed up a little and headed to the church. We went through a prayer labrinth, which is basically about 11 steps with different topics at each station. You can pray, talk to, commune, listen to God. After each of us finished the prayer labrinth, we went to the foyer of the church where we could paint and make a collage on a big piece of canvas. It was really cool. Lee (my wonderful high school leader) helped me cut out individual letter for "FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE." That phrase stuck with me the most of everything in the prayer labrinth. I also painted a hand on the canvas that said "Hands to work, Hearts to God" above it. The canvas looked great when we were all finished. Then we got back in our cars (oh yeah, i rode with Lee everytime) and headed back to the Hoyle's house, where we had a wonderful lunch of homemade chili, sandwiches, fruit, and chips. Perfect for a cold day. We had a final session where we talked about Levicia Divina (Holy/divine words) and how to interpret or best understand it. Then we headed back to the church where we met up with the high school guys and went to go bowling. Emma, Stephanie, Meredith, Diane, Lee and I were all on a "team" or "lane." I'm not so good at bowling, but I'm super glad we had bumpers up! lol. I think I made the ball bounce a couple of times instead of rolling it, and I know taht twice I set the ball down at the beginning of the lane and tapped it. It was fun to watch it go so slowly. I like bowling with the five aforementioned people because they're ok (and not embarassed) about me goofing off and they are really encouraging. It was so much fun. Lee is awesome, cause I was having kind of a hard afternoon and she was really nice about it. Then we went back to the church and played Catch Phrase and waited for our parents to pick us up.

Things I learned this weekend (some serious, some not so...)
"Don't hate,
Eat a marshmellow"

18 girls and one bathroom don't mix lol

I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
I am God's creation, and God doesn't make mistakes!

Lee sure knows how to put on bandaids really well!

God has his own time, and is not limited to or bound
by the restraits we place on ourselves and our world.
He'll answer "on-time." It's like a song I heard once,
"He never failed us and won't start now.
It may not come when you want it
but he'll be there right on time,
He's an on time God O yes he is!"

I have the greatest friends and leaders at youth group! :)
Thanks, guys.




Not much else is happening. I'm busy busy with upcoming track, and newspaper, environmental club, RCCF, Spanish Club, Spanish tutoring, school work, and an upcoming Spanish competition. *scary* And of course, I have to take the SAT, the SAT IIs, and the ACT. And I need to start looking at colleges. On my list currently are: UNC-CH, UNC-Charlotte, George Washington University, Bryan College, Meredith College. I'm also looking a little at Georgetown, Agnes Scott, American, and UNC-Asheville and possibly NCSU.

Later all.

Sunday, January 23, 2005

What to say?

I was sooo impressed. Raleigh NC had gone since the beginning of school w/o a hurricane or ice or snow or any other inclement weather. We hadn't missed one day of school. Then BAM! We have this ice-snow stuff that coats the ground. They let us out of RCHS (and Wake CO, too I think) around 1:10, and the roads are clogged until all hours. Our fifteen minute drive turned into hours upon hours. We missed school the next day (thursday) but returned on Friday. Winter Formal was supposed to be on Saturday, and we were all very excited all day on Saturday b/c the weather hadn't appeared as forecasted, so it looked like we would have our dance. I got my hair done, my nails done, and was at Elizabeth's house around 5:45 when we checked the website. THE DANCE WAS CANCELLED. I hope it'll be rescheduled. It really is a bummer. But I had fun at Elizabeth's anyway, even with my hair that had so much hairspray in it. Elizabeth said it felt like cement. I agree.

In other news, I got to talk to Mark online. That was really nice. I never get to see/talk to him anymore, and it's sad. But we had a very nice chat and we'll hopefully get together again soon.

I have two ten-page research papers to finish by March, which is kinda stressful. One's for AP U.S. History and one's for 20th Century History. For the former, I'm doing a paper on the changes in interpretation (by the Supreme Court) of the Commerce Clause. As for the latter, I'm not sure about a topic yet. Ms. Greenwalt and i are planning to discuss it on Monday.

Environmental club is going splendidly. We're planning an afterschool movie for the school, and a raffle as well. We're trying to reinstigate white-paper recycling, but the teachers don't seem all that enthusiastic.

It's almost 2:30am, so I'm gonna head to bed. The wind is pretty rough right now. Worrisome.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

So, let's see. What to update about?

Well, we painted my room. It's got bright yellow walls, with an aqua bookshelf, a purple bookshelf and orange beams across the ceiling. Yeah, I'm nuts.

I missed an entire week of school last week with strept throat. But it was cool b/c I got to hang out with my mom all day.

I got called some pretty bad names at school today for no real reason, except that kids can be real jerks. It's hard because I want so much to not let myself be bothered by it, but it still hurts. You always grow up hearing that it doesn't matter what people think of you, only what you think of yourself. "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." Yeah, except when you get called names like Whore and such. Mr. Slattery saw it all happen, and he sort of chastised them for it, but I think he felt really bad, because after they walked away, he was like "Lindsay? You ok?" Well, even if I wasn't, I wouldn't admit it. I'm seventeen years old and nothing is supposed to bother me anymore. ARGH.

I just cling to these pieces of advice:
"The Lord will fight for you. All you have to do is stand still." -Exodus 14:14

"Blood isn't always thicker than water." -Clay Aiken's mom, Faye Parker

"Use disappointment as material for patience." -Faye Parker

"Que sera, sera." (Whatever happens, happens).

Monday, January 03, 2005

You Know You're Addicted to Friends When...
You named your cats Chandler and Phoebe
You have had dreams where you're the seventh Friend.
You *seriously* consider naming your future daughter Emma.
You can tell within 10 seconds of the beginning of the episodes exactly which one it is - and you can instantly remember what will happen.
You can't go one day without a Friends reference.
You are forever writing scripts for a Friends movie and sending them in (even if you have received several thousand rejection letters)
Your favourite words are - Doi, Yuh-hu and Nu-uh
You only ever buy magazines because they have something to do with FRIENDS in them
You get your hair cut like Jennifer Aniston's (even if it looks terrible on you)
You are able to perfectly re-enact every episode line-by-line
You are always refering to real life incidents as 'The One With......'
You have made a soundtrack out of all of Phoebe's songs and you listen to it all day long
You've taped every episode of FRIENDS since the very first one, and watch the tapes continually
You refuse to drink any beverage (especially coffee/tea) if it isn't served in one of the cups like the ones they have at Central Perk
You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends who are addicted to Friends.


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"<
Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence
http://www.quizdiva.net/bt/linguistic.jpg">>You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well.An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view.A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.
You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.


Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence
http://www.quizdiva.net/bt/linguistic.jpg">>You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well.An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view.A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.
You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.


Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence
http://www.quizdiva.net/bt/linguistic.jpg">>You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well.An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view.A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.
You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.


So I decided to post again. I got the "throw-up bug" for the second time in four months! That's a record for me. Before October, I hadn't had it for ten years or so. And then all of the sudden on New Years Eve (approx. 12am or so) I ring in the new year with some unpleasant symptoms. Lol. Both times this year, I got the bug from babysitting, the first from one family and the second time from a different family. Both, however had in common a one-year-old (coincidentally named Lily in both cases) who was sick the week before. I'm better now, and thankful for my health! :)

Vignettes are progressing ever so slowly. The more I try to work, the more annoyed I get. Partly at the assignment and partly at the emotions it provokes. I mean, who wants to write about scenes from their life. If all I write about are the fluffy parts, my teacher may grade down for "lack of interest," etc. Oh well.

Funny things my sister has said:

Me: I have a pin number. You don't. Haha.
Her: So what? I have a social security number! Haha.
Me: **rolls eyes**

Her: If people don't have a social security number do they not exist? (trouble is, she was serious)

Her: Is UNICEF about testicular cancer, cause it has "uni" in the name, so I thought there was maybe just one.

Her: Mom, if you don't take care of us, I'm turning you into Social Security (of course, she meant social services...but hey...services . security. what's the diff?)

My mom: That woman is so mean.
Me: yeah, she's a witch
Mom: More like a witch with a B
My sister: You mean B*witched?
^of course, that wasn't quite what we meant

My sister: Lindsay! Guess what? I made a new song for Clay.
Me: Really? What is it?
Her: "Don we now our gay apparel."
(yeah, I wasn't amused by this. Leave clay alone!)
That's my sister for ya. :)

In other news: I love law and order SVU. Olivia (Mariska Hagarty) and Elliot (Christopher Meloni) are my favorites! I also love Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I always cry during that one.

New Years Resolutions:
- Get along with my sister better
- Continue vegetarianism
- Love more, hope more, dream more, and cry less

Life Goals:
- Cure AIDS, Cancer, ALS, etc
- Change the world/save lives
- Be a part of Doctors without Borders or the Mercy Corps or the Peace Corps
- Teach School
-Run for president
- Get married
- Have a family
- Publish a book

Monday, December 27, 2004

It's winter break! Yay. Finally. I swear Junior year is harder than they told us it would be, and most of all...I HATE AP BIO! I want out of that class sooooo bad, but unfortuneately, my teacher is also in charge of schoolwide scheduling and doesn't think there is any reason for me to switch classes. UGH. (How bout these reasons: 1) I don't understand the material; 2) The teacher doesn't teach; 3) Everyone else in the class is as miserable as I am; 4) I have given up medical school dreams after only a semester in this course...pretty bad huh?; 5) It is causing me unnecessary stress; 6) The class isn't even required. In fact, I've completed all three science requirements for graduation! So there.)

Moving right along. I have been lazy all during break. I went running, played some bball, shopped, etc. I have yet to complete my 10 page outline for my AP U.S. History paper on the Commerce Clause, and have definitely barely started my "book" I'm supposed to write for English. It's supposed to be a book of vingettes, like The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros. Vingettes are little 3-4page snipets of episodes from your life. Here's my list of 7, so far:
1. My name (it's required), COMPLETED
2. Moving (11 houses in 16 years...) 1/2 way done
3. Alicia (no comment) Hard to write about
4. Hope, my kitty kitty. ALMOST DONE
5. Chile (yeah...need I say more?) 1/2 way done
6. Something else
7. Something else
^Yeah, I'm not too good at this, I know.


I had a splendid Christmas, and before that I had a wonderful 17th birthday. I got lots of clothes at both houses, but at my dad's house all my clothes that my stepmom picked out were at least three sizes too large...clearly not fitting. That kind of made me more concious than I wish I was about my "size." In fact, one shirt was a layered one with a three-quarter length sleeved shirt sewed on top of a full-lengthed sleeved shirt. The shirt was so large that the 3/4 length sleeves were regular length and the regularlength sleeves hung about six inches below my fingers. The shirt could have been a dress. Yeah, I was pretty upset because it made me feel bad. She was like it'll shrink. I was thinking, Lady, it's a size XXL, I need a medium...don't think it's gonna shrink that much. Plus my stepbrother told me I was fat, and when I told him I didn't appreciate the comment, he said, "well if the truth hurts..." I was really hurt. Then my stepmom told me to get over it, that I was making him cry because I was upset, and that I was ruining everyone's Christmas. Oh well. Such is the life with step families.

Onto bigger and better things, Chile is in a little over three months! I am sooooo excited. Claudio finally emailed me, and said he was always thinking about me and that he can't wait to see me in March...no worries. Long distance romances (since this isn't even close to one) never work out.


Monday, December 20, 2004

People (and grade) who are going to Chile:
1. Me (Junior)
2. Sherby (Freshman)
3. Denise (Freshman)
4. Taylor (Soph)
5. Bayleigh (Junior)
6. Michelle (Junior)
7. Marsha (Super-cool senior)
8. Kit (Super-cool senior)
9. Grant (Junior)
10. Casey (Soph)
11. Josh (Soph)
12. Julie (Senior)
13. Julie (Junior)
14. Claire (Fresh)
15. Jeremy (Senior)
16. Mark (Junior)
17. Danny (Soph...I think that's his name...)
Pretty cool group...I'm excited. :)

In other news:
The final multiple choice question on my 20th Century Topics Exam:
50. All of the following are true EXCEPT:
a. I am tired
b. I am in room 304
c. I love Ms. Greenwalt's tests. They make me happy.
d. I have two exams left to go.
e. All are true.

Ummm...can we say subjective. Obviously, b and d were true. A could sorta be true, and C was definitely NOT true! We all loathe her exams, but she doesn't care! We love her, though! Anyway, I cautiously put down E. :)

Friday, December 17, 2004

Well, I'm going back to Chile over spring break. It should be tons of fun and I can't wait to learn more spanish! My current hopeful majors are: Spanish and some history, with a minor in English or environmental studies. (no, i am not doing a double major/double minor combo! ha. like that would happen)

I'm currently engrossed in a major research paper for APUSH. It's about the changes that have occurred in the interpretation of the Commerce Clause since it was passed in the late 19th century. It's quite uneventful. Oh well.

In other news, I had my first two exams today: Spanish 4 and English 3. (funny how I'm a year ahead in my second language...hehe) They went ok. I highly recommend you click here. It is one of the most touching things I've seen in awhile and a good reminder around this time of year (and always). Have a great holiday, everyone.

Friday, November 26, 2004

Well, I got my hair cut today...It's short-er. That's for sure. It's not even shoulder length anymore. :( And to think I've worked all these months to have long hair (not that it was that long...but it was beyond my shoulders...not that it matters, it just goes back into a ponytail all the time...the tragedy of being a dancer/athlete) Anyway, the lady straightened it...so for the first time in years I have straight hair. It's amazing. I can't even describe how it looks, or how nice it feels not to have hair that is full of body and curly...bleh. I have noticed that my hair changes considerably during the year. In the summer is slowly approaches a blondish tone/highlight, while now, it is back to its original reddish, blah color. And, yes, I am not fond of my hair. I do like it right now because it is oh-so straight. And, for the first time is forever, it seems, I have that indescribable joy of being able to constantly tuck my hair behind my ears, which I am doing a lot of right now.

In honor of Turkey Day, I am going to post a list of things I am thankful for, though it will be obviously incomplete...how could I ever list all my blessings, as they are so abundant???!!!!
-the ever-present, housing, clothing, etc
-my school and all the accompanying lovely aspects
-my family and friends
-the youth program at my church which has (to say the least) changed my life
-health
-the rain b/c it makes me much more appreciative of the sunshine
-LIFE
-Jesus (need I say more???? *grin*)
-and so much more. It all just sounds so well...odd: Like, I'm thankful for all the suffering and pain I experience b/c it makes me grow and because the good times are not taken for granted


In other news, my youth leader, Carlye (bottom picture on left...) is pregnant with her first child, a boy!!! How cool is that?!?! I guess, Riley (the two year old seen in the right hand picture on the above link--she's being led by some youth off to the right, and her parents are pictured with the stroller) can't name the baby Lulu like she wanted to. Oh well.

I'm looking for a dance or gymnastics school to take classes at. So far score: Me: 0. My frustration: 1000000. I just wanna dance. Anyways.

Cultural fair is coming up this friday. Mica and I are doing a booth on Chile!!! Wooo. GO CHILE. Oh yeah, I'm going back this year!!!! YAY! I can't wait. I'm on their website here. (move your mouse over the picture of the dog, and I appear.) The dog in the picture with me is my newfound friend Perrita (or puppy, in English). She and I made friends on the beach one day, and I taught her (in Spanish) to sit, shake, stay, and come. A great accomplishment for a stray!!!! She must be really smart (or maybe it was the treats!!! hehe). I can't wait to go back! And this is my testimonial about my wonderful experience there~

Monday, November 22, 2004

Well, I have to tell you all about my wonderful D.C. trip! It was splendid! I went to school Thursday and had an absolutely wonderful Environmental Club meeting! I didn't sleep at all that night because I was too excited. I left my house at about 5:20am to head to RCHS to board the bus. (by this time I had been up for 22 hours). I gratefully sat in the adult-ish section. Basically there were 3 teachers (Ms. Greenwalt, Ms. Klein and Mrs. Tranquillo) and three parent chaperones. The first two rows on either side were taken and Ms. Greenwalt ended up sitting across the aisle from me. She said, "You know you're in the adult section right? You don't have to move, but I just wanted you to know." Yes, I told her, I was aware of that. "It's better up here-- quieter." I told her, laughingly. It took us until roughly ten thirty to get to D.C., all the while Ms. Greenwalt was rustling her N&O, and I was desperately trying to sleep to no avail. I had interesting discussions with Courtney and Emily, and Ms. Greenwalt switched seats with me because the speakers for the movie were on her side, so that way I could hear.
We went to the OAS (Organization of American States) and I got a little pocket consitution of the OAS in Spanish. And ya know what?!?!? I could understand 90% of it! YAY! Oh yeah, and we took a bathroom break right as we got to the OAS. And while i was in the bathroom, Jason called and said his White House tour had ended early and he wanted to know if he could join us! How cool is that????
Then we had lunch, which we had all packed. After that, we walked a few blocks passed the new WWII memorial and onto the Holocaust Museum. This is one of the most eye-opening, and heart-wrenching places dealing with WWII other than visiting the actual Auschwitz and Bgurkenau themselves. Imagine you see this. The wall itself is about 20 or 25 feet high and another 25 feet long, and all over it are names of Holocaust victims. It's very powerful when the victims suddenly are not just a mass grouped together, and they start to take on personas. They are no longer just the 6.5 million victims of the Holocaust, but now they have names.
These things were intriguing as well. Imagine sleeping on that with thirty to forty other people. That is why pneumonia and typhus were so rampant.
Things like this and the room full of shoes of victims were what brought me to tears. How could human beings be so cruel and hateful? (actually, cruel and hateful don't even scratch the surface of the horrors that went on in the work and death camps.) This room is like 50 feet high and a fairly wide room, filled floor to ceiling with pictures of victims. The room with the shoes is about the same width as the other room, and there is a small bridge that stretches across its length. All around the bridge are shoes from victims. On the wall it says something to the effect of "Because we were made of leather and not of flesh and bone, we survived." I cried the longest there. When I finished my tour through the museum, Ms. Greenwalt and I had a chance to talk which was nice because I was feeling very...lost. I asked her what made Hitler up and decide to do this. I asked her why his S.S. guards followed so freely, and felt nothing when lining people up and shooting them. I asked her why the rest of the world let this go on, thinking that waging war would solve the problems. I asked her why the people of the towns, when prisoners were on death marches, could not spare even a piece of bread. We had to read an independent reading book for 20th Century Topics. I read All But My Life, by Gerda Weissman Klein. One quote from that book is "All hearts are dead." There's more to it, but that should give you a pretty good overview of the sentiment at the time. I'll write more later.

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Today, I got to see Mrs. Koch's 1 month old baby, Noah. He is sooooo precious. He's pinkish, and little, and just adorable. :)
You know, its when I see babies (like Noah, and Hannah[Grunden]) that I wonder how parents like Andrea Yates can kill their children, for whatever reason. Though she drowned her children, the more common harm done to children is shaken baby syndrome, where a young child is shaken (usually out of sheer frustration) and the best metaphor I can come up with is that it's like an egg in a small jar. The egg is the brain/skull of the child. How terrible. The other night I was babysitting for a four-year-old and a one-year-old, who is not weaned yet. She cried for nearly four hours before she finally fell asleep, because she was hungry, tired and unable to tell me what she needed. I tried everything, bottles, diaper changes, rocking, cuddling, walking outside/inside, playing, reading, etc, etc etc, but she would not be consoled. Her shriek was deafening, and I was counting back from ten every few minutes. Not because I wanted to hurt her, but because I was so confused. I couldn't help her, and she was suffering (and my ears were too.) She eventually cried herself to sleep, but that incident sheds more light on how a full-time mom could easily be pushed over the edge. Of course, that doesn't make it right, but it's clearer to me. But how you could look in the eyes of a helpless child and hurt them, frustrated or not, is still unimaginable. Sorry for the morbidity.

D.C. trip is on Friday! YAY. I'm excited.

Yard Sale Saturday morning.

And sooner or later we're gonna paint my room. I vote yellow or orange. :)

I still need to post about current events, but at the moment, I'm swamped with work, and trying to watch Law and Order SVU!


Monday, November 15, 2004

Nothing much has happened in life recently. Lately, as in about one a week or every other week, I get a new ear infection, the latest occurrence having happened tonight. It switches ears each time, which sounds really weird, but it's true. The point of this drawn out ramble is that I finally got referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist b/c my doctor couldn't help me anymore. The ENT looked in my ears, and then used that suction thing like they have at the dentist, to ... well suction out my ear-insides. It was quite painful, but quite astounding to see how far medical technology has come. The point of this procedure was to remove any foreign object (bug, cotton, etc) from inside my ear that could have been causing infections.

Nothing much is happening, other than that. I did get tickets to see Clay Aiken's Christmas Concert with the Symphony! <---which I am very excited about.
I am thoroughly engrossed in a lovely research paper that is due in March for APUSH. Mrs. Newmark suggested the topic of Civil Rights Supreme Court Cases...should be interesting. I will have another similar paper due around the same time for 20th Century Topics, but it will be a different topic.

Other than that? I am going to D.C. on Friday with a group from school, to tour the Holocaust Museum and other such tourist sites. It'll be a long but fun day, I imagine.

When it is not 11:18 at night, I will comment on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, the lecture hosted at RCHS on the topic, and the recent death of Yassar Arafat. More later.


PS-If anyone who reads this knows of someone who would be a good Environmental Club speaker, let me know. I am trying to schedule after-school or lunchtime speakers from outside RCHS, seeing that I am now in charge of the club... So if you, or someone you know, would be interested in speaking at RCHS, give me your (or their) contact info. Thanks

Saturday, October 23, 2004

So I figured it might be time for me to get around to posting again...My life has been a multitude of busy, little happenings. I don't even know how far back to start...
School is fine, but nothing much to report there. I'm in AP Bio, Eng, APUSH, Spanish 4, Pre Calc, and Topics of the 20th Century.
As of this week (and yes, they often change weekly) my biggest time commitments are the Lady Phoenix Bball Team, Quiz Bowl, Raleigh Charter Christian Fellowship, Yearbook, Newspaper, and acting president of Env. Club. On top of all that, I am babysitting on an average of 3 or 4 times per week and we just moved, so I'm still trying to open cardboard boxes and compel myself to unpack.
I'm hoping to return to Chile this summer because it changed my life. Paola and Roberto (now married) came to visit RCHS on Wed, and I had not realized for the last month how much I missed them. Suddenly, though I want to go stay in Chile with them. In other Spanish news, I am now dreaming and thinking in Spanish, which often scares me. I wake up from sleep, and realize that the people (including myself) in my dream were not speaking English. I also think (outloud and in my head) in Spanish, and occassionally speak to sole-English speakers in Spanish, which they find a little odd, but hey...
One other thing that has changed for me recently is what I want to do with my life. It's funny, because I went for a while when I was really young (elem. school) where I only wanted to be a teacher, and still that seems a viable option, at least until I decide if there is another profession I want to enter. After that teacher-phase, I hit my medical phase, which only recently began to disappear about two weeks ago. I thought medicine was my calling, but I'm not as sure anymore. I'm looking at social work, law, [I can't believe I'm going to say politician], teaching, and still medicine. Social work or psychology is my biggest inclination right now, however.
Well, I have to stop writing all these incoherent ramblings for now and get some sleep.
Blessings~
Lindsay

Thursday, August 05, 2004

This is our new house!



This is the master bedroom.



This is the cozy little den.

This is the master-bathroom's bathtub. I can see it now: luxurious bubble baths....:)

This is the dining room! My sister has big, elegant plans for this room. Why does that scare me?

And here's my room. (not this furniture). It's located above the garage, and has slanted ceilings. It's really cool, with a walk-in closet and tons of space! YAY for not living out of cardboard boxes anymore and for no more rental house!


The last pic didn't work. Maybe this one will....I guess we'll see....
This is our new house! I am so excited to finally move into a non-rental house, so I won't be living out of cardboard boxes anymore! I LOVE THIS HOUSE!