In our time...

Happy International Left Hander's Day!!!

http://www.euroweeklynews.com/2010080982075/news/international/august-13-is-international-lefthanders-day.html

Celebrate by embracing your left handedness, or, if you are not left handed, try to be one for the day to begin to appreciate the trials of southpaws :)

Some leftie facts:
Most left-handers draw figures facing to the right.

There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed

Stuttering and dyslexia occur more often in left-handers (particularly if they are forced to change their writing hand as a child, like King of England George VI).

Left-handers adjust more readily to seeing underwater.

Left-handers excel particularly in tennis, baseball, swimming and fencing.

During the witch trials of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, being prone to use this hand was another "sure" sign of being a witch.

Left-handed persons use visual stimulus to process information. Research reveals that people who are left-handed do not use the sequential processing style like their right-handed colleagues, to disseminate information. Instead they are good at applying themselves to multiple tasks with the help of the synthesis method of breaking down information and finding a solution.

Just as I thought...

Twilight: Eclipse was so incredible....not. I really didn't expect it to be based on the hilarity that is known as the "baseball" scene of the first movie in the series. Usually, I try not to judge a movie if I didn't read the book, but come on! They have to play baseball during thunderstorms because the sound coming from the contact between their baseball bat and the baseball is so loud that it would attract a crowd. What?! I'm honestly surprised they didn't have some sort of high school musical like dance scene about their love of baseball.

Just when you think the scene can't get worse, in come the floaty guys. lol!

The movie is basically a longer version of the junk that is on ABC family right now. Everything is instant gratification. I heard an interesting theory on the Today Show this morning...not that I look to the Today Show for brilliant ideas...hahah no. Anyway, one of the talking heads said that the reason America is not really into soccer is because we are a country of instant gratification. Soccer matches could go to the very end without scoring a goal.

I know I get annoyed during football games when a team hasn't scored during the first quarter let alone having to wait the entire first half.

When I hear the name, "Jacob" I don't think of the stupid werewolf!

What's happened since my last blog post...all the way back in April....sorry :(.

Well, I've graduated and somehow did exceptionally well in all of my classes including my thesis (I know! It's a miracle!)

All of that seems so long ago now that summer is upon us. As of late, I've been working in the bakery, trying to get ready for Kent, and pretty much just hanging out.

I've actually been trying to eat healthier and that happens occasionally.

I've also been trying to plan this trip to Maple Leaf land :) Should be pretty fun!

Recently, I've been listening to a lot of Linkin Park courtesy of Michael's cds :)There is just something fun about listening to angry music...especially if you're not an angry person. Having a varied music taste like that keeps people on edge, and I like it :) Of course, when I listen to "screamy" songs, I can't help but think of "The Happy Song," by Blue Rubber Clippers :)

Anyway, as I've been trying to clean out my old accounts I came across this e-mail from my Mom with an awesome link in it about Introverts and Extroverts. You all know how much I love stuff about personality types...ok, maybe you didn't know that...but now you do!

http://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/newsletters/read/1795

I love Hugo

Wow! It's been a really long time! I guess that shows how my semester has been.

I know everyone says that senior year goes really fast, but I just can't believe I'll (hopefully) be graduating in a few weeks.

This semester has been a killer. Besides working on my all-important thesis, I've also had several papers and projects. I had a presentation today and I HATE presentations. I always seem to get myself extremely nervous and then rush through my notes.

I stood at the front of the room today and had many thoughts running through my head like, "I need to remember to talk slowly, I can't forget to show the clips, I hope I remember to say ...." When all of a sudden, I looked down at a desk near the front of the room.

I saw that someone had written lyrics or a poem in really large handwriting, so I decided to read it. At first, I could not think of what it was. I remember thinking, I know I have heard that before..what is it?

And then it hit me, it was the lyrics of the theme song from "Firefly."

Why would someone write that on a desk? I don't know. What I do know is that it made me calm down.

I started thinking, let's just get this over with. I don't know what it was about those lyrics, but they made me focus on the task at hand. I love that show...I don't care how geeky I sound!

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me

I think that was God's way of telling me to relax. I know someone might think, "how would a show that was cancelled help you in a presentation?" I honestly don't know...but it did.

Thank you Joss Whedon. I need to not take life so seriously. "I aim to misbehave."

This is a clip of the opening credits...enjoy.

PS -Hopefully I will start posting more regularly.

Dream

I had this dream a long time ago and I forgot to post it on here:

Dark room
Bathed in shadow
Blue quiet
Night’s sorrow

No being
Emptiness gathers
Gloomy veil
No life

Oh, light!
Breaks the dull
Golden throne
Quiet glory

Here, I find the Lord
Within his Heavenly home
He searches the wasteland
Lost souls find peace

Switching classrooms should not be allowed

Today is the first day of classes for my final semester as an undergrad...hmm. I guess it hasn't really hit me yet.

Sometimes I feel like things like this are not a big deal for me because I have seen both of my brothers go through the same stages, and it is not much of a shock to me. A lot of my friends and family say things like, "It's your last semester! Aren't you excited?!"

I guess I'm excited, but it's not like I'm done with school forever after this. I'm hopefully going to grad school, and maybe when that is finished...maybe I'll be excited, or not. I'll probably just be worried about getting a job.

The whole idea of me not being excited is a little disappointing. I don't stop take the time to think about what I have accomplished in life. I'm not saying that I'm worthy of an award or something, but I always seem to downplay everything I do accomplish just because I have to move on to the next stage of life so quickly.

"And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed."
-Dr. Seuss

I'm in such a rush to finish each level of education, I don't get a chance to think about how lucky I have had it and how much I need to thank God for everything He has allowed me to do.

Just some thoughts...this post didn't really go anywhere so I will leave you with this clip that has nothing to do with what I just said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd8ecTzAa9U

Percy Nonsense!

Hello loyal readers!

Since my last post, the semester has ended and I have survived the crucible of exams. I am now back to the crazy Christmas chaos of cookie creations (What alliteration!). It does not really feel like the semester is over just yet. I feel like I am just on a four day break or something and I will be going back to class soon. I almost feel like I need to keep my books or something...actually I always keep some of them because I like the subjects - especially the history ones :)

World War I was an awesome course as expected. I never really thought much about The Great War, except that it came before WWII. I guess what is sad about the study of any war, is that you are able to see the beginnings of a future war in the arrangements ending the war before it. When you read about some of the actions by the victors of WWI you almost want to shake the leaders and make them realize that they are setting the stage for WWII with their cruel decisions- but I am not saying that WWII was just or anything, I'm just saying it probably would not have happened the same way if the Allies had not acted the way they did at Versailles.

As mentioned above, I am now in the world of baking for Christmas. Whenever I think of my Christmas job, I realize that it is all such a blur. If you have ever worked at the bakery over Christmas break you know that, at one point you are standing there, rolling cookie dough and listening to the movie "Elf" (I say listening, because you are working and cannot stop to watch lol), and all of a sudden it's Christmas Eve and you are walking home with a big tray of cookies thinking, "What...the... heck just happened?" At that point you notice that you have the lines from the movie Elf memorized because over the 2 weeks at the bakery, you have managed to listen to it about 4 times a day.

It is like some sort of time warp or a movie like "Bourne Identity" where, once you finally stop to think of what is going on, it's over. The only problem with this comparison, is that, instead of going out on missions for the government, you are baking thousands of cookies..or...are you?

I guess what I am trying to say is that, Christmas break goes really fast for me. I get to work at the bakery, which is awesome :) and then all of a sudden it is Christmas and then New Years.

'Til then, 'til then...

A message from Jacinta...

I have not updated in a while...forgive me.

Let's talk about the Confirmation debate. Where do you stand? Do you think a person should be confirmed right after they receive their First Communion, which is usually around second grade? Do you believe a person should wait?

Where do I stand in this debate?

This may be a consequence of when I was Confirmed, but I feel that a person should wait until high school to be confirmed.

I know what you are thinking, "But Amanda, that is such a long time after the other Sacraments! If the Church chooses to do that, some high schoolers will not wait that long."

I know that it is a long time to wait to be confirmed, and believe me, I know that some people will decide not to be confirmed at all, if that is the case.

My point is that, if a child is confirmed right after their First Communion, they will not understand what they are agreeing to.

In my experience, Confirmation seemed like the only Sacrament of Initiation that I really paid attention to. I know that sounds horrible, but I don't remember my Baptism, of course, and First Communion is such a blur because I was in second grade and the most important thing seemed to be to remember not to wear my white gloves up to Communion.

For me, Confirmation was after my junior year of high school. When I began my classes for Confirmation, I felt too old, like I should have received the Sacrament years ago. But, when the day arrived, I felt proud that I had stuck with it.

Many people that were in my class since grade school did not get confirmed, or were confirmed at other Churches. I felt that, because I had waited that long, I had stuck with the Faith and therefore, I understood what I was accepting.

When a child is Confirmed, I feel that they are only doing it because they feel they have to and because their parents told them that they should.

On the day of my Confirmation, I felt that I was finally being accepted as a member of the army of God.

Not only was it my Confirmation day, but it was also my birthday...what a wonderful way to celebrate!

"...oil also for a most sweet unguent, wherewith they who already have been initiated by baptism are sealed, and put on the armour of the Holy Spirit"

Speaking of staying with the Faith, I think this book looks interesting and worth the read...maybe I can ask for it for Christmas :)

I'm confused...

So, it is really nice this week after feeling like early winter last week...hmm. I know that this time is usually called "Indian Summer," but why? What is the meaning behind the name?

Is this correct?

Prayer of Abandonment

My Lord God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain
where it will end.

Nor do I really know myself,
and that I think I am following your will
does not mean I am actually doing so.

But I believe
the desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire
in all I am doing.

I hope
I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.

I will trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.

I will not fear,
for you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.

Arrr you ready?

www.talklikeapirate.com

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit

Super Sonic

Hello loyal readers :)

I apologize for my long blogging absence, but I am still trying to get accustomed to classes and all the stuff that comes with them.

What has happened lately? Well, as stated earlier, classes have begun and I feel like I will really enjoy this semester. I'm taking WW1 and some Archeology related classes and a Studies in Drama class. I was going to take a Sociology class, but once I checked my almost full program paper, I realized that there was no point in me taking it. The class seemed like it would be cool for a Freshman, but definitely not for a Senior. I guess that's why the room was mostly full of Freshmen...Senior electives, what can I tell ya? ;)

Being a Senior is pretty interesting. The freshmen all seem to be trying to prove themselves in class...I guess that's why they keep raising their hands and saying the most obvious things as if they were some profound thought. They just don't get it lol.

I also feel like I'm starting to get some kind of cold. First of all , its all rainy outside and I just came out of a classroom where the a/c was on full blast....WHY?

Sorry, this is a really boring post....I'll add a youtube clip to make it interesting...

Puppies vs Cat

King Crab

I can't believe I haven't dedicated a post to my favorite show, The Deadliest Catch!

Why do I love this show? I have asked myself that very question every time I stop on the Discovery Channel to watch yet another re-run. What is it about a bunch of crab fishermen on a crab boat in the middle of the sea that is so darn exciting?

I think that the main reason I enjoy the show is the variety of personalities on each boat. Sure, Sig and Edgar on the Northwestern have "brother fights," and the Harris' have fights with their dad, Phil, on the Cornelia Marie (if that's how they spell it), but they all manage to get the job done. The idea of a group of people facing horrible waves and harsh climate to make a living for their families is reassuring when you look at the world today. Not that a person that sits in front of a computer at work doesn't deserve his money at the end of the month, but, when you see what these guys go through to earn money...you feel like they really deserve it.

I might add more to this post because I feel that I haven't even scratched the surface on why this show is great...but that will be later.

For some reason I can't explain...

I watched the new Discovery Channel series called "The Colony," on Tuesday night and I thought that I'd comment on it because I know that some people (cough* Michael) didn't watch it b/c they decided to watch "Lost."

The show is a reality show and before you just brush it off as trash, you need to hear the plot. The whole idea is that the people in it agreed to be treated as they survived some sort of huge catastrophe and they are some of the only humans left. To bring on the stress that a person would endure in that situation,they were forced to stay awake for a long amount of time and were not given food or water.

After the "survivors" met for the first time, they were given the chance to go into an abandoned department store to find supplies that they believed were important. After the amount of time had passed, a group of people that remind me of the bad guys in Waterworld, came in and tried to steal their stuff.

After that, the group found an abandoned warehouse where they found more supplies and the makings of their new home. The survivors found batteries and food and a bunch of other items that they used to generate electricity and build their own water filtration system.

On the second day, after a few scares by the "bad guys", another group of survivors arrived and asked for shelter. Although the first meeting of these two groups was filled with anger and little trust, the group quickly bonded together to make 10 survivors.

That's about all that happened in the first episode. I'm not sure if I like the show just yet, but it's pretty interesting to see how people react to situations.

I'm sure Discovery Channel has something on its site about the show, so check it out :)

--for the present good Night.

I know this is a little late as it is officially July 5th...


Letters between John and Abigail Adams

"A ship in harbor is safe -- but that is not what ships are built for."

I've decided that I worry way too much. I'm not sure why, but I do. Maybe I was born this way or maybe I've developed this trait over time....well, I don't know. All I know is that I need to do something about it.

Now, I'm not saying that people shouldn't worry about things, oh no. Being worried about things,situations, or people just means that you care or have concern for them. What I'm saying is that I can't let my worrying nature take over my life and stop me from experiencing new things or places.

If you want to see me really worry, you should see me when I'm planning for a trip, especially a trip to somewhere I've never been before. Not only do I over pack...I basically put the whole boy scout/girl scout community to shame. This isn't always a bad thing. When I'm with a group of friends or family, they can usually count on me to have something they need (advil/tums/tissues/extra water). Being the Mary Poppins of the group isn't bad. I just wish that I could get over the worrying aspect of the trip. My family knows how I am during trips, but my friends usually see me as the calm and collected person in the group...believe me, I'm really not.

I don't know..I guess all I'm really saying is that I'm going to attempt to be content with where I am or what I'm doing and I'll try not to be so nervous that I don't get a chance to appreciate what's around me.

We shall see how that goes....'til then, 'til then, I am, as I ever was and ever shall be yours, yours, yours, yours, yours.....saltpeter....pins...

As I was explaining to Michael on the phone, every once in a while I like to put lyrics to songs that I like based on how I'm feeling at the time. This summer...this is pretty much my mood. (I'm sure you can find this song on youtube..."Motown Never Sounded so good.") I love Less than Jake :)
***************************************************
So you say,
All you white flags are up,
And that you've had enough.

And you're tired of collecting dust,
You say everything always looks the same.

And you need,
A brand new face,
To match a brand new place.

You say all your distress calls have gone out.
And your ship is going down.

Well, I'll say it to myself all the time.
Stop living half a life and stop,
Feeling like I'm half alive.

I can't get enough, I'm not satisfied.
I've wasted my time with this daily grind.

In single file lines,
Is this real life?

I keep telling myself sometimes,
What matters is on the inside.

Do you remember when we had all the answers?
And can you really remember,
When we wished for anything better.
Does it feel like it's been forever,
Does it feel like a broken record?

Head full of yesterdays,
You keep wishing your life away,
You can't keep looking over your own shoulder.
Things will never look up unless you start to look forward.

Well, I'll say it to myself all the time.
Stop living half a life and stop,
Feeling like I'm half alive.

I can't get enough, I'm not satisfied.
I've wasted my time with this daily grind.

In single file lines,
Is this real life?

I keep telling myself sometimes,
What matters is on... the inside.

I can't get enough, I'm just getting by,
I can't stand this design for out bitter lives.

I keep feeling lost, I'm not satisfied,
With traffic and turnpikes,
And these tired eyes.

I can't get enough, I'm not satisfied.
I've wasted my time with this daily grind.

In single file lines,
Is this real life?

I keep telling myself sometimes,
What matters is on... the inside.

Journal Post

Hello again,
I'm sorry to post another "journal entry" but I can't think of any links or anything I want to post on here...you will just have to deal.

It's summer...well not technically I guess...but I've been taking summer classes. I just finished Ancient Greece which was very interesting as I had anticipated. I've actually been talking to people about how cool the hoplite phalanx is...yeah...it's that cool. Now I'm in History of Russia and it should also be quite beneficial. After that class is over, I'll be taking Cultural Anthropology until the end of July.

All of these classes are great and I'm happy to get the credits out of the way for next year, I just feel like if I don't take a fun break in there somewhere I'll just freak out :)

I do have a conference that I will be attending this month, I just wish that I could go on vacation somewhere.

Now I know what you are thinking, I recently said that I shouldn't complain about not going on vacation because of all the people that are striving just to survive in the world. Sometimes I think it would be good to go on a mission trip during the summer to help these people.

So, yeah. That's my life right now. I was very blessed to attend another Ordination and a first Mass recently, and they were both wonderful. It was so nice to spend time with these newly Ordained priests and also the seminarians that will be ordained shortly. I think the Diocese will be in good hands. Please pray for the seminarians and more vocations.

Click on this link to hear Taps


TAPS
- Major General Daniel Butterfield
Day is done...
Gone the sun
From the lake...
From the hills...
From the sky.
All is well...
Safely rest
God is nigh.

Fading light....
Dims the sight
And a star....
Gems the sky....
Gleaming bright
From afar....
Drawing nigh
Falls the night.