group project

My group, which consists of Kyle, Ian and myself, is going to be called Prestige Worldwide. Our group's presentation will be about the coral reefs and how to protect them from dying off so quickly. We will be making a music video and a website as our way of presenting our information to our audience. Our main focus will be on the teenagers because they are the group that is going to be making choices to harm the environment the longest if they don't change their ways. We have some really funny ideas that will connect very well to the teen age group that will help to get our ideas across.

Email to my dad :)

The following is a true story. It has been made a little more epic than was really necessary due to my incredible boredom this morning. Enjoy :)

Dear Pappa Bear,

I would like to thank you for raising me not to be a quitter. Last night I walked with Haley and Aricka (the girl across the hall) to the village because we wanted to get ice cream. After selecting my Starbucks JavaChip Frappacino I patiently waited in line to pay for my goods at the Village Pantry. While at the register I had the bright idea to be like my father and buy some lottery tickets. I bought a $1 "Hit 50". I walked outside and realized I had no coins to scratch this ticket off. Aricka, being the kind girl she is let me borrow her lucky quarter. I proceeded to scratch off my ticket and won a dollar. I went back in to the classy VP and cashed in my $2 winner that was still in my wristlet and my new $1 winner and bought 3 more Hit 50s. I used Aricka's lucky quarter which proved itself again and won $4 ( $2 on two different tickets). So what do I do?! Of course, buy more! I bought 4 tickets and only won $1. I switched to a Christmas style game and bought one more scratch off. Yet again using Aricka's lucky quarter I scratched off what I knew would be my last lottery ticket of the night and guess what happened? I WON $15!!!!!

I know you are really impressed but let me make things a little more direct to sum this all up. I bought 9 lottery tickets and won on 5 of them with a total profit of $12 after my $3 investment. Which in turn paid for my ice cream which was $5. I got paid $7 to walk to the Village Pantry. :)

Love you lots, Baby Bear<3

california...

...i'd really like it if someone could buy me a plane ticket and send me there right now :) i have been to 25 of the continental states but california isn't one of them. i learned how to surf on the east coast a few years ago but i would absolutely love to go to california and surf there. i love the laid back lifestyle of beaches and coastal communities and i think i would fit right in. maybe if my parents like me at all they'll send me there for spring break this year. i really doubt it'll happen though :( boo. maybe i'll start a donation box outside my dorm room for people to help me in my quest to make it to the west coast. just a thought. any suggestions anyone has please let me know, i need outta this state!

carter's

everyone loves hot dogs! except me. i haven't eaten a hot dog since the 4th grade. every weekend all my friends rave about going to carter's and getting hot dogs and how great they are and i feel so left out. i hate the smell of hot dogs, that alone can make me ralph. i'm not sure what people find so great in a hot dog and to be honest i don't care so much. its not going to ruin my life to not eat a hot dog with my friends, i'll walk across the street and get a hot slice of delicious greek's pizza.:)

halloween

halloween is my favorite holiday. i love getting to wear crazy things and be something totally different than who you are in real life. thursday night i went to a dance thing at this place in the village and i had my roommate and 2 girls from my hall transform me into a 'scene kid'. i had huuuuge ridiculous hair, outlandish make up and a fake lip ring to go along with my outfit. it was so different from my normal personality, it was super fun to be like that for the night. i wish halloween was maybe twice a year or something so i could dress up more often and have a reason to try new things more than just once a year. tomorrow i'm going to this halloween party back at home and i am going to be a zombie because i found some awesome make up tricks on youtube that i want to try out. i hope everyone has a great halloween :)

Dear Colonel Sanders,

everytime i've ever seen a commercial for kfc it looks absolutely delicious. everytime i've ever walked into a kfc it looks absolutely disgusting. i am a little confused why a food establishment of such stature cannot spend the extra 15 minutes a day on cleaning. KFC is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain, you obviously aren't hurting in terms of money. so colonel, lets drop about $500 extra a month on cleaning supplies would ya?! k thanks :)

a concerned-would-be-customer,

emily a. slain

compliments of my neighbor :)

thanks to aricka (the girl across the hall) i am now a huuuuuuge fan of Owl City. if you haven't heard any of their stuff i'd very much suggest youtubing it. i think my favorite song so far is fireflies..check it :)

ps. vanilla twilight is nice as well

good times

this video is something that my friend and i loved watching about a year ago, we knew this thing by heart and frequently quoted it. i wish he wasn't so far away

Argentina

Argentina is currently in the running to be part of the world cup. They are competing against Uruguay and Ecuador. They are all attempting to snag one of the final two spots for the competition. Argentina will play Uruguay and Ecuador will play Chili. Argentina is currently leading the other 2 countries by one and two points respectively and has the best position with their 2-1 victory Saturday.

Works Cited

"Argentina still in a dogfight." Toronto Star (Canada) n.d.: Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Web. 14 Oct. 2009

the office<3

i have never been so excited for an episode of the office as i am for tonight's. it is the wedding of PB&J (aka-pam beasely and jim)! pam and jim are my ideal couple, when i think of the definition of love they come to mind. even if you don't watch the office you can tell by this video that they are ment to be together ---->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl8b-nsuN6w

:) they're perfect.

review questions

i think the questions that help me the most are the ones referring to structure. generally on my papers i think i am rambling and the structure questions help me see where to clear things up if they need it. also i think looking at other people's papers and thinking about those questions makes me think about how i would have done mine to make it better.

Fall

everyone has been saying how much they love the change of weather we've recently experienced. i am not one of those people. i dislike the feeling you get when you walk outside and the cold wind takes your breath away and instantly makes your nose a popsicle. i get sick very easily and when its cold out i find myself getting sick more often than when it is warm. i don't like having to put on multiple layers of clothes because then you go inside and have to take half of the things off, dressing for the cold is just an absolute pain. sure the leaves are beautiful at this time of year but in about a month, maybe less, the trees will be bare and ugly. the skeleton trees will haunt the campus and make going outside even more unenjoyable. i'd much rather see the life of summer year round than the death of late fall and winter.

stress

all of a sudden college has put a ton of stress on me. for the most part my classes have been fairly simple and didn't include any tests, just a few quizzes from time to time. the end of this week is packed full of an english quiz, an edpsyc test, and a math exam to top it off. as confident as i am that i will do well on these quizzes and tests the fact that they are 'tests' still make the situation seem more stressful. i think i finally know what my friends have been going through. the best way for me to relieve this stress is to go to the pool and swim. i love swimming and have been a competitive swimmer for the past 10 years. i am extremely passionate about swimming and even though i do not swim for ball state i still love going over to the pool and giving myself a good, challenging workout. no matter what is on your mind, swimming can always help rid you of your problems. when i swim its as if the water is washing my mind clear of all the things that are bothering me and in my opinion there is absolutely nothing better than this.

Ishmael Beah

After listening to Ishmael Beah speak I started thinking about the book in a little more detail. I was absolutely amazed that someone with such a horrific childhood can be as light of a speaker as Beah was. Throughout the entire speech Ishmael continued to make jokes and keep the audience interested in what he had to say without telling the awful details about what happened in his life. The easiness that Beah spoke with made the reality of the success story even more powerful. Someone who can come out in front of thousands of people who know his background and can talk about all his troubles is an absolute role model to anyone.

My favorite part of the speech was when Ishmael said something along the lines of "When you hear gun shots and have to get away fast you don't think 'I think I will take this report card. I might need this someday.' " At first I thought that it was just a simple joke but the more I started thinking about the statement it related to a whole lot more. When you are in danger the most important things in your current life become the most mundane things in your new beginning. School may have been extremely important and he probably considered it a need more than a want but once there were soldiers in his city, Ishmael had more direct needs and put his wants aside. Overall this was one of the best speeches I have ever listened to.

Farmville

There is this application on facebook that many people have recently become 'addicted' to. It's called Farmville, there is also a Farmtown but please do not get it twisted, Farmville is the way to go. The game is somewhat pointless but it is fun at the same time. You can plow, plant and harvest your land. You can also have animals such as cows (spotted and brown), goats, horses, rabbits, sheep (black and white) ducks, and then ugly ducklings that transform into beautiful swans. There are different levels and with each new levels you get more crops to choose from. You can gain level points by accomplishing different tasks. One such task is befriending 50 people. Speaking of befriending people and adding them as your neighbors, I am currently 6 'neighbors' short of the blue ribbon (50 neighbors) so whoever reads this and wishes to add me on facebook ( Emily Slain) and be my neighbor, that would be fantastic. I will award you with 5 friend points*, that's an honor! ;)

K have a great day and think about that Farmville offer :)

*Please note: Friend points are not related to anything whatsoever, they are just a fake bribe but I will just think highly of you as my friend in real life. But I will probably send you some gifts on farmville as well.

and all the gold dust in your eyes wont reform into a ring

I would have to say that the best music to fall asleep to is Joshua Radin. No matter what is on your mind, good or bad, it almost always relates and its incredibly comforting. Pretty much all of his songs are slow and relaxing. My top 6 favorite songs that he sings are:

1. Everything'll Be Alright

2. These Photographs

3. Winter

4. What If You

5. Sundrenched World

6. Star Mile

If you're looking for something calming I'd highly recommend these tunes.

Have a delightful weekend :)

weather

I love big huge thunderstorms that have ridiculously dangerous lightning. I haven't seen a storm like this in a long time and I'm really wanting one. I was reminded of how much I am craving a storm when the fan fell out of our window today. I was a little scared at first but when

I looked outside and felt the pull of the wind changing directions I knew it was coming. Today I was sitting on my bed doing homework just like every other day and I heard this really weird noise outside. I could see the sun shinning in so I figured there were some people out playing a game or something. When I looked outside it was raining super hard but light at the same time and straight down. This is what the fan had warned me about. Unfortunately it rained for about ten minutes and was done. No thunder, no lightning. Just rain. Thats ok though I suppose.

kind of a random entry...

weekend

almost everyone I know has gone home this weekend. I kinda want to go home just because no one is here really but I think about what is at home and it makes me very thankful I'm still here. none of my friends because they're all at their own college, my family who I just spent the past 3 months of summer with, and our stupid new puppy who chewed up anything that belonged to me, yep, I'm glad I stayed. I've heard anyways that you shouldn't go home within the first month because that makes things a lot easier to transition into, so yay me for staying I suppose..

not to enthusiastic about writing right now.

free write

When I was in the second grade my world was opened up more than I could have ever imagined. While everyone else was getting a baby brother or a new puppy, my family was getting a German. I knew nothing about Germany or even that there were other places besides America. My dad came home one night after a long day of teaching technology at a local high school and we had a ‘family meeting’. He told us that there was a girl in his class who was a foreign exchange student here from Germany. He continued to tell us that she was involved in basketball at school and was a great student and had an amazing personality to go along with it. I was a little confused as to why he was telling us everything that was so great about this girl I knew nothing about. After telling us how much she loved Garrett (his school) and everything she was experiencing he told us how miserable she was at her ‘host home’. She would come to school crying and go to his room to talk to him about all the problems she had at home. Once he was done telling us everything about this young girl we'd never met he asked if we would all be willing to open our home to her and accept her as a part of our family.

Movies

My top 3 favorite movies:

1. The Notebook- Sure every girl probably has this in their top movies but thats ok with me. Allie and Noah's relationship is not perfect throughout the whole movie and it relates to a bunch of people's real life relationships.

2. Blue Streak- Yeah, its an older one but I think its really funny still and its a movie my brothers and I always like to watch together.

3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- This movie seems like it would be really cheesy at first but once you start watching it you find yourself extremely intrigued in Benjamin's life and relationships.

Changes

My first week at Ball State has been pretty interesting. Along with the change of class style I've seen a change of dorm room decoration styles, clothing styles, and gardening styles. The switch from high school classes, sitting in one room for 70 minutes, going to a different, but equally boring room 5 minutes later and sitting (maybe napping) for another 70 minutes to the college 50 minute classes (mostly) and then having anywhere from 10 minutes to a couple hours until your next class is quite a big adjustment, for the better. On top of the school related changes I have seen quite a variety of new "homes". Everyone's dorm has a little bit of their own personal style thrown in. Usually you can tell about a person based on their decorating style, the class clown with their funny (and possibly inappropriate) posters, the jocks with their sports memorabilia, and the earth-y people with their rustic color schemes and feather filled vases to name a few. Even more so, a person's attire tells a ton about their personality. Some may be trying out the Chuck Taylor shoe style for the first time or the bohemian style but no matter what they're wearing its how they would like to be seen in their new life as a college student. As interesting as all these observations are the most ridiculous thing I have seen here at Ball State is the choice of decoration in the massive flower pots in the middle of sidewalks. Chili Peppers. Yep, chili peppers. And I'm sure many of you have seen them on your long walks to and from class but does anyone really understand them?! If you haven't seen them I would highly recommend checking them out, they're beautiful! Sure, my mom wouldn't put them in our flower pots at home or when I get my own house I very much doubt I will grow peppers next to the petunias and lily of the valley but here at BSU I'd expect nothing less. The only explanation I can come up with for these outlandish peppers is that at Ball State you can be whatever you truly are, in whatever group you want and no matter how many people think its odd at first, in a few days it will be the most common thing on campus. So be you! :)