Now that you have been alerted to this important cause, hopefully you too will be able to quickly recognize the stages of procrastination and get to work. Good Luck My Friends!

Sadly, I don’t know what about me looks so familiar but, I have heard from a few different people that I look like Anika Rose from the Dream Girls movie. Others think I look like the Monique Coleman, who plays Taylor in the Highschool Musical movies. Honestly I don’t think that I look like either one of them but I am interested in finding out what you all think. Also, I would like to know if  you get mistaken for someone else? I would also like to see which celebrities people think you look like.

And it’s spreading throughout the world at an alarming rate.

The incubation period for this new virus is unknown but,

There has been confirmation that the virus latches on to the host,

And is passed on to others much like a yawn.

You do not have to come in contact with a host to become a carrier.

Simply seeing or hearing a host is enough to expose you to the virus.

Once you are infected you are contagious and can infect others.

Symptoms Include:

Loud outburst, twitching of face, convulsions,

Rosy checks, a warm sensation in face or body,

Possible feelings of weakness,

And increase in feelings of happiness or glee.

If you feel that you have been infected,

You are advised to take the proper precautions:

Pass the virus on to as many people as possible.

Laughter is contagious after all!

By: Ashley A. Gaston

Click here to view the embedded video.

Moral of the Story: Don’t let all the reading get to your head! Take breaks, they help.

The leaves change to a mosaic of colors mirrored by our robes

Strong winds whirl tiny snowflakes that coat us in white

The earth thaws then springs to life trimmed in floral prints

The leaves change to a mosaic of colors mirrored by our robes

Warm blends and neutral tones accent our autumn sweaters

The earth thaws then springs to life trimmed in floral prints

Arrays of pastel paints drip sloppy on new born life

Warm shades and neutral tones accent our autumn sweaters

Summer comes flowing like a lose light weight bohemian skirt

Arrays of pastel paints drip sloppy on new born life

By winter the new life is hidden by a cream Chanel hat

Summer comes flowing like a lose light weight bohemian skirt

Fall fades those warm bright shades into muted somber tones

By winter the new life is hidden by a cream Chanel hat

Spring brings with it a rosy tint and an abundance of life

Autumn’s harvested hues fade into the pearly whites of winter’s glow

Warm rays from the sun heat the earth and melt away clothing

Clothes are shed like new skin and with new skin comes more layers

Strong winds whirl tiny snowflakes that coat us in white

By: Ashley A. Gaston

Each flake saunters through the brisk winter air.

They collect on the surface of the world

And coat it in a fine intricate white hair.

When I woke in the morning to spy from my window

I see my colorful world has been erased over night.

The glorious spectrum of greens, blues, and browns

Has been replace with a void, a wise head of white.

As the sun rises to the highest point in the day

The rays of light seem to glisten and gleam.

The sun shows no mercy to the strands of white wisdom

And the hairs start to thin as the sun slows its beam.

The day has been long and has taken a toll

On the proud yet wise magnificent white mane.

Now all that’s left are a few thinning strands

And the painter’s pallet of beautiful colors it will regain.

By: Ashley A. Gaston

There are so many people and every one of them is rushing around as if they are preparing for war.

I see no threat though and I get swept up in the crowd.

This tribe has a strange style of dress.

I’ve never seen these types of skins before.

So many different colors and patters.

It seems that everyone wears war paint.

Some warriors have only seen a few battles and others have seen many.

In this tribe they ride short fat round horses but they are much faster than any of the mustangs of my tribe.

The bright yellow paint and the checkered markings on each of these strange horses signals that they have been painted for war.

Everything is made of stone in this tribe.

I am trapped in a forest of stone trees that reach high into the sky tearing the clouds with their sharp points.

My feet stumble across the long cold stone that reaches as far as the horizons.

This tribe is scary none of them look me in the eyes.

It is obvious that I do not belong to them and yet no one even seems to notice me. Suddenly a lady who I assume is the medicine woman of this tribe points at me and tells me of the fate of this tribe.

She tells me that many in their tribe will die.

There is an evil spirit that is coming.

She says that she doesn’t know when but that it is coming soon and we all should repent of our wrong doings to the sky god she calls Jesus.

Then she starts to shake me. I am frightened so I run from her.

As I run through this strange tribe I bump into a man.

He pushes me away from him and tells me, “ Watch it lady!”

Another women tells me that she loves the skins I’m wearing and asks where I got them. I tell him that my brother hunted them for me and my mothers stitched them together. She smirks as I speak and when I am done she tells me that she saw some skins that looked like mine on a buffalo she called H&M.

This new world confuses me some of the tribe members are nice and so many of them hostile.

I always seem to be in the way of someone and I wander and wander until I find a new forest in the middle of this stone forest except this one has real trees and grasses.

There are less of the strange tribe members here.

I climb one of the short trees and wait there until the moon rises.

By: Ashley A. Gaston

So tenderly he examined it,

When it was first handed to him with shaking perceptive hands.

The wood of the knife was wise.

It had seen many uses,

Each scratch, each knick made it special.

He had not gotten it by chance.

His father-in-law was a stoic country man,

Who had never fully thawed for anyone.

When the old man gave him the knife he told him,

“You hold her and she’ll turn out to be most useful.

There’s nothing that she can’t fix.”

Though it only had three blades,

It had done so much for him.

He pried off the lid of a paint canister with it.

He tightened a screw on the old rocking chair using it.

Twisting it like around to drive the screw in further,

He even wedged it between two gears in the printer to correct a paper jam.

He keeps it in his pocket even now.

It is an extension of his heart.

He always holds it inside his pocket.

By: Ashley A. Gaston

Response:

I felt extremely light pressure on my hand and I was awakened. As I groggily adjusted myself, nose was instantly flooded with the steril smell of the small cramped hospital room. My too tired eyes, already burning with fatigue, now blazed and itched. The lights seemed almost to bright to believe, too bright indeed for such a small space. As my eyes began to adjust to the brilliantly white room, I glanced down at the the cold, clammy hand that ever so gently held mine. It appeared as if it belonged to a corpse. I was startled by this image and I quickly looked up to her face in hopes that she had not noticed my grimace.  I squinted to see my mother’s face. Blink. Blink. Now she was no longer clouded by the overpowering white sheen of the room. I could see her clearly, too clearly. I realized after studying her face for a while that not only her hands but her entire self looked like a corpse. This was too much for me to handle. I knew that she was still alive but the realization that she looked dead and easily could be at any moment was just too much to take in at once. I carefully pulled my upper body off the edge of her bed side and sat up as straight as I could in the small uncomfortable chair. The chair had a somewhat modern design but it was over stuffed which made it hard and uncomfortable. To make matter worse, it had been upholstered with a rough boring tan square patterned fabric. The same boring square patterned fabric that was used to make the curtains that hung over the window directly across from me. I looked back at my mothers sallow face, she was scowling at me.

“What is it mah? Why do you look angry?”

She said nothing, she looked me straight in my eyes with a look of hatred that chard me from the inside out, leaving tiny embers floating inside the hallow of my body.

“Mah I know that its probably difficult for you to respond to me but I know that you can hear me. I came to see you. To say goodbye. You understand what’s happening don’t you?”

She just stared; then another light squeeze to my right hand, which she still held.

“Yes Mah! You do understand!” I sounded elated at this little victory, this small accomplishment. As I began to process what this ment I began to choke on the rest of what I had to say and tears slowly began to flow from my stinging eyes. She was dying, right in front of me and she knew it. I knew it.

She blinked once but it was so slow that I thought she was…was going. When she opened her eyes again I came closer to her face. So close that I could se nothing else but the sunken skin of her face and the swollen purple skin around her eyes. I began to speak agian.

” I love you, you understand that don’t you? Even though…you understand right-”

My words were cut off by a shrill alarm sounding. She had pressed the emergency help button. Had I frightened her. Did she think that I would cause her some sort of harm? I assumed that she did because she looked so relieved to see the nurses rush into the room. They flung me back agains the the far wall of the tiny room. It felt cluttered too cluttered. All the machines and the large bed already seemed to take over the room, and now with the addition of seven nurses, it felt like a cage. They all crowed around her and she was glad they were there to survey and scrutinize me. She hoped that one of them would realize that her loving daughter, her only child, was not as innocent as she appeared.

After checking all the monitors, several nurses left but, two remained there in the room for another hour or so before leaving us. They finally prepared to leave when it was clear that my mother had fallen asleep. As the last young nurse was passing by, he gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder and told me that she would probably pass in her sleep. I nodded once and gloomily looked back at the floor. He left the room and shut the door with a soft click. The sound was so small I hardly even heard it but as soon as I looked up at my mother I know that she had. She was awake and looking at me wide eyed. I looked at her and then rushed to her side. I stopped myself mid-stride because I realize that this would probably startle her and I didn’t want a repeat of the last few hours. When I approached I sat on her bed side this time and held her hand. Her eyes darted up to my face and her other hand began to slowly creep up to the emergency call button. I swoped my other hand down and pushed the button and the long cord it was attached to over the edge of the bed. There was no way she could push it now. I leaned in close to my mother’s face.

“Look. I really do love you but you’ve got to stop with this. You know that I won’t…well I am but… You know I love you Mah.” I began to sob  and I leaned in to kiss her forehead. As I slowly pulled away from her face, I took the plugs in the nearest outlet with me. All the machines went blank and my mother’s wild eyed stare faded as she died in front of me. I made sure that she was dead before I plugged everything back in and I reset each device before leaving the room.

Responce:

“Where are you man? You were supposed to be here forty-five minutes ago!”

“I know, I know man! I had a rough night last night.

“Just get here…” -click. All he heard now was a alarming dial tone of defeat as frustration welled up inside of him. He couldn’t believe that his best friend of nearly twenty years had just hung up on him. He tried not to take it personally, he knew that his buddy, Jeremy, was under a great deal of stress. With that finally thought he thawed from his frozen statuesk stance near the phone and raced back up the stair to his bedroom.

“What’s all the commotions… who was tha – honey?” Gloria called sleepily from a large king sized bed in the grande master bedroom adjacent to the bathroom that her husband had just raced back into. She groggily rolled over and appeared to still be sleeping.

“It was Jer…Its 11:45…” he said frankly, “We’re very late!” Gloria jostled a little in bed but didn’t really move. “Babe you gotta get up. Did you hear me we’re late, forty five minutes late,” he called again. This time she jumped right up out of bed and rushed around to find here robe. “It’s in here honey” he reminded her sweetly and picked it up off the vanity stool that was placed next to him. He stretched it out to her. Gloria took four long strides to cover the distance between them and as she took the robe from her loving husband she kissed him gently on the the cheek.

“Did ju check on Sophie yet?” She called out to him as she briskly left the room, knowing that he hadn’t. She bounded down the hall and came to slow halt as the drew closer to the Sophie’s nursery. She quietly pushed the door open and tip-toed her way inside until she was standing only  a foot away from the crib. She peeked over the cherry strained wooden panel of the edge of the crib and looked down. There, laying peacefully, was her only child, a sweet baby girl with the face of an angel and fine brownish-coper ringlet curls. Sophie favored he mother but she had the beautiful green eyes of her father. Gloria caress the baby’s head ever so gently as she hear her husband creeping up behind her. He stood behind his wife and wrapped his strong arms around her slender waist. Gloria looked up at him with a sleepy smile.

“I don’t want to wake her up, Jay,” she whispered, so low that he could hardly hear her.

He kissed his wife’s shoulder and smoothed her hair away from her ear as he crooned, “We’ll let her sleep  a bit longer while I finish getting ready, then I’ll get her dressed and ready while you get dressed. Okay?” She nodded woodenly and slowly twisted out of his arms and glided silently from the room. James leaned over the crib and gently kissed his baby girl’s head. He was so proud to be a father and of such a beautiful baby girl. He patted her back so gently, he barely touched her and with one swift motion, he quietly left the room. He could hear Gloria in the Kitchen, downstairs, making Sophie’s breakfast and putting on coffee for the two of them. He dashed into the bathroom and got dressed quickly. After dressing he rushed to Sophie’s room and gently woke her from her sleep. Sophie was grumpy and began to fuss. James knew what to do but before he could do anything, Gloria was there caressing and soothing Sophie from arms reach behind her husband.

“Are ju sure ju got this,” she asked apprehensively. He nodded and she passed him Sophie’s formula and walked out of the room. As James fed and washed the baby he could hear Gloria in their bathroom getting ready. He could tell by the sound of the water and her rustling that she was rushing. About fifteen minutes later She emerged dressed in a lovely chiffon wrap dress and stunning matching heals. “Jay I got Sophie’s bag and everything, let’s go,” She called to him.

***

 When they arrived to the event, Jeremy came out to greet them. “Your late,” he said as he leaned in to kiss Gloria. She kissed him back with a friendly smile.

“So sorry! Sophie kept us up all night,” she said. “Where is Erica?”

“She’s inside with the family, she asked about you and Sophie.” Jeremy motioned to the hotel entrance. Gloria took  Sophie from her husband and carefully walked inside. ”Hey man! You look great for someone who only got an hour of sleep!” Jeremy winked at his friend James.

” Man I’m so sorry that we’re so late. We missed the rehearsal didn’t we?”

Jeremy nodded in response. “Yeah, but we understand, you guys have a beautiful baby now and she comes first, you know?”

James nodded back, “I promise that I’ll be there on time for the wedding, I am the best man after all!”

With that, both men walk into the hotel.

Trigger Line: The first thing I want in the morning

The first thing I want in the morning is a nice warm place to sit and a steaming hot cup of Lady Gray tea. I am not much of a morning person, I admit. I really much prefer the night. I actually stay up very late, sometimes into the wee hours of the morning, working and reading from the comfort of my room. I focus best at night because it is so quiet and sereen. I feel more focused and diligent at night. In many cases, I work on homework whenever I find time during the day. However, I have noticed, over the years, that I tend to do a lot better both with comprehending the work  and  the over all efficiency of the work if I work on it at night. I guess that I have been a night person for quite some time. I find it very difficult to sleep if I know that I have work to do. My mind can’t fully rest because its so focused on the work that looms over me and shadows my thoughts. This is the main reason why I stay up late, making sure to get all my assignments done. I am, and always have been, a bit of a perfectionist and I pride myself on completed accurate work. I would never willing neglect an assignment and thus I often feel compelled to do my work and do it the right way, no matter how long it takes or how much it may require of me. My mom often tells me that I have the determination of a saint. Once I make something up in mind I will work it out until it comes to fruition. It is because I stay up so late that I dred the tedium of getting up  and ready in the mornings. Running on only a few hours of sleep and heading into another busy day often overwhelms me, leaving me even more tired.

Most of the time I set two separate alarms in order to fully wake up in enough time to get ready for class. The first alarm I set through my phone, and it is set for an hour and a half before my first class. The second alarm is an actual alarm clock alarm, and I usually set it for about fifteen to twenty minutes after the previous one. The second alarm insures that I get up and out of bed. Once I am up and out of bed, I groggly stumble into the kitchen and put water into my pink hello kitty coffee maker. I walk back into my room and set out what I wish to wear for that day. Next, I ready myself for the day. After I am dressed and semi-ready I walk back into the kitchen, pour the water, and steep the tea. I love Lady Gray tea by the Twinnings company because it has a blast of warm citrus taste and instantly wakes me up. The smell is heavenly and to taste it gives me the utmost morning pleasure. I usually find a nice warm place to sit while I drink my tea. Sometimes I curl up into the comfy couch, next to the window. Once I have finished my cup of tea, I go back into my room to do my hair and finish getting ready for the day. I stick to this simple morning ritual and often times when I deviate from it I feel the effect throughout the entirety of my day.

The elevator comes to a screeching halt, shacking the entire structure as well as those inside. As I stand from my protective steadying crouch, my eyes dart wildly about the cabin of the elevator to assess the state of things. It is at this time that I realize that the shading man, who I happened to be trapped in here with, hasn’t moved an inch as if he were expecting this brush with death to happen. It is at this point that I become petrified and decide to make conversation to ease my thoughts and interupt his.

” Woah! What was that,” I say in a shaky voice but he doesn’t respond. He doesn’t even move he just shifts his eyes from the elevator’s control panel to my frightened face. Aware of my fear and aprehention, he flashes a devilish grin. Now I am really nervous and I begin to internally question the character of this menising man. I continue to speak to him, in hopes of easing the tension.

“Well, it looks…( I sallow loudly)…Like we’re both going to be late today.”

The stranger turns his head mechanically and respondes to my statement with a slow robotic nod.

“I was on my way to an interview at Harperman and Browning, you know at the the top suite,” I gestured towards the numbered button that indicated the  top suite. Hoping to get a verbal response this time, I decided to ask him a question.

“Where were you headed to, if you don’t mind me asking?”

He looked at me with an earnest expression of guilt and stepped in closer to me. He didn’t say a word but, instead, looked down at the smooth granite tiled floor. Feeling slightly more uncomfortable than I had before, I shifted my weight in a natural way that put a bit of distance in between the two of us. I glared at him expecting an answer. When he finally looked up at me, he smiled a sheepish smirk. I was really scared now. Why wasn’t this weirdo talking to me. I had asked him a question and he said nothing. Maybe he was hard of hearing? I doubted the supposition as soon as I thought it. Automatically, I thought the worst and used what I had learned from my father years ago. I spoke up in a clear manner, making sure that I could be heard and understood by the ominous stranger.

” Excuse me sir…( I cleared my throat hoping to even my voice in the process)…where were you headed?”

The question came out even and clear, it even sounded a bit authoritative in tone. For this I was proud. The stranger looked down again and raised both hands up until they were level with my face. “Oh no,” I thought, “this sicko was going to strangle me.” I knew exactly what to do though. All those years of having an overprotective ex-navy seal as a dad had paid off. I simply had to wait until this hands got close enough and then I would cross my hands, thrust my entire body downward towards the ground until I was completely crouched down as far as I could go. It would be hard in such a small space but still possible. At that very moment I realized that the man was not actually trying to choke me, but instead, was gesturing to me. As I realized this, I began to study his hand movements. He was using sign language. “Oh my god, he wasn’t responding because he couldn’t,” I thought to myself, as my mouth dropped open with surprise.

“Oh, You can’t speak,” I said with a sigh of relief. I looked at him and spoke each word as he gestured his response to me.

“You. Are. A. Very. Smart. Girl. I. Can. Tell.”

“Oh, not really, I actually thought…(As I began to confess that I thought he was a phycho-murderer, I digressed and decided to lie instead)… well, I thought that you were ignoring me.”

“No. No.” I said aloud as he signed to me with a puzzled look on his aged face. I waited for him to say more.

“I. Was. Trying. To. Figure. Out. How. To. Respond. To. You. In. A. Way. That. Would. Not. Frighten. Me… You.” ( I corrected myself at the end).

I smiled as I admitted, ” You startled me a little when I didn’t say anything.”

He looked amused and asked, “What. Is. Your. Name?”

“My name,” I said aloud, as I processed what he asked before answering, “Oh, how rude of me…(I held out my hand)…I’m Jasmine.” He reached out with a kind hand and shook mine, then he made eye contact with me and began again.

“Nice. To. Meet. Me…You…(I corrected myself again)…I am B. E. N. ‘Ben’ H. A. R. P. E. R. M. A. N. ‘Harperman.’”

“No way,” I said excitedly with out thought. “Wow! Its such a pleasure to meet you sir.” He looked at me and smiled kindly.

” You. Said. That. You. Were. Here. For. An. Interview.” He stopped and looked at me questioningly.

“Yes sir, I did say that. I am. I am interviewing for the receptionist position.”

” Why. That. Position. When. You. Serve. So. Well. As. A. Personal. Interpreter.”

I smiled coyly and sighed quietly as I said, ” Oh…( I chuckled) I didn’t know that was an available position.”

He looked at me and said, “What. A. Pitty. That. You. Will. Not. Make. It. To. Your. Interview.” I nodded in agreement and sighed much louder this time. He leaned down into my field of vision so that I may watch for his response much easier.

“You. Are. Also. Going. To. Be. Late. For. Your. New. Job.” As I began to process exactly what he was saying, a large cheesy smile flashed on my face.

“Are you offering me a job?” I asked earnestly. He gave one sharp nod yes.

Kylee, a nineteen-year-old community college student, was faced with an important decision at the end of her sophomore year. The past few days had been quite difficult for her, with her mother being hospitalized and the steady stream of rejection letters from several universities within the state, she was feeling overwhelmed with emotions. She felt so nervous, in fact, that she had actually taken the past two days off of work to sort herself out. In all actuality, she really didn’t like missing work. However, since she only had three sick days left for the entire year, she decided it was time to head back anyways. Besides she needed to go back to get her mind off of the things. She found the thought of work serving as a distraction to be a little humorous, and laughed to herself as she drove there.

She often liked to arrive to work a bit earlier than everyone else because then she always got a good parking space. She reflected on how she and her co-worker, Juliana, would compete to see who got the large end spot, which a standard sapling crate myrtle tree shaded. The space was conveniently located right in front of the entrance and she could easily see it from inside. Today, she would have to park elsewhere because Juliana was already here and therefore the winner of the coveted spot. She enjoyed Juliana’s company and the two shared the same middle name, a fact they had learned after their first day of work together. They had become good friends and she was actually more eager to catch up with her friend than to work. Kylee waited a few minutes before going in, and decided to make a quick phone call. Disappointed by the sounds of the automated voicemail receiver, she quickly hung the phone up before it started to record her message. It seemed like ever time she tried to called; she could never actually get through to her mother’s room. Kylee collected her belongings, which were sprawled out on the seat next to her, and exited the car, locking it as she slammed the door shut.

She had forgotten how chilly it was outside and shivered slightly as she grasped the ice-cold, metal handle of the large glass door. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and called out to Juliana. She was started by the close proximity of her voice and Kylee jumped a little when Juliana responded with a cheery, “Good morning.” The two exchanged, “hello’s” and “how are you’s” and then both walked back to the kitchen as they chatted casually.

The smell of the kitchen was amazing and she loved being back there, tucked away from the overwhelmingly colorful, brightness of the store front, in her own warm little niche. Kylee asked Juliana how many begets they were supposed to make while she kneaded the pre-mixed dough. Juliana answered her as she began to roll and cut out little shapes in the dough for the pastries. The two continued to chat as they fell into a steady rhythm. With each completed beakers order, the oven doors shut with a slam and with each slam, the hunger inducing smell of warm hand-made bread and pastries wafted out of the oven, filled the entire space. Before either of them knew it, they had baked enough bread and pastries to fill all the display cases. They had completed their work orders in record time. After the two had filled every case with their tasty artful creations and neatly cleaned their workspaces, they turned to each other and smiled; the satisfaction of anther day’s work. They each collected the extra bread that they had baked and separated it into two large bags. After each bag was full, they gathered their belonging and headed towards the door.

They exchanged a goodbye hug at the door and both of them walked their separate ways to their respective cars, each carrying a large bag of goodies they had worked hard to create. As Kylee reached her car she fumbled for her keys. Though Juliana had already entered her car and was settling to pull out of the space, she waited for Kylee to do the same. Once inside the car, Kylee waved her hand so that Juliana would know all was well. Juliana nodded in response and waved another friendly goodbye. As Kylee exited the parking lot her phone began to ring. She knew it wasn’t safe to answer it while she was driving and so she didn’t move, but she knew exactly what who was calling and what they wanted. With the changing light, she began to drive toward the hospital as the sky turned various shade of red, orange, and yellow with the rising sun.

You Come in a Hurry but you leave in a Furry

The above clip is from one of my favorite shows called , Portlandia. Though the the two main characters, played by Fred Amisen and Carrie Brownstein portray this situation in a very humorous way, the truth is, when you find yourself in such a situation, I doubt it is as funny as this.

Have you ever found yourself in a rush and it seemed like no matter how hard you tried, you kept getting caught up. Well have I got a story for you.

One summer day, I went to my friend Morgan’s house just to hang out. Morgan and I have been friends since Pre-School and, during the summer months, we would alternate visiting each other to relax and hangout. It was a garunteed blast when I got to go spend time with Morgan because she is one of five children and I love how busy her house seemed because of it. You see, I am an only child and, though I have plenty of fun and games at my own home, I was lacking in the people department. It was often just my parents and I and the occasional guest. Of course I would have other friends over but, none who connected with me in such a way that Morgan did. Even as we grew older we continued this tradition and, to this day, we still meet up to talk and relax together.

On this particular day, I had come to Morgan’s house with the plan of swimming in their amusement park style family pool. After swimming for an hour or two, everyone was ravenous. Morgan’s mother decided that she would make hamburgers for everyone but, after preparing the meat, realized that she had a shortage of hamburger buns.Of course, Morgan and I volunteered to go get some from the grocery store up the street and around the corner. Morgan’s mom gave us some money and sent us on our way. She warned us to be careful but added that we should not daddle around because everyone was very hungry and the burgers should be done soon. With these words echoing in our minds, we got into Morgan’s car and left for the store.

We made it to the store with no problems. It seemed like we left at just the right time because we did not catch a single red light on the way there. We even got a great parking spot, right in front of the store, next the the entrance. We went in, recovered the buns, and went straight to the check-out line. We only had one item so we went to the express lane. The line was quite long but, we figured it would move fairly quickly because everyone else only seemed to have two to three items and five at most. Morgan and I made polite conversation as we waited. By the time we made it to the register, the check-out clerk left the register. We waited a little while for him to return and when he did, he informed us that his lane was closed because it was his lunch break. Slightly perturbed, Morgan and I got in the only other line, regular check-out.  The line was moving at a glacial pase so Morgan and I decided to move to one of the self-checkout  lanes.

We scanned the barcode on the bread, like we were instructed, but the automated machine said that the item could not be scanned at this time. Morgan and I were so confused, so we quite the check-out and tried again on a different machine. This machine accepted our entry but this time, it asked us to scan our next item. Having already scanned the only item we intended on purchasing, I pressed the “No Other Items” button. The machine made a few processing sounds and then instructed us to insert our money but, before we could, a nice check-out clerk ran up and told us that the particular machine that we were using had been acting up. She shared that it would not be a good idea to put our money in there, so she cortiously showed us to a newly opened express lane and told us that it would be fast and easier to do check-out here.

Morgan and I seriously doubted that it was going to be easy, seeing that we had already been in four different check-out areas. However, once we actually moved to the lane, we realized that there was only a frail looking elderly lady infront of us and that her items had already been scanned. She was paying. There was hope for us yet. The sweet elderly lady pulled out her wallet with shaking hands. She asked the clerk again how much she owed. The clerk said in a high pitched nasally voice, “$3.92.” The older lady peeked up on her tip toes and inclined her ear forward, closer to the clerk’s face. “What,” she asked again, almost yelling this time. The clerk repeated the price again and the elderly lady placed her wallet on the counter and began rustling through her purse. The lady was searching furiously through her purse, and whatever it was that she was looking for, it did not seem to be in there.  After a few seconds the clerk, as well as Morgan and I, realized that the lady was actually looking for her wallet. It was at this point that Morgan looked at me, crossed her eyes, and smiled. We both giggled quietly and continued to wait. The clerk pointed out that the lady had set the wallet on the counter next to her when she started rummaging through her purse. The poor elderly lady looked confused and began counting out the money. Thankfully she had three crisp dollar bills. However she still owed ninty-two cents. She began to look in the change section of her wallet to find the neccessary  remaining change. What the elderly lady did next shocked us all.

The lady realized that she did not have enough change in her wallet but she thought that she had more than enough in her purse. It was at this point that Morgan and I both had gone from impatient and semi-frustrated to somewhat amused. The lady reached her hand into her bag and all we heard was the jinggle of keys. Morgan wispered to me that she was doubtful that the lady even had the money and maybe we should offer to help her. I agreed. To our surprise though, the lady pulled out a quart sized ziplock bag filled with pennies. That’s right PENNIES. She proceeded to count out each penny one by one. When she got to ten she skipped ll and 12 and went straight to 13. Then she corrected herself and went back to one. The  clerk, stunned by the gesture, finally came to life and offered to help the lady count the pennies. The lady refused and so she let the elderly lady continue. Morgan and I looked at each other, once again, and this time I wispered to her. I said that I felt like we were being punk’d or something. There was no way that this was actually happening to us. Morgan and I both offered to pay for the lady but she got upset when we tried to hand the clerk the money.

The manager must have seen the exchange, because she rushed over and simply lied to the lady telling her that she had already paid enough and that she was about to over pay by counting out the pennies. The elderly lady must have believed her, because she looked at the clerk and laughed. She thanked the manager and the clerk and told everyone in line to have a nice day. Then the manager escorted the lady out to her car. Finally, Morgan and I had made it to the register and we actually purchased the buns this time. We made it back to Morgan’s house an hour later.

I can honestly say that I have never been so happy to purchase bread before in my life. It seems that we left the house in a hurry but returned in a furry of laughter and confusion. To this day we still joke with each other about the frustration of the entire incident.

The moral of this story

 When your in a hurry, slow down long enough to see the little pleasures in life. Also it helps to use those tacky green Coinstar machines. They count your change and give you dollars back in exchange.

Christmas Break

Let’s see…I had a wonderful Christmas with my family. Every Christmas Eve, we have all of our family and friends over to celebrate the wonder of the holidays. This year was no different. We invited everyone over for a bountiful dinner and fun and games, then before the night is over we exchange gifts and open them. This year we got a special surprise. After all of our guests had arrived there was a knock on our front door. When I opened it, I was surprised to find Realyn and her mom Mrs. Lynda, close family friends who had moved to Africa three years ago. Mrs. Lynda works for the government and was sent to Africa for a three year tour. I had completely forgotten that the three years were over. Of course we welcomed them in and caught up with their stories of life in Africa. Realyn was only 11 when they had left, and she had grown so tall and even picked up a little of a South African accent. We enjoyed their company and we all caught up with each other. Just as quickly as all the excitement had begun it was all over and everyone had gone home! The next day was Christmas and as you know, I love Christmas. Our holidays were wonderful and I even got a new camera so all the pictures are from my new camera.

The Big Move

I know that I haven’t been keeping you all filled in about school but, I also haven’t told you about all the excitement of my family life either. Over Spring Break my family moved from our sweet home of fifteen years in Cardinal Ridge to a new house about five miles away. Our new neighborhood, though not nearly as seasoned as our old one, (its only 2 years old) still has a lot to offer. From its lovely walking trails and beautiful ponds, to its strict home owners association and  suburban charm, Sprigs Run Estates is a wonderful place to live. This new neighborhood is much smaller than our old one but, what it lacks in population, it makes up for in size. Not only are the homes much larger but there is more wildlife to observe as well. Within my time being home from school, I have seen a plethora of wild bunnies, a small group of deer, a beautiful fox, and my dad saw an owl. I really love our new home and I can’t wait until we’re all settled in and the house really begins to look like our home.

Spring Semester 2011 UMW

When Christmas Break was over it was time to get back to work at UMW. This past semester I took a whopping total of 21 credits, seven classes in total . I even started towards my second major Computer Science. I must say it was pretty difficult but, I stayed extra focused and also poured myself into dance when I wasn’t busy. Staying busy really helped me to get through the semester and I am happy to report that after the coming fall semester, I will only need four more classes to be officially done with my English major. Things are just moving along.

Student Faculty Show 2011

As I said before, I poured myself into dance when I had any free time. I was in my dance teacher, Beverly Mendez’s dance. We danced a heartfelt modern piece to Maroon 5′s song, “Sweetest Goodbye.” I was also in Jamia’s piece for the Praise Dance Club, an energetic lyrical piece to the song, “What If God”. We have danced to this song before but, each time we do the performance it gets better and better.

I was also in a piece that my modern dance class performed. We danced to another Mendez creation, an expressively dark modern piece to Florence and the Machines’, “Heavy In Your Arms”. Theperformances went fantastic and I got to make a lot of new dance buddies along the way. I was so inspired by my recent dance-mania that I have decided to take an adult Pointe class over the summer, to hone my dance ability.

PAC Big Show 2011

I also participated in UMW Performing Arts Club Big Show. I was in Shanita’s piece, an up beat sassy hip-hop piece to Beyonce’s, “Freakum Dress.”

I was also in Kathy Harty Grey’s Piece, a modern dance about the life of the Japanese shogun. It was so exciting being in Shanita’s piece because I got to bond with a lot of seasoned dancers who are all in PAC. We all became friends and I was so happy to make new buddies. I must say that I was most excited to be in KHG piece though because she was a graduate of UMW who went on to do great things at Juilliard and beyond. She even has her own company.

I was a little apprehensive when my friend, Jamia, encouraged me to tryout for the master class. I know that I love

to dance but, the dancers who normally make the master class are very skilled and have had a lot of training. I really haven’t had much training, and I know that Jamia was way more skilled than I was. Surprisingly, I made the class though, and was so excited to be incorporated into the master class along with many other talented dancers.

The Freedom Riders

Our school set up a wonderful exhibit about the infamous freedom riders, during Black History Month in February. The exhibit was very detailed and even incorporated a large bus, one of the actual buses involved in the historic ride. The exhibit was set up in the middle of campus for about two months, and the university even had a sign up sheet which allowed students to sign up to actually go on the freedom ride route this summer, along with the remaining students from the original freedom ride years ago. However, only one of UMW’s best and brightest students would be chosen, Charles Reed. I have included an interview that Charles had with PBS below and there is a link to Oprah’s site where you can view the episode of the Oprah Show that was all about the Freedom Rider.

Watch the full episode. See more

Thought my second site was not really created for me to make posts, I thought that it would be fitting to make just one. I had originally created the site to use it for my DS 106 Final Class Project. Though it got off to a rocky start, I can honestly say that in the end all the reading, studying, and preparation that went into the making of the actual project were not wasted. I just couldn’t figure out how to show you all the neat CSS info that I was studying. After meeting with my professor countless times, he suggested that I make a separate site from my main one and use this site to show all that I had learned. The next daunting step would be to figure just how to go about showing you all the changes I was making to it and just how I made them. I then decided to use JING to show you all each thing that I was doing and how. After my first video I was able to continue cranking them out. In the end I was able to make changes to the new site and personalize it. I know that I had originally wanted to create my own theme, but in the end I think that in many ways I did just that. I can only hope that my videos were successful in documenting my process but also in helping all of you. So this is it, all of my hard work has paid off and my new site Design.Pr3ttynp1nk.info was a complete success in my eyes.

Here is the finished product of all my hard work! Check It Out!

After visiting the site, I downloaded version Beta 4 and went into my downloads folder to view it. Once there I clicked on the icon labeled Think Up. After it came I was left in complete confusion. There were various folders with different titles and each time I clicked on a new folder I was left to decipher pages and pages of coding. Thank goodness I studied a little about CSS for my final project because after sifting through folder 6 I realized that it was just a compilation of all the coding that went behind the application. I was a little upset because I of the confusing and time that I spent trying to figure it all out.

In the end Think Up was just a major let down!

I must say that I have been in DS 106 now an entire semester now and I can honestly testify that I have gained more knowledge about the course matter than I could ever have imagined. I was tested on not only my current knowledge of basic computer science but also challenged to be creative and diligent on a daily basis. Professor Groom’s teaching style was very different from most that I have experienced. He allowed each of us to get exactly what we wanted out of each assignment and continued to set the bar higher and higher, while challenging us to exceed his expectations again and again. I have enjoyed the tremendous effort and copious amount of time he has poured not only into this class but into each student as well.

He made himself more than available to each of us and for this I greatly thank him. Professor Groom unknowingly has set the standard for any other Computer Science Professors I may have for the duration of my studies here at Mary Washington. Every teacher from now on will be held to his standard and I can only hope that they will be able to meet.

As for the actual material that was covered during the class, I can not begin to illustrate. We covered just about every medium possible. Along with this wide array came many challenges. For one, I got off to a little bit of a delayed start, because of a freak health emergency, I missed the first two class and accordingly started off behind my classmates. However, I was determined to get back on track and with a little extra reassurance from Professor Groom I was able to catch up with the rest of my class in a few days time. Little did I know my next challenge would come slightly later on in the course. Before I knew it we were covering Audio. I found audio difficult at first because I was having the hardest time adjusting to the AUDACITY program and exactly how it worked.

I went to Professor Groom for a little extra help and was able to get the hang of it. In fact the next audio assignment titled UNINTERESTING STORY, an assignment in which we had to record an uninteresting story told to us by a friend, family member, or loved one and make it interesting by adding sound effects or our own narrative, proved to be one of my favorites. However following soon after came another challenge, video. This particular section came with a disclaimer. Professor Groom warned us that his last class had completely misdirected their understanding of the challenges that video introduced and  had a very difficult time grasping the assignments. With this warning came an added bonus, we had someone to come in and speak to the class about his extensive knowledge of video. The various tools he provided us with were so very helpful and made the task a little less daunting. Though I originally had difficulty with video, I soon got the hang of things and was even able to produce some pretty good works using it.

Another one of my favorites was the DAILY SHOOT assignment in which each student was asked to follow the prompt giving by the Daily Shoot website and take a photo. In conjunction with this assignment we were each asked to create a twitter and flickr account in which we could store the images and link back to the Daily Shoot site in order for our images to be pulled into its database. I loved this assignment because it allowed me to take a little bit of time out of my normal day and be an artist. I would find myself checking the Daily Shoot site each morning right after I woke up so that I could meditate on how to capture the prompt in an effective and artistic manner. I love the amount of creativity that was infused into this course. It truly gives students a chance to think outside of the box, a concept that is not really well received in most of our other classes.

At first I was some what concerned about this class as a whole. With no prior computer science knowledge and my basic understanding of the Internet, I wasn’t really sure how much I would get out of this class. However, this class has offered more to me than I ever thought possible and has even inspired me to consider computer science as a very probable minor for me. I was even given many wonderful tools for producing wonderful works, tools I may not have other wise found or even used.  In conclusion, I will and have recommended this class to many others. DS 106 offers you a chance to think outside of the normal constraints, improve your knowledge of the Internet and all it has to offer, inspire you to step up and speak out for your goals, and even learn loads in the process.

DS 106 ITS BEEN A REALLY GOOD GO! I AM TRULY GOING TO MISS ALL OF IT! THE KNOWLEDGE YOU HAVE GIVEN ME WILL BE USED AND EXPOUNDED ON IN THE FUTURE.

This first one is from last week’s episode. I love it because I feel like everyone knows a One-uper.

WARNING: There is a bit of crude humor in this one! I like this one because it is so catchy and Shy Ronnie is hilarious.

I love how catchy this one is! I was singing this for like 10 minutes after I watched this…Hey everybody did you hear the news…..!

This one is a good one because it sounds like it could easily be true! Don’t Black Friday commercials really sound like this!?

I love how well he can rap in these voices! I mean it really sounds like Jay Z, Drake, and Biggie are actually saying it!

WARNING: Again slightly crude humor! Can I just say that I love Jane as Sue from Glee! This one is funny because of how wacky it is!

I love these musical parodies! Sounds so similar!

I love how accurate Nancy Pelosi’s facial expressions are!

hahahah! This one speaks for itself!

I hope that you enjoyed all of my favorite clips from this SNL Season 36

Though obsession can mean to be so in love with something to the point of stalking it, this word most commonly is used to refer to something that a person is really devoted to, something that they love.

As I thought about it I realized that there are many things that I am “obsessed” with at the moment. Here is a small list of just a few things that I really love…

COACH
For one thing, I love purses. I am currently hooked on expanding my collection of Coach bags. The one that I have my eye on at the moment is a new bag featured in the POPPY collection. It is called the Coach Poppy Signature Sateen Lurex Highlight.

Coach Poppy Signature Sateen Lurex Highlight

FOOD
The next thing that I am obsessed with good food. My roommate and I love food so much. Here are our top 3 places that we love to eat at.

1) Carrabba’s- Great food, wonderful atmosphere and always leave with left overs
2)T.G.I Friday’s- Great food, great service, great atmosphere
3)Chipotle- Great food, excellent service, alway leave full and happy

DANCE
As most of you know, I love to dance. So I guess in many ways Dance an obsession of mine. At UMW we have a club for the performing arts, mostly dance. I am so happy that I am in PAC because I get to dance in the Small and Big shows, though I am not in this coming Big Show. I suggest that all of you go see the PAC Big Show in Dodd this Friday and Sunday. I feel like its always good to support the arts.

SNL
I guess the one obsession that I am going to focus on for this particular assignment will be my love of the Saturday Night Live show. I love this show because it is so funny and in many ways it shows popular instances that basically shape our culture at given times. I say this to mean that SNL uses current news, in most cases, to draw skit material from; because of this SNL not only provides comic relief, but also shows what or who was popular at the time. I also love the fact that there is always a celebrity host and performance by someone who has a hit song out at the time of the show. Though at times it can be a little crude, overall it is a great show and I tune in just about every Saturday from 11:30-about 1:00 to watch it. Here are a few of my favorite skits from past episodes.

Sorry this one isn’t so professional but YouTube took it off because it was not authorized

Google Maps Project_ Part I

The first site is called iBlastHard. This no frills site allows you to choose from a limited source of mostly current or more current songs and cut the music to your liking. Though I personally have not tried this site for myself, I have heard nothing but good things so far. The only minus I would say, is that its no frills interface is not so user friendly. However, once you create one work with this site you will know how to do it every time in the future.

The next site came recommended by one of the girls from my dance studio back home, its called emp3world. From What my friend says, this site provides a larger range of music to sample from and even download. They even have ringtone and more to chose from. Though this site is more attractive and much more user friendly my friend said that at times it can run a little slow.

The next site is called SeekaSong and it has an even larger data base of music to choose from and is way more user friendly. This particular site came highly recommended by a few different friends.They have a wider range of music for download.

The final site is probably a little more common and it is called SoundCloud. This site has to be the most professional looking site and the most user friendly, plus it got extra kudos from my DJ friend. He uses this site all the time. He said that its user friendly and the best part THERE IS NO LIMIT TO FILE SIZES! He made me a track one time that was like an hour long using this wonderful tool. So don’t just take my word for it……Go Check It Out!

SoundCloud: The Tour from SoundCloud on Vimeo.

P.S. I included this video from SoundCloud to show you all a little of what it can do. The tutorial shows a mac interface but it works just as well for PC too! HAPPY SHARING MY FRIENDS!

As I have read on and on and on for days and weeks on end, I have come to realize that CSS can be and in most cases actually is extremely confusing to explain. I wanted to share with you a little about what I have been reading and working on but with it being difficult to explain I had to find a way to share this with you,  so I went online to YouTube to find a video that gives a little background info to you so that you will be able to understand the rest of my post. Though this particular video offers the bare basics, the information in this video makes up about 40% of the book that I have been reading.

This is some of the stuff that I have been reading through and to honest, I guess I haven’t been posting because I don’t know where to begin. I went to Professor Groom and he showed me this amazing sight called WHITEBOARD. I was told to set up a sub domain which anyone can view, design.pr3ttynp1nk.info, and to test my ideas on there. Though I haven’t been doing much of anything with my blank slate, I have read a ton about different ways to set up my site. Professor Groom even offered to show me the great work that a fellow designer has been doing on his blog called COGDOGBLOG. I will admit that I have gone to this site several times just getting inspired by what I was seeing. I realize now that I need to get out there and do something with my inspiration so, I have vowed to set a new blog post everyday regarding my progress to this project. I am going to need a lot of support to get this done and I know that it is going to take some time but I’m taking a leap of faith and just jumping out there. I hope to fly.

PS: Although I would love to, I can not take the credit for the wonderful mash-up. It was actually produced by DJ Earworm!

I know that this is getting posted late but I had the hardest time trying to add this audio story that I made. To be very honest it took me about two days to figure out how to post it. No that its up, I hope that you all enjoy it.

About a week ago, my professor, inspired by the segment “Stories Told By Our Parents” on Ira Glass’s radio broadcast “This American Life,” challenged our class to record a story told by a friend or family member and to make it interesting by adding our own commentary. My story was recorded while my mom and I were folding clothes so you may hear me laughing as my mom tells the story. It can be found attached to this post. Tell me what you think!?