I Have Officially Doubled the Amount of People I Hang Out with in Springfield

It is true....I have officially doubled the amount of people I hang out with in Springfield. You may be asking "Did you go to a rad party?" but no, this is not the case. You see, it is easy to double the amount of people you hang out with when the original number is 1. lol

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to my friend Melanie on Facebook, and I was telling her how I didn't have but like one friend in Springfield. She told me she knew a guy up here and would have him add me on Facebook as a friend. Sure enough, within the next 24 hours I had a request from this guy to be my friend. I added him and we started talking through the messaging on Facebook.

Finally after a week of talking online, we exchanged phone numbers and have been texting back and forth a lot. After about a week of just texting, we agreed to meet up on Monday (tonight). Well, I got home early in the afternoon yesterday and he texted me. I told him I was back and he asked if I wanted to do something that day. I agreed and got ready to go.

We met up in a parking lot, and we decided to go check out a corn maze. We had a hard time finding it, but eventually we made it. When we got there, we entered the corn maze thinking it would be easy, but it turned out to be pretty difficult seeing as we passed the same piece of corn four times. It was fun just talking and hanging out while trying to find our way out of the maze.

Once we had made it out of the maze about an hour later, we went to Arby's for supper. It was delicious after all that walking! Then we went to his apartment and just sat and talked. Eventually, his friend came over and we all decided to head to his friend's apartment to watch a movie.

When we got to the friend's apartment, we went inside and quickly decided that we wanted a Fruitista from Taco Bell. We walked across the street and got our tastey treats before finally settling in and watching The Love Guru.

After the movie was over, my new friend took me back to my car. It was definitely a fun night, and I didn't get home until two thirty in the morning.

Today I got a text from my friend asking if I wanted to hang out again tonight. I agreed and he said he would be over after his class got over at seven. We hung out at my apartment for awhile. He loved Puggy, and believe me, she loved him. He played fetch with her for like a hour.

We decided to watch a movie, and he asked if I had ever seen Star Wars. I said that I had not, and he was appalled. He said that we had to go rent it. He didn't see how I could have made it this far in my life without watching Star Wars. So we got in the car and went and got the movie.

Once we were back at my apartment, we watched Star Wars and played with Puggy some more. I tried not to fall asleep, because I was still tired from the previous night. I am officially no longer a Star Wars virgin.

After the movie was over we said good night, but we have plans to hang out again tomorrow night. I am definitely excited. I am glad I have another friend here in Springfield to hang out with instead of sitting at home bored every night!

Going Home...

This weekend I took a much needed break from the every day routine of life in Springfield and headed back home to good ol' Willow Springs. I was very excited to come home and see my family and friends. When Puggy and I arrived at my house, no one was home. Mom called and said she was on her way home from work. I had to go though to meet Amber for lunch, so I left Puggy for mom to puppy sit and left.

When I got to Willow, I had to stop at my former place of employment, Town and Country, to get batteries. When I went in, all of the workers were excited to see me, even my former boss who asked me if I was ready to come back and work for him again. I just laughed.

After leaving Town and Country, I went to Pizza Americana to meet Amber for lunch. When we walked in, we were greeted by three of our former classmates. We went over to their table and said hi and exchanged hugs. After eating with our friends, we all went outside to watch the homecoming parade. It was a blast yelling and cheering for every float. We may have looked like idiots, but at least we got candy!

After the parade, I went back home and saw my family, minus my brother who was getting ready for the football game. Once it was 6o'clock, I headed back to Willow where I dropped Puggy off at my grandma's and picked up Amber for the game. I had fun at the game getting to watch my brother play, even though we lost. I also liked catching up with some of my friends.

That night after the game, Amber and I went to McDonalds and ate chicken nuggets. I was highly disappointed when I was told that the chicken nuggets I had thought my whole life had looked like little Missouris, actually looked more like the United States. It was devastating.

Anyway, after McDonalds, Amber and I went to Carl's house and hung out. All I can say is that it was one of the most hilarious nights of my entire life. God bless my best friend. Unfortunately, around 11:30 I had to leave, because I had to pick up my brother from the homecoming dance. After getting Joseph, I was exhausted and fell right asleep when I got home.

This morning I woke up to the smell of biscuits and gravy. Oh how I miss this. Mom made a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and homemade blueberry muffins. No matter how many cooking classes I take, I will always like my mom's cooking best!

After eating breakfast and getting dressed, I headed to Willow to hang out with Amber. The day was filled with many activities. We cleaned her car (she sprayed me with the water gun thingy at the the car wash on accident). We rode the four wheeler in circles in her yard. We cruised town...she drove while I sat in the passenger seat wearing a four wheeler helmet. We had a scrumptious picnic lunch in the park. We roamed Alco...I bought fake tattoo sleeves which I wore for the rest of the day. We finger painted. We cruised again...this time I drove. Overall, it was a very exciting day.

Once I had said goodbye to Amber, I drove back to Pomona and hung out with my family for the rest of the evening. We had a campfire and roasted hotdogs. We watched a movie and just enjoyed each other's company. It was a great time.

Sadly, tomorrow I will be heading back to my Springfield apartment. I love Springfield, but everytime I come home it is always hard to leave. I love my family and friends, and I definitely do miss them. I am very thankful I got the chance to come down and see them again. I look forward to the next time I can come home and sit around a campfire or finger paint with my best friend. : )

A Not So Peaceful Shower...

This morning I literally dragged myself out of bed so I could get ready for my baking class. Once I had hit the snooze button at least four times, I decided it was time for me to get up. After pulling back the covers and getting a sleepy look from Puggy, I went to take a shower. I hopped in and tried to hurry seeing as I was already late from hitting the snooze button so many times.

I was enjoying my shower, and I was very thankful that it was waking me up. I was just rinsing the shampoo out of my hair when all of a sudden I hear a loud siren like noise. Within seconds, I realized it was the smoke alarm! I sprinted out of the shower with Puggy chasing my heels.

Once I had made it into the bedroom, I looked around and saw that there was clearly no fire. I knew I had to get the smoke alarm to turn off. I knew it had to be waking up all of my neighbors at 7am, because no one in their right mind would be up at that God awful hour.

I ran into the kitchen and grabbed a chair from the kitchen table which was quite humorous. The reason it was humorous: I had had no time to put on any clothes in my mad rush to save Puggy and I. Luckily, all of my blinds were shut. Anyway, I grabbed the chair and quickly stood on it fanning at the smoke alarm. I figured if I could clear the invisible smoke, then it would shut off. Bad idea. Apparently, invisible smoke doesn't go away.

After the first failed attempt to get it to shut off, I decided to yank out the batteries. I unscrewed the alarm from the ceiling and just my luck, it was wired in. Immediately I went to the breaker box and searched for something that would turn it off. Thankfully, they had actually labeled it. I flipped the switch and things returned to normal....well, after Puggy stopped barking and I put clothes on.

So now if there is a fire in my apartment, I can only pray that my dog is a fire fighting dog, and she will wake me up in case of an emergency. But as I watch her shred a paper towel, I am reconsidering and think maybe it would be best to just tell the apartment people and have them fix it. : )

Happy Fall...

With all of my stupid nutrition homework yesterday, I totally forgot that it was the first day of fall! Fall is probably my favorite season. I love when the leaves change colors, and the air gets cooler. I love nothing more than waking up early in the morning, putting on a hoodie, grabbing a cup of hot chocolate, and going outside to take in the crisp fall air.

It is my hope that with the new season, change will also come. Sometimes I find myself feeling like I am stuck in my current life situation without any escape. I hope fall brings happiness, and the breath of fresh air I have been searching for.

To all of my beloved readers: HAPPY FALL!

Spongebob can be extremely scary...

So tonight I was going to get my stupid nutrition book off of my bookshelf to aid me in doing my ridiculous homework. My nutrition homework is another story for another day, because if I get into it I will just get worked up again and end up even more pissed off than I already am. But to give you an idea of what happened, I have been working on a group project by myself for the last 7 hours. Anyway, back to my story.

I was going to get my book off of the bookshelf. I reached for it, and I guess I accidentally hit the Spongebob alarm clock that is also sitting up there, because it started singing the Spongebob Squarepants theme song. Puggy went nuts. She started barking and jumping on and off the bed. Spongebob really scared her. She didn't know what to think, and to top it off, I couldn't figure out how to get it to shut off. The on and off button didn't work. So I had to sit there through the entire song, listening to Puggy bark before it finally quit.

Once the song stopped, I went back to my bed to work on nutrition, but Puggy kept barking. She didn't stop for a full five minutes. After she quit barking and growling, she jumped on my lap and just stared at the clock, occasionally looking up at me. Apparently I was supposed to protect her from this enemy. Now it is a full ten minutes later and she still won't quit staring at the clock, as if it is going to go off again. God bless my pug. Watching her bark at the clock and go nuts made me laugh for the first time tonight.

The Hot Guy...

So, I am not boy crazy. I never really have been, but there is this one really hot guy who works at the Kum and Go by my apartment. My friend Rachel actually said something one day about a hot guy at a Kum and Go. I asked her to describe him, and sure enough, we were talking about the same guy. Now we joke that we share him as a boyfriend.

Last night I had to get gas so I went to the Kum and Go. Of course, I always hope my hot guy is working. Sure enough, he was. So I immediately hit the "Pay Inside" button and got my gas. I am at that gas station enough that all the workers at least recognize me. I went to the counter and he asked how I was. I said I was good and asked how he was. He said he was great and smiled at me as he handed me my change and told me to have a great night. I know this may sound like a typical clerk/customer conversation, but you had to be there. He wants my body. Ok, maybe not, but I can dream!

Yes, I am the world's WORST procrastinator.

This morning I had every intention of doing my nutrition homework as soon as I got back from my human communication class. Well, when I actually got to my apartment, I decided to wait until afternoon and do it. Afternoon came, and well, the homework didn't. Instead of doing my homework, I opted to watch movies. I vowed that I would do my homework as soon as The Simpsons were over. 4:30 came and still no homework. Now it is eight o'clock, and I still haven't done anything. I am bored out of my mind, but I cant seem to bring myself to do my nutrition. Oh well, I guess there is always tomorrow! ; )

Happy 18 1/2!

Today is my half birthday. Most people do not celebrate this occasion, but today I chose to. My friend Rachel and I went to Wal-Mart and bought a birthday tiara, blue Hawaiian Punch, a pin the tail on the donkey game, balloons, a cheesecake and Goldfish crackers to celebrate. I was stoked. It was probably the best half birthday I have ever had. We ate cheesecake after I blew out the magical relighting candles, played pin the tail on the donkey, and ate Goldfish until we were full. It was a very fun evening. It was most definitely a half birthday I will never forget! : )

Different Day, Same Story

Today I had my oh so wonderful political science class yet again. Nothing out of the ordinary happened in there today. It was just another boring day, but there was one thing the instructor said that I found blog worthy. Someone asked about our midterm and what exactly was required for it. I swear we go over it every single time we have class, but maybe I am wrong.

Anyway, the instructor explained that for our midterm, we have to write three, one page papers. In each of these papers, we have to take a stance on some controversial issue such as abortion or gun control and support our opinion. Then the lady asks how many references we have to have. This is when the instructor surprised me. He said that we didn't have to have any sources. WTF? How can you support your opinion if you don't have to prove that what you are saying is fact. This means I can make anything up...hmmm...I can see it now in someone's paper..."half of all people who buy a gun shoot someone." These papers will turn out to be just like the debate over seatbelts where supposedly according to one of my classmates the same amount of people die wearing their seatbelt as those who don't in car accidents. I am sure they will be interesting papers to read, but let's face it, they probably won't be the best arguments. Oh well, it isn't my job to read them....thankfully.

Bittersweet Volleyball

Tonight I had the chance to go watch the volleyball game in Marshfield. I was excited, because I knew I would get to see a lot of my old high school friends, and I love volleyball. Watching it is very exciting for me. When I got there, I watched the JV play. Unfortunately they lost.

Then it was time for the varsity. They wanted me to go to the locker room with them before they went out so I did. Hearing their pregame rituals and pep talk from the coach really made me miss volleyball. I swore that I would never miss it, that I was glad to be done, but sitting there, I realized how much of a part of my life it had been.

When the team when out to warm up, I took my place in the stands, wishing I could join them. As I watched them hit, I felt excitement for them and their upcoming game. I felt the same excitement I felt when I was one of them.

The longer I sat there, the more I thought about volleyball and all of the good times I had. Sure their was a fair share of bad times, but I truly did love the sport. I found myself almost to the point of tears as the teams went to their individual huddles. It made me wish that I had a chance to relive my senior year again. I love Springfield and the freedom I have, but I would love to go back to high school for one more year. I spent the majority of my senior year just wanting out and not really caring. If I had a chance to go back I would cherish every moment and enjoy the time I had left.

Right before the game started, I was asked to line judge and I agreed although I don't particularly like doing it. Throughout the game, I did my best to make the right calls, watching intently as the ball sailed back and forth over the net. I tried not to get too involved, restraining myself from yelling as the game progressed. Being on the court where the action was almost made me feel like I was in high school again, playing my favorite sport. But unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to participate, and I had to just be a mere spectator from my corner. Now I am just a has been who can only talk about the glory days. : (

Halloween...

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! I mean, what other time of the year can you go knock on random doors and have them give you candy? So in honor of this holiday (yes, I know it is over a month away), today I made delicious sugar cookies in the shape of pumpkins and ghosts. Unfortunately, I do not own any pumpkin or ghost cookie cutters, so I had to free hand them with a paring knife. In my opinion they turned out great! I decorated them with colored frosting to make them extra delicious. After decorating the cookies, I dressed my pink flamingo (I have a yard ornament flamingo that wears clothes) in her Halloween attire, and then I strung purple and orange lights in my room. How festive! Now Puggy and I can celebrate in style.

Wedding Dress Shopping

Today was a day filled with many dresses. This morning around 9:30 I met my best friend, Amber, and her mom, aunt, and grandma in Mansfield so they could pick me up and we could drive to Lebanon to look at wedding dresses for Amber. I am happy for Amber, and I am excited to be the maid of honor, but wedding dress shopping really isn't my thing. I told Amber that we were getting the first one she tried on so she had to choose wisely. Unfortunately she did not fall in love with the first one she tried on. I was a good friend though, and I sat there patiently as each dress was tried on.

Eventually, though she did find a dress she loved. It was absolutely beautiful. After picking out the dress, she picked out a veil and all of the other accessories that she needed. As we all sat there, her family talked about their weddings and about the future wedding. I was even asked if it made me want to get married watching Amber try on all of the gorgeous dresses. Sorry to disappoint everyone, but the answer is no. I don't plan on getting married for quite some time, if I ever do get married.

Later on I was mentioning how I felt to Amber and she said, don't worry Jordan, you will get married someday. Obviously I wasn't clear. I am not worried that I won't get married. I don't know if I want to get married for a long time if I even do. Who knows what the future will bring, but for now I am perfectly content living the single life. I am happy for Amber, and I wish nothing but the best for her and Carl, but as for me, Puggy is enough of a companion right now! : )

I JUST GOT MY SECOND FREAKING TATTOO!!!!

So, I just got my second tattoo! I was just sitting at home today, looking at white ink tattoos, and I decided that I wanted one. Tonight after my brother's football game, I went to the tattoo parlor just to ask whether or not they did white ink tattoos. They said they did. I also asked if I would have to make an appointment. The owner of the shop asked what I wanted, and I told him that I wanted "Just Write" on the inside of my right ankle in white ink. He said that they could do it right then if I wanted. I thought about it a minute, and then I just thought, "What the hell, why not?" I said ok and before I knew it, I was filling out the paperwork. He quickly made up the design on the computer, and I loved it. He printed it off and got it to the size I wanted just as I was finishing up signing the release form. I stood there for a minute waiting for them to get ready, when he turned to me and asked if I wanted the UV Reactive ink instead of the white ink. He said that it won't show up as bright during the day as the white would, but for twenty dollars more, I could have a tattoo that glows under a blacklight. I have seen them on the internet before, and they are pretty sweet. So after a little debate in my mind, I agreed to get the UV ink. As they were getting everything ready, I talked to the wife of the owner of the shop. She was great! She asked if I was a writer, and I said that I was working on my first book. She said that I should include the tattoo experience in my book, and I said that it would be a great idea. I told her that if my book with her in it got published I would give her a copy. She was thrilled about that! Anyway, right after that conversation, they were ready for me, and I nervously went back to the chair. Even though I had gotten one tattoo already, I was still scared! Five minutes later, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was over. It hurt more than my first tattoo, but not too much more. After getting the aftercare instructions, I paid and left. When I first sat in my car feeling the sting of the fresh tattoo, I had to take a moment just to calm down and let reality sink in. I just got another tattoo!!!! It was so random. I love it so much! I can't wait to see how it looks under the black light when I take off the bandage! Hopefully I can post a picture really soon too!

Dumpster Diving...

Oh yes, today I had the joy of dumpster diving. I cleaned my apartment for the first time in like two months today. (It looks totally amazing now!) I had everything done, except taking out the trash. Well, I loaded myself up and headed to the dumpster. I had three whole garbage bags, if that gives you any idea how trashy my apartment had become. I threw them in the dumpster and came back inside to get ready for my culinary class.

I changed into my chef's uniform and grabbed my keys to go. I looked around for my wallet, but it was no where to be found. Then I realized something. I had gotten Wendy's for lunch, and I had thrown my wallet into the Wendy's bad when I brought it inside my apartment. By that point, the Wendy's bad was in one of the magical three trash bags.

After realizing where my wallet was, I knew I had to go dumpster diving. I was disgusted with the thought, but I had to get my wallet back. So, I went outside and grabbed the three bags out of the trash. Naturally they all had gross crap on them by them. I started going through them one by one until I found the Wendy's sack. Relieved, I opened it up and guess what. My wallet wasn't there!

I searched the rest of the bag, but I still couldn't find the missing wallet. After a little while, I knew I had to be leaving to get to class, so I threw the bags back into the dumpster. The wallet had to be somewhere in my apartment. I went through every single bag. I just resolved to look for it later when I got back from class.

Coming back inside to wash my hands, I walked into the bedroom portion of my junior suite to get my bag, and I happened to look up. There it was. My wallet was on the top shelf of my shelf divider thingy. I said some choice words, and grabbed my wallet as I headed out the door. I had gotten all gross going through the trash for nothing! Ugh.

I told you my paper was amazing...

Remember the paper I posted on here like a week ago? The one about the Russian boy who I became best friends with, but unfortunately he had to travel back to mother Russia? Well, this morning I got my grade on it. I was hoping she didn't grade really hard, because I knew the paper was crap. I wrote it in five minutes, plus I made it all up! But anyway, as I am getting my paper back I see a few blue marks out to the side in the margin, and I was thinking they would be critiques of my work, but no, they were in fact praises. You see, not only did I get a twenty out of twenty points possible, she also wrote that I had a great example and my paper was well written! Go me!

Side note: Besides being absolutely thrilled about my grade today, I also learned to expect hundred percents on everything. She said that if we do the homework, we will get the points! I like her grading system! : D

Oh the Joys of Political Science...

I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday but keeping up with tradition, I figured I needed to blog about my political science class. God bless it. As always, I took notes, and this is how the class played out. Enjoy!

2:30-Instructor is talking with eye patch man about computers and not having used them and having to learn how.

2:33-Class begins. Joy.

2:35-Instructor begins by saying that some people did really well on the last test, and others didn't do so hot. WTF? It was an open book test!

2:40-Went over more of the worksheet that he was giving us answers to the last time we had class.

2:44-Not really paying attention....but instructor says that Jean Jacques Rousseau and Charles de Secondat are the same person....well at least he thinks so. I don't follow the logic of them being the same person...Maybe it's because they had similar beliefs? I don't know.

2:50-And once again, the questions begin from the ladies in the front.

3:06-Instructor hands out more worksheets....when he gets to me, he comments on my shirt (Kansas City Chiefs shirt) by saying that the Chiefs didn't do too well, but at least they did better than the Rams. I nod my head and he chuckles while walking away.

3:14-COLORING TIME! We actually got to color our maps....kind of reminds me of elementary school, but it's coloring so I wasn't going to complain.

3:20-Take notes off overhead....happen to notice that Canada is spelled Canadia...neat.

3:29-Went over the story of Pocohantus....secretly hoping we will get to watch the movie.

3:31-Talk about John Smith and his love affair with Pocohantus. I almost couldn't resist raising my hand to ask if there was a talking willow tree that Pocohantus turned to for guidance. I refrained though.

3:34-Lady in front asks questions about the Pocohantus story....watch the damn movie!

3:45-SWEET FREEDOM! :D

Missing "z" key

So everytime I am trying to type on my laptop, my pug thinks it is a great idea to try to walk across my keyboard. Of course I get onto her everytime she does this, because I don't want her to break my computer. Well, it finally happened the other day.

You see, while I was typing away on my assignment for human communication class, my dog ran up and walked on my keyboard. I threw her off, but it was too late. She knocked off the "z" key! So now all I have is a little spike poking up from the keyboard to hit where the button used to be. The button the actually says "z" is off. Hopefully I can fix it soon, but for now it definitely looks like I have the ghetto keyboard. Neat. Thanks a lot Puggy.

A nice warm hoodie and a cup of hot chocolate...

Days like today are my favorite. The late summer days when it is cooler outside, truly showing that fall is just around the corner. The days where you can sit outside in the morning with a cup of hot chocolate in a warm hoodie. It's not too hot, not too cold. It's days like these that are rejuvenating. Its days like today in which I am able to see the beauty in the wonderful creation that our planet is. It's days like today I find myself thanking God for allowing me to be here and see another glorious beginning to the fall season.

Shingles...

So remember how I said I wasn't feeling too hot a couple of days ago...well, it is getting worse. I still feel really weak and have a low grade fever most of the time. Now in addition to all that, I have rashes all down one side of my stomach...too much information, I know. I went home yesterday, and my mom (who is a nurse) confirmed that I most likely have shingles, and no, that doesn't mean the things that go on you roof. Shingles is actually a form of the chicken pox virus that people get when they have already had the chicken pox. Neat. Not. It sucks. Unfortunately I did not have time to go to the doctor while I was home. It is my hope that it gets better over the next week. If not, however, I am going to go to the doctor sometime next weekend. Oh and I should probably take the time to mention that I am not contagious...so you can still talk to me if you see me on the street...you don't have to avoid me like I have the plague. lol Hopefully I will be over this soon. Being sick is not fun, and when you are in college, you don't get to miss school!

Not Feeling Too Hot

This whole week I haven't felt very well. I have been aching all over, and I have had a fever almost everynight. I also have very frequent headaches. Not good. I looked it up online, and it looks like stress is causing this. I haven't been stressed about school work, but there are definitely other things in my life that I am worried about. I just have to try and keep my mind off the negative and look at the positve and hopefully I will start feeling better again.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me!

I just saw a commericial in FAVOR of high fructose corn syrup. What the hell? I mean seriously. I would have put the commercial on here but it wasn't on Youtube. Saying high fructose corn syrup is good for you is like saying soda is good for you. They claim it is good for you, because it has corn in it. Hmmmm...does that mean candy corn is also good for you? I guess so. Eat up America! Contrary to popular belief, high fructose corn syrup is part of a well balanced diet! What's next? I can see it now...."Researchers find that eating a diet of pure lard helps to fight obesity." This ad for the syrup could not possibly be a ploy to take away the bad reputation of high fructose corn syrup and boost sales, could it? No way, because if the tv says it, it has to be true! Yay for high fructose corn syrup!!!!!! Not!

Political Science is Slowly Sucking Out My Soul

As you may have read before, my political science class is an absolute box of fun. I can't think of any other way I would want to spend an hour and fifteen minutes twice a week. Every single day in there is a joy. Here are the notes from today's class:

2:21-Long talk about sharks between the two people in front of me.

2:25-The three chicks next to me all compare to see who has the most key terms done. Apparently it is a fierce competition.

2:27 Two people in front of me start to talk about McDonalds. They get really fired up about it. One chick mentions, "If it tastes good, you should eat it."-I would have to disagree along with the many nutritionists in the world who would go nuts if they heard that statement.

2:30-Instructor walks into room.

2:31-Two ladies in front of room begin to ask questions.

2:37-Instructor says something about how the Chicago police gets the job done and a lot of heads being busted.

2:39-Instructor mentions something about women truck drivers. I note that every single example he gives, I wasn't alive for. He refers to the 70s as being a few years ago.

2:45-We discuss good Japs and bad Japs....and how we should start using gold again instead of paper money. I think I will pass on that one.

2:49:-Two chicks in front of room ask more questions. I am already counting down the days until I am done with this class.

2:51-HUGE debate started over whether or not wearing seatbelts and helmets if driving a motorcycle should be a law. Most of the class thinks it shouldn't be a law....I thank God I am not wearing my Arrive Alive shirt today.

2:53-Healthcare lady in front of room argues with chick in my row (same chick who told me the Constitution quiz was easy.) Healthcare lady argues that it should be a law because we have to absorb the costs of the injuries as we pay insurance premiums.-a valid point I think. The chick in my row argues that it is their choice and if they get in a wreck, they have to deal with the consequences. Healthcare lady tries to point out that in the end we all end up paying for it through insurance. Chick in my row keeps arguing the same thing. She is obviously not getting it....but all the power to her for being opinionated.

2:55-The battle rages on.

2:57-Eye patch man says that there are some places the government shouldn't intervene and seatbelts are one of them.

2:59-Girl in back of room gives the statistic that just as many people die when they are wearing their seatbelts in an accident than when they don't.-What the hell?

3:00-Healthcare lady goes nuts over the previous statement.

3:02-Look at clock. What did I do to deserve this? What kind of sick joke is this?

3:03-Debate switches to be about health insurance.

3:04-Chick in my row says something about how she has a disease and is having to pay ten thousand out of pocket....totally irrelevant to the current discussion...I am sure she isn't paying it either. I am sure it is her parents.

3:07-New debate begins....No Child Left Behind...everyone who voices their opinion is against it, yet somehow they manage to argue with eachother! SHUT UP already!

3:10-Somehow the discussion went from liberals and conservatives to school breakfast.

3:15-Another new debate...lowering the drinking age. Most people agree it should be lower, except chick in my row. She argues that it won't be any better. Guy with no shoes on argues that in Europe they have almost no problems from having a lower drinking age and it would remove the exciting feeling of it being illegal. Girl in my row changes her argument and is now for lowering the drinking age...am I seriously the only one who noticed that she totally changed her opinion?

3:17-Instructor is laughing. He is thrilled at the debate. He says we are his most opinionated class. Yippee.

3:20-Instructor says, "Conservatives and liberals are not evil."-Thank you for clarifying...I was really worried there for a minute.

3:25-Worksheet time!!!!!

3:26-Start to go over worksheet together, which means that the instructor talks about each question and gives the answer. Neat.

3:45-SWEET FREEDOM! God Bless my class.

The AMAZING Human Communication Paper on Intercultural Communication.

The following is my three...well actually four...paragraph essay I wrote for my Human Communication class. We were supposed to respond to intercultural communication and how we can improve it or how we have improved it in our everyday lives. For added enjoyment, I decided to add my own commentary along the way in parentheses. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it.

Improving Intercultural Communication

Intercultural communication is a vital part of our world today and is almost impossible to avoid. I have personally dealt with intercultural communication many times throughout my life (ok maybe like five times total, but who's counting?). Whether it is a person from another nation or even just a person from a different part of the United States, cultures can be vastly different. Communication can be difficult if you are not prepared, but if you take the proper precautionary (precautionary is a big word people in college use! Yay for me!) steps and are aware of the other person’s beliefs and customs, communication between the two parties can be successful (a successful communication? Neat.).
When it comes to improving communication, there are many steps that should be taken to ensure the success of the communication. These include, preparing yourself, reducing ethnocentrism, confronting stereotypes, increasing mindfulness, avoiding overattribution, recognizing differences, and adjusting your communication (I can't take credit for this part, it was straight out of the book). An example of when I took these necessary steps was when I had to communicate with a foreign exchange student on the first day of my math class (And so begins the story of Vladimir, the made up Russian student). Vladimir was from Russia, so it was obvious his culture was very different than my own (duh!). Even though this difference was present, I took the proper precautions (<---once again, big college word) so we could have a successful conversation.
I prepared myself for the conversation by asking a friend (Dallas, this is you) who was taking Russian that year how I should approach the student (Apparently they were an alien so I couldn't just approach them by saying hi). I wanted to appear friendly and not offend them in any way. Then I reduced my ethnocentrism (<---nice word choice, unfortunately straight out of the book) by trying to see his beliefs, values, and customs as equal to my own even though they were much different (We all know Americans are superior though. haha). Next, I confronted my stereotypes that because he was an exchange student he was smarter than everyone else in the room. Just because he was an exchange student, it didn’t mean he was any smarter than the rest of the class (Of course exchange students are just as dumb as the rest of us...except the Asian ones. They are all geniuses, but Vladie was Russian so that ruled out that he was a genius). After that, I increased my mindfulness and avoided overattribution by not making any assumptions or jumping to conclusions before I actually got to know him. Finally, I recognized our differences (Vladimir was a boy and I was a girl. Took a long time to recognize that difference) and adjusted my communication.
Through that conversation we got to know each other a little better, and even though our backgrounds are very different, we came to be friends (awww...I have an imaginary friend). Our conversation opened my eyes to many differences, but it also showed me the similarities we had. We are still in contact today (BFFs!) even though he has traveled back to his home in Moscow. (I was really tempted to say he had to travel back to mother Russia but that might have been a little over the top. :D )

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day to all my avid blog readers...yes that means you Dallas and Sweet Casey....and anyone else who happens to be stopping by! : )

I don't have much else to say today...I have been working on my stupid nutrition homework, and it is frying my brain. It's not hard. I just have a hard time staying focused, especially when facebook is calling my name. : )

Anything else new in my life? Nope. College is still slowly sucking out my soul. I still don't know what to do with my life. Puggy is still just as rowdy as ever. I need to clean my apartment. My car is filthy and needs gas. Yep, everything is the same as always in the wonderful world of Jordan! : D