Prankin' in the 1980's

I found this picture of me while I was at home this weekend. Looks like my days of pranking began earlier than college. ;)

A Very Random Poem By Two Cousins

Here is a poemish story my cousin and I wrote together on Instant Messenger. I'm not sure if it's really called a poem because I'm not sure if it really fits poem format, but we still call it a poem! What we do/did is: I start off by writing the first sentence and then she writes the second sentence which ends up rhyming with the first sentence that I wrote -- and the pattern continues. It's funny because, when we do these, the poem becomes the strangest story and ends up taking on the weirdest paths and can take on one or many narrators. So, if you want something strange to read, here ya go...

(P.S. We don't really know who the "narrator" is, so just imagine one as you read. I think it became female though in the end.)

"My Strange Life"
by. Holly & Tricia

Sometimes life throws curve balls
and sometimes it puts up brick walls.
One can never really know what's coming,
so it’s best not to think about it and just start running.
There are many places one can run to,
but wherever you run, make SURE to take some glue.
Glue assures your body stays together
and that all of your fat is light as a feather!
Speaking of feathers, I wish I were a bird;
I would fly north for summer with the rest of my herd.
I'd stop by the "Pole" to see Santa Claus,
and if Quasimodo was there, i'd say "Sup Quas?"
But Quasi kind of scares me
since ya know, he is kinda ug-ly.
But beauty is in the eye of the beholder,
not in pictures tucked away in an FBI crime folder.
Speaking of crime, I was a criminal once.
It all started in Texas, where I was the kindergarten dunce!
I was one bad piece of work,
especially the time that I ate my friend Kirk!
There was no hope for me until...
I climbed my way to the top of Faith Hill.
On top of the hill, all covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball, I just had to sneeze!
Oh yeah, let me get back to the story
because ya know what they say, “no guts, no glory.”
I met my maker at Faith Hill.
She told me that I had better get to crackin’ on my will.
Did that mean to make my will or to smoke it?
While I pondered this I saw a fat kid and I poked it.
I once had a Lean Mean Lasagna,
and a 4 yr old son who I had named Hibaania.
Hibaania was a humble little soul;
He had a cute lil smile and eyes made out of coal.
Actually, I gave birth to a snowman.
After his birth I just looked at him and said "woah-man!"
Certainly this had to be The Twilight Zone,
Oh, that’s right it is, we're filming, I gotta get off the phone!
Most people don't know I was married,
My husband didn’t even know until I told him we were pair-ied.
We divorced after eight short hours,
but during that time, I managed to invoke ALL of his super powers!
First I snatched his X-ray vision,
and he totally needed that since he works with nuclear fission.
Whatever the case, 'til before death did we part!
Oh no! Hang on, I gotta go make a pop tart...
Eating such food makes me kinda sad,
but instead of getting even, I just get mad!
Anger touches us all sometime or another;
Why just last week, it darn near killed my brother!
I'm glad I wasn't born a pit bull;
Imagine how much kibbles I would have to eat to get full!
Indeed, life can throw the hardest pitches,
and some nice old ladies are really scary witches.
So now I'll end this little rant of mine,
and go wash down all my bitterness with a nice glass of wine.
Amen.

"Desperate Housewives" Rocks!

ABC has got two of my favorite shows (which just ended for the season). One is Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (which, no lie, makes me cry every time) and the other is, of course, Desperate Housewives. When I first heard of the show, I have to admit that I thought it sounded like something I wouldn't be interested in -- but I was quite wrong!

The show is narrated by "Mary Alice," a former "Desperate Housewife" who had mysteriously taken her life when the show began. Gradually, the mystery unfolds. Through the death of Mary Alice, the young women in the neighborhood come together as one (well, most of them do). They come together as one incredibly desperate group of housewives who are each desperate for something in their lives (maybe desperate for men, for a happy family, for happiness in general, for success).

One thing I especially like about this show is that each episode does not necessarily have a "happy ending." Instead, it keeps one thinking -- wondering what could possibly happen next. This season's finale especially illustrated this (I won't ruin it for you in case you have it recorded and haven't gotten to watch it yet).

My ultimate favorite part of each episode is when Mary Alice speaks her words of wisdom [from the "other side"] relating to the episodes events. Like this:

"Nothing is forever and the time comes when we all must say goodbye to the world we knew. Goodbye to everything we had taken for granted. Goodbye to those we thought would never abandon us. And when these changes finally do occur, when the familiar has departed and the unfamiliar has taken its place, all any of us can really do is to say hello and welcome."

It's a great show. I totally recommend watching it next season!

P.S. I can't end this post without mentioning one more thing that makes me happy about this show. Two words... "The Gardener" :)

Do YOU Mind Showering Around Others?

Last night my friends and I got into a good conversation about taking showers in the presence of others. It was good because we heard both male and female opinions. We all agreed that we didn't like showering around others. It's funny because, about 50 years ago, if a person didn't want to shower around others they were usually deemed as having a "problem" with their sexuality. Today, from what I gather, things are quite different.

When I was in junior high I remember one girl in my athletics class who was brave enough to take a shower in the dressing room stalls. The first day she did this, a big group of girls came running into the dressing area saying "Eew, [so-in-so] is in there taking a shower! What a weirdo!" Now this may have been a reflection of teenage immaturity OR it may have been more of something else. Perhaps a sign of the times? Hmm, maybe people simply don't like taking showers with others around!

I know a lot of my friends who had to deal with "community showers" at my undergrad college. Those commuity showers don't seem as bad to me though because at least they had shower curtains, unlike wide-open, curtainless community showers do. However, one might still worry about people peeking through the cracks at the edges of the shower curtain -- but who really does that (peeks)? Hopefully no one. Still, I am thinking I wouldn't care for community showers -- though I have never tried them.

One guy friend last night was telling us that he went to a church camp once and the only showers were all wide-open showers (no curtains or anything). He said people would usually go and take showers all at the same time. He, however, being very modest, didn't feel comfortable doing this. I think he said he did it one time and everyone was talking to him while he was in there (What ever happened to not looking around while in those type of showers?). So, he had to make THE big decision: Should I continue to bathe while I'm here or dare I just go stinky the rest of the week? Finally, he decided it would be best to awaken at 5 a.m., when nobody was up, to take a shower. Phew.

Another thing we all talked about was that it would be more embarrassing to shower with people we knew than it would be to shower with total strangers. At least with strangers, you possibly wouldn't have to see them again. And now I just thought about prison. I guess prisoners who deal with open showers [and a guard watching over them] just have to get used to it. Open showers is punishment right there -- but I suppose there are those few different people out there who actually like taking them. Open showers is enough to make me want to steer clear of prison.

Anyway, speaking of open showers, have you ever been to a department store that has open dressing rooms? Those are just strange to me.

Also, would YOU have a problem with open showers?

A Case of the "Mondays"...

My cat with a case of the Mondays
(actually, I don't know what day this pic was taken -- but it's still funny!)

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center (Glen Rose, Texas)

If you live in Texas and have never been to Fossil Rim, you should really check it out sometime! (You can check it out online by clicking here). It is like an African safari -- but in Texas. Yee haw!

We went this monday and it was awesome, as usual! Fossil Rim is an:

"1800-acre world-class, award-winning, conservation, research and education facility nestled among the live oaks and junipers of the beautiful North Texas Hill Country. Where up to 1000 animals can be viewed from your car window or guided tour van. Where 15 endangered species are protected and bred. Where wildlife conservation is the number one priority."

As you can see from the picture I took, the animals can come right up to your car which is really cool! There is nothing quite like having a herd of towering giraffes surround your car so you can feed them. Be careful, however, with the zebras and ostriches coming up to your car -- they have an evil tendency to want to take your head/hands off.

The admission price to get in this season isn't too pricey [and is well worth it]: $18.95 Adult; $14.95 Senior; $12.95 Children (age 3-11).

Some of the other cool things they have at Fossil Rim are:

• A cool little cafe atop of a massive hill that has a beautiful outlook across the Texas country side.
• A fun petting zoo -- goats and emus. Though, I wasn't sure if the emus were supposed to be a part of the zoo, but I petted them anyway!
• An awesome picnic area along an ocelot trail.
• An awesome nature walk that runs along a scary cliff side!
• An endangered species facility -- which sometimes gives private tours.
• And probably a lot more that I am leaving out!

If any of you would like to go with me, I think I am going to go back again sometime before my internship begins on May 30th. The actual tour part takes about 3 hours.

One Year Later: Graduation Confessions & Other Stuff

It's already been a year since I graduated with my first college degree and, frankly my dear, I just can't believe it. The older I get, the faster time seems to fly by -- not pass me by -- just fly by. This weekend I went to graduation at my old college. It was nice to be able to see where I was just a year before. Finals. Final Things. Some final moments. I often miss my friends and my professors, but these days it's pretty easy to stay in touch over the net (if they are into that sort of thing, that is). It's mostly just a matter of finding the time to keep the touch, even if it sometimes feels weird now that our lives have taken slightly different paths.

"Mama always said there's an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes. Where they're going, where they've been"....

Sorry, that was random. Anyway, I was saying something about graduation. Allow me to share with you some occurances that happened last year [involving my dad] during graduation weekend. First, for those you who don't know much about my undergrad school, it's pretty strict about alcohol (since it's a religious-based institution). Drinking is generally taboo...

Graduation rehearsal

• At my school, it is tradition that a parent, or some significant person, wear a white robe and escort the graduating student during the graduation ceremony. During the ceremony, the parent must "hood" the student with an academic hood. This is a really good bonding experience (at least it was for me). My dad was the one to hood me.
• Note: My dad can never go anywhere without an alcoholic beverage at hand...
• At graduation rehearsal, the parent and student must practice the "hooding" process and go over some other vital info.
• As my parents and I were entering graduation rehearsal that friday, I noticed my dad had brought along a little "beverage" for himself. Yep, it was a big ole' mug of alcohol. I was pretty nervous during practice, hoping people would not suspect. I wonder if I am the first person in the school's history whose escort brought alcohol to rehearsal? When they were explaining the hooding process to the parents, I couldn't tell if it was the alcohol or the somewhat complexity of the process that was causing my dad not to understand how to do the hooding. I think it was a bit of both!

Senior dinner

• That friday night, the graduating students and their parents had a senior dinner to attend. I didn't find out until a year later that my dad was up to his old tricks at this, too. My mom informed me this weekend that he had brought a beer with him to the dinner and was just going to carry it in but she convinced him to let her put it in her purse.

Just so one knows: I don't have a problem with alcohol (However, I do think it should be used in moderation -- it can be easily abused). I just thought these were rather amusing stories. I guess it's funnier if you had went to my school. hee hee.

Anyway, my first year of being a college graduate has been a good one. At times it has been stressful but, mostly, it has been wonderful. I have to admit that, although grad school is great, it will never fully compare to my undergrad schools. Maybe it was the people. Maybe it was the places. Maybe it was the things we did. Or maybe, just maybe, we humans simply compare things way too much. Whatever the case, I recieved an excellent undergraduate education during those five years (yes, five years -- it's getting to be common these days). Those years, too, flew by so very, very, very fast.

Dad's Tomahawk Heads

Check out these tomahawk heads my dad has. His great grandfather (or maybe it was great-great grandfather) dug them up while plowing in a Missouri field back in the 1840's. No telling how old they are. I'd like to find out what tribes once resided in that area of Missouri.

Ghana: Average Life Expectancy: 56

Last week in my "Human Behavior & Diverse Populations" class we finished up our group presentations. Usually, in classes that have group presentations, half the class seems to sleep during the presentations. This time, however, it was different. On Wednesday, besides my group presentation over "Children Grieving from the Loss of a Loved One," our class heard two other presentations. One was about "Ghana" and the other was about "Self-Mutilators." Both were extremely interesting topics and, it seemed, they actually kept everyones attention. Tonight I would like to write, particularly, about Ghana.

The Republic of Ghana (Population 20, 757, 032)

After doing some research on my own, I found that the average life expectancy 100 years ago in the United States was 47 years. Fifty years ago, this expectancy had increased to 65 years. Today, in the United States, the average life expectancy for a person is 75 years. That number seems much more promising than a measly 47 years. Then, there is Ghana.

According to the presentation, the average life expectancy today for a person residing in Ghana is a mere 56 years. Yes, 56 years. That is only 9 more years ahead of where we, the United States, were 100 years ago. When I heard this, I was shocked. It's not that I didn't believe this, but simply that I had never really thought about it in this way. To think that in today's world, a world which largely seems so much more up-to-date and post-modern -- the technologies, the discoveries, the life -- to think that there is still such a low life expectancy existing in the world is perplexing. I can only imagine a world in which 56 was the average age to live. In such a world, I might never have never known my grandparents and I might only have known my mom and dad up until the end of my teenage years.

What causes such a low life expectancy? According to the presentation, it is diseases, such as AIDS, as well as the bitter forces of poverty. These can end life rather harshly and quickly.

I guess it's easy to ignore these things. Honestly, it's pretty easy for me to wake up in the morning, think about my plans for the day, worry about eating too much junk food, think about what favorite shows will be coming on at night -- without ever giving thought to the literally millions of people who are battling just to live one more day in the world. Many of these people struggle each day just to find drinking water that's not too dirty and brown. A great number of Americans, and others around the world, struggle each day just to find reputable, expensive bottled water that they don't even know the source of. I know some of the arguments people might say to all this, but for now this post is not a debate -- just simply my thoughts.

Another thing: The group that presented this topic interviewed a local grad student who is from Ghana. Before this man left his country, he enjoyed a very nice social status. He was not judged based on who his family was or on how much money he brought in at the end of the end of the year. According to him, his character and his leadership abilities brought him good standing with the people of his country who, he claims, are very accepting. Then, he said, when he came to America it was, of course, a different story.

As soon as he got here, it was quite a culture shock. Despite being a grad student and a very wise, knowledgable man, he felt he was thrust into a culture that considered him a "nobody." Trying to support his family, he took whatever job he could get: that being a job at McDonald's. Most of us know the "McDonald's" stereotype -- "You don't want to end up working at McDonald's". Notice how it says "You don't want to end up 'working' at McDonald's." Strange. Anyway, he did end up working there so that he could survive. Soon, he noticed the stereotypes. He felt that, here, if you don't drive a nice car, have a great paying job, or own your own home... you're not very important. It's sad to think about, but isn't this often the case?

Well, here are my thoughts for ways to overcome this feeling of unimportance...

Life is more than just being a somebody. Life doesn't even have to mean being a somebody to everybody. No matter how many material things we manage to accumulate in our lives, there is always going to be a higher standard than what we achieve [in society]. To me, the importance of life comes in the form of establishing and maintaing meaningful relationships. These are with friends, family, and loved ones. People to share your life with in an intimate way (by intimate, I do not mean sexual). This is ultimately more important than constantly striving to obtain the "ultimate" socioeconomic status. It's about living comfortably with what you have and with the people you have in your life. Those are the people who give us importance. Not society as a whole. Not strangers who drive by and see you in your new car or who see you in the front yard of your new house. It's about loved ones -- our importance to them and their importance to us. That's what's important.

Final thought: Wouldn't it be nice if social status was more often judged by good character, as the one grad student from Ghana felt was the way of his culture, than by wealth?