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 |  A place to keep my personal thoughts. |
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My thoughts, like teardrops, splash onto the page, causing a rippling effect that disturbs the calm and quiet. |
"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  Prompt for January 17th, 2013: Are social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc ...) an evolving form of communication and allow us to be more connected to those around us, or do they decrease communication skills, and distance us from "real" connections?I think they're ultimately an evolving form of communication that allow us to be more connected to those around us and people that we would otherwise never have the pleasure of knowing. As with other things, some people take it overboard and let it get in the way of their "real" everyday lives. However, one could also argue that the same applies to videogames, television, and most any other form of modern technology. One could also argue that social media sites give some people, who are otherwise loners, a chance to meet people with similar interests and form friendships that they wouldn't otherwise have the ability to do. For those reasons, and many others, I thinks social media sites are a great thing. Go, WDC!  "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" January 17, 2013: Do you believe in the death penalty? Defend your answer.This is topic for which I have mixed feelings. For people who are definitely guilty, my answer is a resounding yes. But it's not that cut and dry. Unless I have actually witnessed the crime or there was evidence that left no doubt as to the guilt of the suspect and the suspect confessed to the crime(s), I am against the death penalty. Unfortunately, you can't pick and choose. Either you have it or you don't. And I would much rather see those who are guilty spend life in prison than see one innocent person die as a result of the death penalty. In that regard, I would have to say that I do not believe in the death penalty. |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt for January 16th, 2013: Is there anyone in your life that you would take a bullet for? Yes, there are several people: my mother, my father, my brother, my two nephews and my boyfriend. Although I have many friends that I love dearly, I don't think I love anyone other than immediate family enough to take a bullet for them. "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" January 16, 2013: Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you back to childhood?That would be chicken and dumplings. That was my favorite meal as a child, and my mother would always fix it when I was recovering from a cold, and I would always feel so much better. Even today, when I'm missing home or have been ill, I crave my mom's chicken and dumplings. |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt for January 15th, 2013: What one talent do you wish you had, but don't (non-writing related)? "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" Prompt - January 15, 2013: If you could learn to play a musical instrument, one which you've never played before, which would you choose and why?I can combine these two prompts today. I wish I had musical talent, more particularly the talent of playing the guitar. My brother is an excellent player, and he has tried to teach me several times to no avail. I don't have the patience (see yesterday's entry). I love to hear the sounds of acoustic and electric guitars, and listening to someone play a beautiful melody has a calming effect for me. I have a guitar and, someday, I am going to learn to play it.  |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt for January 14th, 2013: Persuade me why you appreciate verbal arguments or disagreements. I'm going to approach this one from a legal standpoint. I appreciate verbal arguments, because they are much more effective that written arguments. By arguing verbally, there is less room for misinterpretation as you are able to see and hear your opposition. A simple typographical error could render an entire argument moot. By having the ability to argue in person, there is less chance that one will say something that could be interpreted in a number of ways. If that person does so, there will be an immediate opportunity to clarify. Arguing in person can also serve as as advantage against an opponent. The opponent will not have a chance to reflect upon what you have said and prepare a carefully drafted response. He or she will be "on the spot" and required to immediately address your concerns. While this is true in your case as well, adequate preparation for the confrontation will ensure that you have a sound argument and can easily and intelligently vocalize it. An oral argument will also allow you to read the opponent's body language. If your opponent seems firm in his or her position but his or her body language indicates otherwise, you become more confident that you can win the argument. Written arguments allow no room for interpretation. Oral arguments also allow you to assess the opponent's emotions. This will help you assess whether he or she is arguing based upon logic or simply based upon emotion. This will give you an advantage and allow you to change your method of arguing if appropriate. I believe oral arguments are much more effective that written ones. "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" Prompt: What is your worst quality as a human? Describe it in detail, and why you think it's bad.I would say my worst quality is my extreme impatience. I have a bit of a bad temper, but I can control it. I also tend to worry a lot, but I can control that as well. As to my impatience, however, I don't have much control over it. For instance, I take a final, and I start checking for my grade the next day. Since it often takes weeks for the grades to post, my desire to check every 15 minutes frustrates even me, but I can't force myself to give it a rest. If someone is supposed to call me back (especially in relation to settling a case at work), I wait a little too anxiously for the phone call. If it doesn't come within an hour, I start getting antsy. If I order something online, I'm looking for it in the mail within a few days. I can't stand to drive behind slow moving vehicles. I get so frustrated when forced to stand in a long line. This is bad in so many ways. Besides the obvious, I'll (hopefully) be an attorney within a few months. I don't want to risk settling a case for less than I could have gotten if I had been more patient. I don't want to end up with high blood pressure because of frustration and worry resulting from my impatience. And I don't want to miss out on all of the wonderful things life has to offer because I'm too worried about what I want to happen to notice the good things that are happening all around me. |
I have had a great week. I started my last semester of school on Wednesday, and I have the easiest schedule ever. I am NOT a morning person, and on most days, my first class doesn't start until 1:30. And the best thing...3 day weekends! I don't have classes on Friday.  I was sort of worried that I wouldn't have sufficient time for WDC once school started back, but it has gone well so far. I've managed to get all of my homework done, and I've still been able to write a few pieces and review a lot of items. In fact, reading a great story and/or put my feelings into words helps me to relieve stress. Today was the first day of "Invalid Item" , and I wrote my first poem for it: "Monday Morning Blues" . As I've said before, I know nothing about poetry, but I also enjoy stepping outside my comfort zone. The prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" today is: Tell us about your week. Include your favorite blog entry from your fellow challengers from the preceding week, and, most importantly, why.Since I've already talked about my week, I guess I have to pick a favorite entry. And I choose "Invalid Entry" by Bonnie14222  . This entry just touched me. It breaks my heart that a fellow blogger has been suffering since Thanksgiving yet continues to post an entry for the prompt each day and, more importantly, to offer all of the members of "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" her insight and encouragement. I truly admire that.I hope everyone is having a great weekend! |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt for January 12th, 2013: A day in the life of a blogger. OK, a day in my life. This entry will probably depress me, because I'll be forced to come to terms with how boring my life really is.  I'll choose yesterday.My day started at 10 a.m. when I got out of bed. I was really psyched because I don't have classes on Fridays this semester, and the day started with me thinking of all of the exciting things I could do with my day. No exciting things happened. To spare everyone the boring details, I'll just give a quick summary of what I did yesterday: Showered, dressed, went to grocery store, reviewed on WDC while lurking for bots (WDC scrollies will understand this), drafted blog entries for this group and my Circle of Friends group, wrote my second ever poem, read an assignment for a class I have on Monday, talked to some friends via email, text and phone, cooked and spent the evening with my boyfriend watching basketball. Oh, and I washed dishes. I can't believe I almost forgot such an exciting thing! So, there you have it. I hope nobody who reads this gets overly excited!  "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" January 12, 2013: If you could live forever, would you? Why or why not?No, I would not. Please see my "day in the life" entry above, and you will understand that I couldn't tolerate that for more than an average lifetime. OK, on a serious note, I assume my friends, family, loved ones, etc. wouldn't have that same advantage. I wouldn't want to keep living just to watch every person I have ever cared about pass on. How fulfilling would life be without anyone to share it with?Although I can think of numerous other reasons I wouldn't want to live forever (suffering through numerous disasters, wars, plagues, etc.), the inevitable loss of all my loved ones is the reason that first comes to mind. |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt for January 11th, 2013: When was the last time you remember laughing so hard your sides hurt, your smiling muscles were sore, and your eyes were tearing up? What were you laughing at? Please keep in mind that I often find humor in the most mundane things. The last time I remember laughing that hard was a couple of years ago. I was at work, and I had gone outside to smoke with one of my coworkers. She was very shy and tomboyish. We worked on the second floor of a building, and when we went outside, we could see the parking lot of the building below us. I was standing in a little cubbyhole close to the door and, while I could peek around the corner and look down to the parking lot below, the people below were unable to see me. My coworker, however, was leaning against the building (there's a deck around the building that we were standing on), arms crossed in what I'm sure she thought was a cool stance. I looked down to the parking lot and spied a man bending over to get something out of his car, and I immediately noticed that his Incredible Hulk boxers were exposed. Bored with the monotony of work and just a bit mischievous in general, I yelled "I like your underwear!" and hurriedly returned to my cubbyhole. I heard a startled "Umm, thank you?" from down below, and I could only imagine what he thought of my coworker, arms crossed, looking all nonchalant, boldly saying that to him. She and I were good friends, so she quickly forgave me (and paid me back later - a story for another day), but it took me an hour to stop laughing. You had to be there."Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" January 11, 2013: What childhood lesson has always stuck with you?This one is a bit tough, because most of the lessons I learned in childhood have stuck with me. Treat others how you want to be treated. Always put forth your best effort. The list goes on. However, I think the lesson that has benefited me the most is "Money can't buy happiness." I remember being upset as a child when my parents couldn't afford to buy me the latest hundred dollar jeans that many of my friends had been flaunting. My parents sat me down and reminded me that those jeans didn't make my friends better or happier people. While that didn't mean much to a frustrated thirteen-year-old, years later, it would become very beneficial. I have had opportunities to advance at the expense of others. But, because of that childhood lesson, I didn't take advantage of those opportunities. What good would that advancement provide if I couldn't sleep at night? I know that I could have a flashy car, a big house and all of the latest gadgets, but how much could I really enjoy those things if obtaining them had caused someone else pain? I am sometimes naive, and it is obvious that some people weren't taught that lesson or didn't choose to take it seriously. As a result, I have been one of the "others" many times, being used to help someone else advance. Still, I believe that I have made the right decisions, and I would rather not have something if I have to hurt others to obtain it. ![Sig created by [Link To User legerdemain]](https://www.writing.com/main/images/action/display/ver/1357418267/item_id/1911916.jpg "Pink Princess [#1911916]
Sig created by [Link To User legerdemain]") |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt for January 10th, 2013: Gay marriage? Yes? No? Do you care? Why? My initial thought was wow, Em, you're really inviting the controversy here! But one of the great things about a group of people who have become friends through blogging is that most of those people are very respectful, even if their answers are dramatically different. Over the years, I have learned to choose my battles, and since gay marriage doesn't affect me, I never really cared. It's definitely not something I would fight against. But I have also discovered that it does affect me in some ways. I have some gay friends, and I think they should have the same rights to marriage as everyone else. I strongly believe in God, and I have heard all of the arguments against gay marriage. As long as those arguments are within reason, I respect them. But I just can't justify, in my own mind, discriminating against people because of their sexual orientation. The only way I could see that gay marriage could affect me would be to make many of my gay friends, friends whom I know have been and will be there for me when I need them, very happy. For those reasons, I would have to say that I support gay marriage. "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" January 10, 2013: What's worse: extremely cold weather or extremely hot weather?This one is easy for me. I would MUCH rather have extremely hot weather. A few years ago, there was a snowstorm the week before Christmas in the area where I live. Because of the heaviness of the snow, it destroyed power lines, so I was without power for an entire week. I can't recall any time that I was more miserable! I ended up buying propane heaters, a generator, etc., but nothing really helped. I was basically confined to one room for the entire week, and it was not a pleasant experience. I think one can find more relief from hot weather than from cold. A quick swim, a fan...there are a number of ways to cool off. But when the weather is unreasonably cold, I feel like it chills me to the bone, and I just can't get warm. Brrrr! |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" Prompt for January 9th, 2013: Do you belong in this day and age? Do you feel comfortable being a citizen of the 21st-century? If you do, explain why — and if you don’t, when in human history would you rather be? I definitely belong in this day and age. At this point, I need modern technology. I can't imagine not being able to google, TIVO, email, etc. If my internet is out for an hour or two, I feel disconnected from the outside world. I cannot even begin to list all the things I would miss, and I feel a bit panicked just thinking about it! I've often heard "you cannot miss what you never had" but I've had it, and I want to keep it! It's 21st century for me! "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" Prompt - January 9, 2013: What is your favorite old movie? I would have to say my favorite old movie is "It's a Wonderful Life." It's not so much the movie itself - it's the memories associated with the movie. From as far back as I can remember, my family (mother, father, brother and I) would gather and watch the movie during the weeks before Christmastime. I associate the movie with family time, hot chocolate and just a sense of peace and contentment. |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" If you were told to "Leave town" tomorrow and everything you left behind would be taken care of for the next month, where would you go and why? (You cannot go to live with relatives.) I'm going to assume for the purposes of this prompt that I have sufficient funds to go wherever I want. Otherwise, you could find me in a cardboard box just on the outskirts of town. That being said, I think I would spend the month backpacking through Europe. I have never been, but I often hear from my friends who have gone that I'd love it! lolDuring my trip, I would check out as many places as I could: France, Italy, Greece, Spain...the list goes on. OK, now that I'm in the mood to travel, who's going to fund it and who's going to take care of my stuff? "Blogging Circle of Friends Prompt Forum" Prompt - January 8, 2013: What is your favorite book from childhood?When I was a child, I would hoard books and read them over and over. I would also beg everyone I came in contact with to read to me. It's impossible for me to choose just one as a favorite, so I'm going to choose the one I most vividly remember. The book was called The Sesame Street Story Book and it was a collection of stories involving the Sesame Street characters. One particular story that I loved was called "The Princess and the Cookie". Today, 30 years later, I can still remember verses of that story: But my favorite thing is cookies said the princess with a sigh, And they must be small and dainty and as delicate as I. Lame, I know, but I loved that darn book when I was a child. I hope everyone's week has gotten off to a good start. |
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I love the plaques and the fun stuff. I did notice that the actual WdC shop doesn't have any more T-Shirts or hoodies for sale. I miss those. 