A Good Christmas ... (NOT!)

Some various Christmas prices:
$7 can give a malnourished kid a week of hot meals (Samaritan's Purse.)
$10 can pay for mosquito nets in malaria-infested areas which can save a kid's life (Samaritan's Purse.)
$15 pays a month's tuition for a kid to learn to read AND includes school supplies (Samaritan's Purse.)
$75 can give an abandoned kid shelter and basic necessities, again through Samaritan's Purse.
$6,000 can bring a veteran and his/her spouse to a weeklong vacation in Alaska, an experience which can encourage someone wounded in battle and save their marriage - again, Samaritan's Purse.
$10,000 can provide a community in Africa with clean, drinkable water from a well
Somewhere in between the veteran's vacation and the well is the cost of publishing a book, but to make life easy we'll say its about $10,000 as well.
$4,000,000 - that's four million dollars - is an Obama Christmas vacation to Hawaii.

With the money he is using to go enjoy himself for three weeks, I could publish Graystone and Arashna (the tentative title for book 4) and still have enough left over to pay for at least two of everything on that Samaritan's Purse list. Probably closer to ten of everything. Oh, and I wouldn't have to worry about possibly not publishing book four and instead jamming it together with book three and leaving out half of an exciting story.

I'm not against people having nice vacations, but he is the president and he can't afford to. America is racing toward a fiscal cliff on his watch - what is he doing in Hawaii? Some experts think we're going to hit the edge of the fiscal cliff during his vacation. Not a good way to spend Christmas ... at least, not good for America.

Christmas Lights

I don't think I'm the only one who loves the day after Thanksgiving because it marks the start of the time when it's acceptable to put up Christmas decorations. The first thing I did when I got back to the dorm was string up Christmas lights. They're the old kind that fail if one bulb doesn't work, but that's my favorite kind. They blink, too, which makes them more interesting.

Since I only have two classes today, I'll walk to the nearby store after lunch and get seme more decorations, especially tinsel. Maybe I can even get some wreaths to hang from our windows. Can't put anything on the doors, but I think you can around the doors. Bottom line is, this place will be all Christmased up after today!

By the way, let me know what you think of my blog's winter look!

Never Underestimate the Young!

First things first: No one should be surprised by that title. If you were, look to the left and read the blurb about me. I firmly believe that being young is NEVER a reason to not do what you feel you must. (So that I'm not misquoted, let me clarify - I do not advocate drinking under 21 or driving before you're 16, or 15&1/2, or whatever your state's age limit is. However, the reason to not do those things is not age, it's law.)

Today I had the privilege of seeing a very brave sixteen-year-old on Twitter. Her name is Bethany Bowra, and when one of the commentators on Twitter made a blatant, and rather disgusting, comment, she challenged him with calm reason. I won't take any stand on the issue they debated (using a polite term,) but I will say that Bethany did a fabulous job. In fact, she just about handed him his bottom (again, using a polite term.)

The point of this post is that just because you're young, inexperienced, insert your own synonym, doesn't mean you are at any particular disadvantage. Reach for the stars, and never let anything hold you back!

Upset

Please do not let the title deter you. I myself am not upset - in fact, I'm thrilled. Because there is nothing I love more than an upset. An upset in sports, that is.

Today for the first time in a number of years (the number is disputed between my uncle and my cousin) the WSU Cougs beat the UW Huskies!!! I don't care much about sports, because it's too much work to follow any of it, but I love watching a game with a bunch of people and the game goes well, and in my family that sport is usually football. That SuperBowl between the Seahawks and the Pittsburg Steelers was rough, because my dad came from Pittsburg, but for the most part everyone in my family is on the same side. Today was the Apple Cup, and the people who came over to watch it included my uncle and aunt; my older cousin whom I haven't seen in what feels like forever; and a family my family's been close with for most of my life, including the oldest kid's fiancee.

The second kid in that family is my age, and he's one of my oldest friends. We compared experiences and stories about college, and I have to say that I am very happy to be going to Wisconsin Lutheran College, but I don't think he would possibly enjoy it as much as Montana State, which is where he's going. What I'm very thankful for this year is that the people I love and care about are happy and doing well. Late last year and early this year had some tragedies happening to people around me. But God never left any of them, and they have pulled through the bad times. That is what I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving.

A Not-So-Ordinary Day

Today I've seen a bunch of people leaving as soon as their first class is over, and for the most part I've been thinking, "It'll be my turn soon." I have a late flight out of Milwaukee and I'm getting into Seattle really late tonight. I cannot wait to spend Thanksgiving with some friends from church, and then I'll spend Black Friday with some family friends from grade school.

But I have four hours before I leave for the airport. Between then and now is a Western Civ class and the much-anticipated Honors class where Glaeske will chemically disprove love. (I still wonder why he got married if he doesn't believe in love.) That will be fun, as Tom has vowed to argue every point he can. I'll try to upload a picture of me at the airport when I finally get there.

Thanksgiving Food

Today for lunch the cafeteria served turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and stuffing with cranberry sauce. I didn't go for the cranberry sauce, but the rest of it was fabulous. On the tables near to me were some papers and pens laid out and a box that said "Letters to the Troops." It was a very visual reminder of who we owe for that amazing Thanksgiving food. I mean, it's well and good to be thankful, but equally important is to know who to be thankful to. Obviously, God comes first and foremost, and then parents, but those troops serving overseas are definitely third, and it seems to me that people forget that fact so easily. This Thanksgiving, don't forget who you must be thankful to.

Honor's Shenanegans

Today was one of the best honors classes of the year. It all started when Tom didn't show up. Apparently he's missed quite a few classes, but this is the first time he's missed an honor's class. The hilarity continued because of a number of disputes about the validity of Ludicrous - sorry, Lucretius.

Glaeske: What are the Furies?
Ethan: They were the ladies who cut the string, right?
Sarah: No, those were the Fates.
Me: The Furies hunted souls that escaped Hades.
Ethan: Right! They were giant birds of prey with women's faces.
Glaeske: No, those were Harpies.
Ethan: Oh yeah, that's right. Medusa was a harpy.
Me: Medusa was a Gorgon.
Ethan: Maybe I should shut up now.

Another one:
John: I remember from Hercules that the Fates only had one eye.
Glaeske: Ah, you're caught up on the Ten Labors, are you?
Me: No, the Disney movie Hercules.
Glaeske: *facepalm*

And the best one:
Glaeske: He caught his wife in a rather uncompromising situation with another man.
Me (in an undertone): Technically that would be a compromising situation.

Anyway...

After Honors, Sarah, Emily, Cody, and I went to find Tom and torture him. Emily started by FaceTiming him, and the view of him in the phone was pitch black. Sarah was cackling, saying he'd fallen asleep. Since Cody lives on the same floor as Tom, he let us all in and Emily FaceTimed him again from right outside his dorm. There was the usual repartee of "Where are you?" "I'm here!" "Where's here?" "Right here!" and then Tom stumbled out of his dorm like a zombie. He had fallen asleep right before class - reading the stuff he had to read for class! As he was telling the girls this, Cody slipped into his dorm and locked the door, locking Tom out. We then proceeded to tell Tom that he missed Glaeske chemically disproving love, which Glaeske has been boasting he would do for the last few weeks. Although Tom says we didn't fool him for a second, the look on his face was priceless.

I think we fooled him. I know he missed some of the best interactions in Honors today.