last current event

so this dude got shot after church and reasoning seems to point at him being in charge of this abortion clinic in Kansas. crazy stuff if you ask me. i obvi don't agree with killing...who does? and this article really cranks the gears in my brain. i mean i guess people that take the extremes of issues are insane, but really how can you be fighting for pro-life and kill someone? the pieces jsut don't seem to come together for me on this one. I can just hope that society can learn from this and we don't see another incident like this one ever again.

last sr. post

so i worked 16 hrs. this weekend, 8-4 each day and even though some people might look at that as lame...i'm super tiredddd! i still have to finish laundry and pack my back pack but other than that i'm sleeping! uhm...yea so work is chill. right now i'm worried if i'll be able to stay with starbucks when i'm away. i'm keeping my fingers crossed but i figure if i can't it's not the end of the world. but i will miss the discount :)

memorial day weekend...

okay so I went to an Elephant Appreciation Day gig in Baltimore with some friends this weekend. Uber cool! At first I felt out of place with the goth, crazy looking people there, but I can not believe how much fun it was. Everyone was into the music, like hard core, and being apart of the mosh was crucial! :) haha so yea...now i'm catching up on hw, planning grad party stuff, and getting ready for another week. Graduation is in three weeks!!!!!

CE #3

EXIT EXAMS

To me, these numbers of people that are not meeting requirements in educational districts show just how important education really is to someone. It is crucial that our nation’s students are held to high standards and excel in the highest courses in order for us to compete in the global market. Many are now seeing even more educated students emerge from places like India and Russia. In order for the United States to stay on top, tests like Virginia’s Standard of Learning are very important. Although the tests are a pain to focus on at the end of the year, it is evident just how important they are in the education process. If they were not in place classes would not be made accountable for any material and in an even worse of a case, classes may just fool around all day. This is not what school districts want to see and these standardized test are a way to prevent this nonsense. So, with all the new competitors out there in the job field, it is ever so important that people value and really take seriously these exit exams. After all, your diploma is on the line.

peace out!

Herndon Optimist Scholarship Dinner

SENIOR BLOG #3

Last night I went to a scholarship acceptance dinner for the Herndon Optimist Club. It recognized the three college scholarship award winners (myself, Zach Leach, and Doug Berger) as well as the Educators of the Year for all the schools in the Herndon cluster. So, Mr. Martinez and the Herndon High School winners were in attendance as well. It was great to talk to the friendly, old, talkative members over dinner....haha made me appreciate all they do in our community. It lasted for three whole hours (SO LONG!) but was worth the money they are awarding me with. :) All in all, it's just one step closer to going off to college and I think i'm getting cold feet.

Senior Reflection

SIX FLAGS TRIP

Okay I don't understand why people do not want to go. The $55 that covers transportation, food, and the park entrance is a great deal. Plus, why would you not want to get out of school. I'm sure that when the school planned this they wanted it to be a bonding time before we left for the summer and school next year but it is turning into something almost against that idea. My peers are saying that it's lame, we'll be supervised, and I can't afford it with prom. I do agree with the last statement. There are a huge amount of expenses as one ventures into their senior year and I am totally feeling the crunch of prom costs, senior dues, yearbook, all night grad, and so much more. Thankfully my parents are being supportive. I just hope this trip turns out to be an awesome time and that I can come back and brag to those that were "too cool" to attend. :)

CE: On Mall, a Sight at the Museum

My article this week focused on the new premiere of Night at the Museum's sequel. It is said to be a big box office hit so it will be interesting to see how the public takes it. The series opener brought in huge numbers and really showed what good sales are. In totally it brought in about $575 million back in 2007.

Here in DC the fans, paparazi, and stars were all present and excited for the production. Since it was held at the Smithsonian Institute, great precautions were taken so that nothing like in the movie actually played out. :) This series seems to be a favorite for all ages.

interning....three more times! (sorry it's long)

Today was a great day! I showed up and Paula had me start on helping another staffer, Bill, to copy and attach a Fed-Ex form onto future page congratulatory letters. They will be going out to the students who were fortunately chosen as a summer page. Their term is from June 7th to the 26th. Copying the letters started off slow because I was doing them one by one, but eventually I received enough courage to put them all through and thankfully it worked and I was done in less time than it would have taken me. The Fed-Ex forms were another story. I had to individually hand write each of them and let me tell you my hand was hurting after this. I used to love writting on that carbon, multi-copy paper when I played store and such, but now it is no fun what so ever. While I was doing this, Paula asked if I could run outside and pick up a letter from someone. I'm not sure why they couldn't come in but I went out thinking it would be a good breath of fresh air. I get out there and there is no one wearing a black jacket and khaki pants like Paula said. This one weird looking, scraggy man approached me with letters and I told him where I was from but he had none for my office. I waited about another 10 minutes and nothing. I headed back in to let Paula know and got back to Bill's assignment. Later, Paula said it must have been addressed wrong because another office had brought it by.

After I completed this assignment for Bill, I was about to start batching some imail campaigns when another staffer asked if I could read over a draft of an economy/ transportation bills explination article. These bills were being proposed by Speaker Pelosi and were going to be posted on the office's website. It was cool to be involved in this process and I learned a lot from what I read. After, the Fed-Ex letters came back to haunt me. As I began working on batching the imail, Bill approached me to have me head upstairs, fold the letters, put them in windowed envelopes, and package them in the proper Fed-Ex envelopes. Keep in mind it was 5:20 and I wasn't sure if I was going to finish these in time. Well, after some scary jams in the folding machine I got them done. One wasn't signed by the "Speaker" and one was ripped in the jamming process.

I figured at this point I could just turn them into Bill and head home. But no, I had to seal the Fed-Ex envelopes and wait for him to fix the other letters. I say "Speaker" because apparently she didn't really sign any of them...that's right, I saw first hand both Paula and Bill forge the Speaker's signature. It was great! I swear, Bill couldn't have worked any slower. It was now 6:00 and I let Sean know that I would be late because Bill had asked me to drop them off at the Fed-Ex off of Second Street. I kinda volunteered for this because I didn't wanna miss out on the experience, but I was a little uneasy not knowing exactally where I was going. Finally I was on my way! I didn't see Paula on my way out of the office but figured since I was running late I would have to for-go it this time. Lately she has been leaving right at six so I figured this was okay. Well, as I was on my way guess who I see about half way to the Fed-Ex building...that's right, Paula, Evangeline, AND Stephanie. Not fair, why didn't they take it?!?!?!? haha no, it was fine. I said hi, put on a smile, and wished them a happy weekend. It was kinda cool to see some people you know while walking in an unfamiliar part of DC; made me feel a little bit more comfortable in my surroundings. But it was a nice part of DC so I really had nothing to worry about.

At the Fed-Ex I just told them I was delivering the envelopes for the Speaker and was on my way. Super easy! So yea, it was a good, busy, eshausting day. Only three more times! After what I did today I'm gonna miss DC.

P.S. People need to get over their attitudes. While I was copying the letters the other guys in the office would literally just boot me out and get what they needed done on the copier/ scanner. Not fair...who do they think they are?!?!?!

senior reflections 2- interning

As interesting as working on the hill can be, it is getting to be a pain in the butt as the school year is ending. Currently we only have about four more sessions. Thankfully I already got my picture with the Speaker because I know she is really busy for the month of May. I'll kinda give you the low down on how my day played out yesterday...

The weather was beautiful and these are always the best days to soak in DC's beauties so I was kinda disappointed that I couldn't walk around more outside before I went to sit behind a desk. I checked in with my intern coordinator in Cannon 235 and was told to head up to the mail room and work on stuffing a batch of Eagle Scout letters. This batch seemed to be super huge; I would say about 125 congratulatory letters. I used an electronic letter folder and had never seen anything like it before and was amazed...ha ha! Thankfully it did not break on me because I would not have known how to fix it. Soon after I got started on this task, I was asked to go over to the Capitol Office and help out a staffer so I headed over there to see how I could help. On the walk over through the underground tunnels, I was walking behind Mayor Fenty. Everyone was acknowledging him and it was pretty cool. There, I was asked to copy a folder of papers and deliver them to the appropriate people in the Speaker's office. Even though I had a staff sheet that said what level everyone was on, this was a little difficult because I didn't know what office they were in. I asked a lot of people for help that's for sure, but eventually got the job done. In total I was working over there for about an hour and a half. That's the longest I have ever been working over there so it was quite an experience. Even though this sounds interesting on paper, it is so much interesting to live out each week. I wish you could experience it! :)

current event: Blu-Ray Sales

Even as a teenager who is supposed to be all hip and up to date on the latest technology, I am clueless when it comes to Blu-Ray Disc players. Today they are more compatible with the larger, clearer television options that are now on the market. Just like VHSs soon faded into DVDs, we have now reached the age where DVDs will soon be replaced by Blu-Ray forms of movies and films. Technology continues to move on so fast and there is no sign that it is slowing down any time soon.
You would think that with such a hurting economy encompassing almost everyone’s lifestyle there would not be any sale advancements but this thought is definitely proven wrong when you look at numbers. “First-quarter sales of stand-alone Blu-Ray Disc player in the United States rose 72% from the first quarter of 2008.” These are great numbers and it just shows how dependent and reliable on technology for great entertainment. I have heard that these new disc players are a good investment and really spoil your eyes, but I am a strong proponent in believing that this is just a phase like any other technology wave from the past. Prices will soon start to fall in the next year and it will turn into a phase where every household will have on and it won’t be such a delicacy. So I guess next time you’re at the store, ask yourself if it’s time to make a wise entertainment purchase.

Senior Year Reflections- mother's day

Okay so yesterday was a full day of visiting the grandmother's up in PA for Mother's Day. There was going out to eat, visiting an assisted living home, and spending time on the farm. There was also a lot of sharing about my plans for next year. I got multiple questions about if I'm excited and what made me chose James Madison University. To me these questions are redundant but I tried to explain and share my reasoning with my family members. It was great to see everyone because the last time I saw most of them was over Christmas so it was about time. We also talked about me meeting the Speaker the other week on her balcony. They loved those stories! Now I'm back at school and it's another week. Here we go!

Seperation Anxiety

My editorial this week focused on the rights gay and lesbian Americans recieve. These aren't always the same as their heterosexual peers and that is where and why congress is stepping in. The American Families Act would help start to straighten out these differences.

I am strongly for the American Families Act. I believe that as Americans, whether straight, gay, lesbian, or other we all deserve the same rights in this great country we live in. Currently, sixteen countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United Kingdom allow their residents to go along with same sex, permanent partners for legal immigration. Why is America slacking, we should have been on this a long time ago. All in all, why, just because one is gay, should they have to choose between their country and the one they love? To me this is not fair and is why I am in favor of the American Families Act. The freedom we are entitled to in this nation should include everyone in the simplest of situations and I feel this is a true test to what and who America is.

Trading up to Global Recovery

I totally agreed with the points said in the editorial I read. I don't know if i'm just good at picking editorials out or what but I haven't found one I disagree with yet. Cool! Well this week mine focused on how we need to address the problems of our failing economy. The two main issues were restoring economic growth and renewing global faith in America's decisions. I do feel that we have strayed away from these and that people don't think as highly of America as they have in the past...hm kinda stinks...I still love you America! There is work to be done but with effort I believe we can regain our high standards. Working with Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America to re-establish trade and relations will greatly help turn our downward spell around. If we help them acquire new strategies to restore their growth it will inturn help us as well. Nothing to lose here, it's a win win situation! This won't be as easy as it sounds though, and I know challenges will be thrown our way. Thankfully everyone is still accepting of Obama's decisions and there is faith that he knows what he is doing. With his knowledge and the want for a better tomorrow, I think it is fair to say that we know what we need to do and can start working to achieve it. :)

U.S./ East China Economy

So our economy is not so hot nowadays. Many people are starting to feel the effects and it is not just located in America anymore. Jobs are being lost, foreclosures are everywhere, and the dollar is not worth what it used to be. These are not good signs for our future. The editorial I focused on for the week centered around this thought and reassured its audience that it is not just one factor sparking this change but multiple. It also shared that East Asia, particularly China is in a similar position economically as the United States.

I believe with everything that was said in the editorial. Unemployment is nearing record highs and to be honest it is hitting Herndon in a way that makes me feel semi-unsafe about the future. Seeing budget cuts in the school and many local jobs lost is not a good thing. Unfortunately it is the world we are moving into as high school students and I just hope and pray that the government was right in passing the bailout plan. Hopefully it will halt or better yet, stop this circulating negative effect on our economy and future. :) Wa hoo!

A Race Against TIme in Afghanistan

So this week I decided to focus on a more political editorial. It focused on the essence of time as we are fighting overseas in places like Afghanistan. John F. Kerry wrote it which I think is interesting due to the fact that he agrees strongly with Obama, but I guess that's not such a surprise, but yea... Basically, his approach focuses on efforts in the local level on up. These include reconstruction programs and drug busts. With the deployment of as many as 30,000 more troops, Kerry makes it obvious that just a high number of our soldiers won't do the job. They need to have common realistic goals and successfully act them out to accomplish what our country, much less our world needs. If all is acted out well, it will be safe so say that we live in a healthier habitat.

I agreed with everything that was said by Kerry and believe that it hasn't come around sooner do to the Republican views that were leading our nation. Now, with a Democratic/ liberal approach, our goals will be set and more strictly acted out to bring about "change". I hope there is a follow up to this editorial so the public can see how our efforts are affecting Afghanistan every-day life. Get it Kerry!

The Reality of Innocence

Third quarter here we come! This time around we are focused on editorials. To be honest, I never really even glanced at the editorials, so this is a real eye opener for me...it's great to get to read one every week...haha. So anyhow, the one I chose to focus on for this week was titled "The Reality of Innocence". It talked about how reality television is becoming very skewed from the actual reality happening in daily lives. This point is evident on almost every show whether you are watching a young bachelor find true love or a group of outdoorsy people battle nature's ways striving to be titled the ultimate "survivor". So many times I wonder what it would be like to be in these stars' shoes, but then true reality hits and I realize that most of it is staged and for purposes only there to receive high ratings for the channels. I agree with everything the author said and believe that it should be harped on even more than it currently is. Many young kids are still looking to television for role models, and what kind of a role model leads a fake or staged life....not mine! haha. So yea, next time you watch some television in the evening, remember that reality TV shows are taking on a new meaning and it might not be as "real" as you would imagine.

Political Cartoon #5

This weeks cartoon is very appropriate considering Obama's inauguration is coming up in the next week. D.C. is going to be crazy!!! This cartoon portrays that Hillary is going to lead Obama in his presidency now that she has the prestigious position of secretary of state. It was clever for Cagle to incorporate his thoughts into making Obama a blind person and Hillary as the guiding dog. Seeing things like this makes Obama supporters worry about whether or not they made the right decision in electing him to office. Hillary supporters are probably in favor of this because it gives her more attention and power. We can only wait and see how everything plays out; so far the presidential position has been pretty smooth and Obama seems to have a strict agenda on what he wants and needs to get done once in office! GO AMERICA AND DEMOCRACY!!!