Electric

Electricity

Without electricity now a day I think it would be extremely hard to survive. Where I live we have brutal winters and steamy summers. Without electricity I wouldn’t have heat in my house to keep me warm in the winter and air conditioning to cool me off in the summer.

It’s really hard to think of things you do or use that don’t involve electricity in some sort of way. Every time you go to type that homework assignment, turn your lamp on to write an essay, make a pizza in the oven, and use the refrigerator so your milk doesn’t spoil or even to set your alarm clock in the morning so you are on time for wherever you need to go, you are using electricity.

Everyone is constantly using electricity whether you realize it or not. When you are driving at night you are only capable of doing so because of street lights and your headlights, which run off electricity.

Back in the day, laundry was washed in a sink and dried on clothes lines in the back yard. It wasn’t the greatest technique and the most cleansing. I’m glad we have washers and driers now. It makes the whole washing and drying process a whole lot quicker and a lot more sanitary. Washing machines that use electricity are also a lot better at getting stains out of your clothes than wash boards are.

For emergency purposes it is great to have a cell phone, but you also have to make sure you charge it. A plus is that you can charge your phone at home in a wall outlet or for more convenience on the go in your car. Either way you are using electricity.

You have to use electricity to cook.  You use a microwave when you are in a hurry or an electric stove if you aren’t.  Electric mixers make it easier to bake. 

You couldn’t listen to music or watch TV without electricity.  Life is a lot more fun with electricity than without it.  When there is a storm and your electricity goes out you really miss it.

As you can see, everyday tasks use electricity. Try to cut back on how many loads of laundry you do or how many cords you have plugged in and unplug them to save electricity to help the environment. (393)

Basketball Tournament

Iowa vs. Purdue

            Today, January 20, 2013 my basketball team and I attended the Iowa Women Basketball game at Carver Hawkeye Arena. When we found out we were going to the game we all got super excited! We found out we were going last week, so the week felt super long and we couldn’t wait for Sunday to come!

            When I woke up this morning at 9:00 A.M. I didn’t know what to do for the next five hours before we were going to leave to head to Iowa City. The first thing I did was texted Madi Meier! I sent her a long message that basically had no meaning and was a bunch of jibberish. She told me how she was laughing so hard and how she could not wait to get ready and leave for the game. While I managed to do some homework before leaving for the game I almost forgot to get ready! I was freaking out because I was running late but I still managed to leave with my dad on time as planned.

            When we arrived at Carver we couldn’t find a place to park, it was crazy! We had to park so far away that I froze the whole way to the doors and managed to defrost in time for the game. Right off the bat the Hawkeyes were on fire and they couldn’t be stopped. At half time the score was 41-18, Hawkeyes.

            Ever since Madi and I were little we always came to a couple of Iowa Women’s games a season. And every game when there are three minutes left in the first half we run as fast as we can up the steps in the arena to beat to ice cream rush. By the time we get to the stand the line is piling behind us as we try to order as we are heaping for air. When we get out gynormus cones of ice cream we lick them so they don’t melt all over our hands before we get back to our seats.

            Today at half time was a great surprise! They brought out all the old women basketball player from back when I was in fifth grade. I knew every single one of them because when I was little I always went to the Iowa basketball camps in the summer. My mouth dropped when they introduced them and zoomed up on them with the jumbo tron! They all look so different, I was amazed! That definitely made my day seeing all these girls and how much your life truly does change after college and how much you grow up.

            When the second half began the Hawkeyes looked sluggish. They let Purdue right back in the game. Luckily we were able to pull it out and win the game. Another exciting event took place tonight because we won; this win was Head Coach Lisa Bluters’ 600 career win! The held a mini ceremony after the final buzzer, it was pretty cool.

            When my dad and I headed up to leave we had forgotten what entrance we had come in at. We kind of began to panic because we didn’t want to be walking around out in the cold, but we took a guess and we guessed right! Before we knew it we were defrosting in my dad’s truck headed home after a day’s fun! (565)

Social Media is getting in the way

Social Media is ruining Relationships

            Social Media is really getting in the way of healthy relationships and not just couples, friendships too. I feel as if it is causing problems because too much personal information is shared on these sites such as Facebook and Twitter. When a boyfriend or a girlfriend posts on someone’s wall on Facebook their partner feels like they have to be nosey and know about everything that is going on. It becomes upsetting not on to the couple put also their close friends; causing friendships to be lost and a break up waiting to happen leaving two very depressed people on their own.

            When it comes to friendships being ruined, that is mostly due to Twitter. When you have a couple of friends that are pretty close to you and you see one of them tweet something about hanging with the girls and tagging everyone but you is when the drama all begins. You read that and become very sad and upset to even think your friends would even do such a thing so you decide to text them. Texting them isn’t always the best solution because it is just allowing them to realize what they have done and talk about you throughout the night while you aren’t around. The better solution would be to not use any social media and simply talk to them face to face about it the next time you see them and simply ask, why? What you absolutely shouldn’t do is tweet a smart remark back causing a Twitter fight; no one wants to see this stuff on their news feed so don’t be one of those people.

            Twitter is basically one big thing that leads to drama and shouldn’t be used in that way. Facebook isn’t as popular anymore but it is also something that can lead to trouble. If you know you are about to post something and you left someone out and you know that you wouldn’t want to see it if you were them, then don’t post it! Twitter and Facebook are ruining friendships all the time, don’t let it ruin yours. (355)

Jobs

Jobs

Sunday nights are the highlights of my week. It is the day where I get to sleep in and do nothing but watch Sunday night football with my dad while wearing our Packer jerseys. I love football season because it brings me that much closer to my dad. I don’t get to see my dad a lot because he works during the night and sleeps during the day. In the morning if my dad doesn’t work overtime he gets home around 7:30. Some days I don’t go to school early and am almost late just so I can stay home and eat breakfast and have a conversation with my dad in the morning.

            Some people don’t realize how difficult it is to live a normal life with a single parent but I kind of know the feeling. My dad has never once seen me play volleyball because he has to go to work before the game is even over and he is sleeping when it starts. My dad has only seen me play club soccer about ten times and I’ve been playing since I was four years old, not to mention my high school soccer games, he has only made it to a handful. Last year my high school soccer team made it to the state tournament and luckily my dad made it to all three of those games including the game that we won the state title. Having my dad there meant the world to me and I will never forget it.

            Everyone needs to have a bonding activity with their parents but I’m lucky enough to have two. Other than watching football my dad and I dance. I dance for studio dance and they offer a class called father daughter. My dad didn’t like it at first because he felt girly but he kept doing it because he knew how much it meant to me to spend that much more time with me. We have been doing this dance together for 14 years and we will continue to do it until I leave for college because it is kind of a getaway for us.

 I absolutely hate when I hear my classmates talk crap about their parents and say how they wish they would just leave, because I bet if they left the kids would have wish they never said that. Even though my dad can’t make it to all of my sporting events or my academic award assemblies I know he still cares about me the same amount as my mom. My time with him is just limited and when I am with him he shows that he does love me but he just can’t always be there to show it because of his job. That’s why when my dad is at my games and I see him in the crowd I get this huge smile on my face with warmth in my heart and play better than I have ever played before. Just because I see my dad less than three hours a day doesn’t change a thing. It just means that the hours I spend with him make it that more special. (529)

I Just don't get it

Things I Don’t Understand

I don’t understand why high school students always go to the boys’ athletic events and not the girls. People say it is not as much fun to watch girls play and it’s not as intense. Well, I’m sorry but this just may be a rumor or something (sarcasm) but I’m pretty sure the womens’ soccer team just won the 4A State Championship but yet the mens’soccer team still has way more fans. Considering the boys had a losing record and didn’t even make it to the State Tournament, you would think the games would be boring to watch but I guess boys will always be more important than girls.

 

I don’t understand the point of knocking on wood. Some people say something and they don’t want to jinx themselves, so they say knock on wood and they actually go and knock on wood. I mean I get the whole OCD, superstition thing, but why wood? What’s wrong with plastic? I mean our world is basically paper and plastic now a day and we are dropping trees like no other.

 

I don’t understand the point of posting 1,200 words a week on this blog when what we can write about is very limited. It’s like how am I supposed to write this much if I can’t tell a story? It can’t be about me and it has to be real. I don’t understand what there is left to write about! Plus this is just way too much time and effort into a three point assignment every week.

 

I don’t understand slavery. I know that sounds stupid and I don’t mean I don’t know what slavery is. I mean how come the whites were “in control” or African-Americans and it wasn’t the other way around? What made some white man think he had the power to create slavery based on another man’s color? I think it was stupid, wrong and a flat out disgrace to slave owners later on children’s children and whites in general.

I don’t understand dressing up for home games in high school. I do understand how it makes you stand out so other students know you have a game/event that night. I don’t get why we can’t just wear our team warm ups or something we chose. I personally hate dressing up and feel uncomfortable all day long. As a player wouldn’t you want to be comfortable all day so when it comes time for the game/event you don’t have blisters from those high heels you wore all day or calf cramps because you normally wear tennis shoes to school? I don’t know about you but dressing up on game days makes no sense to me. (454)

Technology

Technology

Phones have changed tremendously over the years. Before phones there were people that were sent to deliver messages and then there were letters and now there are phones. The first phone to be made was, it was about three times the size of you face and really weird looking. The latest phone that has come out is the IPhone five, it is really technical. The phone has internet, Skype, face chat and basically anything that you can think of. Honestly I think the phone is a little over the top and the company should have stopped at the IPhone four.

Now a day’s phones are just getting kids in trouble. Whether it’s with teachers or their friends causing drama or their parents. In school just about every student texts during class and miss things the teachers are teaching over some stupid conversation. Teachers act like they are strict and say they will take your phone away but what I don’t get is that kids are so addicted to their phone that they risk the chance of losing it for a whole school day.

When it comes to drama, phones are the main participant. All it takes for one stupid rumor that someone made up about another person is one button, send. Once the message gets sent, it is out there and people can forward it to others and before you know it the whole school believes this rumor before the end of the week.

Parents are the main concern of high school students. The kids don’t let anyone especially their parents touch their phone. We get super protective whether there is anything bad on it or not. Our phones I would say are our life lines and can’t go more than a few hours without, which if you think about it, is really pathetic. (305)

 

Keys

Keys Keys and Keys

Keys are very important and useful in many, but different ways. Keys that are used to lock/unlock and start a car are extremely important! Well if you don’t have a key to start your car then you can’t get anywhere, but if you unlock/lock key is different from the key that goes into the ignition and you lost it then you won’t be able to get into your car. A good way to avoid locking your car keys in your car is to; every time you got to get out, shut you door and then use your clicker to lock the door. So then you know for sure that your keys are in your hand and not on your seat while you are locked outside your car. 

I think it is very important for every family member living in your house to have a house key. That way your door can be locked everyday all day long. There are too many bad things going on in this world for people not to be locking their doors at night and leaving them unlocked during the day while they are at school or work. Think about it, how much safer would you feel if you were home alone and in the shower knowing that your front and back doors are locked? I would feel a whole lot safer if I was in that situation. Even if you know people are going to be coming and going all day, just lock your door to be on the safe side because you never know, that one time you go to walk in your house and there is someone standing there that you have never even seen before. What do you do now? Exactly, be safe and lock your doors!

Schools or my school at least is going crazy on lock downs. They I would say are little too concerned about locking their doors during the school day and during after hours. I mean come on when all 1900 of us students are rushing through the front doors trying to make it to 1^st hour on time, we are all trying to pile in 2 doors because they are the only two open!!! It’s crazy, during passing time the outside doors are open but as soon as the bell rings to begin class the door locks and you can no longer get inside. If you had to go somewhere in the main section of the school and you were on a wing you can go out the doors that are locked but you can’t get back in. Instead you have to go all the way around the halls of the school and it takes twice as long!

Personally I think my school needs to lay back the rules on the security system but hey, it’s the world we live in and this is what it has come to. (487)

H2O

H2O

Water has many purposes. We need water for ships to transport items across the ocean.  We need water so cruise ships can take people on vacations. Water is a place of employment where many fisherman work to catch fish, shrimp and other sea mammals to sell to make money for their families.

Water is important for people to drink. Athletics need water to replenish their bodies after their sporting event or after a workout. All people should drink water to replenish the water they lose daily. People make ice out of water so their drinks can be cold.  Animals drink water after they run or when they eat and they depend on their owners to give them the water.

We use water to wash our cars, boats, bikes, quads and even wash our house. Without water things would be dirty all of the time.

If there isn’t rain we depend on water to grow food, without water the farmers wouldn’t have crops to sell for people to eat. We wouldn’t be able to grow our own gardens or have flowers in our yards.  People even water their lawns when it doesn’t rain so the grass can be green.

People use water to take showers and baths.  People use water to wash their pets.

In hot climates like Arizona people carry water bottles because it is so dry there. They don’t water their grass but water is very important to them.  It doesn’t rain much there so nothing is green and they have cactus and they don’t need much water.

Water is important not only to you in general but to your body. In order to keep your daily routine up and going and functioning properly you need to stay hydrated. With lack of water it can cause many health problems one of them being dehydration. Dehydration cause many systems in your body to shut down including your digestive system. To prevent this from happening never go without water. (329)

Antiques

Antiques

Cars have been taking people where they need to go for a very long time.  Old men like the old cars and boys like the fast cars. Girls like the color of cars. Teenagers all want new cars but their parents look for the good deals.  Cars give teenagers independence; it takes them places without their parents.  They can take their friends places and they can drive to school.

Cars cost a lot of money to repair. When you get a good deal on a used car you have to be careful because it may not have cost much money but then something goes wrong with it and you have to pay more to get it fixed.  If you get a new car and something goes wrong you have the dealer fix it under warranty.

Some people buy new cars and then trade them before the warranty runs out so they just keep getting new and never have to repair a vehicle. This is what older people do because kids can’t afford to.

Some people lease their cars, but then they are always making a payment and never actually own a car. These people must have a lot of money.

Cars are a lot of responsibility; you have to make sure there is oil in them.  You have to wash them and you have to clean all of your stuff out of them so your friends have somewhere to sit. You have to make sure there is air in the tires and you have to have insurance on your car. You have to make sure you don’t drive too fast so you don’t get a ticket.

Some kids take their cars to college but have to park it along ways from their dorm.  The car is there though so they can drive home. People that don’t have a car have to find rides so a car is a good thing to have.

Cars have changed a lot since they were first invented. Air conditioning and heat is something the first cars didn't have but it what most cars today have. Electric windows are another thing cars didn't have and electric locks.  Today most kids don’t know what manual windows are or what it is like to reach across the seat to lock a car door.  A lot of moms have electric doors on their vans it makes it easier to load their kids and groceries. Cars of the future I wonder what they will be like.  (417)