PamelaVV

I figured out before I took my College Algebra final that I needed 57% to get an A in the class. =) And the test was much easier than I had expected...so I guess it's just as well that I didn't study as much as I had hoped. That was my only comprehensive final. I can't believe the semester will be over so soon! But it's a really good thing because I NEED to be at work! I'm going to be off of school between twelve noon and about 4:30 on Monday, and I'm toying with the idea of showing up at work for a few hours during that time, because I think those hours could actually be quite valuable. If I'm going to do that, though, I need to study for my history test in advance and I need to complete my ETEC take-home test before then, too. I probably should...I mean, we're getting into a real time crunch at work. I don't like to have to drive more than necessary, but...

Anyway. I need to get food warmed up for dinner. My parents are going to a Christmas party tonight...for my dad's work. I skipped the Christmas party for my work...because nobody told me about it far enough in advance. LOL! Or maybe because I didn't want to go. It doesn't matter now. I need sleep. Can you tell?

I'm working on biology lab reports...after sleeping away the afternoon to try to get rid of a sinus headache. It would have been more logical to take ibuprofen, Vitamin C, and an herbal tincture that I know works, but...I didn't. Now that I'm finally getting these lab reports done (due Monday), our printer is not working...so I guess I'll be going to the public library tomorrow afternoon and paying ten cents a page. The ten cents a page is no big deal, but the thought of trying to have everything perfect by then and only getting one chance for everything to be printed perfectly (because I don't usually discover mistakes until a while later, for some reason) is a little overwhelming. I am very excited that I will be DONE with lab reports by Monday, though. LOL! I'm planning to finish my research paper on Monday, too, which shouldn't be difficult since I don't have to go to English class on that day, and I have a three hour break following it. That means that I'll probably be free from about 10:30 to 3:15, and I could even work on it in my ETEC class since I am already done with everything in there except my presentations (web site and powerpoint) on Wednesday and the take-home final that I won't get until Wednesday. So what that really means is that I'll have from about 10:30 to 4:45 to work on my paper. Think that should be enough time?! LOL! My next draft of that paper is due Wednesday, but for peer review, which usually ends up being worthless to me. Hopefully my teacher will get to look at my paper to tell me if I revised it in a way that is going to help it.

Oh, and my teacher reminded me Wednesday that I need to make sure I have an essay picked for the essay contest. Although it would be amusing to submit my anti-flirting paper to an essay contest (and even more amusing if it got published), I don't really think that any of my papers are or will be contest-worthy. I guess I'll just take all of them on Wednesday and tell my teacher to take her pick.;-) Actually, the process of elimination may help me decide. I have one paper that I consider practically perfect, but it is one that would probably be boring to most people, so I am not sure about it...it's also comparitively long (well, not compared to my research paper). I don't know.

I am supposed to sing with the choir tomorrow morning, but I'm afraid I'll be croaking and coughing if I try, so I'll probably try to ask the director if she'll excuse me for tomorrow. I really thought I'd be able to sing by tomorrow, but now I'm pretty sure that it won't sound very good! I'll have to work really hard to be able to sing well enough for practice Wednesday...our Christmas program is Dec. 21st. The children are going to sing with the adults for one song, and the first joint practice was this past Wednesday...it was beautiful. The children's voices blended beautifully with the adult voices, and the children held their parts pretty well.

We are going to celebrate my dad's birthday tomorrow with crock pot BBQ and cheesecake. Sound good?=) My brother's girlfriend's birthday is on Monday, but I guess we're not going to be celebrating with her. I got a few things for her that I hope she'll like. I have really enjoyed getting to know her on our drives home from school. Speaking of drives home, check this out...it's not THE car, but it's very similar. My parents went to a town an hour or two south of here to purchase it today, but they returned without it because the seller did not have the title. I think they said something about getting it Monday. The differences between it and the car and the picture: it's not from Australia, it only has 125,000 miles on it, it only costed $1,800, and I don't know what features it has. However, I am sure that it is an automatic transmission and that it is blue (probably the same shade as in that picture). My parents both said that it runs very nicely and that I should be able to drive it.

Oh, I forgot...did I ever tell you guys what happened with the insurance company? I'm forgetting who I've told what...a sad situation. Okay, this might be repitition, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway. The day after we visited the lawyer, my dad got a call from the insurance company with an offer for the blue book value of the car (which was $1,900). Apparently, they no longer had any questions about liability when the lawyer's office called them to get a mailing address. LOL! I was sorry that I did not have time to do it myself, but I encouraged my parents to ask about reimbursement for loss of use, which the insurance company said they would give us for sixteen days (less than the amount of time), because "it wasn't their fault that it took so long to determine liability." Yeah, right. I didn't know that it was our job to call a lawyer to convince them that it would be most efficient to determine liability NOW. But that's a lesson learned for me. Anyway, the total amount is going to be $2,400. Medical damages will be determined after my treatment is completed.

So I'm hoping to be able to drive myself to work this Tuesday, after not having driven (except one very short, scary drive) for over a month. Want to ride with me? :-)

Man, this is turning into a long entry...and I'm not getting my lab reports done. I can't use this computer to do them, though, and one of my brother's is playing Delta Force on the other computer, so I guess I can keep writing this journal entry until he heads off to bed, which I doubt he's planning to do anytime soon. Since I slept all afternoon, I should be able to stay up as late as necessary to complete my work.

My math test yesterday was a whole lot easier than I expected...I hope my grade reflects that. My teacher said that we could get our grades from her on Tuesday or Thursday, but I will be working on those days, so that will not be practical for me. She said that she would replace our lowest test grade with the percentage of the final (if it's higher), so I'll just study as hard as possible for the final. If I don't take the final, I would already have enough points in the class to get a C, but I guess I'll take it (;-)) since I want an A. I am so glad that I won't have to take any more math. I'm also glad that college algebra does not include (at least in the text we used) trigonometry or geometry.

We have a Christmas tree...about fifty per cent of the ornaments are snow flakes. It's kind of pretty, but the ornamentation is rather sparse, in my opinion. I can't wait until my nose is better and I can smell the tree...it's a real one! I have multi-colored lights up in my room. They're not exactly arranged in a most beautiful way, but they're up where they're most convenient, and my little brother and sister who share a room with me enjoy them. I'm hoping to get my little nativity set set up along with a few other Christmas things soon...maybe tonight or maybe tomorrow afternoon. Oh, but there's AWANA tomorrow afternoon. Hmm. Always stuff to do.

I started my Christmas shopping last night, somewhat unintentionally. I went to WalMart without a list, but with some ideas about what I needed to get. I found a sci-fi book that I think my 14 y.o. brother will really enjoy. In case he chances to read this (which I doubt), I won't say which one, but it looks VERY exciting.

I don't have to go to history until the final, but my teacher in that class will be doing a review Monday night, so I'm planning to go then. My teacher in history has been very good...even though I've had fewer class sessions with him than with any other teacher (maybe half as many), I feel like I have gotten more intellectual stimulation (overall) in his class than in any other. Still, he didn't ask any interesting questions until the last day of lecture. The class is US History to 1877, and the question he asked was whether or not nullification and secession are real. Haha. I thought of Cris when Mr. S said this. Because nullification and secession were only clarified as ideas and never enacted into law, my answer (although I said nothing in class) would be that technically/legally the secession of the south was not "real," but it was real in a practical, literal sense. And since practical and literal win out in actual reality over legal/technical stuff, I would say that the war that transpired should be sufficient evidence that the south's secession was, at least in a sense, real. If what the south had done wasn't "real," then the north would not have been able to react...or so it seems to me.

But back to the point that I was wanting to make...which is that I have had very little intellectual stimulation in any of my classes. That has been incredibly disappointing to me, but I guess I can wait until I get into more advanced classes. What I have been doing is reading other things about the subjects I'm studying so that I won't be totally bored and so that I'll be able to find answers that things that interest me. One of the books I have been reading is by an orthodontist who presents a startling clear case for DEVOLUTION (as opposed to evolution). He has done extensive research, but beginning with Biblical assumptions. Unlike many scientists (particularly paleontologists), he does not find it necessary to explain things away in order to support his assumptions. The book he wrote contains a lot of information on neanderthal bones (especially skulls) that he x-rayed himself. One of the most convincing proofs he presents of devolution, though, is the decline in the age of the onset of puberty...think about what you know about it. While many scientists may tell us that early man matured much more quickly (and apparently with less complexity), the patterns we have documented over the more recent past contradict that idea. I'm not done with the book, but I've gotten pretty far in it, and I'm looking forward to finishing it.

I wonder how much insurance is going to cost on my new car. Hmm. I guess I'll find out soon enough. My parents are thinking of switching from State Farm to USAA because State Farm refused to help us deal with the other insurance company...the reason they refused is that I only had minimum liability and I wasn't at fault. I have a friend who was in an accident fairly recently, and she WAS clearly at fault...she only destroyed her own vehicle. Apparently, her insurance company only wants to give her half the value of her car...even though she has been paying for full coverage. I'm beginning to convert to my brother's way of thinking that auto insurance is a legal scam in which we are required to participate. I honestly don't think that I should need to employ a lawyer just to communicate effectively with them! Maybe in one of my speeches that I get to do in Fundamentals of Communication next year I can go ahead and talk about auto insurance. That should be very interesting. I really should have done my research paper on that, but I didn't and it's too late to change. I'm sure there'll be other papers. And even if there weren't, I could always write anything I want to anytime that I have time.

So there's my long entry to make up for not doing many (if any) entries for so long. I still skim entries, but less often since I have less computer access and less time. I don't know how much time I'll have during the Christmas break, even though there will probably be at least three people being hired in the next few days. LOL! The lady I started with and I will probably be sharing training "privileges." I have GOT to get pictures.

Okay, I really must go...I just sent my brother to bed, so I should do something with the other computer. Goodnight (for now)!

I'm defective. LOL! The bottom of my spine is at a 51* angle where it should be about 28*. My neck is curved very little--in the opposite direction of what it should be. And something about my lower spine isn't aligned properly. I got to see a picture of the hardware in my femur...it's definitely there...and now I understand why it hurts when I bump my hip! There really is a screw/bolt there...and it's big! The accident itself probably caused nothing...really it's probably my jamming on my brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of me, and that only caused inflammation in my back. However, the problems overall are basically just because of the way my body is made. I'm thinking that the way it is might not be quite as abnormal as the chiropractor believes, though. My neck is like my mom's, and the end of my spine is probably not a lot different from that of many women in my dad's family. I haven't had the headaches that the chiropractor said a leaning and wrongly-curved neck like mine might lead to...the only "problem" I have is not being able to rotate my head "normally," and the neck stuff explains why twisting my head to check my blindspot is so difficult for me.

So I guess I'll be seeing the chiropractor regularly for a while. I'm still concerned about the financial aspects of it, but I trust that the Lord will provide in whatever way He sees fit.

A Malaysian guy who visited our church a few weeks ago has been talking to my parents about a multi-level marketing business he is getting involved in...he came to our house this afternoon...my dad likes the idea of pursuing it, but my mom doesn't think it's very practical--especially since the products are high priced and not very useful for her. She said we would need a $1,000/month grocery budget in order to buy our food that way...and what we actually have is closer to half of that (for ten people). I don't like the concept of MLMs at all. My dad has long been interested in a home business, though, so he may continue to pursue this. If it's like other things, it will come to nothing...my dad is not a salesman (not that that's a weakness--he just isn't), so I don't see how this could possibly succeed. I don't know whether I would be good at selling anything, but I do know that I wouldn't even bother trying if I didn't consider a product worth purchasing. I don't even think the baskets I'm helping produce are worth the price we charge for them--at least not from my perspective as a consumer.

I wasn't on much yesterday...due to the chiropractic adjustment I had. Goodness! I ended up going to bed at about three in the morning on Friday because I was studying for an algebra test. I actually showered before I went to bed because I wasn't sure I would wake up in time to do it later...I did get up at six, though. I nearly fell asleep during the review, but the test was fun...I hope I get one hundred percent on it. My teacher said that we could replace one of our three test scores with the final in calculating our final grade...and I'd like to have all the rest of my tests/final be higher than the 99 I got on my first test. LOL! I guess I'll settle for less, though, if I find myself unable to do better. The guy who sits next to me in class said he hopes he did as well as I did on the last test. I guess knowing that someone COULD get a reasonably good grade motivated him to study...he has attended class faithfully and studied. I'm amazed...I'm also glad to know that my teacher's announcement of my grade on the last test did not create resentment (at least not in the people I've spoken to).

My chiropractic appointment was at 12:15. Even though my algebra class (twenty minutes away) usually ends at ten till twelve, I figured everything would work out since we would get out early because of just doing the test. I was able to go home and get a little to eat before going to the chiropractor. He showed me the x-rays and then used an activator on my neck after doing who knows what to my back. After it, and especially this morning, I felt like someone had hammered my neck and back...but without leaving any surface bruising. I went to WalMart not long after the appointment (my boss had okayed me not coming to work) and got a caddy to carry my books on. Better to look like an idiot than to be in [more] pain, I guess. By the time we got home, I was so weak that I HAD to sleep...so I did. I slept from around four until after eight, and I wasn't even sure I could get up then. I ate dinner and folded laundry, and then was so tired that I ended up going back to bed at ten. I got up at 6:30 feeling like I STILL hadn't gotten enough sleep...but feeling a tiny bit stronger. My mom and I hurried to a fabric store where they had things at 40% off from 7-8. I purchased blue and black checked fabric for a dress and a purple print for a skirt (or two). I'm excited about sewing them!

I finished folding laundry when we got home and I cleaned the bathroom later before going to WalMart (yet again) with my mom...this time mostly to buy Halloween candy.=) I have felt much stronger today in spite of the pain, which I think is lessening. Maybe it will be closer to gone tomorrow. I'm hoping we'll be able to get a rental car next week to make life just a little more convenient. Even so, I probably won't be driving for a while.

I guess that's enough of an entry for now...I'm probably being too detailed. I am supposed to write a comparison essay in-class on Monday. I'm kind of looking forward to it...for some reason, I really prefer doing such things in-class. I think it's because I don't have so much time to be a perfectionist about it. I should study science because I'm not totally getting the genetics stuff we are doing. It won't be long before we're into evolution...which very few (if any) in my class beleive. That should be interesting, especially since the teacher announced at the beginning of the semester that there would be no consideration of the concept of "Creativity" in class. Haha. We shall see about that.

Okay, I really do need to end...and I'm very thankful that I haven't had anything to report to "closer friends only" in the last few days or so.=)

"safe" way to release my feelings. In other words, music is a better outlet than written words--simply because there are some things I'm feeling now that I either can't or won't put into words.

Thanks for your kind comments, guys! Just as I have thought over the accident more and talked about it with my parents, I realize how much of a miracle it is that I am alive.

I was driving south on the interstate--in the right lane (slower traffic, stay right...and all that). Actually, I had more or less forgotten the time change, and was rather surprised when I saw how dark it was when I got out of my last class...and realized I would have to drive home in darkness and in traffic. I actually have no idea if I prayed about it or not, since I'm always praying about everything, but I don't remember it. I do know that my dad has been praying for me!

Anyway, I got most of the way home and then suddenly reached an area of interstate that was rather full of cars, but all still moving at a steady speed of about the speed limit. I continued on, trying to stay at the speed limit (as in, not be too far under it), but without getting too close to the car in front of me. However, the car in front of me was still too close when it slammed on its brakes...I had to do the same thing, with a loud screech. I really didn't know what else to do. Before I could congratulate myself on not hitting the car in front of me, I was pushed off the road by a big truck (maybe it's a semi, but it's a small one if it is)...whether it was the same car as the one in front of me or a different one, someone had cut the truck driver off in the left lane, and he swerved right (not seeing me) to avoid an accident. I had rolled a ways before I realized what had happened. I think, "Duh!" now, but it was a while before I thought, "This is an accident." And another little while (although not TOO long) before I realized that the brakes might still work.;-) I had slowed down (I was in grass at this point--perfect part of the road, too, as a ditch would have meant the car rolling--and this wasn't a ditch--or not much of one, anyway). I also vaguely recall now the loud noise and the feeling of the impact. I did feel it on my left, but I didn't "realize" it, especially since I had expected that it would be more behind me.

So I stopped the car...finally...turned it off...got out of the car. I fished my cell phone out of my purse, then got out of the car. Some people who had been behind us had pulled over, and a lady stood before me, asking if I was okay. I replied in the affirmative, then asked her what to do. I was so shaken that I really wasn't sure...I have always thought that the only time to call 911 is if someone's dying or in serious medical danger. I guess that I was the only one who got hit, and I knew I was fine, but I just didn't know whether or not to call 911. She told me to call 911, though, so I did...and got a dispatcher. However, I ended up hanging up...another lady had already called, AND there was already a patrol guy there--he had heard the accident. I called my parents. I didn't know what to do, really. (I feel like a big baby--and I'm almost 21!) I called them, and of course my mom was sure that my dad would want to come...he's rather protective.

So then I waited for the police/patrol guy to come and drill me, but he first got information from witnesses. I guess he figured that I wouldn't be going anywhere for a while. The truck driver got out of his truck...a very fair-skinned, young guy. He looked ill...not very pleased (under the circumstances, I wouldn't have been either). He was with another guy and a lady--transporting puppies to somewhere. I feel so sorry for him because this accident has a direct impact on his livelihood! Even though someone else (and maybe more than one) was truly to blame for this, he's the only one taking the "at-fault" position...because he stopped.

Well, I got my driver's license, etc. out...and eventually the policeman had us get into his car to fill out paperwork. My parents finally arrived, and requested that the car be towed (as it happened, the left front tire was slashed, so it wouldn't have been possible to drive it). My brother and his girlfriend also came (LOL!), mostly to survey the damage. My brother said that it was more than a miracle that I'm alive. I didn't have a camera to get pictures of the damage (Ithought about taking my camera today, but I didn't do it).

Anyway...I think that about sums up the story. The guy didn't get a ticket. The policeman was very nice...reasonable, frank, and even fatherly. He said that while he could technically give the guy a ticket, that the police aren't really able to enforce the laws about how closely people follow each other...so...that was that.

The damage on the car is such that it would probably cost more to repair it than to replace it, which is why I think it's a permanent goodbye.

Oh, I've got my substitute history teacher...and he IS good! I like him. I really like the colors he wears. That first day when he was sort of subbing, he wore a purple shirt (dress shirt with tie and dress pants); today he wore burgundy (the dress shirt was, I mean). I really like both of those colors!=) He talks fast...and I have more notes from his lecture than I got in any of the other guy's lectures. And our weekly quizzes will be open-note...that seems too easy. But the fortunate thing is that I do feel like I'll learn something...so I'm quite pleased about that.

Now, I just need to do homework...especially studying for my algebra test at the end of the week. That's so tedious! LOL! I just need to do it. That's my pep talk to myself right now.

Since my boss is gone for a few days, I am off work until Tuesday. Of course, what that really means is that I'm just not working today all day or tomorrow afternoon. It also means that I have a LOT more time for homework (for which I am very grateful). I am going to take my algebra with me as my family goes to Devil's Den to hike and picnic today. I still need to shower and prepare for that outing.

I am dense when it comes to poetry. I am seriously considering doing an analysis of Shakespeare's "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun..." (which may or may not be a wonderful topic), but the last two lines have confused me so much that I'm thinking of just waiting on the paper until my grandparents come tomorrow evening. Both of them are quite well-educated, and I think they would be able to help me pick a good poem to do. All I need is their educated opinion on interpretation of some very confusing parts. As far as I'm concerned, word meaning and syntax could lend themselves to several meanings. Ah, well...such is life.

I am going to have a substitute teacher in my history class. Did I already mention this? I forget where I've written/said things. Anyway, he's further than my history teacher towards getting his Ph.D., and he's the same guy who was there on the first day of class, whom some of you may recall. He looks at least fifteen years younger than my regular history teacher. The situation will be good, since he'll be testing on the material he presents, and my regular teacher will only test on what HE presents, so I think we'll all be in good shape.

One of my very wise, studious biology classmates has spoken of possibly suggesting that the college have someone audit the teacher in one of his classes sometime. That was something I really hadn't considered, but that would probably be a really good idea. I told my mom that I feel guilty about that test because he told us exactly what to study, and then he made many of the questions very easy. I also didn't feel like I studied adequately...for the class, I mean. For the test...well, that didn't require much study. What I thought was insufficient proved to be more than sufficient. Oh, I don't know.

But I do need to get up here and gather the paper goods for our picnic...and I do need to take a shower. I'm puffy today, probably from sleeping so long in my dusty bedroom and wearing dusty clothes while I slept.=\

I mean, my explanation of why I don't. I really wonder what my teacher will say. And I wonder even more about peer review/critique! LOL!

I finally finished my PP presentation...well, not finished...but it's good enough to storyboard. My mom really can't understand why I'm doing it backwards, but I just don't get pictures in my mind for stuff like that. It's really quite sad. I do have a problem because my brother fiddled with the sound on here and now it's not working. I need some sound elements, but there's no way to test them (the school's computers are not hooked up to speakers except by request, and I do not want to make any requests!).

Oh, I still need to read about cellular respiration. There are other things I should do, too...like study algebra. Having a current grade of 101% and feeling like I'm failing the course are kind of...um...I can't think of a good word, but it I know it sounds strange. Math and science are really hard for me. You know, though, I'm really beginning to think that part of my problem lately has been a nourishment issue--along with not getting quite enough sleep. When I've had enough rest and food, I can think so much more clearly...but there's so little time to do that (which is exactly why I'm typing this entry, right? Actually, I think it's because I'm not thrilled with my flirting paper, and I've got a very mild case of writer's block with it...)

Actually, you know what? Maybe I should just write about anti-flirting stuff on here, then all my paper-writing problems will be solved. Haha! I wish...the paper's too formal for a journal entry, though. Maybe that's the reason I dislike it. It's funny that it's an explanation paper, and I'm here explaining why I dislike it. Silliness! I need to get on with it. I wish I loved it.

For your kindness in praying for the family and church members of the lady who went to be with the Lord. The visitation is tomorrow evening, and the memorial service (to follow a family burial) will be Saturday afternoon. The three older kids went ahead and went to school (college--two of them are still high school age, but are attending college concurrently with home schooling)...

I'm a little overwhelmed because I have kind of a lot of homework to do this weekend...I have a math class in the morning, work in the afternoon, the visitation in the evening. The memorial service is the next day, and I'll probably sing with the choir for that...then there's AWANA on Sunday. And then Monday's another week!

Is when you go home from your biology lab thinking that the only value was in that you didn't fall asleep...because you certainly didn't learn anything--nothing new, that is. Oh, but home schooling at its finest is when your fourteen-year-old brother sets up an entire lab and gets the microscopes focused and ready for you to view...cells.=) I will not bore you with what I saw (even though it did interest me), but I must say that this morning's lab was quite a disappointment. My lab partners (two girls) and I could not figure out how to use the microscope. For the first large things, one of the guys near us kindly assisted us...but on the small stuff, we asked our instructor to help us...and we basically did not see anything. When one of the girls asked if we would get points taken off for not seeing anything, our instructor said, "No, that's the lab." I was ready to laugh right then and there...chances are that I actually did. I really don't remember. I laugh so much throughout a day that it's impossible to keep track of all of them! Anyway, I wanted to conquer that lab...so my brother is helping me with that.

My ETEC teacher said that we're much more interactive than her Tuesday/Thursday class. She said that they won't talk to her! LOL! One of the guys (a clown, as he has come to prove himself in the last week...I hadn't even realized he had existed in the previous weeks) takes all the credit for how friendly the class is.;-)

You know, now that I'm thinking of it...I think I laughed in all of my classes today. In English, we "discussed" our critique papers (which are due next week...I should start working on mine)...covering the topic of logical fallacies. Many of the examples given and discussed were quite ridiculous, IMO, but I'm not the teacher...and what interests the students works, right? Sometimes I wonder if I'm learning anything in that class...most of my learning occurs outside the classroom, I suppose.

And history is funny as ever. My teacher there said that the tests this semester will be very "streamlined" because he's working on a doctoral something or other. I would say dissertation, but I think that is not what he said...I just don't remember what he DID say. Somehow, I thought it had something to do with exams...maybe it did. Hmm. Anyway, he said that we are supposed to have a writing component in our class, so he's willing to have us do extra credit movie reviews. Do any of you know where I might find out how to do a movie review for a history class? I'm going to look it up myself, but if you have any really good suggestions off the top of your head, I'm very interested.=)

I went to bed after one this morning, and arose before six. Something just isn't working. I felt like I was going to fall out of my chair in the lecture part of my biology class. I am very much looking forward to the tests! LOL! They are bound to be more fun than the lectures. Somehow, I doubt that they'll take up an entire class period, though. Oh, well. Anyway, all that to say that I'm very tired. And I need to go to work tomorrow--just a half day, though, since my brothers have a trumpet lesson in the afternoon.

Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is swearing. Actually, I don't really know what people mean by that term...every time I read in Christian books (or classics) that someone uttered "an oath" or cursed, etc., I can't help wondering what was so bad that they wouldn't put it into print. Anyway, I was just thinking about this because, while the students at my school don't have particularly foul mouths (at least, I don't think they do), many of them do use rather common slang expressions that I think are unpleasant and often inappropriate. For the mildest of mild, a favorite word is "junk," and that is how one of the students in my math class casually referred to the teacher's notes--when he was talking to her (when he wasn't, his expression was less mild). Now, this is a very common word for younger people to use...and I am not suggesting that those who abuse it are in any way less moral than those who do not, but I consider it a rather neutral example of something that many young people are guilty of, but with more offensive terminology. I don't know where to go with that, though, so I'll leave it there and get on with what I was going to say...

Which is, what do you think swearing is? Lately, I've been realizing how much I do (intentionally or unintentionally) avoid saying certain words...but I have lots of substitutes. Instead of anything even approaching words like "dang" or "darn" (which I hate typing, even!)...or "shoot," I click my tongue, say something rather intelligent, talk to myself (usually moving my lips, thinking of plain terms that are not taboo, but still not quite respectful), or say words like "goodness." Now if someone casually uses a word that is on my taboo list, but his/her intention is no different than mine in what I do...in other words, what they say is just as casual for them as what I say is for me...then where is the real difference between us? I don't know...I've just been thinking about that.

Anyway...I've got a math test on Friday, so I should probably do my homework (which I haven't even looked at). Actually, I should probably go to bed soon. I need to see if my brother will do a specimen from the inside of my mouth...

Left-brained

Most left-brained people like you feel at ease in situations requiring verbal ability, attention to detail, and linear, analytical ability. Whether you know it or not, you are a much stronger written communicator than many, able to get your ideas across better than others.

It's also likely that you are methodical and efficient at many things that you do. You could also be good at math, particularly algebra, which is based on very strict rules that make sense to your logical mind.

Had to laugh about that algebra mention...

=)

I think my ambitions for understanding my schoolwork are not very realistic...so...I will see how things work out. I'm having a little difficulty with some of the algebra stuff--between new concepts (mixed in with ones I know, confusing me somewhat) and learning to use a calculator, I have a challenge.

My interest in the other things is growing, and I'm quite afraid that I will try to study much more than I should for the amount of time I have...I just don't know how to balance life.

I have an in-class essay to write Wednesday, and I feel like I've done all the preparing that I can do (legitimately). I thought about writing the essay at home, then outlining it from that...LOL! (We're not allowed to take drafts of any sort, and I doubt we're supposed to write them.) The truth is that I've already done an essay like the one I'll be doing next week...but I'll have to fit it into the description of the assignment and exclude my references to Scripture, God, and various struggles (because it's not "pertinent," even though it does make all the difference in the world).

Tomorrow in Sunday school, we will be listening to the second half of Dawson Trotman's testimony. I felt like something he said in the first part really convicted me about school, "Do you ever see the apostles in the New Testament praying for opportunities? No! They prayed for boldness, and that's how we need to pray, too." Over time, my prayers in that respect have indeed changed, "Lord, OPEN my eyes to the opportunities You are giving me." I must say goodbye to self-consciousness and self-centeredness. I wonder if that has anything to do with denying ourselves...

I drove on the bypass in rain yesterday. People still passed me...whizzing by at over 70 MPH, frequently. What is it with people who aren't content for me to go the speed limit? (I did reduce my speed going around curves or when visibility was diminished.) Maybe something's wrong with my speedometer. I don't really like driving...I think a longer commute would induce me to move on-campus wherever (obviously, I can't do that at the community college!). At the same time, I have gotten so much easier about the traffic, and it doesn't frighten me nearly so much anymore.

Well, my brain's not functioning properly at the moment, so I'd better go and try to do something physically productive.