My Life at the Conservatoire

ASL Vlog 1: October Worries

2011-10-26T18:56:00.000-07:00

Since my study in ASL began in 2004, this is my very first ASL Vlog. Here, I discuss some of the things that are on my mind, such as my research paper for SOC 3000, my presentation for ASL 3530, and my presentation for the EAU Education Conference. I also touch on my social life, and silent weekend. Be sure to let me know what you think, any suggestions or questions are welcome! I just might do my next vlog about your quesiton!

Enjoy!

Looking Back...

2011-09-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

I thought I would go back to one of my blogs that I started and still use to post my literary work. There I found a poem I wrote back when I was in high school. It still seems profound to me today.

This was originally written on September 5, 2006, it has been modified, and edited by me, ...on September 17, 2006.

Life is Like a Piece of New Sheet Music

Life is like a piece of new sheet music,
it is filled with sharps, flats
and unknown time signatures.

You have to watch for the little things,
the nuances, to make it
accented and memorable.

In some parts it is louder
and more profound,
while at other times,
it is soft and peaceful.

Like life, in music you have musicians,
instruments and directors.

In life you must find the right musicians,
you must tune your instruments and
watch and listen to
the directions your directors give you.

These things you must do
to get you through,
that piece of new sheet music
that is life.

I really miss my creative writing class. *sigh*

If you feel so inclined, you can see some other work at this URL.
http://eemoone.blogspot.com

And yes, e.e. moone is my pen name. :)

I Wish I Hadn't ...

2011-06-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

So, this morning was a little frustrating.

Ok, so the entire morning wasn't frustrating, but part of it was. I woke up early so I could get to work on time, since I was opening and covering for another co-worker. I began to set up shop and go through the process of preparing the store for the day and the employee I was working with shows up, which was fabulous because at that point there was the two of us who were working.

So then another employee shows up, but I didn't know if he was working because he wasn't wearing his work shirt... yet. So, I find out that he's working. Awesome! I thought. Three of us in the store would make time pass by fast. Then I heard the third-arriving-employee comment about covering for another co-worker. I asked for clarification. He and I were both covering for the same guy! This meant that one of us would have to clock out.

I began to feel selfish.

I began thinking all of these different thoughts, all of which were "I" statements, like, "I woke up extra early," or, "I commuted 50 miles," or even better, "I was here first!" Then it got worse. I started to take my frustration out on my fellow employee.

I began criticizing him.

I started naming all of the reasons, in my head, as to why he should leave. "He isn't dressed appropriately," or "he was late." The list went on. Then, I had to try to decide how to professionally address the matter to one of our superiors, and I had hoped that one of them could make the decision as to who would go home, because I didn't really want to have that awkward conversation. I knew it would be awkward because we had discussed in previous conversations, the importance of needed hours for income. And really, who doesn't need income - especially in this economy? So, I decided to go talk to one of our superiors and present the situation in a diplomatic manner, so as to address the issue that both of us faced and not just me.

I didn't want to...

I was reluctant to explain what had happened and I was reluctant to go back to my station and have the "who is going home" discussion. But I did, because I knew it was the right thing to do and the professional thing to do. We talked it over and came to a common conclusion that it was he who would stay today.

I tried to look on the bright side.

I started to consider the positives of the situation. It wasn't my fault. And, more importantly for the sake of my criticisms, it wasn't his fault. The responsibility for this mix up fell on the person who called us both and agreed to have us both work during that shift. I thought about what I could do during the time that I had off. I could go get breakfast. I could do some social networking for the E.A.U., and finally, I could get an actual post published to my blog. (Hooray!) I could see a friend on campus. I could actually read my e-mail and not just glean from the subject lines as to whether or not I should even look at them. Then, BAM! I was back into the mind-set of criticizing my fellow employee again, and the worst part was, it was something that I feared another person, friend, family, or stranger, doing to me.

I judged him.

I won't get into the details about why exactly I judged him, but what I will say is that in Utah, where the dominant religion is "mormonism" it is ironically far too easy to not be so "saint"-like. In the multicultural class that I took during the first block of summer semester we discussed the influences different aspects of culture, ideology, and society have on us as human beings trying to figure out who we are exactly. I realized that at this moment, I was taking stereotypical thoughts about people who are LDS in Utah's society, like me, and I was applying those thoughts to him and faulting him for what he had, or didn't have. As soon as I had said the words I said, I felt my the color rush up into my cheeks.

I wish I hadn't said it at all, let alone thought it.

Who was I to know about what his life is like?

I thought about the things that I would hope that no one judged me for and realized that there was no reason why I should be judging him.

Anyway, I think that while this was an unfortunate even to occur, it was an important time to recognize that I can see what I did wrong and that I want to make my life be a better one and live it in a better way, so that I don't have these issues come up again in work or with my family and friends.

Are there any little social issues that you regret? Those little miss-communications that occur because of your mind being too set in your own gain? Tell me what you think.

If I Had a Nickel for Every Minute I Multitasked...

2011-06-15T14:58:00.001-07:00

Seriously people, if I had a nickel for every minute I multitasked, then I might just be a millionaire.

So, if you are a facebook friend of mine then you might have seen my post earlier then you might remember, among all of the various posts I made that I said, "I am sorely overdue for a blog-update... I have way too much on my mind, I just need to spew it all out onto my blog page." This post is in response to the thought I had when I saw the little status box, which has the words, "what's on your mind?" in it.

Some of the topics I hope to cover are... *drum-roll please*

American Sign Language songs
Adventures with the EAU Board
Camp Spike and Wave planning
Cuddling with a baby
Culvers
Deaf Culture
Deaf TV
Epilepsy awareness and education - Glenn Fenster vs. Joy Baher
Frustration moments and Facebook wars
Gag Policy for anti-gay-harassment
Glee is good for you
Lady Gaga's new album
the NEW Epilepsy Association of Utah
Prospects of Performing in London
Quotes via twitter
my Sister
Summer School Teachers
"Switched at Birth"
Taylor Swift's "Mean"
Working on capus

Yeah...

So, since that facebook post, my list has grown... and the actual blog-post, itself, hasn't really happened yet - I need to finish up schoolwork for summer block. However, if you are interested in anything that I've listed and want me to write more about it let me know and I will get on that first. Otherwise, this is a general guide to the posts that are soon to come (sometime in the future). ;)

Over and out!

Vegetarian? Vegan? I Love Me Some Meat and Cheese!

2011-03-30T15:02:00.000-07:00

So, about an hour ago, there was a young lady who came up to me while I was eating my lunch and asked if I would be willing to sign a petition to have more vegetarian/vegan-friendly choices for students at my school. I am happy to sign a petition to show my support of vegetarians and vegans. They deserve to have several choices of food too. I agree. So upon my signature I was given a pamphlet, from PETA2, claiming to tell me "everything I need to know about animal rights." As I read through it, I found it to have good information, but it was obviously biased towards animal cruelty and why we should all be vegetarians and vegans. I honestly didn't see a list of "animal rights," or anything related.

This is my question for you: "Is it a hypocritical way of life to be a 'meat-eater,' but then promote no cruelty to animals?"

restated: "Just because someone's a 'meat-eater,' doesn't mean that they endorse animal cruelty - does it?"

To continue, the pamphlet went on to say...

Pigs are smarter than dogs and young children. They are affectionate and like to play video games.
Hens and their chicks talk to each other ...even while the chick is still in the egg.
If you give an apple or a small ball to a group of turkeys, they'll play with it together, kind of like they're on a football or soccer team.
Cows are excellent mothers - they even take turns babysitting for each other!
Fish grow underwater algae gardens. Using their mouths like we use our hands, they weed out algae they don't like so the tastier kinds can grow.

So, as you can see, the authors are personifying animals, and discussing their lives as if they are, on the whole just as important (if not more important) than human beings. This is a tactic to easily sway a reader on pitying an animal.

My Physiology of Interpreting professor said (multiple times), "the only real difference between humans and animals is our thumbs," that move up, down and side to side.

I am one of those strong believers that everything that God put on the earth was put here for a purpose and I believe that animals serve various purposes and overall - they are to serve humans (in various forms). I mean, I highly doubt that God just put animals on earth because they are pretty to look at. And at the same time that I sit in a steakhouse with my medium-well 8 oz I am not thinking I hope that this cow was brutally slaughtered, abused or forced into stalls.

Oh, and I just loved how the pamphlet used quotes from popular TV teen idols and their comments about how it's cool to be vegan or vegetarian. Did you catch my sarcasm there?

Are all places that provides meat and animal bi-products really so violent? Or is PETA just telling us about the few that are cruel to animals?

What's more, as I did some online searching for PETA, the first images that come up with their articles and on their official website could be considered pornographic, or at least inappropriate, in nature. I'm guessing that PETA is putting a sexy-spin on their cause in order to gain more attention. Not cool, not moral, not family friendly. Nada.

Now, my rant is done. I am hoping that I get feedback from ya'll. Tell me how you feel about being vegan/vegetarian. Tell me what you know and how you feel about how some animals are treated in the mass production of meat and animal bi-products. Give me good links and sources so that I can be more informed in my opinion. Because, for now, I am sticking with my Genesis reference of the King James Bible. (Genesis 1:24-25 & 6:5 through 8:19). I mean come on people, why would God ask Noah to bring animals aboard the ship he built, when the earth was going to be flooded for 40 days and nights, if not to preserve them for our use? (LDS Primary Lesson)

All I have to say for now is, "I love me some meat and cheese!"

Introduction to Understanding Disability Part 2: Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame

2011-03-28T13:57:00.000-07:00

Previously Posted: Personal Preface

Introduction

Does the media provide a correct portrayal of people with disabilities? Is Quasimodo, of Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, accurately portrayed as a person with a physical disability? To address these queries we will discuss, first, the plot of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, then examine the specifics of Quasimodo’s character, and last and most importantly, we will scrutinize whether or not the portrayal of disability is an accurate one. In order to understand the main character and his disability, we must first understand his story.

Plot Summary

What is The Hunchback of Notre Dame essentially about? As inspired by Victor Hugo’s classic novel published in 1831, the story takes place in medieval Paris in the year 1482, specifically starting on January 6 – the day of the historical ‘Festival of Fools,’ which really did annually occur in Paris.2 It begins with a flashback of Quasimodo’s infancy, showing how he came to be raised by the antagonist, Claude Frollo, the Minister of Justice.3 “Frollo, . . . . who detests adopted Quasimodo when he was a baby as a penance for killing his mother, . . . . but tells Quasimodo that his mother abandoned him at birth.”4 Clopin, the narrator, and male leader of the gypsies, explains the meaning of the cruel name Frollo gave Quasimodo – “half-formed,” then brings the story back to the present, twenty years later, introducing Quasimodo as a young man – “the man and the monster.”5 During Quasimodo’s first appearance, we see part of the monster.

After Quasimodo’s first appearance, we see the master/servant relationship that Quasimodo has with his “father,” Frollo. Despite Frollo’s sermon-like lecture to Quasimodo about the importance of staying in the bell tower, Quasimodo heeds his three gargoyle friend’s advice to, essentially, assert his independence and go to the Festival of Fools. Quasimodo has always watched it, for the past twenty years. He had been in fear of disobeying his master and not being accepted by the normal people. However, someone who grows to be more accepting of Quasimodo is Esmeralda.

At the festival, Esmeralda, a beautiful, tempting dancer as well as the female leader of the gypsies, mistakes Quasimodo’s appearance to be costumed and masked for the purpose of the festival’s King of Fools competition. She invites him up on stage and he is later discovered to be real (instead of masked). Clopin then invites the crowd to crown Quasimodo the King of Fools for having the ugliest face in Paris.

For a few moments Quasimodo is celebrated. Shortly after, however, he experiences a terrible humiliation, where food is thrown at him, and he is tied down like a wild animal. He sees the crowd’s tyranny and hears the awful calls and jeers reverberated in his ears. Esmeralda, soon realizes what is happening to the “poor creature,” and takes pity on him and the plight he is in.6 She cuts the ropes binding him and helps him to his feet.

Meanwhile, while this entire humiliating situation is going on, Quasimodo’s master sits back and watches while, in degradation, Quasimodo learns his lesson – essentially encouraging the peasant-crowd’s oppression of his would-be son. Frollo, regardless of the desire he feels for Esmeralda, charges her for the insolence she displays when he asks her not to help Quasimodo. At her retort of calling him the real King of Fools, he demands her arrest. The Guard then marks her as a fugitive, and Frollo marks her as an object of his desire. Frollo is not the only man who is spellbound by Esmeralda, there are two others – Phoebus, Captain of the Guard, and Quasimodo, Bell-Ringer of Notre Dame.

Realizing they have a common love interest, Phoebus sees past Quasimodo’s appearance when Quasimodo helps Esmeralda escape. Quasimodo and Phoebus become allies in aiding Esmeralda (and the gypsy population). Phoebus further encourages Quasimodo’s assertion to independence as well as acceptance. Quasimodo feels that friendship is strained for a time when Esmeralda chooses Phoebus as her love interest instead of Quasimodo. While Esmeralda is kind to Quasimodo, and even sort of identifies with the discrimination he experiences, it’s apparent that she is still somewhat repulsed by his appearance. This is an example of “the main theme of [Hugo’s] book…,” as well as the re-occurring theme in the movie – “…the cruelty of social injustice.”7

The violent search for Esmeralda and the gypsies is led by Frollo, and despite Phoebus and Quasimodo’s rebellious actions against Frollo, Esmeralda is apprehended and put to death by burning at the stake. In contrast to Hugo’s novel, Quasimodo’s rescue of Esmeralda, both of them live. In another contrast to Hugo’s novel, instead of Quasimodo throwing his autocratic master/father off of Notre Dame, Frollo falls to his death from a weakly attached gargoyle that gives way from his weight. Now that we understand the story surrounding Quasimodo, we can look further into his character.

References

Wikipedia. (2011). The hunchback of notre dame. Wikipedia: the free

encyclopedia. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunchback_of_Notre-Dame

#3 & 4

Wikipedia. (2011). The hunchback of notre dame. Wikipedia: the free

encyclopedia. Retrieved February 6, 2011, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunchback_of_Notre-Dame

#5 & 6

Hahn, Don (Producer). (1996). The hunchback of notre dame [VHS].

Wikipedia. (2011). Quasimodo. Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved

February 6, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasimodo

Films with Deaf Characters - Critique #1

2011-02-25T11:25:00.000-07:00

You'd Be Surprised

From the golden era of movies comes a film that is both a comedy and a murder mystery; it is entitled, You’d Be Surprised. This silent film was released in 1926, towards the end of that golden era, which the older generations of the Deaf community remember. The film’s director was Arthur Rosson, who directed two other films released that same year – Wet Paint (a farce) and Stranded in Paris (based on the play). B.P. Schulberg, who was, after the golden era, Head of Paramount Pictures in the 1930s, produced You’d be Surprised. Overall, a viewer of today’s generation can appreciate the work they put into the cinematography of the film. A few elements of the cinematography to discuss are the script, direction, acting, and plot. First comes the comment about the script.

A typical viewer of today would find the script of You’d Be Surprised, to be surprisingly entertaining, mysterious and comedic even upon it’s repetitiveness. A couple of phrases that were said at least four times to add humor to a seemingly serious moment were phrases such as, “Don’t touch anything! This is a case for the coroner,” as said by varying degrees of policemen and inspectors alike. There was also the daunting word, “guilty!” which was said by the bizarre jury who seemed just as keyed up to be done with the investigation as the coroner did. Their excited anticipation added superfluous humor to another, feasibly intense, moment. Another great thing about the script that a viewer might notice were the coroner’s witty statements on the title cards. It started with Aesop’s quote, then there is the playful accusation of murder to one of the women, and the coroner says, “Mayhap you did it – in a spirit of jest?” Or there is the solution to finding out who committed the crime, “…let’s offer a prize.” Other title cards are ironic, or they have the use of puns. While the script was written well, it wouldn’t be much use without the directing of the film, the second element of cinematography to be discussed.

The direction of the film seemed to be creative. It was referential to a few superstitious things such as the date, Friday the 13th, and the black cat that skulks around the houseboat. The film initially follows this cursed cat around – allowing the viewer to see different scenes of what is happening during the party before the mysterious murder. As for the acting, a viewer would find (in contrasting movies of today) gestures and expression really made up for the lack of voice or sound. Also, those who know sign language and are involved in Deaf Culture will recognize the extra effort taken for gestures and expression are especially beneficial to Deaf people’s understanding. Just as there were repetitive, comical things written in the script, similar actions were given as well.

Actions such as the coroner taking the inspector’s badge to indicate that he had solved the crime. Or there was the coroner’s corny flip of a coin to let fate decipher what would happen next. It usually worked to his advantage. Then there were the times when the policemen were told to take away the accused woman (Dorothy) and the coroner comically prevented it by his gestures and slaps. This happened three times with the inspector (Mr. Brown) and once with the deputy district attorney (Mr. Black), which provides an ironic parallel since he actually knows she did not do it. The last notable repetitive, comical action was when the coroner tries to use himself as bait, and every time he tells a man to turn off the lights, someone tries to surround him from being killed. First it’s Dorothy, then the jury, then the police officers. While this last set of actions is comedic, the resolution that follows isn’t quite as consistent.

Upon viewing the movie a second time, the viewer will notice more about the man who they arrest – Mr. Black. While he fits the character of murderer quite well with all that he says and does, the way in which he is arrested and accused is quite un-ceremonial (as compared to the interactions that happen between party guests and the playfully accusing coroner) and it is very disappointing to see that the coroner doesn’t really give him much of a hard time about being the murder. This is somewhat un-satisfying to the viewer. When something like this occurs in media, many times the viewers will observe other ways to present the same type of media to their satisfaction.

It is possible in today’s media that such a story, even to remain silent, would be a really comical and satirical skit/spoof for shows such as Saturday Night Live or Mad T.V. It would also be a good short play for high school and/or college drama programs, as I believe it would teach aspiring actors how to use more than just their voice to say what they need to say in order to portray the story. It would be very important, if the media did a re-make of You’d Be Surprised, to portray the role of the deaf butler in a more correct form, because anyone who is involved in Deaf culture will know that as a deaf character he was not portrayed correctly.

The butler was not portrayed correctly as a deaf character; they really made him seem less intelligent as they were not consistent with the idea of him having the use of his peripheral vision. Also, they seemed to direct him to have a face vacant of expression. This is another thing that misrepresents the Deaf community, as Deaf people are usually very animated in their body language and facial expression. An additional way that he was not portrayed correctly was having him hide childishly behind the chair and lastly, the fact that he was not included in the conversations, he stood as still as statue until the coroner addressed him. Even if this were how he was to act for the role of the butler, an advocate to the Deaf community would see this as an oppressive action to not include him in the conversation. Aside from the inconsistencies about the deaf character there was only two other inconsistencies that I found to be startling, first there was the positioning of Grey, the butler, when he is supposedly stabbed to his death. Then there was the fact that Grey miraculously re-appears as the deputy coroner. Let’s discuss specifically the positioning of Grey upon his “death.”

As Grey stood in the center of the room, waiting for the lights to go off, the viewer sees that he is facing the left side of the room (from the viewers perspective). When he is struck dead, he is laying facedown towards the right side of the room. Unless the murder is further investigated, this is a visual inconsistency. The viewer is to understand from this that the directionality and positioning of Grey’s body presents a sort of parallel with that of Mr. White’s dead body at the beginning of the film. This is the only real problem that a typical viewer might find within the film.

You’d Be Surprised is a witty, funny film about a murder at a dinner party, which seems like it could have been part of an influence for the game, Clue. Raymond Griffith keeps viewers on their toes for his moments of hilarity, irony, and wit. Overall, a very enjoyable silent film – especially enjoyable to those who understand the beauty of facial expression and body language.

Hunchback of Notre Dame Teaser for Part 2 of Understanding Disability

2011-02-20T23:26:00.002-07:00

Personal Preface

Imagine in childhood, being raised to love classic Disney movies and then at the age of eight, not being allowed to see one of Disney’s most moving animated films before the year 2000.

In the summer of 1996, Disney released their rendition of Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame.1 I didn’t question my parents; I just did as they wished, agreeing to obey their request to not see that movie, nor ask to see it.

As time went by, I had only begun to understand why my parents asked me not to watch it. I made a small, visual connection between the theatrical preview of the movie and one of my dearest family members – my Grandmother, Florence Ruth Summers Kofford. She was born in 1908 and later had a case of polio that affected her spine from when she was very young.

I never saw her as any different from anyone else I knew. I didn’t see her as disabled either. I saw that she looked different, but I also knew of her unconditional love for my family and me. This gave me no reason to see her as anything less than a normal loving grandmother. She taught, took care of, and loved her entire family.

...As I think back on my memories of her and the few stories I knew about her past, I guessed that she was an oppressed woman for the way she looked and because she didn’t move the same way as others did. I deduced that she may have been humiliated at times, that others may have mocked her, whether it was verbal abuse, sideways glances or any other demeaning actions.

Eighty-eight years after my grandmother’s birth, and eight years after my own, was when I saw the first sign of someone who looked a bit similar to my grandmother in the media, and it was one of the few Disney movies I was not allowed to watch. Approximately fourteen years later, and twelve years after her death, I made the distinct connection between my parent’s banned movie and my grandmother. Which brings me to Quasimodo, the protagonist of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, specifically the film as released by Disney.

...Check back later for more about my thoughts about Quasimodo and his physical as well as his socially constructed disability.

Feel free to comment!

~Aud Fairy

References:
IMDb. (2011). The hunchback of notre dame (1996). Retrieved February 6, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116583/

Understanding the Importance of Language & Culture, The Humanity of Respecting Diverse Populations, and the Deaf Community.

2011-02-20T22:28:00.005-07:00

Why should deaf people exist? Why should we care?

(For a preview to this paper, please see my previous post)

This is a query that is morally and ethically disturbing but necessary to address. First and foremost, the question should not be, “why should deaf people exist?” but rather, “why should deaf people not exist.” Furthermore, why should any human being not exist or be appreciated for their cultural heritage, for their language, for their having a life on earth? This is the short answer to the query at hand, which leaves one with ponderings of all of the above questions. But it would be imprudent to leave one to musings alone without any other answer. The above questions will be answered by focusing on four main elements: first, the various definitions of a human within humanity; second, basic monotheistic religious beliefs; third, the societal perspective of disability; and fourth, the existence and richness of the language and culture of the deaf. So I will now ask a question once more, its focus being that of the definition of what deaf person is first and foremost – a human.

Starting with the simplest, yet most complicated of questions, what is a human? The Oxford American Dictionaries1 defines a human as being “a person as distinguished from an animal or (in science fiction) an alien.” Even with this definition, full understanding of what it means to be human is not gained. In turning to the thesaurus, which also comes from the Oxford American Dictionaries, there are many synonyms given to suggest further meaning of the word human. All synonyms are used as adjectives, words describing imperfection, compassion, as well as the form of a human. Let us look to the first two sets of synonyms, first being imperfection.

Humans are not perfect. This we can all agree upon. We, as humans, are “imperfect, vulnerable, susceptible, erring, [and/or] error-prone.”1 In recognition of this fact, we can then realize why we do not always give every other human being on earth, in America, in our own state, even leading to giving humans in our own community, the respect they deserve for their history, culture, language and for being a fellow human being. However, this fact describing human in imperfect forms is not justification for disrespect, belittlement, or pity upon another group of humans. Acknowledging this fact, for one-self, allows us as humans the opportunity to change what can about how we choose to live our lives and how our lives affect others. Taking advantage of this opportunity, upon self-acknowledgment, allows us to do the humane thing and treat each other with the respect deserved. In reference to acts of humanity, we can now look to the next set of synonyms, which is initialized with the word, compassion.

Humans have the capability of being compassionate. This too we can all agree upon, because compassion is a characteristic that can be learned and chosen to be utilized. Compassionate is at the front of the second set of adjectives; adjectives which are synonymous for the word human, and focus on words that are humane in nature. Words such as, “compassionate, humane, kind, considerate, understanding, sympathetic, tolerant; approachable, accessible.”1 Interesting, is it not, that a word originating from the word human is used as an adjective for “…showing compassion or benevolence?”1 Let us delve further into our thesaurus and see what some other words are for humane. Synonyms for the word are,

“compassionate, kind, considerate, understanding, sympathetic, tolerant; lenient, forbearing, forgiving, merciful, mild, gentle, tender, clement, benign, humanitarian, benevolent, charitable; caring, solicitous; warmhearted, tenderhearted, [and] softhearted.” 1

Listed also in the thesaurus are antonyms as well; humane has a solitary antonymous word: “cruel,” remember this antonym.1 One could then imply from the given differing verbiage that humans would be humane since they are connected via verbal origin. Yet it seems that if that truly were the case, we wouldn’t even be wondering why we, as people whom are a part of a community, society and population, are asking a question about a group of people who are oppressed by audism.

If humans are as humane as we’d like to be in understanding the value of another person and who they are, then we would not be questioning the importance of their language, culture, heritage and even their living existence. Do not misunderstand the meaning here, please, question another’s heritage, learn of their history and language; but question why it is important that another group of people exist and especially exist peaceably? The thought, in and of itself, is inhumane. Thoughts lead to actions, and therefore we can account for the cruel and inhumane actions that arose from these types of thought. What then, can assist us in the prevention of everyday cruelness to our fellow human beings? The answer then lies in the un-solidified and ever-changing nature of morals, ethics and philosophy.

It seems the most obvious standard of morals and ethics, taught to a vast number of the worldwide population, would be the basics of religion. A few of those basic principles will be addressed in order to describe the equality of all human beings. The majority of religious people believe that there is one divine creator. Call the creator what you will, however, for this purpose the creator will be referred to as God.

God created the world and all things in it, the first chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, accounts for this.2 There are multiple notations in the Bible, and other religious books, of the past and present populations being sons and daughters of God. For example, in the book of Psalms, chapter 82, verse six reads, “…all of you are children of the most High,” in this context, the most High2 Here we recognize that we, as humans, have more in common with each other than just being of the same species. We recognize that the same divine being created us all, God created us all. refers to God.

In recent years, modern-day spiritual leaders reiterate this basic principle as we view ourselves as the offspring, or creation of God, “Man is the child of God, formed in the divine image and endowed with divine attributes.”3 In this quote, man is used to refer to all human beings, male and female. Aside from that, however, note the last phrase of the sentence and how we, as children of God are endowed with divine attributes. Many interpretations can be made from this, but no matter how it is interpreted, it literally means to be given qualities or characteristics that are set apart for each individual. So, while we were all created by God and share that as a universal similarity, He created us to all be different, to be unique people. Do the differences God created us with, give us justification to not “…love one another?”4 What is it, exactly, that causes look down upon others who are different from ourselves? How different, really, are deaf people from hearing people? Why are the Deaf so oppressed? In a blunt word, commonly associated with medicine and law, they are disabled.

Disability is the highlighted topic in Joseph P. Shapiro’s book, No Pity, which presents many points of view concerning ideas about disability and the experiences of people who live with it. People with disabilities make up a large part of what is considered to be diversity among the population. In specific reference to the disability movement, which didn’t even emerge until the 1970s, diversity is a central characteristic.5 Shapiro presents the common treatment of those who have disabilities, “[they] have been a hidden, misunderstood minority, often routinely deprived of the basic life choices that even the most disadvantaged among us take for granted… [and] … the struggle is far from over.”5 It has been over 40 years since the conscious emergence of new civil rights disability movement. Has significant progress been made? Do we really understand where our framework, for what disability It is a psycho-social effect which takes place as we are raised in society, influenced by the media, and by those people immediately around us. means, is coming from?

Shapiro goes into further detail about the psycho-social effect in chapter two, “The Social Construction of Disability.” Critical for understanding here is the point of influence, as we develop into contributing, adult, human beings, – society and culture. They are the two largest influences on how we, as a population, see what disability is and how we treat people with disabilities. We have to deconstruct what society and culture have influentially constructed and re-learn how to respectfully and ethically treat disabled people. We have to realize that every person, no matter their race, sex, physical or mental abilities, deserves to lead a life that is accessible to them, in every way, shape, and form; especially, the Deaf community. They deserve that as well, in maintaining the value of the existence and the richness of their language and culture.

The Deaf community exits in a system of biocultural diversity. According to Luisa Maffi, biocultural diversity is “…life in all its manifestations – biological, cultural, and linguistic ...”6 As language and culture are directly related, it is imperative to understand – one cannot communicate fluently in another language without the knowledge of their culture. Furthermore, it is also imperative to understand – one cannot interact fully with the people of a culture without the knowledge of their language. The concept of language, and culture is not universal. It doesn’t matter where a person is, the language and culture are going to be different from what they consider to be “home”. This type of diversity, like most, is to be appreciated. There is “…a ‘moral imperative’ to preserve diversity and to strive not for uniformity but for unity in diversity.”7 Not only is there a moral imperative to preserve that language and culture of the Deaf Community, but there is an imperative in a historical sense as well so that future generations can learn from our social and societal wrong-doings as well as rejoice in the justice we are working towards in appreciating various cultures, especially the culture (and language) of the Deaf. Comprehending diversity, especially biocultural diversity, “…should contribute to our understanding that diversity in nature and culture makes us human.” Having the understanding of diversity in nature and even in our and other cultures gives us the ability to recognize that all people are human and should be treated equally. The Deaf community are humans and deserve to have a life that is of equal opportunity and should be allowed to live up to their fullest expectations. We have shown the various perspectives for equal opportunities of the Deaf, using these four main elements: first, the various definitions of a human within humanity; second, basic monotheistic religious beliefs; third, the societal perspective of disability; and fourth, the existence and richness of the language and culture of the deaf. All of these elements, individually, show that the Deaf are important members of society and are crucial to not only their own culture but ours as well.

References:

Top, edited, photograph: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v448/n7157/images/448998a-i1.0.jpg

1. Oxford University Press, Initials. (2011). Oxford american dictionaries, Retrieved from http://www.oxfordreference.com/pub/views/home.html
2. Bible – King James Version
3. First Presidency, "The Origin of Man", Ensign, Feb. 2002, 26
4. John 13:34
5. No Pity Introduction, pg 11
6. Linguistic, Cultural, and Biological Diversity journal, pg 602
7. Linguistic, Cultural, and Biological Diversity journal, pg 603

~Written by Holly E. Ferrin, Deaf Studies Senior~

© 2011 Holly E. Ferrin

Understanding Disability - Part 1

2011-02-11T15:16:00.017-07:00

(Look back at my initial thought of "My Thought on the Societal Perspective of Abnormality Among Normality)

This whole thought process started with a homework assignment from my professor in my Disability Theory class. The questions, on the outside, seemed like they would be simple enough to answer. I was grossly mistaken. I thought, thought and thought. I researched, read, and studied. I even resorted to asking friends on Facebook what they thought so I could get more opinions and ideas. Little did I know that it would be quite the controversial topic. The official question was this... "Why should deaf people exist? Why should we care?" The first response happened within the hour and I sighed upon reading it, virtually smacking my hand against my face.

Andrew had blatantly replied with, "Sounds like someone is looking for an excuse to commit genocide." Great, just great, was the first phrase to come to mind. We now have the idea in mind that this question leaves the questioner looking for an excuse to commit genocide. That was the last thing I ever wanted coming up, but Andrew did make a great point, which then stemmed my next thought and honestly lead me to the basis of my response. I said, "Well, [my professor's] thought is that if we are going to be advocates for the Deaf, then we have to start by advocating their life. [I do agree with him about this] ... I personally believe we are all God's children and that we should treat one another as we would want to be treated. That is my short answer..." The comments from that point varied, and I appreciated all of them.

The next great comment made was written by Jillian, she said, "[Deaf people exist] Because differences exist - to make us realize that we have to tolerate others. We should care because if deaf people ran the world, then we would be the minority and we'd want them to care." She made a brilliant point with this, especially in recognizing that deaf people exist in a minority. The next comment made was from the mouth of a teenager. Teens are stigmatized into a social category of not really caring about anything else other than themselves.

Kevin, who is also my relative, made the following comment, "A deaf person can accomplish anything a person who isn't deaf. ...we should care for them because they are still human beings." If Kevin had been there in person, I swear I would have kissed him on the cheek for his youthful honesty.

I save the meanest, but best, for last. I must note the acting antagonist in the thread of comments. Peter, who can also be found on blogger, gave us a taste of reality with his comment - because sadly, this is how many people see it.

"I could argue in defense of the beautiful language that is attached to deafness that would disappear, but our society already frowns upon the language, encouraging Cochlear Implants and Oralism. I hope you understand what I mean with that statement. If not, let me know and I will explain further.

I could also argue in defense of the incredible culture of the Deaf, but our society is ignorant to its existence anyway. Its preservation would only be for the "burdensome" minority and its "sympathy" followers like you and I.

Lastly, maybe one could argue that God made them that way, and they are perfect just the way they are. But we all know that God wouldn't do that to someone... put them through the pain and struggle of being deaf. It is clearly the best choice to allow science and technology to "cure" them of their ailment."

I didn't feel terrible about this comment because I know Peter is a good guy and he was only re- opening my eyes and the eyes of my peers to the reality of society's views. It was good to think about. It was good to have dignified view in opposition of my own. Peter later suggested that I view this video on YouTube. I urge you to view it as well.

There were many other great comments and I wish I could quote them all, but if you are one of my "friends" on Facebook, then you've probably already read it. Until then, click on the link below to read my paper for further information.

Enjoy!

Please Comment!

Thanks!

~Aud Fariy

The Benefits of Attending Crop Because You Care: Camp Spike and Wave

2011-01-30T19:09:00.016-07:00

So, for those of you who aren't aware, I am very invested in volunteer work. I love volunteering. I frequently volunteer at the local community center of the Deaf, but I have another form of work in mind at the moment. Crop Because You Care (CBYC) is coming up at the end of February and if you don't know about it, this is your opportunity to learn more. Check out the links below and then I will tell you a bit more about Camp Spike and Wave.

The Official Crop Because You Care site, where you can learn more about CBYC, and the Epilepsy Association of Utah (EAU), as well as register for the event. (It's only $25! for a full day of scrapbooking for a good cause!)

The Epilepsy Association of Utah's blog, where information about CBYC can be seen as well as more information about the EAU, epilepsy, and seizures.
The Crop Because You Ca re blog, where the entirety of the blog is dedicated to the sole purpose of giving information about CBYC. (Psst! By the way, did you know, Stacy Julian is going to be attending this year's Crop Because You Care?! Click on one of the above blog links to learn more about her!)

If you are a Facebook jukie, like I am, you'll find various pages there about the EAU and CBYC, as well as people who are interested in the EAU and CBYC. It's pretty easy to find. You can also look over in the side bar as see the Facebook page badge.

If you are into tweeting, then feel free to follow either (or both) of the following twitter accounts. First there is the EAU Twitter account. Then there is the CBYC Twitter account as well. This is great if you get mobile updates via twitter. You'll know information about the upcoming crop while you are on the go!

Personal statement on YouTube about epilepsy, the EAU, and CBYC from one the founders - Karen! She has several videos on there about CBYC and epilepsy. Start with this one and then, if you wish, search for a bit more from there.

Ok, so now you've had the chance to become clued into what the awesome scrapbooking event, Crop Because You Care, is. If you haven't diverted your attention from my blog thus far, that's ok too. So, you may be wondering what the "scrap" this is all about - and what exactly you are cropping and caring for when you attend CBYC. Well, all proceeds of CBYC benefit the Epilepsy Association of Utah (EAU). From there, a large amount of those proceeds go to funding a summer camp for pre-teens & teens who are affected by epilepsy, a seizure disorder. Here is a little blurb about the camps offered from the National Ability Center, where the kids go for Camp Spike and Wave.

Each summer the National Ability Center offers camps packed with fun, adventure and activities that will challenge campers to discover their abilities, while making friendships to last a lifetime. These activities encourage campers to make friends, build social skills, strengthen physical agility and develop recreational skills while having more fun than they've ever had before.

About eleven months ago, I attended Crop Because You Care. A little over six months after that, I had the opportunity to attend Camp Spike and Wave as a volunteer.

I was able to assist in so many awesome things that the kids did at camp. Let me direct you to a few pictures so you can see the different types of things we did.

So, as you can see, we did so many exciting things - especially things that people with epilepsy cannot do in a "normal" situation. The kids rode horses. They braved the high ropes course, which includes elements such as the catwalk, bosman swings, tango bridge, cargo net and many more! They went on hikes (which some of them cannot do in a "normal" situation because temperature, whether it be hot or cold, are triggers for their seizures). They climbed rock-walls. They had fun with archery. And of course, we did all of the traditional camp things, such as crafts, games, becoming better friends, and eating s'mores. It seriously cannot get much better than that (not to mention that we were in a really nice cabin!)

Camp Spike and Wave Campers, 2010

I had a great time at Camp Spike and Wave, I think what I liked more than anything was the opportunity to have fun with kids (and other adults) who are affected by epilepsy. A sense of camaraderie was there, knowing that these people have dealt with a lot of the same problems I have. (Yes, I have generalize epilepsy) The same stigma we experience, the same types of exhaustion we feel at times, the side effects that come with medication and the knowledge that while we were together we were totally free to be ourselves and not be worried about what others would think if someone had a seizure.

So, you can see why this is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I hope that I've given you the chance to understand why CBYC is such an important event to attend. And not to mention, FUN!

Thanks everyone,

~Holls

My Thought on the Societal Perspective of Abnormality Among Normality

2011-01-16T23:20:00.011-07:00

My paper and media collages as originally submitted on January 10, 2010,
with an all inclusive collage at the conclusion.

There are so many different ways that I could have approached the topics of what it is to be “normal,” and what it is to be “disabled.” I decided to reflect upon society since it is society who responds to media in regards of normality and disability. It is also society who influences community, and culture, which then leads to the environmental influences upon a person’s schema of various topics and ideas.

I chose to do my media collage before starting this thought paper. I believed it would expand the probably-small schema I had about normality and disability, and, in a way, it has. As I did various searches I began to understand the way society perceives both normalcy and disability. While Internet searches are not scholarly, I justified it because the majority of Americans have access to the Internet as well as access to sites where they can contribute their opinions and ideas.

While my searches gave me a different sort of understanding, I became frustrated with the top items that would come up in the search – especially when I used the search term, “disability.” It seems like the most common idea of disability seems to be someone who is wheelchair-bound. I was frustrated with this because, while my understanding of disability is not a full one, I know that there are other types of disabilities – whether they be mental or physical – and obviously there is a lack of media representation of those various disabilities.

I was even frustrated with my search results for, “normal.” I had to add words for more specificity since it was too broad of a term. So when I added, “man,” or “woman,” to the search, I found that the majority of top hits were semi-famous people who were described as being “just a normal man,” or “just a normal woman,” for whatever purpose it served. These results for “normal” people were frustrating because it showed photos of people that are digitally retouched and photoshopped – they are probably as far away from the societal norm as someone who is labeled as being disabled.

What does “normal” mean? “Normal” is defined as a way of “conforming to a standard,” or in the way of describing a person, it is someone who is, “free from physical or mental disorders.” (Oxford American Dictionaries) When someone says they are normal, when someone says their child is normal, I believe it is a label – a way to safeguard themselves, and their offspring against societal criticism and disparagement. While socially safeguarding themselves, I believe it also allows the “normal” speakers the opportunity to believe it for themselves, as illogical as it may be.

Definitions aside, I must recognize that as “politically correct” as terms can be, there is nothing “politically correct” about the way people with recognizable disabilities are treated by others. From my experience with the word, “disability,” doesn’t seem to be a word that a person would voluntarily use when describing him self. I think it’s more of a word used as a label by others, usually it is the “politically correct,” way to describe a person who has “a physical or mental condition that limits a person's movements, senses, or activities.” (Oxford American Dictionaries) I suppose that when a person does use the term, especially when parents use it when describing their child, that it is a form of acceptance of oneself, for one’s child, and it is a way to acknowledge a person’s problems while marking one’s individuality.

So, what do you think???

Read more about my thoughts Disability

Understanding Disability - Part 1 and...

Why Should Deaf People Exist? Why Should We Care?

Understanding Disability - Part 2a

Part 2b

Makeovers?

2011-01-16T22:11:00.003-07:00

Just a brief moment in the musings of my mind.

I was browsing through TV this morning, and happened upon "Home Delivery." The show is about these "life-changing" events that the show generously provides as their form of entertainment. This particular episode was about this woman who had immigrated to New York City from Russia. She was employed as a cab driver in NYC and had an American boyfriend. Now, I don't know who initiated her "Home Delivery," but I was upset with her makeover.

Her "before" picture was completely fine, she is a cutie, modest style and humble appearance. There is nothing wrong with that. Her "after" appearance seemed to be more focused on looking sexy and seductive. All of the men hooted and clapped their approval upon seeing her, which, in my opinion, is objectifying her.

The words" gorgeous," and "beautiful" were common upon response to her appearance. Which is awesome, don't get me wrong. But, what is this telling this young woman from Russia? Did it tell her that she is only beautiful when she is made up to look all sensual and sexy? Did it tell her that beauty only comes from the outside - from the way she looks?

What happened to uniqueness? Individuality? Originality? Personality? Inner beauty? Self esteem? Why is it that we must turn to America's media to be told how to assimilate into what is acceptable and considered beautiful?

I find it frustrating to know women are so oppressed and pressured by the media, consistently and subtly being forced to assimilate to what is considered "beautiful."

I think it's OK to do things for yourself to help you feel good about yourself, but if you don't have a knowledge of your own inner beauty and self esteem, then what good is fashion, makeup and fancy hair?

I don't know, I just feel really frustrated with this concept of bettering people's lives by making them look better...

What do you think?

The No-Mess Grilled Cheese

2010-12-10T09:25:00.003-07:00

So, as a fan of Tillamook Cheese, I wanted to share my quick and easy recipe with the Loaf-Lovers out there.

The other night, I was having some left-over soup for dinner and thought that a grilled cheese sandwich would be just perfect to go with it, but I didn't want to take the time or effort to get out the frying pan, fight with the spatula, and then clean up the pan afterward - what can I say? I am a hungry college student. Anyway, I thought fast about my options and decided on something super easy. (The great thing about this is that you have virtually no mess, you can just put your plate in the dishwasher when you are done.)

This requires the following:

Two slices of your favorite grilled cheese bread (I used classic white bread)
2-3 slices of one or more of your favorite Tillamook Cheese ( I used Medium Cheddar and Colby Jack)
a toaster
a microwave
your favorite butter (I used whipped butter) - this is optional

It's pretty simple, you just toast your bread to your preferred darkness, place the toasted slices side by side on a ceramic or micro-wave-safe plate, spread a thin layer of butter on each slice and then add a slice or two of cheese on each slice and put it in the microwave for about 20-40 seconds (time depends upon your microwave's power, so stay and watch it to ensure optimal cheese-meltage). When it's done, take the plate out and put the slices together, cheese-to-cheese! (careful, it's HOT!) and let it stand for a few moments until cool enough to handle - this also allows the top and bottom slices to, shall we say, "fuse" together in cheesy goodness. The last and best step is this, consume and enjoy!

Picture Credit to TillamookCheese.com

Reflecting Upon My Second Silent Weekend

2010-12-05T18:04:00.005-07:00

So, I had to write a reflection papers about the different things I've been doing this semester, I thought I would share this one I just completed with you all. Enjoy! :)

Friday, November 19, 2010

I found the Lodge seemingly empty as I entered on the ground floor. The lights were dim and the air was cold as the door thudded shut behind me. I went upstairs to check in with the ASL Club and find out where I was to room for the night as well as any other instructions. In this environment and contextual situation, I relaxed a bit as I realized that my skills in ASL had significantly increased since I had been in the same situation four or five years ago when I was in high school. Even so, I felt a bit ill at ease for arriving later than most, which set me at a nervous disposition and in retrospect, I could have been calmer within myself because it honestly didn’t matter.

After receiving instructions as to where I would be lodging, all in ASL, I headed out of the Lodge and across the bridge that led to the cabins. As I crossed the bridge, I found memories from past attendance to Silent Weekend, while in high school, surfacing in my mind. I remembered, as I carried my duffel in the cold wind how terribly nervous I was half a decade ago, feeling so unsure about the idea of going about 16-20 hours straight without talking, feeling so unsure about my linguistic abilities in ASL. After walking up the steep incline to the cabins and finding the one I would be in, I opened the door feeling the room’s warmth upon myself. I set my belongings down and recognized that this time would be different, not only because I had been here before, but because I knew more, and I felt more confident in my own abilities.

Going back to my semi-nervous disposition upon arrival, I couldn’t help but feel like the idea of being a minority, especially a linguistic minority, was really beginning to sink in. I walked back across the bridge, where the wind seemed the worst, and headed for the dinning room where the rest of the attendees were. As I went inside, I saw people I didn’t even know, acquaintances, classmates, and friends. I wanted to yell across the room to get a close-friend’s attention, I wanted to squeal with excitement to see her, I wanted to talk over dinner and while my abilities to communicate in ASL were significantly better, I still felt like I didn’t know enough to sustain what I really wanted to express. It was in moments like these that I felt that I had possibly tasted what it was like to be a linguistic minority, for I perceived that everyone around me knew ASL well, and I was the one who did not. In the moments when I was most unsure about myself and my abilities, I was a hearing person in a deaf world.

Thankfully, after dinner and during the show by Crom Saunders, I seriously “fell into the swing of things” and “got my groove on.” Crom’s presentation was amazing. I loved it. I was so happy that I had an understanding, even if it isn’t a full understanding, of Deaf Culture. I was thrilled that I could understand him too. I knew if I had seen the same presentation five years ago, I may not have gotten as much out of it in both an informational and entertaining sense.

While I know that the comparison is nowhere near the same sorts of things, when I went back to my cabin and I “chatted” and teased in sign with one of my closer friends who was rooming on the other side of the cabin, I felt the language become more natural too me, more expressive, more fluid, more like something that was a part of who I am, or at least a part of who I am becoming. I wondered to myself, in my mind, what it would be like to have this sort of thing be a daily occurrence, being in an environment where it’s all sign, all the time.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

In the morning I excitedly awoke in anticipation for the workshops that I would be attending. I was ready to go an hour before I needed to be, and so spent the remainder of my time in the cabin chatting with it’s occupants who were gathering in the main entry room in order to prepare to leave.

After a time, I headed out to go to breakfast and realized that it had snowed in the night. Now, I’m a native Utahan, so snow really doesn’t surprised or bother me too much as long as I don’t have to be out in it for too long, but when I came to the small but very steep hill I had traversed the night before, I looked down before me and wasn’t quite sure about how to go about getting down the steep hill without slipping and hurting myself, my main worry wasn’t so much getting wet or hurting my legs at all, my main worry was falling and landing on my hand(s). I worried because, from that point on for the next few hours, my hands were my language. After careful thought and careful steps, I made it down the hill dry and unscathed. I ate breakfast and couldn’t wait to get to my first workshop.

~*~

· What I Wish I’d Known…

o Preparation for the Utah written and Level 1 Performance Interpreter Tests

Johnny Rider gave this presentation. He gave us an “all-inclusive guide to the

Utah Interpreter Program Testing and Preparation.” The presentation was pretty detailed, but what Rider had prepared for us as a hand-out was also very detailed, but it was just what I was hoping for and more! He went over the differing programs available to us in Utah, different schools, different people we should become familiar with, websites we should bookmark, suggestions for practice, advice from Interpreters and more! He familiarized us with the “general information and certification requirements as far as testing goes – written, performance, and rating criteria. I really got a lot out of his presentation.

· Deaflympics

Jeff Pollock, three-time medal winning Deaflympian and Certified

Deaf Interpreter, gave the presentation. His presentation was basically about the history of the Deaflympics. How the name of the game has literally changed several times, what places the games have been held. When winter games were added, how many athletes were at each of the games, the politics of the Deaflympics, as well as the significance of the symbol/icon of the games.

· Signs of Hope International

Johnny Rider also gave this presentation. As the

presentation was given, as I watched the video he had to share with us. I could not help but be touched by it. In addition, Bryan Eldredge has shared some of his experiences with us in my LANG 3000 class, so his insight has added on to what I have already found out about the program. I really think that it would be something to plan for in the future. It really excited me!

~*~

I had a great time at my second Silent Weekend, and I look forward to going again! I have been in contact for volunteering to help with a Silent Weekend for highschoolers and I look forward to it. Johnny’s presentation about What I Wish I Knew… got me back in the mood for some more volunteer work. I’m sure there is more I can write about, but I think, for this purpose, this sums it all up.

The Quote That Made My Day

2010-11-16T16:50:00.002-07:00

So, there have been a few things today that have made my day a bit stressful, and less enjoyable. There is no point, however, in complaining about things that I really have no control over for the moment. However, I must say, while I was browsing through the homepage of my facebook, I saw a particular man's sentiments that I knew were most likely (granted I do not know the full context of his question) directed towards the LDS Church.

Why do some people have opinions on how everything "Should Be" so engrained in their brains that they try to coerce everyone into their mold, especially when they claim to be non-conformists?

This man, used to believe in gospel doctrine, he used to understand and testify of the truth. I found, instead, him and his friends mocking such truths in the comments that followed his question.

The thing is, I don't think he is even searching for an answer, I think it's rhetorical and he is looking to be validated in wanting others to recognize that his way is the only way and it's the best way.

I realize, I am being judgmental of this man, but I am taking my chances - I feel rather confident that I am correct. His schema of the gospel has been twisted. It hurts me to see this be the norm for him. It hurts me that he thinks it's OK to say such things. He is letting himself give up and become defeated in the ways of the world. My only answer for him would be to pray about it, and I (and others) for him, but I don't think he would want it - he mocked the sacredness of prayer in his comments.

On the other hand, there is another young man, whose sentiments brightened my day by a large margin and it seemed to be the answer to my frustration with the previous comments, and this quote made my day.

"Not all will follow the map [Heavenly Father has given us]. They may look at it. They may think it is reasonable, perhaps even true. But they do not follow the divine directions. Many believe that any road will take them to a 'happily ever after.' Some may even become angry when others who know the way try to help and tell them. They suppose that such advice is outdated, irrelevant, out of touch with modern life."[Brothers &] Sisters, they suppose wrong."

(emphasis added)

This is a Daily Gem. "Daily Gems offer inspiration and increased gospel knowledge for both members and nonmembers with quotes from Church leaders on a variety of subjects."

Find the full article.

Anyway, this is a quick post, seeing as how I have class in five minutes or so, but I just wanted to say thank you, to those of you who share things that are inspirational, that others of us may have forgotten.

I hope you have found the quote as helpful as I have. I know I appreciated it.

I'm out!

~Holly Elizabeth

Still 'Hoping For You' and Missing Daddy

2010-11-07T15:19:00.003-07:00

So, I was looking through my self-published poetry and there is a poem that was written about six months ago. The main thought about this poem, stayed the same, even though one of the inferred main characters has become faceless in my attempt to no longer remember he-who-must-not-be-named.

As a tangential, yet relevant, side-note, I was thinking about my Mom and Dad, I've noticed how much she misses him, how much it hurts her to not have him here with us. I know that we know the truthfulness of the gospel, that we will see him again, that he is in a better place. Though, it has almost been a year since his death, I feel lonelier than ever. I was thinking about Dad today, and how much things have changed - but yet not...

I sat in the pew today (two rows up from where I feel most comfortable) with Mom and Christine, it was strange, not having JoAnne with us this week (since she was still to brutally bruised from her car accident this last week), and again, it was still strange not having Dad there. I loved sitting next to him, smelling his aftershave, feeling the comforting texture of his suit coat, sharing stow-away candy with him, watching him play bubblet on his palm pilot that he had hidden behind a hymn book or sacrament program, hearing his soft dozing breaths...

I thought of him yesterday, as I attended the EAU conference and returned with a pin for his collection. Us girls joked that he wouldn't want to wear his Utah pins today since they lost poorly to TCU, but that he would wear the lavender pin on his suit coat to church and wear it proudly - he'd be happy to explain it to anyone who asked about it.

~*~

I've been thinking a lot about friendships, relationships, marriages, and families lately. I mean it's sort of hard not to when you are 21 years old, female, and go to school in Utah County. I am the maid of honor for an engaged friend and recently planned her bachelorette party. I'm a primary teacher in my ward, and I see dozens of young couples who look so happy together, some newlyweds, others with baby-bumps. I see growing families, where mom and dad look worn out, but they love each other and their children just the same. I see elderly couples who grasp each other's hand not only because they are affectionate, but because they are also taking care of the other person.

I feel like I'm missing out. Caught in the space of time between adolescence and adulthood. I mean, yes, I am of legal age - considered an adult. But it is that label "young single adult," where I am classified into living. It seems though, in local society, you aren't really an adult until you've gotten married and been married for at least a year.

Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely thrilled to be the maid of honor for my friend, I had a ton of fun planning her party, I love my little sunbeams, and it makes me smile to see couples together.

So what am I doing wrong? Probably complaining about it here isn't really helping much. I've heard the advice said that I need to be patient, live the way I'd want him (future spouse) to live, and do what I love to do - that he'll find me that way. But, what if he is thinking the same thing? What if he is being patient, living the way he'd want me to live, and doing what he loves to do? What if we are both just going through life waiting for each other to find the other person? What then?

Personally, as much as I appreciate feminism, I don't think it's the woman who should have to be searching for a man, why can't he search for me? And also, what has society come to that girls get excited about text messages and IMs? What happened to letters, phone calls, walks together and cheesy poems? What happened to emotion, feeling, and expressions?

Ah, well, "...someday my prince will come..."

Let me know what you think, and if you have any advice for me.

~Holly Elizabeth

Hot Topics

2010-10-26T20:25:00.004-07:00

I seem to be one of those bloggers who says she'll blog in a consistent manner and then... never really does. Lame, yes, I know. I also seem to be one of those bloggers who feels obligated to blog only when there is something really worth writing about. Something that rouses various emotions inside me and makes me want to share what I know and feel with the world (or those of you who choose to read this).

So, what is on my mind tonight? There's plagiarism, remixes, various forms of oppression, the LGBT community and the various forms of epilepsy and associated medications. I will probably only cover one or two topics tonight, as I don't have the time, nor the brain capacity to write about all of them in a related fashion and still make it somewhat enjoyable to read.

I feel like plagiarism is a hot academic topic for me. On October 19, 2010, my band director, Dr. James Colonna, posted his thoughts about plagiarism vs. homage in the world of composing, directing and performances. I really loved reading what he had to say in his post. So in addition to his thoughts about plagiarism, the topic was brought up in my Library Research class, since it is such a real problem with how available information is through the internet and how students use others work in their academic papers and do not cite sources correctly, or they do not cite sources at all.

So, in my Library Research class, our teacher posted a couple of videos about plagiarism and copyright infringement so that we could learn a bit more about it. We were to post a comment on our discussion board about it, I explain and link the videos here.

This one is basically about how to correctly cite the sources, it's funny and cheesy to watch too.

My reply to this video is as follows...

I found the clips humorous and informative. I am a person who can appreciate some cheese in an educational video.

The videos were a good reminder of what good teachers would stress in high school. I think the majority of us are aware of what plagiarism is and what it means to plagiarize someone's work. I also think that we overlook the consequences of plagiarism; sometimes allowing ourselves to justify the use of someone's well thought out ideas and words to just get the job done fast.

I thought it was great to explain in more detail, the different ways that we tend to plagiarize things, and how we can prevent ourselves from doing so.

What I wish was included in the clips was more of an explanation about how detrimental plagiarism can be to your academic life.

This next video, however, is rather long. It is a documentary about copyright infringement. The first little bit is a little weird, but you just have to give it time. I actually found it really interesting and informative. Really opened my mind to how we create things and how we are influenced by others work.

My reply to this video was as follows...

In reference to the first question, "Do you think the penalties for copyright infringement make sense? Do you think these penalties were originally meant for your average citizen, sharing a few songs?" I do not think the copyright infringement makes sense. I also do not think the penalties were originally meant for the average citizen. Let me explain what I mean.

I found it almost infuriating that the Disney Corporation seems to have created a monopoly for what some may say is freedom of speech. The corporation created a hypocrisy of what Walt Disney did to bring the company, his empire, to it's greatest renowned height (at least in American culture).

While I do understand the importance of an "original idea," writing, music, video, etc. What some may not be able to grasp is the fact that EVERYTHING which is created has some sort of influence and reference to a previous creation. To look at music alone, and the evolution of sound, there are and will always be influence and references in the creation of music because it will always tie in references from the past and modernize it, tying generations together by doing so.

So, when copyright became so limiting that creators began to feel less creative it makes it more difficult to legally share thoughts and ideas that virtually express who we are, how we live, and what our culture is.

On the other hand, I can also see the importance of copyright, because a creator deserves credit for their work. I think such copyright laws were meant for people who may want to use very large "chunks" of work and call it their own without any due credit to the creator.

I will say that it is not ethical for people to pirate music and videos off the internet. I will say that it is not ethical to blatantly use any form of media in a creation and call it all yours. Again, on the other hand, if we buy the media (crediting the creator) and use the media and include proper referencing (which is like free advertising for that creator), I don't see why we can not use media that has been obtained legally. We can quote Shakespeare in our writing and use a play as a reference in a collegiate paper, but we cannot use a part of music or video in another from of expression of self via auditory or visual media? That sort of logic, I do not understand.

So, now that I've shared that with you, I would like to know what you think. Thanks guys!

~Holly Elizabeth

Life, As It Stands - part II

2010-09-19T17:28:00.004-07:00

The Blame Game:
Who are you pointing your finger at for your problems?
Who am I pointing my finger at for my problems?

So, approximately 10 months ago, I wrote a post that started with a statement on the fact that I hadn't blogged in over six months. I posted at least once a month for five months after that, and then... I didn't. Ok, so I didn't break the record and not post for more than six months, but we are almost there. I am on the five month mark. Why return before half a year has passed? I owe it to Sabin's Corner.

Daniel Sabin is an awesome, amazing, musical, poetic, and spontaneous man. I am blessed to have him as a friend. Daniel seemingly starting blogging, sort of on a whim, after making scrumptious brownies. It was refreshing to read his post(s). It inspired me to get back to my own blogging. I could blame school, I could blame, boredom, I could blame Facebook, as I did before. Good heavens, I could even go so far as to blame the side effects of my epilepsy, or my medication for it, or the fact that my family celebrated my father's 61st birthday without him being there in his physical form. But, why? Why the heck should I lay out all of my excuses for anything? Why should I search for a reason to be lame? I am Holly Elizabeth and I am amazing. I have power over my own choices and I know I am beautiful. Period. Oh yeah, I know it's dumb to blame my mood swings on that and I shan't anymore... OK, then!

Anyway, as for the rest of this post... I could go through my mixed-up-memory and try to sort it out into a list of things I hope to cover sometime soon. But for now- My post is briefer than usual. (Does that mean my other posts are boxers?)

My thought for today, don't play the blame game. Accept responsibility for your own choices and the consequences they have. Accept the fact that no matter what life has to throw at you and your face, you are still in control of one thing - YOU!

Media Review II

2010-05-22T18:24:00.009-07:00

May Music Video Premiere - Miley Cyrus - Can't Be Tamed

So, I'm sure you've all seen this picture before, heard the talk about it, how people were claiming that Miss Miley Cyrus, previously known as the squeaky clean Hannah Montana, was "pole dancing" at the Teen Choice Awards this last year. I, for one, didn't believe it and looked up the video myself. I found there was a pole, and there was dancing, but there wasn't the promiscuous, suggestive, acrobatic type of movement, ridiculously high heels, or near-nude clothing usually associated with "pole dancing," or at least the concept that I'm aware of...

Ok, so I justified these accusations against her, sort of in a silent defense that she would still be a wholesome and fun performing artist. I thought everyone was just trying to make Miley out to be another Disney-Good-Girl-Gone-Bad (Britney, Lindsay, Vanessa, Ashley and maybe even Hilary). I hoped (and I keep hoping) that Miley isn't trying to get more attention and viewers with the use of sex appeal and over-used pop beats and rhythms.

Back in August of '08, I wrote the first media review for this blog and it happened to be for Miley's first album, "Breakout," that wasn't associated with the "Hannah Montana" name. The following was my initial thought about the album.

My overall thought about "Breakout," is that it is a great debut album for her break-away from the "Hannah Montana" name. While most of her songs have the same upbeat peppy nature that Hannah performs there are a few songs that shows a different side that most Hannah-fans are not used to and a side that the older teenagers and young adults can better appreciate.

So, really, I thought this was a good place for Miley to be, various ages for fans and the songs are good, uplifting and soul-searching. I suppose though... it wasn't enough to be on TV, be a multi-platnum performing artist under the age of 18, AND be in a good few movies. Again, I suppose that I cannot stop anyone from changing or growing up... it's just hard for me to see something so good, fun and happy go to something that is associated with anger, selfishness, immodesty, etc. Take a look at these stills that I selected from her new song. They are taken from the new music video, featured by Vevo, as well was the premiere on network television on Dancing with the Stars.

So, as you can see, from these stills alone, Miss Miley Cyrus seems to be heading in a different direction, one that I know will bring her financial success and fame. My question for you is this, is it right? Is it going to bring her true happiness? Is it going to be what the majority of what viewers and listeners want?

My Thought...
Nest/Wings/Outfit: I am thinking that the nest/cage is a metaphor for either Hannah or Home and that the wings are a metaphor for her desire to break free from her essential prison and her outfit is supposed to show some sort of maturity(?), but yet wild nature due to the use of animal-like costumes.

By the way, you may find some of the following links interesting in addition to the ones above:

Can't Be Tamed Lyrics
What The Buck?! (first minute)
Clever TV Promo for Premiere
Clever TV Results from Premiere

What are YOUR thoughts?

Let me know peeps!

Blogging Later
~Holly Elizabeth
AKA
~~Holls~~

Background Love

2010-04-11T18:12:00.003-07:00

So, first what I want you to do is take a look at the picture. Think about it, how it makes you feel, what it stirs within you, if anything.

Now that you have done that, if you would, I want you to comment and let me know what it was that you felt.

I created this image for a reason. In a few days time I hope to come back to let you know why I did it, but first, let me know what you think.

At This Moment

2010-03-16T06:27:00.007-07:00

~*~

And what did you think I would say at this moment?

When I'm faced with the knowledge that you just don't love me

Did you think I would curse you or say things to hurt you?

'Cause you just don't love me no more

Did you think I could hate you or raise my hands to you?

Oh come on, you know me too well

And how could I hurt you when, darlin', I love you

And you know I would never hurt you, no, no, no

~*~

I'd fall down on my knees, kiss the ground that you walk on

If I could just hold you, if I could just hold you

I would fall don, down on my knees, oh God, please

Let me hold you, let me hold you again

The preceding stanzas are selections from Michael Buble's latest album, Crazy Love, from a song called, At This Moment.

So, I have put off posting this simply because admitting the fact that still sort of hurt makes it seem to hurt all that much more. It is honestly fascinating to me to think that even when I care about someone so deeply, on a level I have never felt before and I can share the sweetest moments with a young man but it isn't enough, or I am not enough, or something...

I realize now, that if he couldn't see the value of being with me then he must not be worth being sad about, right? I mean, we never officially dated, but it seemed like it was going to go that direction and I thought things were different this time. I guess it's just hard to see someone I care about choose to not care about me in the way I thought he did and then I see the person he chooses to care about through social networks like Facebook and I wonder, what makes her better? But I can't think that way, can I? Ah, enough babbling and ranting.

My thanks goes out to my best girls who support me, (you know who you are) and the collection of varying comfort-songs that get me through the day when the day gets going!

Any advice for me?

*sigh*

~Holls

Rainy Days and Girl's Nights!

2010-03-14T19:35:00.012-07:00

My Bestie, Christine C. (pictured from Dec '09)

The past few days have been quite cold, and unusually so since it is mid-March. Why is it that there is snow in March in UTAH?! What ever happened to spring rain, spring warmth, spring color? I don't like the snow and the wind and the cold!!! Regardless of my dislike of the current weather, I was still able to have a good time with my friends and family this weekend.

So, Friday night, I spent the chilly evening with one of my besties, Christine C. As you may have read in my post about my Dad, she is such an amazing friend. I love her to death!!! (And more!) I made dinner for her and her family, simple yet delicious, Mac & Cheese with Bacon, Shreded Tillamook Cheddar Cheese and a bit of Onion.

We then headed to the institute to dance the night away and give our legs a good work-out. By the time we were done, both of us had sore legs! We stayed up late that night (probably later than we should have) and we watched The Guardian while eating giant chocolate-covered strawberries and drinking our favorite sodas (Diet Coke for me and Dr. Pepper for Christine). Then as the movie got more intense Christine ended up reassuring me that everything was going to be ok and I also found out that she has a good arm to clutch when afraid!

On Saturday, in the morning we got up and I made breakfast for me and Christine (since we got up a bit late the boys had already eaten), we had Bacon, Eggs (with cheese and onion) and Toast with home-made jelly. It was soooo yummy! After that, we headed to Wal-Mart to do some shots with Emma and Jeremiah for the video I am making for my digital media class. It isn't done yet, but it will be!!! Below is a clip from the various shots that I took, be on the lookout for the final project soon!

What I am trying to show is...

how quality Tillamook Cheese brings people together,

take a look!

Let me know what you think about this shot.

After the filming was over, we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch and I had to head home. I took the long ride on the bus from Utah County to Salt Lake County and then took TRAX home. After mom picked me up from the station, we headed home to the beading party. There were snacks to be had, drinks to sip and necklaces to be made.

Below are the things that I worked on.

Part of a Choker made of Hemp, using the Square Knot

The entirety of the necklace and earrings I made. The Dragonfly charm lifts up to show the blue underneath and it says "Live life to the fullest." The blue earrings say "Hope" on them. I anchored on the little swirlies and the dragonfly charm using jump rings.

As we all worked we helped each other with our projects, while listening to Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr., Carrie Underwood and the Hairspray Soundtrack. Mom and Chrissy had already finished a few necklaces before I got home, but while I was there mom made a couple of pretty button necklaces and Chrissy put final touches on some unfinished projects such as a watch, she also did some repair work, such as fixing my New Moon Necklace, and she made a cool China-themed necklace too!!!

What would be a girls night with the family without Tippy's crazy antics? She ran around the room like she was high on cat-nip and she tried attacking the strings of my hemp, thinking possibly that she was trying to help, and then as she finally calmed down, she laid out flat on her back and looked at us lazily. Silly cat! I love you!

Tippy on her back...

Today, at church it was pretty interesting, the Relief Society lesson was about the Creation. Sacrament meeting was exciting, it was for the two missionaries that are leaving soon, Brother Tholke, who is leaving for Argentina and Brother Littlewood, who is leaving for Connecticut. Also, I managed to discover something during Sacrament, when trying to catch a couple's kid from running out of sacrament, it would be wise (especially if you are already klutzy) to not dash after him while wearing heals. It may result in a twisted ankle, hurt knee and damaged pride. Meetings aside however, it was the cover of the program for Sacrament that caught my attention, there was a scripture quoted there, and it read...

Behold, my arms of mercy are extended toward you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.

~3 Nephi 9:14

Also, since my mom serves in the Library, she makes tons of copies for people in the ward, so I happened to see the program for tonight's Standards Night, which struck me as weird, because I don't have to go anymore... Anyhow the scripture that is quoted for the theme this year is "Be Strong and of Good Courage."

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

~Joshua 1:9

This scripture really struck me, and I really hope that I can remember it in days to come.

Well, this weekend was a great weekend and I really wish that I could skip the next two days and just go straight to Spring Break... I am really looking forward to it. There is some stuff going on with the Epilepsy Association of Utah this week, and then Chrissy and I are taking another adventure to Vegas on Friday, now that I can actually DO the "fun" stuff there! LOL JK.

Be on the lookout for another post!

Always

~Holls

A Philosophical Question: How Can God Allow Evil to Exist?

2010-03-08T14:15:00.004-07:00

So, for a class paper in my Philosophy 1000 class, we had the choice to write about one of four things. I chose to write about solving the problem of evil through theodicy. My essay is as follows:

__________________________

Does God Consider Our Souls with the Existence of Evil?

Does He Even Exist?

Does the existence of Evil (suffering) in the world give us good reason to think that God does not exist? Any answer you give to this question must consider both Soul Making and Free Will theodicies.

Many make take the position that God does not exist because of one thing, the existence of Evil (suffering). Many wonder how an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good being could allow the humans to experience such pain and sorrow due to Evil being present in their lives, when He has the capability to prevent Evil from being present, or at least decrease the amount of Evil one must experience through their life. This is a justifiably understandable viewpoint and if it weren’t for the certain Christian religious beliefs, this viewpoint would not even be questioned and it would be deemed true – God cannot exist because of the existence of Evil. Religious beliefs aside however, it is a point to be proven through the theodicies of Soul Making and Free Will, that God does exist. The first theodicy to be addressed in regards to proving God’s existence is Soul Making.

What is the theodicy of Soul Making? The idea of Soul Making as a theodicy is the thought that the reason why humans must endure the pains and sorrows of Evil is because such a trial builds us up, makes us stronger, better people characteristically, spiritually, mentally and sometimes physically as well. So it could be said that without the existence of Evil, our persona, our soul, our entire being, wouldn’t be as strong as it could be without the trials and hardships that Evil presents us with. The idea of Soul Making proving that God exists is similar (on a smaller scale) to that of good parenting.

Sober notes that any good parent allows their child to experience some hard times because it allows them to build their character and to learn a lesson which may not be fully understood if the parent shielded their child from every adverse thing they may encounter. This is analogical to prove that God exists. God allows Evil to exist, he allows us to endure painful trials so that we can develop more fully than if everything we ever needed was essentially “handed to us on a platter.” God, like a good parent, wants to see his creations, his children, grow and develop in more than just physically but a morally, and characteristically as well. Soul Making is just a part of proving why God exists and allows Evil to exist. The second and greater part of this proof is the theodicy of Free Will.

The theodicy of Free Will is basically the idea that Evil exists because God allows his children to make the choice to do good or to do evil. Relating back to Christian religious beliefs, most believe that humans are created in God’s image, therefore, we, like God have the ability to choose what we do in life. It so happens however, that everything that God did was good. The problem with Evil occurs when more humans choose to do Evil than good and it is supposedly from a majority of people choosing to do Evil. What needs to be changed is the realization that choosing to do good does not inhibit what one is able to do, it allows one to be happy and it allows more good to exist in the world than Evil. Another thing about God allowing his children to make the choice between good and evil allows us to understand what “good” and “evil” really is, because really, we wouldn’t know what good is without knowing evil; we wouldn’t know what evil is without knowing good.

In review, it is arguable in spite of the existence of Evil that God does exist because of the thodicies of Soul Making and Free Will. Soul Building as the idea of building one’s character through the trials and tribulations of the evils we encounter, and Free Will as the idea of being able to choose good from evil and more people seem to choose evil over good. These are the theodicies as to why Evil exists and as to why God exists still as an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-good being.

__________________________

So, that's all I have for you, it's my view without really incorporating my religious beliefs. It was difficult to write without the bias of my belief. But, I think that the firmness of my belief and because of my testimony, this was easier to write with a persuasive, authoritative sense.

Daddy

2010-02-02T10:31:00.001-07:00

You will find, at times, I tend to refer to my sister's blog for information that she and I share. I figure that if she has already posted it, there isn't a real need for it to be posted again since those of you who read this can just click on the link to and read the info I would have posted myself if I had thought to post it before her.

So, with that little tidbit in mind, my post begins. Admittedly, these past two months (to be exact) have been tough. I have found that weekends seem to be the rougher of times since weekends were the times when I was able to see my dad the most.

See, two days before my twenty-first birthday, on December 2, 2009, my father unexpectedly died. I hadn't been home much those few days before his

death since I was at the end of the semester, so I stayed late to study and Clarinet sectionals ran late into the evening on Tuesdays. So, Tuesday night, when I got home, my dad was asleep. Mom said that he thought he had a cold or something that is easily gotten over. We all thought that he'd drink his Mount Olympus water, and Tropicana orange juice, (he was particular about his brands) take some meds and feel better in a few days.

I remember that Wednesday well, I remember being in bed and hearing my mom talk to dad before she left that morning. His responses were a bit different in the sense that he seemingly kept falling asleep, or so I assumed when I heard her wake him up repeatedly to talk about whether or not he needed to go to the doctor.

They had decided it was best to go to a clinic and figure out what was wrong. Mom went early to school to make plans for a substitute and returned back home to take Dad to the doctor. When they were headed out to the car, dad lost his balance and fell on the back porch. Mom called the paramedics to help get him up and make sure that he was ok, after falling on cement. He seemed ok and the paramedics helped him get into the car so he and mom could go to the doctor.

Without warning, Dad went into cardiac arrest and after life-saving attempts from the paramedics and a hospital trip, he had passed away from this life into the next.

I remember, it a few minutes before the hour and I had just come out of Private Lessons for Clarinet with Matt, taken my instrument and music upstairs to the storage room, and come back down to head for Anthropology. I had seen the text from my mom to call her when I could. So, as I headed down from GT 5 to GT 3, I called her.

She explained what had happened, I remember feeling completely and totally numb. Unable to comprehend what she had just said to me. Well, Dad wouldn't have wanted me to miss school and cry all day over him so I continued with my classes. I was hard, admittedly, but it kept me focused and sane.

I had stopped to sit while I talked with her on the phone on GT 3 and then realized that I had to make it over to the other side of campus within a couple minutes to make it to my next class, so briskly I walked from GT 3 down to GT B, over to WB 1, through the Hall of Flags, past the Science building, through the PE concourse, PE 1, and down to the garden level of the LA building.

After class, I briefly saw my close friend Christine Cottle, a hug from her was all I needed at that moment, and I was, for the most part, able to get through the day. She is such an amazing and caring friend.

Another hug that was so good to get was from my bestest and most favorite sister ever, Christine! Mom and Chrissi came down to campus while I was on break so I could cry my tears and just be with them for a bit. Hugs are amazing it was good to get a hug from my sister too.

I remember walking around campus, feeling totally and completely numb, sort of unaware of what was going on around me. Then Liz called me, just wanting to make sure that people on my street were ok since she had heard there were paramedics by my house. I remember how it felt to tell her the news, as if saying it solidified it as an unmistakable truth. Liz is so amazing though, she has really been there for me, more as a friend than the woman who was my YW President or as one of the women in the RS Presidency. I love her and her family so much, they keep me smiling. I honestly don't know what I would have done without Liz on the day when I felt so awful with my Kidney infection. Argh! I love you Liz! *HUGS!

A part of American Sign Language is using your face to help get your message across, using emotion and expression. So, it isn't surprising that most friends in my classes saw that there was something wrong. My friends were so good to me, so supportive and caring, especially my

classmates in my Tolkien class,

(yes a class about JRR Tolkien) where everybody was each other's friend including Professor Fullmer. Without being creepy or weird, I have to say that I love Professor Fullmer, he is probably the most kind, influential and understanding professor I have ever had. I lovehis classes. He excused me from class work and even class for the rest of the semester, but I don't know what I would have done without my Tolkien buddies to get me through the rest of the semester.

~*~

I remember going to the mall with mom and Chrissi to go shopping for a new dress for the funeral. I remember looking through the hangers of dresses while mom and sis were over in another part of the store and I thought to myself, "I never thought, at 21, I would be

searching for a dress to wear to my father's funeral." I remember calling my bestie, Breelyn,

wishing that she were there with me searching for the dress because she always knew best about what looked good on me, she always did a fine job of dressing me up. I remember wishing that she could have been around that weekend, but because of school, she was down south and I was here. I knew she wanted to be with me, just as much as I wish she could be been with me and it's ok. Just that knowledge that she wanted to be there for was enough and I just had to get through to the end of the semester so I could see her again.

On December 7th, 2009 which, in back in 1988, is also the day that I was adopted into the family, we held a funeral for my father.

We displayed pictures of him from his youth back in the 50s and 60s to the time of his mission, to when he graduated with his masters from the U of U, his wedding day, the day I became legally a part of the family, trip pics, and his most recent and my most favorite picture of him and his beloved on the 4th of July 2009 after a day at the movies where we saw Harry Potter 6 and the new Star Trek.

At the funeral, I spoke, reading his obituary (as written by Chrissi) and, with as much composure as possible, giving my thoughts for and about him; Shane Liedtke spoke reminiscing some of Dad's best qualities; and Brother Dave Fair spoke, reminding us of what Dad stood for, and the example he set for all of us.

I was overwhelmed by the number of people who came. And all of the different people who came! Our family dentist came, people from his old job and the union came, people from our old ward of over 10 years ago came and even the Mayor came! (Given of course, that the Mayor is a family friend through Grandma Ferrin)

~*~

Well, we made it through Christmas, sticking with the traditions and creating a few new ones, New Years was good, spent with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins, it was also Christine Cottle's birthday that night so we celebrated that too. We celebrated my mom's birthday (as well as mine) by going to Wendover on the "Fun Bus" to play our Five bucks and see what we could win. Dad had meant to take us all to Wendover after the end of the semester for my 21st birthday, we figured he would still want us to go.

My grades came out to be A's and B's for my classes and I know that my Daddy would have been proud of me for that.

January has been rough with the start of school and then with me getting sick with that Kidney Infection. But it has gotten a bit better. This past Friday was good, we saw "When In Rome," which I will have to give my review of later. Saturday was a great day, seriously a girls-day-out, we spent the first part of the day in Utah County, first at my school so I could finish an assignment, then to Barnes and Noble to look for books, then to the Fabric Mill to inhale that fresh fabric scent and then to the un-passable In-N-Out Burger, then we spent the later part of the day in Davis County, seeing "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at WXHS, then heading to see Chrissi's bestie, and then to Ben Franklin's Crafts and finally to a great dinner at Chili's. Dad paid for dinner, so to speak... he had this deal with Visa where he'd get gift cards after spending so much on the credit card and we figured we had better use them. I had steak and shrimp for dinner and as Chrissi pointed out, dad would ALWAYS say the same thing when he ordered his steak, when the waitress would ask how he'd want it cooked, he'd say, "Well-done, I want that sucker dead." and then he would raise his eyebrows and widen his eyes at the waitress to make sure she understood that there was to be no red, no pink, no sign of life in that piece of meat.

Heavens I miss that man... But I know that he's with me still, I know that I will see him again and I know that he is my Father Forever.

I love you Daddy

If No One Will Listen

2010-01-24T09:41:00.002-07:00

Can One Artist Answer ALL of These Questions?

I saw this on my sister's blog (a loooong time ago). Looked fun, so here you go!

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title.

Your Artist: Kelly Clarkson

Are you male or female: Miss Independent
Describe yourself: Ready
How do you feel about yourself: You Thought Wrong
Describe where you currently live: Impossible
The first thing you think of when you wake up: Be Still
If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Where Is Your Heart
Your favorite form of transportation: Just Missed The Train
Your best friend is: Already Gone
Your favorite color is: Behind These Hazel Eyes
What’s the weather like: Sober
If your life were a TV show, what would it be called: What's Up Lonely
What is life to you: My Life Would Suck Without You
What is the best advice you have to give: Don't Let Me Stop You
If you could change your name, what would it be: Whyyawannabringmedown (that was just for giggles)
Your favorite food is: All I Ever Wanted
How I would like to die: Save You
My soul’s present condition: Beautiful Disaster
The faults I can bear: Haunted
How would you describe your love life: The Trouble With Love Is
What are you going to post this as: If No One Will Listen

Life, As It Stands

2010-01-23T19:33:00.004-07:00

So... where to begin?

It has been over six months since my last blog entry. My reasons for not posting? It may have to do with the lack of readers/comments in my previous posts, it may have been the demanding schedule on my time.

It may have been the fact that I am just... (fill in the blank)

I found myself looking at other's blogs and either wishing they would update theirs, like some of my college friends) or marveling at how some people manage to find the time to blog daily (thank you KalebNation). With those observations in mind, I began musing about what I could do about it, this one person who really... wait, who even reads this again...? Yeah, well to those of you who do, I hope this makes some sort of dent in your day.

As I re-read that past informal paragraph I note that there seems to be a twinge of complaining to it. Lets get back on point here.

First, I want to say that I think some of the cause for my lack of blogging is due to my involvement with Facebook. I mean, status updates alone are like a long journal of informal blogging, are they not? Now, am I blaming Facebook? Not at all! I blame myself for neglecting my poor blog - I've missed it here, the feeling that I get when I type what I want to say without any list of demands as to what my topic should be or how many words long it must have.

I tell myself that I will go back and cover all that has been missed from my last post, but even if that does happen, it won't be to the extent that I want. So, if I manage to muster out an update about what has been going on in life, help me celebrate this feat by commenting. 'Please' and 'Thank You' are included.

My next intention is to go over some stuff that has happened in my life since my last post and then I intend to do some sort of media review(s).

What would YOU like to see? Movies? Music? Books? Gossip Articles?

Some thoughts I've had is doing a review on

Thoughts on the humanitarian aid given towards the disaster in Haiti vs. towards those of Hurricane Katrina.
Ke$a's "Tik Tok"
Taylor Swift as a general topic, and the new movie she is featured in "Valentine's Day"
The the new movie called "Runnaway" featuring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning. (I will probably go into a rant about New Moon as well since they were both in it)
New movies I would like to see and why
A general review of Lady GaGa
"The Princess and the Frog"
Adam Lambert
La Roux
Slaughter
Push Play
Muse
Owl City

Well, I will be on to my next post, updating about life and the ups and downs of it. Check back soon for more!

Peace,

~Holly

Viva Las Vegas Baby, Part II - ish...

2009-06-16T17:55:00.008-07:00

Some of the other things that Chrissi and I did were, going to the Coca Cola and M&M stores, doing some serious exploration of the Strip, and shopping for good little trickets and such. We made sure to stop at the Bellagio's beautiful fountain where Danny and the boys (Ocean's 11) stood and marveled at how beautiful the spring of sychronized spouting water was.

Places like the Coca Cola and M&M stores, were amazing, with so much stuff, T-shirts, socks, PJ pants, watches, jewelry, pins, shoes, flip-flops, you name it! I bought a necklace from the Coca Cola store that was made out of the old glass bottles. Chrissy and I saw a 3D show at the M&M store (which has like umpteen levels of M&M stuff, I might add) and it was a'mmmmazing!

Coca Cola Store -

Awesome!

Chrissy, her Coca Cola goods and the classic Coca Cola Bottle!!!

Red and I

Me and the M&M Nascar

Another show that we saw while in Vegs was "Race to Witch Mountain," which was perfect for the trip since the storyline was set in Las Vegas (among other parts of Nevada). We decided to see that since we didn't want to blow all of our money on a Vegas show, however, it just amazes me how just going a few miles south and all of a sudden movie and popcorn prices are through the roof! "Race to Witch Mountain," was a lot better than Chrissi and I ever thought it would be and I would highly reccomend it.

Something else I would reccomend is getting the "Duce" Pass, for only a small reasonable fee, you can ride the Duce up and down the strip, get on at Caesars Palace and get off at the MGM Grand, or not, the choice is yours!

Supposedly a Hard Rock Cafe is being built on the Strip of Vegas, which would be really cool! The one that me and my family used to go to went out of business... from lack of business I suppose. I plan on eating there the next time I am in Vegas! Rock on!

I think that about sums it up as far as the final part of Las Vegas goes, if you would like to see more, or at least on a different perspective, check out my sister's blog about Vegas.

Viva Las Vegas Baby!

2009-04-09T07:43:00.012-07:00

Alrighty then, so this post has been delayed... I am so sorry for my lateness. So on March 20-22, I spent my Spring Break weekend in Las Vegas with my cool sister, Chrissy! We left early on Friday to head to Salt Lake International to get a flight. Chris got a good deal on the tickets through T-mobile so we figured, why not fly?

Upon arrival, we checked into the Excalibur hotel and proceeded to walk almost all of the Las Vegas strip. It was amazing to see everything... each casino/hotel was distinctly different, like different worlds or planets. I made the observation that it's probably that way so that there is at least one hotel/casino that is appealing to any one person who is in Vegas, and honestly, after seeing Ocean's 11, who could go wrong with the Mirage, Bellagio, and MGM Grand? (Those are all Terry Benedict's) I guess that Excalibur was appealing to me... it's a freakin' castle! I loved it.

Excalibur features a show called "Tournament of Kings," which is similar to Medieval Times California (for all of you WX Spring Break trippers!), you are served yummy food, you eat without utensils, you watch the tournament while rooting for your king, which includes, joust, javelin, hand-to-hand combat, and lets not forget the creepy dragon king!

Norway's Flag

Dinner... Yum-O!

Me and Prince Christian!

We had zesty tomato soup, our own little chicken, broccoli, baked potato wedges, and a desert. Our king was the king of Norway, but I was able to meet Prince Christian, who ended up being the "winner," and I think we may have had a moment. I would have taken more pictures of the tournament, but flash photography is distracting to the horses and the performers. Oh, another cool thing about the tournament was that there was bit of amazing acrobatics/gymnastics that was done by a small woman and it was all through two guys holding up a board and she did her thing that way... Amazing!

Well, this is the end of what I have for the first part of my report about Vegas, be on the lookout for Part 2!

New Poem

2009-03-23T19:13:00.002-07:00

Hey readers, this is going to be a short post, I PROMISE that I will get another post up here ASAP about my fun time in Vegas. Until then, let me direct you to my latest work of creative writing.

Enjoy!
~Holls

Life in 2009, Where to Begin?

2009-03-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Gung Hay Fat Choy, Happy Martin Luther King Day, and Happy Valentine's Day everybody!!! I can't believe that I haven't posted something really juicy since before Thanksgiving... I figured that I should post something before it gets to be St. Patrick's day or else I would have to add that to my list of days to be celebrated that I missed. Well, to do a quick catch up I would like to direct you to my sister's blog which covers a little bit of what I missed.

Premiere of Twilight
Utes beat BYU!
My 20th Birthday!
MoTab in SLC
Chinese New Year
New Member of the Family

So, life in 2009, where to begin?

To say the least of 2009, it has been eventful...

So, as of this current semester I have made a few new friends at school, one of my friends, she and I pretty much became best friends when we met each other. Her name is Jen and I love her so much, she is such a sweet girl and she really sees the best in people, she sees past the outer appearance and sees your inner beauty. Now, while she sees people's inner beauty, she does know how to make people look pretty. She did my hair for the February Institute Date Dance and I personally think that I looked awesome! You know, it's interesting, to look at us, you might wonder what made us be such close friends, but the truth of the matter is that we are pretty much "kindred spirits." The picture on the left is from her facebook profile picture folder, but I love this picture of her. She is even sweet to God's smallest creatures! Jen, I love you hon! Thanks for being there for me!

There are a couple of people who I have really gotten to know better, even though I've known them since last semester. First there's Josh.

I've known him for a while, but since we started taking a dance class together we have really gotten to know each other a lot better. He is such a sweet guy, he is really good about reading me and my moods. He knows when to give hugs and he knows when to back off. Josh and I are pretty much like brother and sister now. I don't know what I would do without him! He really knows how to make me laugh. Oh and did I mention that he is a great dancer? I think I've had the most fun doing the Cha Cha with him, and then he taught me a bit of Latin dance as well. Thanks "Joshy Washy" you are pretty much awesome!
The picture at the right is at the Dance Lab this last week where my class competed in Triple Swing. Josh wasn't my dance partner, but he danced one of the general dances with me that night and he gave me one of his sweet hugs.

Next there is sweet Stacy.

Stacy is probably one of the bubbliest, funniest, and sweetest girls that I know. She has a pure heart and mind, she is a marvelous example to everyone that she knows and interacts with and she is always good for a laugh. In fact, I think that it is her laugh that makes us all laugh. If something is really funny to her, she will snort. I love her little snorts, they always get a giggle and a smile out of me. Stacy is the Cha Cha Queen, and if you ever need someone to critique your Cha Cha, she would be happy to practice with you and teach you some sweet Cuban action - ow ow! Stacy and I have had some really good times at breakfast and at Institute dances. The picture on the left is on the main level of the new Library, where Stacy spends a lot of her time doing Math and Biology.

Last, but not least, there is Mark.

I don't think I could pin a time down in my mind when we started to be really good friends. I think that me and Mark have always been rather good friends and I suppose that if you want me to pick a specific time that we started to be closer friends I guess it would be when we started taking dance class with him. It was actually his idea that I take dance with him and Heather and Josh. He is an exceptional dancer, especially at bronze level. I am sure that he could easily dance at silver level with no problem and that he could be a gold dancer with just a bit of work. I think what I like most about his dancing is that he is such a good leader. I tend to not mess up as much when I dance with him. I've known Mark since my first semester of college and he was the one who taught me how to play pool. He was my band-tour-buddy last year when I didn't know very many people. He is basically like a big brother to me, always there for me. The picture on the above right is of us after the Cha Cha competition back in February. We didn't place but we sure had a good time! Thanks Mark!

Well, even if there have been many rough patches so far in 2009, they have been a bit easier because I have really good friends. Where would I be without them?! I love you all you guys!

Happy Adoption-Day to Me!

2008-12-07T11:40:00.003-07:00

So, my 20th birthday was three days ago, on December 4th, and since it was a school night and I didn't get home until like 10ish since it was a game night I didn't really have time to blog on my birthday, but my sister did! She wrote a lovely post and it made me so happy! Click here to view it. So, if the 4th was my birthday, then why are we celebrating today? Well, it is because, today is the day that I was adopted into the Ferrin Family! Yes, well this is a very short post, but I am still celebrating none-the-less :D If you want to know more about all of this just comment.

What Twilight Character Are You?

2008-11-20T20:30:00.003-07:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

I have taken a quiz on Facebook about a similar topic, it gave me the result as Esme, but I am liking this result a little bit better.

Remembrances

2008-11-14T09:47:00.003-07:00

So this week seemed to be a week of remembrance, first there was the national holiday on November 11, to celebrate and remember veterans who gave their lives for our country, veterans who served and live today and those who are currently serving. I had the marvelous opportunity to go to a veterans day concert that was held at the Huntsman Center, it featured the 23rd National Guard Army Band and various high school madrigal choirs from Granite School District. Alex Boye was a guest performer on the program.

I really liked going to the concert. The patriotic nature was stirring and it took me back to the days of Girls State in my Junior year of high school. The soloists, both vocal and instrumental were fabulous - my favorite would have to have been the clarinet soloist... she hit octaves that I didn't even know could be played on the clarinet! My friend, Mark, is a trombone player in the Army Band and I told him that he needed to set me up with the soloist so I could get some tips from her on how to improve my skills and abilities (and man, in comparison to her, I really need some improvement!!!). There was one part of the concert where all of the songs for each area of the armed forces were played and we were supposed to stand for which armed force(s) represented our family members. Both of my grandfathers were in the armed forces, but the thing that made it sort of sad for me was the fact that I didn't know them at all, at least not in this lifetime.

I know that there was more that I wanted to say for this post, but that's all I've got for my brain power for right now.

PTYL

~Holls

Letter to Santa

2008-11-09T20:26:00.007-07:00

November 1, is the first day that Christmas songs play on play on FM 100, with all of that Christmas swirling around I've begun to think about things I'd like Santa to bring me this year as well as things for my birthday, since it is in the same month. I am posting this letter here, because at this point I am sure that Santa is online, and I'd bet that it makes the whole list-thing go a lot faster.

Dear Santa,

This is Holly, remember me? I've been trying my very best to be a good girl this year and I just want to let you know that anyone who tells you any different is lying! Just be aware Santa, that I am using this same list for my birthday so I suppose you might have to watch to see which presents I get. There are a few that may be hard to come by, I suppose that as the world's children get older, the things that they ask for get harder for the little elves to make. Well, with that being said, Santa, here is the list.

Movies I'd like:

“Kung Fu Panda”
“Made of Honor”
“No Reservations”

Movies I'd like to See:

see “The Prince of Egypt”
“Pirates of the Great Salt Lake” (?)
see “Eagle Eye” – Dollar Theatre or Redbox is good
see “Twilight” in Theatres ☺

Music I'd Like:

“Made of Honor” Soundtrack or select songs
“Pirates of the Caribbean” 3 soundtrack
“Don’t Forget” Demi Lovato
“The Open Door” Evanescence
“Spirit” Leona Lewis
“Fearless” Taylor Swift
Select David Cook tracks (if available?)
Select Brooke White tracks (if available?)
Select Sara Barilles tracks
Select Maroon 5 tracks
Select Linkin Park tracks

Gift Cards I Like:

iTunes Gift Card
Megaplex gift card/package
Old Navy Gift Card
Target Gift Card
ShopKo Gift Card
Fabric Center Gift Certificate

Music Stuff:

Clarinet Cleaning from Riverton Music
New Synthetic Ligere Reed size 2.0-2.5
New Vandoren Cane Reed size 2.5-3.0
D-String for Guitar

Makeover… one or more of the following:

Manicure
Pedicure
Massage
Make-up that works for me and my face!
Herbal Essences Curly(or body…whatever special type…) Shampoo & Conditioner
Anything from Bath and Body Works

Various-ness:

The Slice (scrap-booking thing)
Orville Buttered Microwave Popcorn
A Brick of Tillamook Cheddar Cheese
A Bar of Hershey’s Chocolate
Anything from Claires or Icing
Twilight T-Shirt from twilightguy.com
New Heavy Duty Walking Sketchers
Jewelry Cleaning for my rings
ASL CTR Ring
A Date
A Boyfriend
Lunch with a friend
Money

Well, I think that about covers it, Santa. Thanks so much for taking the time to read it!

**NOTE: This letter is just for fun, but the wishes are true.

Anyway, this was just to get back into the Christmas Spirit and revert back to the thought process of a child. Make comments, ask questions, and please make your own list and letter for Santa!

Socicology - "the Study of the Obvious"

2008-09-22T15:45:00.004-07:00

Ok, so I've been to a little over 10 classes thus far and I am finding that I am having a hard time with the class in general. Now, my intention isn't to bash on my professor or his teaching methods. I just thought that I would highlight some of the things that I liked, some of the things that I found interesting.

My professor says that sociology is really "the study of the obvious," rather than "the study of society." It may be the obvious, but some of the things that I have thought while in class are pretty profound. And by the way, what is the true definition of society? He uses that word a lot.

August 27, 2008

Never accept something as pure truth at face value, take time to consider and question it.
We are who we are because of how and where we live and because of who we live with.
We are taught how to think in different ways - it depends on the environment we live in.

August 29, 2008

To find out what ideas mean, find applications for them.
Rather than accepting something as a pure truth, discuss different ideas in abstract perspectives to see all the possibilities behind the statement. Consider authority and power, how and why someone has it and if they are really right.
Do we conform?

How do we conform?
Why do we conform?
When do we conform?

Why are you in college?

What do you gain for it?

How do morals, ethics and values fit into sociology?
Things that we respect and things we ought to respect are very different.

Why do we respect and attract the things we do?

September 3, 2008

How does being born into different societies effect who you are, what you do, and what you accomplish?
How do you find a balance between conformity vs. unique identity?
We are all the products of circumstances of which we come.

September 5, 2008

The situations in which we live, shape our ways of being/thinking.

Think about these things, tell me what you think...

~Holls

Bueno Y Malo

2008-09-15T18:17:00.004-07:00

Hey There Collegiate Readers!

So, I have had some interesting experiences these past few days...

~*~

Last Friday was really a pretty good day. The devotional that I attended was very good. The speaker was Jack Christiansen, he is a alumni of the staff at the Orem Institute of Religion. I really enjoyed his talk. It was on kindness and doing the right thing because it is right. Let's not forget the munch and mingle that occurs after each devotional - they always serve something good!

I played a few rounds of pool to end up the school-week and then just hung out with the people in the game room. By the time closing time came, I hadn't returned the pool equipment to the main office yet, so one of the secretaries came to get it. At that point, I remembered that I needed to pick up my UVU Plus card from the office since you have to trade your ID for the equipment. Well, to my dismay, my ID was no where to be found and the thought that it might be in the hands of someone dishonest and irresponsible was shocking and horrifying. So that in and of itself really sort of ruined the weekend for me and my family just with the worry of it all.

So, instead of risking the loss of money to someone who may have picked up my card I called up the 24 hour line to the bank that is linked with the card and I froze my account.

Thankfully, and luckily, I checked my e-mail and found that a young lady named Amy had sent me a message on Facebook that said that she had my ID card and to call her at the number she gave me. I checked out what I could see of Amy's profile and she was in the Provo network and that she was married so I guessed that she either attended institute on campus or at least went to the young married socials at the institute that happen in the evening. She said that she found it late on Friday night.

So, obviously, excited with anticipation I called her up once it was 8:00 am, today, and asked for details on where and when I could get my card back. We set up a time and place and I met here there and she had it! I was so thankful to her for that! At least some kind and honest people still exist in this world.

~*~

Saturday was a pretty good day, I got up early and went to work at the Fabric Center. I usually don't work there very often; I was just subbing for another clerk. It was so good to be back at the place I love to be and to help people with their sewing projects. Best of all, I was able to work with Marilyn and Allyson, I think I have had some of my best times working with them. It was really good to see Allyson again. I love that girl, she is probably the sweetest girl that I know and a lot of times I just want to hug her!

~*~

Sunday was a pretty good day, there weren't very many kids in nursery and there seemed to be more adults than kids. I think it was a hard day for a few of them. I went to YSA, which was good and interesting. I like to go to YSA because it gives me an opportunity to go to Sunday School since I am in nursery during the time that the adults go to Sunday School. I am not complaining about that, don't get me wrong, but it is also nice to be able to see people my age who I don't see very often anymore.

~*~

Today was a pretty good day. ASL seems to be going pretty well, my professor seems to see that I am trying very hard in class. The same goes for my Ethics and Values professor. Both classes are small and I don't mind speaking up in those classes.

However, I must say that I found my Sociology professor to be very annoying today. He talked about many things, about how society shapes the expectations of what comes with differing roles and status' that are established just with living within society.

The thing that bothered me though was the fact that he was justifying that society sees it as OK to not pay women the same wage as men. His reasoning behind it was that women are not as commited to their jobs because they have to work in the home as well, be mothers and homemakers and housewives and are more likely to quit their jobs and work as a mom. While I understand the reasoning behind it, I still think it is wrong. Even if the majority of women in Utah Valley do want to be housewives, that is no reason to pay them less than the men. Women are doing the exact things that men do in the workplace. Most working women that I know are very commited to their jobs and it seems like the only way for women to get ahead romancing their way to it. I think that too many times, women who are committed and work hard don't recieve the merit that they deserve. I honestly think it's a bunch of B.S. that women still get paid less than men ! My professor stated the fact that 33% or one third of all women in America are the bread-winners of the family. With that being said, how are women supposed to support their family and keep up a household when she has to work more hours to compensate for the lack of pay?

My professor went on to say that men that are in positions of power and management are respected when they are assertive and authoritative. However, he went on to say that women who are in positions of power and management are not as respected, he went as far to say that they are bit**es. That made me so mad! He made it seem like it was OK to see women of power that way. It is not OK! I don't appreciate what he said. However, I do realize that he may have been saying that to just get us thinking and to get a rise out of us. Even so, I still don't appreciate it!

~*~

Anyway, thanks for reading the vent about my Sociology professor. Please comment! Let me know what you think about my past few days that have been "bueno y malo."

Gracias!
_l^^l

Blogging later,
~Holly Elizabeth
AKA
~~Holls

Fun & Inexpensive Dating Ideas

2008-09-10T14:09:00.003-07:00

So, in my institute class - Dating & Courtship (AKA Date & Mate) - we discussed fun & inexpensive dating ideas. My friend Brittany and I came up with a list of possible dates that are fun but don't eat a hole in your pocket. Here is the list that we made.

1. Dinner making and movie (fav veggis)
2. Childhood dinner favorites
3. Game night
4. Scavenger hunt
5. Church dance
6. Pet washing
7. Study date
8. Special smoothie (fav fruits)
9. Musical Chairs (fav music)
10. Cloud Watching
11. Star Gazing
12. Teach each other a new skill
13. Walking
14. Coloring
15. Face Painting

What are some of your thoughts? Do you have some fun experiences? What would you like to do if you could choose?

By the way, if you want to know more about any of my ideas, just ask about it (them) in a comment.

Lemme know what you think!

Blogging Later,
~Holly Elizabeth
AKA
~~Holls

What Color Rose is My Love Represented by?

2008-09-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

Your Love is Represented by a Orange Rose

When you're in love, you tend to be overwhelmed and consumed by desire.

You develop fascinations with people easily, and they're sometimes even borderline obsessions!

You tend to come on strong. Your love is as hot as a flame.

What Rose Represents Your Love?

"Writings" Update

2008-09-02T11:20:00.003-07:00

For those of you who are readers of my "Writings" blog I have written a poem recently. Go and check it out at http://fairygirlscreativewriting.blogspot.com/

If you would like to be added to the list of people who receive updates about my "Writings" blog, just let me know!

A Sunday Still Unstained by Homework

2008-08-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well, this week has been... interesting... I will give you the quick recap.

Monday

Work

Tuesday

Helped Mom at WX

Ate Breakfast with Briahna and Kaylee

New Epileptologist Appointment

Psycho Phlebotomist

Talked with U of U student on TRAX
Hung Out with Jeff M.

Ate at Litza's Pizza

Shared music on our MacBooks

Wednesday

Helped Mom at WX
Took Frontrunner/TRAX/UTA Bus to Campus
Found my classes

ASL Level 3

Philosophy

Shakespeare

Sociology

Symphonic Band

Explored the new Library
Saw Joe...
Bought my books
Signed up for Institute

Dating and Courtship

Friday Devotionals

Thursday

Hung Out With Breelyn

Breakfast at Johanna's Restaurant

Saw Mama Mia at Jordan Commons

Work

Friday

Work
Shopping at Dad's Work (Caterpilliar [CAT])
Shopping at Wal-Mart

New Shirt
Tink Bag
Purple iHome
School Supplies
Jewelry

Saturday

Wrote the most of my talk
Work
Finsihed writing talk

Sunday

Nursery Calling
Gave Report on Hill Cumorah Pageant Experience in Sacrament
Went to YSA Class

Pretty much all I have been doing today is exactly what I want... I have been able to surf the internet and just listen to music and enjoy the day. This is probably the last week that I will have a weekend, let alone a Sunday that I won't have to do homework. I am hoping though, that I won't have to do homework on Sunday. I start school this Wednesday and I am pretty excited about it.

I've sort of had a lot on my mind lately, stuff pertaining to work, school, and my new epileptologist. I won't be working nearly as much now that school is starting. It is a good thing that I won't be working because I get so tired so easily but at the same time, I am going to miss the people that I work with and I am going to miss the fabric...

I don't know what to think about my new epileptologist... she seems nice, and kind, but I am really sort of nervous about the whole thing... I have some new perscriptions that I am going to start in a month...

There is so much more I want to tell you right now, but my mind really isn't working too well with me...

TTYL
~Holly Elizabeth

What Is The Part of You That No One Sees?

2008-08-24T15:06:00.003-07:00

You are lively, dramatic, and flamboyant.

You have an outrageous personality...

And you secretly resent anyone who makes you tone it down.

Underneath it all, you are driven by your need for attention and acceptance.

You need to feel special at all times.

You are secretly jealous and occasionally insecure.

What's the Part of You That No One Sees?

This was the outcome of the test that I took on Blogthings.com, I would have to say that, for the most part this is true. Some of it I don't think applies to me. However, I think that some of my closest friends would already most of this know this about me. What do you think about my outcome? Do you agree? Take the test and post it on your blog!

Weekly Highlights - Tuesday

2008-08-19T17:06:00.001-07:00

Weekly Highlights

Well, among other things that have happened this week, I thought I would talk about some of the good things that went on. Let’s see, I’d have to say that within the last seven days my first highlight would have to be last Friday. I had made plans with Briahna to go to her house and have a get-together with some friends from high school before we all headed back to college. I got my stuff together, including some snacks to share with the gang.

I went to the TRAX station that was closest to my house and I got on to make the journey to Salt Lake. It took about 45-50 minutes on the train, but I passed the time by listening to my “Purple Pixie” iPod Shuffle. I absolutely love listening to music while I am on the train or bus. It let’s me be in a different time and place, away from anything that bothers me. Not to mention that I can sound-out the din of anything or anybody that is making noises that I don’t want to hear. So there I sat just enjoying the ride.

Once I was in Salt Lake, I went to the platform where the Frontrunner boards passengers. I had to get my ticket first because my Ed-pass doesn’t currently cover the cost of Frontrunner. I had never been on Frontrunner before. It is a rather recent addition to UTA. It is a really nice commuter train; it has nice large seats and plenty of leg-room. There are two levels to the train so more passengers can fit. I haven’t had a chance to see the view from the upper level but I think that it would be a really neat experience.

The Frontrunner is very smooth, it doesn’t sway and it isn’t a bumpy ride. It only took me about 15 minutes to get to Woods Cross, where Briahna picked me up.

Once in the car with Briahna, we talked and chatted about how our lives were now and what our plans were for the fall. We talked about the young men that we knew who were on their missions or getting ready to go on their missions.

Getting to hang out with my friends from Woods Cross and the general North Salt Lake area is pretty important to me. It is really hard for me to see them since I live about 25 miles away from there and the cost of gas is just obnoxious. Not to mention the fact that I don’t have a car. ☺

I arrived at Briahna’s house and her mom was kind enough to let me have some of their dinner, since I hadn’t eaten. Actually I hadn’t thought about it much before I left from home. So, I had Spaghetti with “Farmer John” cheese, a slice of toast and something that I had never thought to have with Spaghetti before - Peeled and sliced cucumbers! I never would have thought that it would be such a refreshing side for marinara pasta! I think it is sort of a way to refresh your taste buds after tasting the pinches and scoops of onion, tomato, basil, and garlic. I will definitely consider adding cucumbers to my next dish of Spaghetti; thanks to Briahna’s family!

After waiting for a little while for people to show up, we chatted and talked until we decided that we should get down to business in the sense of watching a movie. We watched something that most of us hadn’t seen before. It is one of Kiera Knightly’s first big movies, The Princess of Thieves. It was a very good movie, it was thrilling, it was suspenseful, there was a little bit of romance but it was a clean flick! I will do a Media Review on it if I get a chance to watch it again. This worked for everyone there too, since there was only one guy, we didn't really want to subject him to chick-flicks, even though he is practically immune to them by now.

We watched the movie, at popcorn, M&M's, Chex Mix and had drinks. It was really fun to see a few friends from school. Especially Briahna and Kaylee. I saw BJ, Stephanie and her little sister, Rachel, (BJ was the guy I mentioned earlier.) BJ and Steph are so cute together, you can just tell how much they care about each other and how close they are to each other. I am happy for them, that they are lucky enough to have found each other... Steph and BJ graduated a year ahead of me and Briahna but we still knew them pretty well.

It just boggles me that I didn't know Briahna until the end of our Junior year. When you see us together and if you were to listen to our conversations you wouldn't think that we had only known each other for a little over 2 years. We have sure had some times to bond. I can think of a few, such as NHS and the music trips to Cali.

After the movie was over, BJ, Steph, and Rachel headed home but me and Briahna stayed up to watch 27 Dresses in her room, on her laptop. Katherine Heigl was the star of the show, and I liked her so much better in this movie, as compared to the role that she plays in Grey's Anatomy...

And may I just say that James Marsden does a spectacular job in this movie? He just seems to play himself... he isn't Cyclops, he isn't Corny Collins and he isn't Prince Edward. *Sigh* I think that with a few word edits here and there that 27 Dresses would be a spectacular movie!

Even after the movie was over, Briahna and I stayed up, having girl-talk. We probably got to bed around 2 am only to wake around 7:45 am and have yummy French Toast. Again, I give my thanks to Briahna's mother for a scrumptious breakfast!

After breakfast it was home to change and off to work. But I hope that I can definately see my High School friends again soon - and more of them too!!!

Well, that's all for right now,
Blogging Later,
~Holly Elizabeth
AKA
~~Holls

Media Review I

2008-08-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

July Release - Miley Cyrus - Breakout

So, now and then I like to do media reviews on the latest stuff that I have seen, read, or listened to. I did a few of them in my other blog (The Formal Operational Stage of Life) and I thought that these summer releases would be a great place to start.

After Chrissi and I were released from the Hill Cumorah Pageant we were on the road again. We watched Disney Channel and the Food Network most nights that we stayed in hotels. As many of you know, when you watch Disney Channel, there are mini-music-videos (they are less than 2 minutes) that promote the latest Disney Channel Pop-Star.

How many of you have seen Miley's 7 Things music video? Can I see a raise of hands? Well, Chrissi and I had only ever seen it on those nights that we watched Disney Channel, and the video was very weird for someone who had never seen the whole thing because, if you are familiar with the song, Miley goes through the 7 things that she hates about her guy and then the 7 things that she loves about her guy.

Well, it shows her and a few other girls and how sad they are from how their guys hurt them and then it breaks to the verse where Miley sings about the 7 things that she loves about her guy... Needless to say, we found that rather confusing because Miley and the other girls are supposed to be sad... but then they sing about how they love their guy...? So, on one of the nights that we stayed at a hotel that had WiFi, I looked up her 7 Things music video on YouTube. Again, needless to say, it cleared things up for us, it was most helpful to see the whole thing.

Christine and I decided that they shortened the video for one or two reasons, the first being more obvious but the second reason is a real possibility. The first reason would be for just keeping the time in commercials and in between shows to be not too long, or so they could fit more promotional things in there too. The second reason, we thought, might have been because the younger Hannah/Miley fans' parents probably don't want their children hearing about how their pre-teen popstar idol sings about hating someone. A big no-no! *wink wink*

Now you know the story about how I came acoss Miley's album, now it's time for the review. Here is the list of her songs on her newest album, Breakout.

Breakout
7 Things
The Driveway
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Full Circle
Fly on the Wall
Bottom of the Ocean
Wake Up America
These Four Walls
Simple Song
Goodbye
See You Again (Rock Mafia Remix)

Holly Elizabeth's Rating: 3 and a Half Stars

My overall thought about Breakout, is that it is a great debut album for her break-away from the Hannah Montana name. While most of her songs have the same upbeat peppy nature that Hannah performs there are a few songs that shows a different side that most Hannah-fans are not used to and a side that the older teenagers and young adults can better appreciate.

When I first listened to the first song on the album, Breakout, I was reminded of a song that was on her previous album Hannah Montana 2, many Hannah fans would know it, it's called We Got The Party. Both songs are basically about partying and breaking out of the norm of everyday life. I would put Breakout as a song that is geared more toward the younger fans.

Miley's hit single, as was mentioned above, 7 Things, I think reminds me of a sort of Avril Lavigne-ish nature or attitude with the whole "seven things I hate about you" thing. However, on a different side, the audible acoustic guitar, and southern drawl reminds me of Carrie Underwood. Either way, it is a great song for when you are mad at your guy. It exhibits adequate passion, confusion, and frustration for the inexperienced dater. I would say that 7 Things was meant for the older fans, but it still sort of goes toward the pre-teen fans.

One of the songs that is different from her usual peppy beat would be track 3's The Driveway. It is definitely meant more for the older fans. It took me a few times to figure it out, but my interpretation of the song is that she tries for so long to make her relationship with her guy work but it just isn't working and so then one night when he is driving her home they break it off and she watches him leave her driveway, knowing that she won't see him again. This is a song that I favor a bit more, but the thing that I wonder is that if you really think about Miley's age, and then think about the nature of the song, how much relationship experience could she really have had? And if she has had her share of relationship experience do you really think that is alright for someone her age to be in such a relationship?

I'd have to say that the best song on the album would have to be the fourth song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Miley and her co-writers did a really nice job on covering this song. I absolutely love the upbeat tempo and how there is a forte of strings. It was the perfect mix of nostalgia, classic rock and pop.

Full Circle, now that's a name of a song that makes you wonder, what could that song be about? Well, I still haven't figured it out yet, I think it's about how Miley always goes back to the guy who she is most comfortable with. Please, listen to it and then comment my blog and explain it to me!

Don't YOU wish that YOU could be a Fly On The Wall? Ok, what other song does this remind you of? It's a guy who sings this other song, he came up second in one of the seasons of American Idol, comment who it is that sings about flies on walls and I will reward you. Besides the fact that flies on walls has already been covered in the area of pop music I would have to say, that, in a weird way, this sixth song is by far one of my most favorite from this album. I think what I like most is that the above mentioned male singer sings about longing to be a fly on the wall, while Miley is singing about how she KNOWS that her guy wishes that he could be a fly on her wall. It's just ironic... I think though, as far as fans go, I think that the younger fans will like the beat, but the older fans will appreciate the irony and the nature of the song.

It's on the Bottom of the Ocean and towards the bottom of my rating list. This song is a great one, if you are in the right mood. It is definitely slower and it just... Well to be honest about it, if I have lost the love of someone that I loved then I probably don't want to be more depressed I probably want to listen to something that helps me vent my anger and frustration. If I become depressed and uncaring at all... that is a scary thing to see... So, it is a good song, it isn't bad, it's just not my thing. I think that this was meant for the older fans and I think it is those fans who will appreciate it most as well.

The next song, Wake Up America, has a great message, but it just doesn't cut it for my liking... I think that today's pop stars are trying to gain a little bit more attention by letting the world know that they are a part of the plan to "Go Green." I understand why it's so important to "go green" and I will do my small part, but it seems like such a politically charged issue and as with most politics, I don't like hearing about it or having to think too hard about it. Call me a "blond" or whatever, but politics just aren't my thing, just as the seventh song on Miley's album just isn't my thing either.

These Four Walls, doesn't get four stars from me. Ok, this is another, "not my thing" sort of song. It is a good song, if you are in the mood to listen to it. I believe that this was written to be for the older fans. I would, however, love to know your opinion about These Four Walls, because I know it is a good song. What do you think about it?

To take a break from the reading of my review take a look at the music video for 7 Things, as mentioned above.

You know, sometimes you get to listening to music and there is so much going on within it that you don't understand it, sometimes that's how life is too - you get to much going on around you and within you that you get lost and confused. That is what the tenth song in the album says to me when I listen to it. It's called Simple Song, and I think that the title fits nicely. I think that for the younger fans, they might like the song, but I think that the older fans will like and appreciate it more. This is one falls into my top five of the album. Where does it fall for you?

The second-to-last song, Goodbye, is also in my top five with Simple Song. This song has more acoustic music such as guitar and strings such as violin and has more of a country feel. I love the sound of the song, I love the lyrics. But the nature of the song causes me to again wonder how much real relationship experience young Miley could have had thus far in her life. This song I'd say is meant for the older fans and I think it is those fans who will like it and appreciate it.

Last but definitely not least is the twelfth song that is well known at dances/stomps (at least the ones I go to) and it's called See You Again (Rock Mafia Remix). This song is most definitely in my top five. I really love good remixes - they are fantabulous! The thing that I like the most about this one is that Christine likes it and when we listen to it in her car she makes me laugh when she lip-syncs along and then I just have to join in. We have had some good times listening to See You Again, both the original and the remix.

Top Five Songs
(In Order of Appearance)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (4)
Fly On The Wall (6)
Simple Song (10)
Goodbye (11)
See You Again (Rock Mafia Remix) (12)

Well, this has been the first Media Review of a College Student, I hope you enjoyed it. Please comment any answers to my questions within the blog and your thoughts about my post.

Blogging Later,
Always,
~Holly Elizabeth
AKA
~~Holls

Things Remembered

2008-08-13T12:19:00.001-07:00

Here are the directions:
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog, like I did after I saw my sister's blog, and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Wonderful Week!

2008-08-10T18:05:00.007-07:00

Well, today is Sunday, I have been home from my trip for 11 days now - not even two weeks yet and it seems that Post-Pageant-Depression is settling in. No worries though, that is just another way of saying that I miss being at the Hill, I miss being with the people at the Pageant and I miss the feeling that I had while I was there.

I am pretty sure that I can try my best to keep that feeling with me, even here at home, but it isn't quite the same. I will liken it unto the feeling that you would have at Christmas-time... Do you know the phrase, "Keep Christmas with you, all through the year?" Well, that's what it's like, you can try and keep that feeling with you all the rest of your life but it isn't the same as being there, or it isn't the same as it actually being Christmas. If anything at all, I am going to have to try and keep it alive at least until Sunday, Auugust 24th, Brother Fair asked my sister and I to speak in Sacrament meeting on that day and tell about our experience at the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I will make it my goal to try and have a post or two about the Pageant up by that time.

In other news, I had a pretty good week, I worked everyday this week except for Wednesday and, of course, Sunday. I read the new book, Breaking Dawn, starting on last Sunday through Tuesday, (Look for another post on Media Reviews) I hung out with my friend Jaynee, and we watched The Village. I've been watching the Beijing Summer Olympics, which has been good too. The only thing that wasn't so great about this week is that Allyson, one of my co-workers at work, has been pretty much gone this week.

Allyson is the Drum Major at WJHS and therefore must be at the practices that they have. Therefore she wasn't at work, which was sad for me because I love working with her, and because her not being there made me the default folder, which added more work for me at the store, even on slow nights...

I think it was Friday night that I didn't get out of there until after 10:00pm, which is unusual for me since we close at 9:00pm and are out of the store by twenty after. Anyway, on the happier side of things, Wednesday was one of my better days this week.

I started out around 10, going to run errands with my Aunt JoAnne, we headed first to Office Max for some colored paper, since the Library at Church was in dire need of colored paper for the new copy machine. The paper was easy to find, but you couldn't help but get sucked in looking at all of the different things for school and all of the pens! I know I am weird, but that's what scrapbooking does to you, just seeing all of the different possibilities of what different pens can do and their different colors and designs. I don't know why, but colors and designs intrigue me in any form, not just pens, another form is shoes!

After making our purchases at Office Max (mine being a couple of little notebooks and the new Sharpie pens) we headed down a couple of stores of the Family Center Strip-Mall and went into Famous Footwear. JoAnne said that she needed some new shoes for her new job at the local elementary school. It took a lot of self control to not try on shoes for myself and then buy them. Instead of trying and buying for myself, I channeled my "shoe-energy" to helping JoAnne find some cute shoes. And why buy just one pair when it is BOGO? (I know that is a Payless thing, but Famous does it too) So my task was to help her find those kinds of shoes that are easy to slip on, but stay on nicely too - generally the kind that have a bit of elastic in the tongue of the shoe.

After a bit of looking and trying on of shoes, JoAnne ended up getting some nice white Sketchers with little gems on them and she also bought some RocketDog shoes that were multi-colored, mostly in the colors of brown, blue, pink and purple. They are so very cute!!! I wished that I could have bought some for myself, but I remembered that I stopped at the Sketchers store in Park City on my way home from Pageant and that I still owe Chrissi a bit of money...

After I put our spoils in the trunk of JoAnne's beautiful green Pontiac, we headed over to Chili's and had some lunch there. I was reminded of the first time that I had gone to Chili's, which was the only other time I had been to Chili's before this last Wednesday. I had gone before with Julie C. before we had gone to the Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer Tour, concert. I remembered that I had the Big-Mouth Bites, which are the epitome of what I love on a burger and that Julie had a Chicken Ranch Sandwhich. So I suggested that JoAnne have the Big-Mouth Bites and I had the Chicken Ranch Sanwhich... Oh my heavens! It was absolutely delicious!!! I am not a huge fan of spice, but this was just right! Oh, and I will say, on behalf of Chili's that their Cherry Cokes are Fan-Tabulous!!! I downed three of those they are so good. Usually I don't get past one and half drinks let alone two! After lunch, we made a stop at Wal-Mart just to look around and I picked up some stuff for my mom. My self control to spend money on frivoless things nearly broke, if it hadn't have been for JoAnne. They had so many Tinkerbell things and so many shiny things! All for a low price - ha ha

After my close call at Wal-Mart, we headed home and I got JoAnne's stuff in her house and took my stuff home to drop it off. Afterwards, I headed over to Jaynee's house to just hang out, we watched The Village, painted our nails, and ate Twizzlers and Popcorn. It was good to finally see The Village, because Jaynee always talkes about the character, Ivy Walker and one of the guys in the movie, Joquain Pheonix - who is a very handsome man. *wink wink* It was a nice change too, I am forever watching chick flicks or action flicks with cute guys in them, but this was a thriller flick that had suspense, the right amount of romance between a modest young man and woman and suspenceful action! The Village kept me on "the egde of my seat" except for I was on my stomach on the floor with my chin in my hands and my feet waving back and forth. I love hanging out with Jaynee. I can totally be myself when I am with her. I think she is one of my truest most loyal friends and one of the few friends that has been friends with me for more than 3 or 4 years.

So, by 5:00 pm on Wednesday I was home and I was in store for an interesting night. I went with Chrissi to the Library and checked out some new books, texted a lot that evening after dinner. Then I went outside to help do yard work. I took my phone with me, since I knew that friends would be texting me from conversations that were still going and also because I needed a reason to be distracted from yard work - it isn't my most favorite thing in the world. Anyway, I was really glad that I brought my phone out with me because by 7:00 a guy from college texted me.

I met this guy during my first semester of college, I saw him pretty much everyday through my second semester, but I never really got to talk to him - he was just one of those people who you say "Hi, how ya doin'?" to everyday and then move on with life.

Back in June, I went with Jaynee and Marcie to an Institute dance on campus and I saw him there, we danced a couple of dances together and then fast danced with his group of friends. I got his number at the end of the dance and we texted a few times in June, but obviously nothing in July, and then out of the blue, I got a text from him last Wednesday. By 9:15 pm we had texted here and there, until finally he said something that just made me think, "what?!" and so I called him and we chatted until after 11:00pm during which time he asked me out for a date this week! Keep an eye out for more to find out how the date went. Anyway, he came by to see me on Thursday night to tell me a bit about his business and it was good stuff to learn about. I got a hug and a half out of it so that's a good sign (I think).

On Friday, I have got to tell you that I made the absolute best breakfast for myself that I have ever had in a long time. I will share the ingrediants with you...

Quarter Green Pepper chopped to desired sizes
2 and 1/2 tablespoons of Pico De Gallo
Pinch of Onion Powder
Pinch of Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
Three Medium Eggs Scrambled with Vegetables and Seasoning in small bowl
Pour in frying pan
Let it begin to cook
Add and let melt...

Grated Cheddar Cheese to desired amount

One slice of Provolone Cheese Torn into desired sizes

Cook until desired firmness is reached
Enjoy!

Saturday was the last day of Harvest Days but I had to work... so instead, my mom and sister went to the park to see what the little booths had to offer. They were nice enough to buy me a pair of purple earrings, and a pearl ring with a purple bead with it - my favorite!!! After work ended I went to a YSA Activity/Birthday Party at Lizzy's house, played Eygptian Rat Screw, had a quick bite, and headed home to meet Chrssi, Mom, and JoAnne to go see Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband for free at the park! It was so freakin' awesome to see them! I never get tired of seeing Ryan and his band live. Their music is fantabulous and I really hope that more people give it a chance. They are all so full of energy and their music is down to earth and not punked up. It rained off and on during the performance, but it was nothing compared to the rain back east! The rain ended for a bit and then it was time for the fireworks that signified the end of Harvest Days and another year of being Midvale City. During the fireworks, it began to rain again, and I wrote the following poem in response to what I felt while I watched, heard, and felt it.

Firedrops

The sky lit up,
brilliant with color.

It seemed, as if,
human memory
or photography
could ever allow
justice to be served
to that dazzling sight

Volumes of sound
shook the atmosphere
around us
and reverberated
off walls of houses
behind us

It seemed, as if,
it was causing
an internal earthquake
for my ribs,
but excitedly so.

Suddenly,
It seemed, as if,
the sparks
and charred ends
of the bursting light
were falling to the ground
in a frenzy.

The night was warm.
The drops
made the air hazy.

But I was not sodden
for the leafy shelter
kept it from my face
making the night more
ominous

The gleaming blasts
would not be frustrated
So dangerous, so beautiful…
Kept silent and peaceful
until provoked and tempted
to explode into their beauty,
if only for a moment

The drops amongst the fire
only made everything so much more…

I hope you got through my post without falling asleep, and I hope you liked my poem. Please comment! I would love to hear what you have to say, and answer any questions I can. Here is my question for you tonight.

Is there someone who just makes you smile? Who? What can you do to let them know that?

Also, I am going to try and post at least one picture from my Vaction on the rest of my posts so you will get to see a lot of them.
Here is tonights...

This is the last church historical site that we visited before we got home. There is a replica of the Jail housed inside of the visitors center, it is inside of the domed part of the building that you see on the right side. I really enjoyed what I learned there and what I felt there. It was a true testiment to faith and endurance on the part of Joseph Smith and the others who were with him. Enjoy the pic! Ask questions! Comment!

Lots of Love,
Posting Later,
~Holls

There's No Place Like Home

2008-07-31T23:34:00.003-07:00

Hey there to those of you who read my blog! I hope you all are having a fantabulous first day of August! That just seems weird to me that today is the first day of August. I suppose that July passed so fast for me because Christine and I were having such a good time on our Roadtrip.

Well, the last two days at Washington DC were great, we went on a tour of the Capitol with one of Jim Matheson's representatives in DC - his name was Chuck. I can't help but giggle at the name, but that's not the point of my post, so I'll move on. After the fantastic tour of the Capitol we went to the White-House visitors center and learned more about the ins and outs of where the President lives and what he does while he lives there. (That was deep, I know!) We made the trek to the war monuments after visiting the White-House visitor's center. Every monument was so different, but so beautifully unique. I think my favorite was the WWII monument - it is basically a fountain and the symmetry that was used for such a large monument was amazing!

I realize that there is probably more to be said, but that's all I've got for ya right now...

PTYL

~Holls

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's... Su-per Grover!

2008-07-21T21:27:00.004-07:00

Roadtrip - After Pageant – Destination: Washington DC

So, the pageant is over… and as the wig-ladies say, “Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad it happened!” I had an absolutely ‘wonderful-marvelous’ time at the Hill. Unfortunately, however, I didn’t have a whole bunch of time to get to blog my experience but I will update that part ASAP. In the meantime you are welcome to read my sister’s blog, which has great pics of us at the pageant, and right now, I am going to post about today’s events.

This morning we got up early at the Red Carpet Inn in Canandaigua, New York. Luckily for us, we had taken the time to pack up our stuff so all we had to do was shower up and ship out! We grabbed a bite at the local Micky-Ds and headed to the Rochester airport. It was today that I realized that it has been seven years since I was last on a plane. That was summer of 2001 – before 9-11 – There is no lie about how security has changed since then. I will admit, however, that the wait for security wasn’t bad at all since we had an early flight and there wasn’t very many people in the terminal. We had to take any of the liquids/gels out of our suitcases, I had to take out my laptop and we both had to take off our shoes. That was just weird… being shoe-less in an airport…
Because of the increased security it is pretty much mandatory that you arrive at the terminal two hours before your flight departs. Well, since we got through security fairly fast and since it wasn’t too hard to find our departing gate we had a little less than an hour and a half to wait for our plane. The sheer irony of this whole thing is that our flight was only 45 minutes long! My sister figured though, that it would have been a day driving to Washington D.C., so when you calculate the time gained and the things that we were able to do today it all worked out in the end.

But now, back to the flight, oh my goodness! The plane was small, it had about 16 rows of seats (Chrissy and I figured) and each row had four seats and the rows were divided by a small aisle. That my friends, is how I got the aisle seat and how Chrissy got the window seat. So, because it was a smaller plane, the norm of having two carry-on pieces is different. We actually had to give them one piece of our luggage so they could put it in the belly of the plane – there wasn’t enough room on-board. Another thing about the plane being smaller was that it was a bit bumpier in the air than a bigger plane, that was the only thing that I didn’t like about the smaller plane. I didn’t mind them taking my other bag. OK, so the next thing about flying in this plane was that when we arrived we didn’t get out in the terminal. We got out on the Tarmac!!! Ever since I’ve seen the old version of “Parent Trap” I have wanted to get off of a plane on the Tarmac. So there we stood, not five yards away from the wings of the plane!

On the Tarmac, waiting for my luggage right by the plane!

Once we had gotten into the building we walked to the other side of the building (not far at all) and literally walked onto a shuttle from the building… it pulled right up to the building, like a truck would at a loading dock. Have you seen a loading dock before? If you have you know the height of it and I think that these docks for the shuttles were pretty high too – that was evident to me when I looked out the window as we pulled away from the building – the wheels on these things were HUGE! Ok, ok, they weren’t as big as the wheels on the machines at Kennecott Copper Mines but they were significantly bigger than any care tire.
So we were speeding across the Tarmac on this shuttle to get to the main terminal. Once there we confirmed out tickets for the “Super Shuttle” from Dulles to Washington D.C. and within another hour we arrived at the Holiday Inn Capitol. This hotel is literally within walking distance of the Capitol, the White-House, the Washington Monument, and several Smithsonian museums as well as many other tourist hot spots.

As soon as we had checked in to our room we headed to the Air and Space Museum. There were so many cool things there! There were things that some of the earlier astronauts took with them up in space was very interesting… to see how their food was packaged, what they used for breathing, what safety equipment they had the tools they used to collect space stuff… back in the developing days of space-travel. Now everything is so different, but yet in a way, it isn’t… Does that make any sense? Another thing that I really liked was seeing this presentation about flight – it was meant for kids, but there were ‘kids’ of all ages watching. The young (probably college age) presenter explained the four characteristics of flight. Honestly, I can say that a lot of what he talked about was applicable to my physics class. I am such a nerd… There were artifacts and displays of the beginnings of flight as well as artifacts and displays of space-crafts and many neat hands-on learning centers so that the laws of flight, gravity and space could be better understood. I’ve gotta say that the display of presenter was asking the kids questions, sort of in a rhetorical sense, because I think he knew that a lot of kids were kinda intimidated, and I wanted to raise my hand and answer them, but it wasn’t my place to do so… The questions weren’t meant for young adults.

A NASA space aircraft

Ahh! I don't wanna get sucked in!

Planes - Dude!

And you thought I was short before!

After we went to the Air and Space Museum we headed to an expo that was going on at a part of the Smithsonian – Jim Henson’s Fantastic World! It was a really neat thing to go to. Not only were their displays that had the Muppet and Sesame Puppets but there were commercial reels and sketches that got Jim started in the TV industry. There were story boards of some of the things you see on Sesame street as well as sketches of what some of the main characters looked like originally. For example, Oscar, the Grouch was sketched as being purple, but in Season 1 of Sesame Street, Oscar was orange. If you have seen Sesame Street at any time in the last several years you would know that Oscar is neither Purple or Orange but he is Green! Did you know that that Elmo’s World has been on Sesame street for the past ten years? It aired beginning in 1998, I was 9 at that time and it is still going strong today! Here is a quote from the expo,

"As children, we all live in a world of imagination, of fantasy, and for some of us that world of make-believe continues into adulthood."

Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures inside the gallery, but it’s understandable for preservation purposes. However, I did take this picture of Christine at the entrance of the gallery.

After we finished at Jim Henson’s Fantastic World! we headed for the Washington Monument, but unfortunately we arrived there after the tours ended so we couldn’t go up inside of it, but we were satisfied just being within yards of the monument.

One view of the Washington Monument, we took so many pictures of that thing!

Finally, to finish up our first day in D.C. we headed to the National Museum of Natural History where we spent about an hour in the display area for stones and gems.

Topaz: My birthstone. There was an entire case of large chunks of Topaz, here are a few that I really liked. If you need any ideas for a birthday present, here's one! *wink wink*

A HUGE chunk of Quartz that we could touch

Christine, touching some lava-rock

After a long day of going up and down the National Mall, we headed back to the hotel and ordered an extra cheesy pizza from room service - ah it was delightful!

Well, that was a long post, and I need to turn in for tonight.
Blogging later,
~Holls

Short but Sweet Update

2008-07-14T12:30:00.002-07:00

Well, today is the 11th of the 17 days that we are at the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I haven't had a whole lot of time to post updates because we really don't have a very good connection in the dorms and really, we don't have time once we get back from the Hill.

Our days start at 6:00 and we don't get back to Hobart/William Smith College until past midnight on performance nights.

Oh wow! My experience here has been absolutely marvelous!!! I tried out for a movement part, which is a part that does dances or is in battle and I was casted as a Nephite Battle Banner Carrier along with 11 other battle-women. The banners themselves are 25 tall and long pounds of metal and upholstery. I would venture a guess that the banners are probably twice my hight (which isn't too hard to be tall around me (hee hee)).

Well, my sis made a long post today on her blog and has a lot of pictures, go check it out! I will post when I can later.

Blogging later,

~Holls

Cherries in Cleaveland

2008-07-01T20:11:00.009-07:00

Roadtrip - Day Three - Destination: Kirtland

Well, today was basically a drive day, we crossed the Mississippi river, drove through Illinois, Indiana and now we are Kirtland, Ohio. There's not too much to talk about today, but I will post a few pics for ya!

Mississippi River

"The Land of Lincoln"

"Welcome to Indiana!"

It's a Coke truck! Let's raid it! Hee Hee

"...and Columbus is the capital of Ohio!"

This is my favorite pic for today, this is Cleaveland, Ohio and it is probably the best view of the city that we saw from the highway. Since I took the picture from inside the car I got a picture with the cherries that hang from the rear-view mirror!

Well, I know that this was short, but I've got to be getting to sleep!

Blogging Later,
~Holls

"Inedible, Not Intended For Human Food"

2008-06-30T21:48:00.007-07:00

Roadtrip - Day Two - Destination: Davenport

So, while on the road, sometimes you tend to see weird things but this was something that really made me wonder... "What is inside the hull that truck?" What do you think could be inside of it? We tried to get a glance of the company or any other information on the truck, but nothing was to be found! What are us common travelers supposed to think of trucks like that?! (If you get a chance, please comment and let me know what your ideas are of what could be inside!)

Well, it's a bit later tonight since I worked on organizing my photos some more and I just got the computer charged up. Today was a pretty good day, we had a lovely continental breakfast at the Howard Johnson in North Platte and then we drove for a long while.

One of our big stops today was in Nebraska, we stopped at the Mormon Trail Center - Winter Quarters, which was the headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for about two years. Sadly though, during the harsh winters about 600 of the Saints died there and are buried there. It was just really cool though to visit the center there, they have different displays of what the pioneers and people in the Willie-Martin Handcart company would have brought with them, they had a replica of what cabins at Winter Quarters were like and how much room they had. I think the thing that I found the most amazing was the reminder of how much faith the Saints had to leave what they knew as home to journey across a land they didn't know to a place they weren't sure where it was. Sister Hansen, the missionary who guided the tour for us, said that Faith, Hope and Charity were the things that kept people alive on the trail, at Winter Quarters and though their "Exodus." That really meant a lot to me because Faith, Hope, and Charity are the traits that are mentioned in my favorite scripture, Ether 12:28,

Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.

After touring at the visitors center and going to the cemetery where the 600 are buried my sister and I walked over to the Winter Quarters Temple which is a stone's throw away from the cemetery. Sometimes it still stuns me how beautiful the Lord's Temples and the Temple Grounds are and how tranquil it is there, even just on the grounds of the temple.

Well, tonight we are staying at the Baymont in Davenport, Iowa and there is a store/restaurant called the Cracker Barrel within walking distance away from the hotel and we got a bite to eat there - we both had breakfast for dinner, though it wasn't a big dinner since we had been snacking all day.

Well, I have some more stuff to do before I get to bed. I will update later!

Blogging Later,
~Holls

Sylvia Magellan (and other helpful guides)

2008-06-30T21:29:00.005-07:00

Let me introduce you to...
Sylvia Magellan!

Yup, this is Sylvia, she is our "Magellan Roadmate," she is great as a guide and is always willing to recalculate the route that you are on if you turn the wrong way. Chrissi and I found that she is great when we get to a division in the freeway or when we are getting off the freeway - basically, she makes sure that we get off at the right place and even sends a "ding dong" sound to let us know that we are going in the right direction.

We got to thinking that we should give our GPS a name since it has a voice - it's kinda weird to have a nameless voice talking and as we started thinking of names I thought of Sylvia and it just seemed to fit her voice.

We are using Sylvia in addition to our Roadmap, and the book called "The Next Exit," which is a marvelous book. Basically it is a listing of all the states, all the major highways and their exits. It is really nice because it tells you what is at every exit as far as food, gas, lodging, hospitals, parks and camping areas. It's really helpful if you are craving a certain type of food and you don't want to get on and off the freeway too many times.

Well, that's my bit on helpful guides while traveling...
Blogging later,
~Holls

Windless Windmills

2008-06-29T21:42:00.006-07:00

Roadtrip - Day One - Destination: North Platte

Well, the first day of the road-trip is coming to a close, it's 10:45 pm Nebraska time and I am just relaxing on a queen-sized bed givin' you the update while watching TV.

Today was a long day, we got up early and got some last minute things together and got out around 8:00 AM, we stopped at Little America and made sure to get our 50 cent ice cream cones. I think it's pretty amazing how there is just that little oasis of a spot just in the middle of nowhere. Little America seems to always be getting better. Last year they were doing construction between the gift-shop and restaurant and this year, we found that they added a playground to the Little America stop. I think it's great that they decided to invest in one, since many people - many families with small children stop there to take a stretch and get a bite to eat.

So, on our way to our one of our first stops we traveled through some hilly areas, and one area which seemed the optimum spot to harvest wind for power. It seemed obvious anyway since there was literally a field of windmills. The strange thing was that they weren't moving at all! My sister and I found that to be terribly ironic since it's supposed to be really windy up there but there was no wind at all! I took a picture as we were driving past the windmills and that's what they looked like - no movement at all!

One may wonder what in the world a passenger could do while in the car for around nine hours (The time from SLC, UT to North Platte, NE). Wanna know what I did while in the car? (I know you do!!!) So yes, there is the obvious option to sleep, which suits me fine since I get drowsy from the movement of the car anyway. However, one can only sleep so much in the car... and it's seriously murder on your neck if you are in the wrong position. So what else to do? Well we listened to CDs while we were still in Utah and once we got to Rawlins, Wyoming, we started listening to Fire of the Covenant by Gerald N. Lund on CD and I have been following along in the book. I felt skeptical at first about reading it, but so far it's pretty good. It is a fictional story based on the journey of two families from their native lands to America and to their final destination of Zion, (Utah). It is about the handcart company that got stuck in the winter and had some hard times on their journey. I am really enjoying this book, it's a great way to get in the mood for Pageant and just be reminded of things that are important to me - things that I value.

Well, I still have some things to do before I go to bed, I was thinking of doing some reading and maybe work on organizing my photos from last year. Oh yes, I am organizing my photos from last year while on the trip and I sorted them a bit before I started blogging, but I'll need to do some more organizing soon. Maybe that will wait until tomorrow, it's 11:15 PM Nebraska time and I should get to bed... the hard thing is that for me it's still 10:15 PM Utah time, so really this isn't my usual bedtime...

Ah well, I should sleep anyway it's going to be another long day of driving. We might be stopping at Winter Quarters tomorrow! That should be good.

That's all for my update
Posting later,
~Holls

Roadtrip (Again!)

2008-06-28T23:55:00.008-07:00

I am going on a roadtrip with my sister, Christine, to participate in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I will be at the Hill Cumorah, in Palmyra, New York, from July 4th until July 20th but since we are driving we are leaving on the 28th or 29th of June and we plan on being back by the 29th or 30th of July. Before and after the pageant I can use the internet, if we find hotels with WiFi and I will be able to post updates. During the pageant I can write postcards to anyone who wants to receive one. If you want me to write to you let me know. I will be posting the address where you can reach me from July 4th to July 20th (the last day you can send something is on July 15th and the first day is July 1st). I would really appreciate a letter from you while I am gone and I would be happy to write to you as well!!!

Hill Cumorah Website

Please note, that while I can receive text and voice messages on my cell phone, I may not be able to respond quickly during this time.

IF YOU WANT TO WRITE ME, you can reach me at the following address:

Holly E. Ferrin
The Hill Cumorah Pageant
P.O. Box 403
Palmyra, New York 14522

Please note that letters sent after July 15 run the risk of arriving after we leave the Hill Cumorah.

I'd love to hear from ya!
~Holls

Raised Eyebrow Interesting

2008-06-10T22:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, so how long has it been since I have posted anything? The last time I posted was in April and all of May went by without any word and we are now into the second week of June and here I am to say that I am back for a new post! *Accepts thunderous applause and bows*

Alrighty then, enough of the imaginary applauding, lets get to the good stuff shall we?

Sooooooo, where to start, where to start? Well, I guess I will start with an explanation for my absence away from my blog, which I know you all read so often! I think what happened was that after some interesting events and encounters with friends I no longer had the motivation to post anything for a while. I mean, what is the point of posting something if the people who read it are not going to read it? Case and point made, I will move on and away from that disappointing and depressing subject.

So it turns out that my grades are as good as I thought they would be;
ASL 2010 - A
ASL 2040 - A
ENGL 2010 - A
HLTH 1100 - A
MUSC 130R - A
PHYS 1010 - B

I think I did pretty good for myself!

Wow, I am way tired, I just realized, and I didn't cover nearly as much as I thought I would, so it will have to be procrastinated just a little bit longer readers!

End of Semester Happenings

2008-04-26T00:04:00.002-07:00

Well, to say the least... My last week as a freshman was interesting. I think I did well in most of my classes, I know I did well in English, Health, ASL Numbers, and intermediate ASL, the only class that I am slightly worried about it Physics, but I should at least get a B, I think...

I did a lot of talking with the Piano Man, Daniel, this week and he was simply amazing - I mean, he has the greatest advice and the kind of input that you'd think you'd hear from Yoda, only in a more modern tongue of speech and he is very tall and just a little bit more of a human than Yoda ever was... anyway... I realized this week what I was doing wrong and I have been working very hard to get the problem(s) fixed.

So lets see, what all do I want to say here???

I am not sure, but I think I'll come back later and post more...

Unwritten, Unafraid, & Untitled

2008-04-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, it is has been nearly two weeks since I have said a word here... that is kinda unusual. Well, today is Sunday and I think it is time for an update. I am sure that there might be question about what the title means, and really it is sort of my mood right now, and I didn't know what to call this post and there are so many things that I wish to address in this post but I don't think I have the time nor mental capacity to put all my thoughts out here. I think I will work from the most recent events and work backwards - I'll see how far I get.

This past week has been a roller coaster for me it was extremely stressful and it was exhausting. I'm still on the fritz with my close friends, and honestly, so much has happened since that argument that I am beginning to wonder why I let things get to me and why I let things get so out of control, because looking back at it, it was the dumbest thing to get mad about...

A couple of people whom I still consider friends, broke up this last week. I couldn't believe it when I heard it and I tried to tell the person who broke it off that he didn't have to do it the way he did and that his breaking up with her hurts not only her but the people around both him and her. I don't think I have ever been in a relationship with the level of seriousness that he had for her but I can only imagine how much it must have hurt. I wish that I could help them both and make it work but I think that it is too late for that - too late for me to be allowed to help and offer suggestions. In the words of OneRepublic "It's too late to apologize," which is an extremely hard thing for anyone to hear.

This last week I had a paper to write for English and unfortunately I had put it off a bit, I mean, I had done the research and I had gotten it started, but it was no where close to being done when I got going on it again. So I had induced stress that didn't need to be there along with the uncomfortable feeling of tenseness with my friends. My week was sleepless, I probably got a maximum of 4 hours of sleep in a night and a minimum of 3 hours of sleep. Even with all of what was going on this last week, lets add one more thing to the pile. The Deaf Studies Today Conference was going on all this week at UVU, it was an amazing conference, I only attended the days that had workshops and presenters, I missed the Deaf Artwork and Film Festival. I volunteered my time to helping some of the presenters but I was also able to go to workshops of my choice as well. Needless to say, my decision to cut out the caffeinated soda in my diet was ruined, I mean, I couldn't function through the day without a little jump-start to my day. I know that is terrible, but that is what comes of dating a guy for eight months who loves Mountain Dew.

More about the Deaf Conference, it was very enlightening to have those who are in the Deaf Community speak (or sign as the case may be) about what issues were prominent int today's Deaf Culture. There were 4 main things that I will sharply remember about the conference, and I will probably blog about them in detail at a later date.

The feature film The Wrong Game
Presentation by authoress Ella Mae Lentz about Deaf Studies
Discussion about the Importance of Interpreters in the Deaf Community
How Deaf people are represented in the Media

There is going to be a conference coming up this summer and it is going to be in Milwaukee and it is in late June. I hope that I can get my sister to deviate from our plans and make a side trip to Wisconsin.

Well, most of you know that I was gone for a bit on the band trip and it was better than I thought it would be. I mean when I heard that we were going to Durango, Colorado, I wasn't exactly stoked for it - I mean, I was glad to get away from school for a bit but I thought, "Colorado... woo-hoo... *moves index finger in circular motion with bored look on face* " But it actually was a good experience, it was interesting and fun and I got a chance to really get to know my fellow band-mates better. I got a chance to seriously be independent since Butch isn't a thing like Doc.
I had the opportunity to understand what it is like to find out what one of my friends is really like and how sometimes they are not who you think they are at which time I reflected upon how I had been as a friend and I think I got a taste of my own medicine, so to speak...

Durango was interesting, the group of people that I hung out with all went to a family Mexican restaurant called Tequila's and all of us were just fascinated with how the bar-tender made drinks at the bar for other patrons since we were all from Happy Valley and had never seen a bar before - lol. We had a table that was just off to the side of the bar and so we could see all that he was doing and noticed that he put 6 shots in the Margaritas. Oh, and the fried ice cream was soooooooooooooo good! At one of the stores in Durango, I bought an ugly doll, and he is so cute, his name is Wedgehead! This is the little quote that comes with him...

Wedgehead has his eye on you. And he likes what he sees!
He knows exactly what you mean. Of course he has to stand
on his head to do so...but he totally gets it. See...you are his
proof! Evidence that humans really do exist! But to prove this
to his best buddy Ox...Wedghead needs something. You know
that pocket change you've been saving? Yeah, Wedgehead
kinda needs all of it. No? OK. Hug?

I had a ton of fun when we stopped in Moab at "The Hole in the Rock," Butch cooked steaks and some of the more experienced band members cooked dutch oven cheesy potatoes and buttery bacon and mushrooms to go over the steak. I also learned how to play a football game called 500 and one of the trombone guys, Nate, told me that I had a good arm and a good "spiral." No worries though, he is married so I'm not over analyzing this guy.

Here are some pics from the trip

Monticello, Utah Temple

Frozen Grass in Monticello

Up-close Frozen Grass

Self-Portrait of me on the Bus
(which looks pretty good, since I had just gotten out of bed)

At The Hole In The Rock, Moab

Kris and Danny (Clarinet and Alto Saxophone)

Lacey, A-Reum aka "Autumn" and Corbin (Trumpet, Flute and Trumpet (I think))

Playing "500" with the guys
(Photo from Mark)

Redrocks

Ok, well I have more fabulous pics that I would love to show you, but the uploading is killing me for time so I am going to stop for now. I hope that was a good update for ya'll. TTYL

Love Always,
~Holls

2008-03-31T23:45:00.001-07:00

You're The Voice

We have the chance
to turn the pages over
We can write what we want to write
We gotta make ends meet
before we get much older

We're all someone's daughter
We're all someone's son
How long can we look at each other
Down the barrel of a gun?

You're the voice
try to understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh

We're not gonna sit in silence
We're gonna live with fear
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh

This time, we know we all can stand together
with the power to be powerful
Believing, we can make it better

We're all someone's daughter
We're all someone's son
How long can we look at each other
Down the barrel of a gun?

You're the voice
try to understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh

(Repeat 2x)
We're not gonna sit in silence
We're gonna live with fear
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh
Oh whoa oh whoa oh-oh

The above was a song as performed by an Australian, John Farnham from his 16th album of 1986, Whispering Jack, I really like the song and the message it gives. I can't be sure what his and his writers intentions were upon interpretations of the song but it is a song that seems to promote independence and the opportunity to stand up for yourself as well as trying to work things out with others and not letting the good times pass us by. I italicized lines and words that stood out to me more than others. I hope you can find meaning within it for yourself as much as I did.

I will admit that finding an Australian song from the late eighties is a tad strange, but it was the song that David Archuleta sung last Tuesday for American Idol. I didn't quite understand all of the words nor the origin of the song so I did a bit of web-browsing and I found out the lyrics and the videos. Again, with the video that is on YouTube and being able to read the lyrics along with it gives the song definite meaning.

Links/Sources:
John Farnham: Wikipedia
You're The Voice: Wikipedia
John Farnham - You're The Voice: YouTube
David Archuletta - You're The Voice: YouTube
You're The Voice Lyrics: TSRocks.com

Mixed Emotions

2008-03-28T23:09:00.002-07:00

Which of my emotions dominate? It seems like negative feelings will always dominate over anything else and that negative feelings will continue to cause unsettling and painful sensations in my body. But I cannot focus on these feelings anymore, I must cherish the good times that I have. Such feelings are of today.

When I woke up this morning, and I took the advice of an old friend - I was determined to feel good and confident, no matter what any of the other feelings I have felt this week and honestly, it did me a lot of good to do so.

I picked out my favorite pair of jeans, black v-neck tee and burgundy "mod" tank, I wore my favorite purple topaz rings and earrings and again, took the advice of an old friend and tried my hand at natural eye-shadowing colors with brown mascara, eye-liner and shadow. I put my ever-growing hair up with a one of the classy up-dos in the front that you typically see on girls and used a claw to make the back of my hair spout up with style.

I was finally ready to go to school and my sister dropped me off in AF to wait for the bus and even though it was just after seven, cold, and I couldn't see the sun yet, I was still in a good mood and practically skipped around the bus shelter to keep warm and wait for the bus.

I arrived at school without mishap or problem and as I rounded a corner while headed towards the science building I literally ran into the man who left me in the dust last Tuesday, we barely glanced at each other, and murmured our greetings and continued our separate ways. I let him and any surfaced feelings bounce off of me and I headed to physics.

Physics was good and I was happy, we watched a few videos and worked in our workbooks. ASL was good too, we watched the video from our workbook and I understood most of it. I then headed to lunch with my friend Emma and we chatted for a bit about random topics. After lunch I headed to English and we talked about King Lear and how either he was crazy at the beginning or how he went crazy at the end. After that, I headed to the ASL lab. It was at that point that my emotions had a serious downfall.

I reached into my backpack to get my wallet out, then I opened my wallet to get out my student ID and it was like one of those scenes where everything is in slow motion and strobed and you hear the theme song from Jaws. My ID was missing! I wouldn't have been so worried except for my bus pass is useless without my school ID and I can't get into the ASL Lab without it.

I felt the worry begin to burgeon inside me and my memory began flashing to figure out where the little piece of plastic, that held the key to my transportation home could be. My mind raced and finally I realized where it might be. I remembered playing pool the other day and giving my ID in order to borrow the pool ques and balls. I called my best friend, Emma, because she had been with me at the time and I couldn't get a hold of her so I did the next thing I could, and that was to head to the Institute building where I could hopefully find her.

Upon finding her she saw my pained expression and asked me what was wrong. I told her what had happened and a look of understanding brightened upon her face. She had it from the other day because I had forgotten it that day. My spirits were immediately lifted and continued to do so when one of the guys who was in the gym with us came over and asked what the sign was for "today." He asked for the sign because Emma and I typically sign to one another since we are in the same ASL class and we need the practice - but we told him what it was and he signed "you look beautiful today" to me!!! I tell you, it's one thing for someone to say it, but to have someone sign it, makes all the difference in the world to me. I didn't over-analyze it at all because I know Brady well enough to know that he didn't like me that way, but I appreciated his compliment just the same.

I was hoping to see Mark at the Institute building too and so I headed to the game room. To say the least we played pool for an hour and a half and continued to talk for about another hour and a half more after that. Let's just say I am learning how to play pool really fast and I am learning a lot about technology very fast as well.

Later on this evening I went to see "Robin Hood" at my sister's elementary school where she teaches, that play, in and of itself deserves a post for itself, but to say the least it was witty and cute and well worth my time.

Upon arrival at home, I felt at a loss for what to do when I saw that no one was online, but I didn't let myself get too down about it.

So today has been good and bad - but today, I focus on the good.

Always
~Holls

Ahh Heath - Why Did You Have To Die?

2008-03-15T18:10:00.002-07:00

So here I am, it is about a quarter after seven in the evening on a Saturday night and what am I doing? Am I out with friends? No. Am I talking on the phone with a guy? No. Am I doing something that I really want to do? Naw... So I have been doing research for my 20 page English paper all day today, and I think I deserve a little break so here I am updating ya'll on my life.

While researching the internet for the past few hours my sister and I have been watching movies, first we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix then we watched Win-A-Date With Tad Hamilton and now we are watching A Knights Tale - easily the best movie that Heath Ledger he was in.

It saddens me that a man like him had to be stupid and die!

Anyway, so now we are watching that and I would have to say that by far, my favorite quote is this...
"Better to be a silly girl with a flower rather to be a silly boy with a stick."
"It's called a lance... hello?"

So besides Heath Ledger here is the news on the weather in Utah.

It's freakin' snowing! It was just beginning to get green here and the flowers were blooming and then the next thing I see is the small yellow flowers covered with a frosting and dusting of snow.

Too Much Time on Your Hands?

2008-03-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

OK, so what is the deal here? Either these people do not have a life, or they are depriving themselves of a job or they are getting paid to make these videos. But who am I to complain? I like watching them and, um, do I want to really DO anything right now? No, why else do you think I am here? Anyway, besides me talking about how these people have too much time on their hands let me make my next point.

Enlighten me on something - when did the first original Numa Numa song come out? How many versions have been made of it? How many YouTube videos have been made to the tune of that song? These are my questions for you and if you have any inkling as to the answer that I am searching for please share it. (I should probably just hit up Wikipedia and see, but I am currently writing this so... yeah)

Well, the latest on Dan Balan is that he is the new Crazy Loop and I am loving that new song just as much as I love Numa Numa - and what do these songs mean? Well, even Putty admits to them being far past her normal randomness and she is random! Does it really matter what they mean, so long as we get a kick out of them? I dunno.

Well I have a few videos to share with you but I would embed them here, I will post the links though.

These are a few examples of people who have too much time on their hands to make videos to the tune of Numa Numa.

Numa Numa Contest
$5,000 Winner
$10,000 Winner
$25, 000 Winner

These were the ones that I could immediately find on YouTube - if you want you can go to NewNuma.com to see more of these funny vids.

Double Feature

2008-03-12T18:55:00.004-07:00

Well, last Friday was a long day, I had gone to Physics, then I headed to ASL for an essay test, after that I went to a Literature Rebellion class for extra credit for my English class, and ironically enough, I headed to my English class where Professor Fullmer expressed his annoyance with the lack of attendance for both his English and Lit. Rebellion class and let us out early since there weren't too many people there.

Physics was as uninteresting as usual and my professor was as eccentric and childish as ever. Although, to look on the bright side, there is a young man in my class who I talk to during the time we are allotted to work on our worksheets. He started talking to me the first time that I straightened my hair this semester. He is a few years older than me, but if anything, he is a nice guy who makes the time in Physics bearable.

ASL was nerve wracking and suspenseful, I had read the book required, The Mask Of Benevolence by Harlan Lane , and the essay covered words that were within the book, but not so much the context of the book. Anyway, I am still waiting on my score, which I won't get until this Monday, the 17th.

The Literature Rebellion class was really interesting, Professor Fullmer covered songs by Black Sabbath, "War Pigs" and "Paranoid." I had never really heard the songs before or given the group with the name Black Sabbath the time of day, let alone their vocalist, Ozzy Osbourne. There is actually a lot of literary value to their songs. Specifically, the song "Warpigs", is an allusion to WWII and the Holocaust.

I was tired by the end of the day and I didn't think that there was too much to look forward to when I got home. Surprisingly, however, my mom called to see where I was and to let me know that she was thinking of seeing a movie.

With the prospect of going to the Megaplex Theatre and seeing a movie made my day seem better.

Penelope
Well, between the two movies, I would have to say that this movie was by far the best. It is a good movie if it is just a GNO (Girls Night Out) or it would also be a good date movie, I think that some guys could find something that they could appreciate in it. Reese Wirtherspoon is the Producer of the film and also plays a supporting role as one of Penelope's new friends (Annie) when she finally escapes from her homely prison.

Basically the story starts with scandal and a curse. Penelope is born with the nose and ears of a pig and because of family pride, she is never seen outside the house, let alone by many others at all. Then, when a broken and rebellious James McAvoy comes into the picture they both fall in love with each other. But in everyone's minds it is star-crossed because he isn't fit for her - isn't a "blue blood" and he cannot break the curse.

Well, I won't tell much more, because that would ruin the movie for you! But if you only see the movie for one reason, girls - see it for James McAvoy (previous movies include Becoming Jane and The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) and guys - see it for Reese Witherspoon (previous movies include Just Like Heaven, Sweet Home Alabama and Legally Blonde)

The soundtrack to this movie has new and original songs, I went to iTunes to download it as soon as I could and my new favorite song from is now "Your Disguise" by James Greenspun. And when I say that the music is new and original, I am not being sarcastic, I did a search of James Greenspun on YouTube and only one entry came up and it was added on March 7th 2008. I also tried looking up the lyrics but none have been added thus far. Here is the music video of "Your Disguise" from the movie. I really like this song because it can be applied literally and metaphorically.

College Road Trip
College Road Trip was a good movie to see if you wanted a good laugh. The storyline was sort of ridiculous, but if you are just going to see a movie for fun, this would be the one to see. For those of us who watch Disney Channel, Raven Symone (That's So Raven), Brenda Song (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) and Lucas Grabel (High School Musical) are easily recognized. Raven is the one of the lead characters while Brenda plays one of her girlfriends and Lucas is Raven's opponent at a Mock Trial at their high school but Lucas ends up being Raven's roomate's boyfriend.

Two other actors that I found recognizable was Martin Lawrance and Donny Osmond. The last movie that I saw with Martin Lawrance in it was Wild Hogs.

I think that being in Utah and understanding the culture that surrounds Donny Osmond and the generalization that is made when someone talks of Donny Osmond made the movie a lot funnier than may have been intended. He was basically portrayed as a happy-go-lucky musical in human form.

I could list all of the funny things and hi-jinks that happen to Raven and Martin in their movie, but I would recommend seeing it for yourself.

Well, I think that is all for now - go and enjoy your movies!
Always
~Holls

Holly's Needs

2008-03-03T13:24:00.002-07:00

So I was reading my sister's blog and she did this neat thing with 'needs' and you should try it too. What you do is put your name into the Google search bar and then add the word 'needs' to it. Then you get you list of needs via the Google search engine. Woot!

Holly needs...

...help in her Olympic efforts (it's true)
...to go back to neighbors (because they are next door? Why?)
... a home (well I do have one, but not of my own, so I guess it works)
...to start courting (does flirting count?)
...to go to obedience and learn how to walk nicely on a leash because she does a lot of "drifting" from side to side investigating things... (ok then, I didn't know that drifting was a problem)
...a new home (again, I do have one, but who wouldn't mind something new?)
...help, not to be left to rot away in that awful place (well who would want to rot - I can use the help!)
...something (so true, I always need something)
...a work permit (well I am getting a job soon - so yeah!)
...identification (does a drivers license count?)
...a job (wow, this thing it psychic!)
...a pollinator (really? really? are we having this conversation?)
...a hero (well duh! I am so holding out for a hero!)
...both male and female plants for maximum berry production (again, are we really having this conversation? really?)
...to vent (well who doesn't?)

Well, those are only a few of my needs, apparently, according to Google, I have approximately 663,000 needs... Wow!

What do you think of my needs, and what are your needs?

The Jonas Brothers - In Concert!

2008-02-11T15:15:00.006-07:00

So, Last Friday I went to go see the Jonas Brothers in concert. I met my friend Julie at the Gateway and then we drove to the E-Center. We arrived around 5:00 and parked the car, soon after, we walked to the nearest Chili's and had a scrumptious dinner. I had their new Mini Burgers which were cooked to perfection and fabulous!

By the time we had been seated and the food served and eaten, it was around 6:00. Man, were there a lot of Jonas Brothers fans in the restaurant! Though, I was happy to see that the age range of the fan group was pretty broad. Julie and I saw a lot of teenagers who were our age and a bit younger, so we didn't feel very out of place like I sort of thought we would.

By the time we had climbed over the ice hill in the parking lot a couple of times and put our take-out boxes in her car it was still early! We decided that we would head in anyway and it was a no-wait entry!

Our seats were on the second level but the view was fabulous! We had a front and center view - only from a-far. There are only seven rows on the second level because it was very steep and we were on the top, but since we were at the back we were able to stand up, sing along, and dance around and be the crazy women that we were!

They opened with a group that we were not familiar with but we thought that they were pretty hott and their guitars were sexy. Since we didn't know who they were we deemed them the "Hott 5" since they were hott and there were five of them. (I know, we are very original)

After the "Hott 5" finished their set the techies put the finishing touches for the Jonas Brother's set. It seemed like forever before the curtain would open and the trio of starlit hotties would come out.

The Jonas Brothers finally let the curtain drop and it was an explosion of excitement and music. They played some of their newest songs first and worked through their latest album. There were two songs that they played from their earliest album and they were "Underdog," and "Year 3000." They saved their hit singles for last and everyone was able to sing along with them.

Pictured from left to right is Nick, Joe, and Kevin Jonas. If I remember correctly, Nick is the youngest of the trio, Joe is in the middle and Kevin is the oldest of the trio.

There are three particular songs that I remember especially - first is "Australia" when Joe was on his knees singing to the girls on the side. I couldn't help but think of how much I would love a guy to sing to me that way and with that kind of passion. The second song that I will remember was where Nick was on the drumset and Kevin came in with a humongous bass drum and finally and most interestingly, Joe was in the center with what looked like a fire extinguisher. Though it was more like dry ice that came out of it than anything. Nick and Kevin would play the "da da da dum" part of the rhythm and Joe would send out a spurt of dry ice which was way cool! The third song was where the brothers were taking off their jackets, vests, arm-bands and other apparel until they were down to pants and sleeveless shirts.

The concert lasted a good two hours or so, but it was over too fast. Before Julie and I knew it they were up on the top level of the stage sinking through the floor of the stage and waving their goodbyes.

We stayed until the lights came on, hoping that there would be an encore, but no such luck for us that night. We headed out and got free posters that were being handed out.

After getting to the car and calling our parents to let them know that the concert was over, Julie took me home and there was no question on how well I slept that night...

Well, that's all I have for the Jonas Brothers - take a look at this video from their official YouTube site.

I am part Tarzan, part Simba

2008-02-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

Which Disney Hero Are You?
	You are part Tarzan. You feel out of place when you venture away from your home and into the heart of the city. Your whole life you've been trying to fit in with the styles and trends, but now you're starting to realize that it's OK to enjoy simplicity. Watch out though! Someone your complete opposite is about to enter your life.
	You are part Simba. You're young, naive, and misguided. However, don't fear, because your growth comes exponentially with hard times ahead. Only then will you reach the goals you've set out to accomplish.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

My Life at the Conservatoire

ASL Vlog 1: October Worries

Looking Back...

I Wish I Hadn't ...

If I Had a Nickel for Every Minute I Multitasked...

Vegetarian? Vegan? I Love Me Some Meat and Cheese!

Introduction to Understanding Disability Part 2: Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame

Films with Deaf Characters - Critique #1

Hunchback of Notre Dame Teaser for Part 2 of Understanding Disability

Understanding the Importance of Language & Culture, The Humanity of Respecting Diverse Populations, and the Deaf Community.

Understanding Disability - Part 1

The Benefits of Attending Crop Because You Care: Camp Spike and Wave

My Thought on the Societal Perspective of Abnormality Among Normality

Makeovers?

The No-Mess Grilled Cheese

Reflecting Upon My Second Silent Weekend

The Quote That Made My Day

Why do some people have opinions on how everything "Should Be" so engrained in their brains that they try to coerce everyone into their mold, especially when they claim to be non-conformists?

Still 'Hoping For You' and Missing Daddy

Hot Topics

Life, As It Stands - part II

Media Review II

Background Love

At This Moment

Rainy Days and Girl's Nights!

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.

~Joshua 1:9

A Philosophical Question: How Can God Allow Evil to Exist?

Daddy

If No One Will Listen

Life, As It Stands

Viva Las Vegas Baby, Part II - ish...

Viva Las Vegas Baby!

New Poem

Life in 2009, Where to Begin?

Happy Adoption-Day to Me!

What Twilight Character Are You?

Remembrances

Letter to Santa

Socicology - "the Study of the Obvious"

Bueno Y Malo

Fun & Inexpensive Dating Ideas

What Color Rose is My Love Represented by?

"Writings" Update

A Sunday Still Unstained by Homework

What Is The Part of You That No One Sees?

Weekly Highlights - Tuesday

Media Review I

Things Remembered

Wonderful Week!

There's No Place Like Home

It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's... Su-per Grover!

Short but Sweet Update

Cherries in Cleaveland

"Inedible, Not Intended For Human Food"

Sylvia Magellan (and other helpful guides)

Windless Windmills

Roadtrip (Again!)

Raised Eyebrow Interesting

End of Semester Happenings

Unwritten, Unafraid, & Untitled

Mixed Emotions

Ahh Heath - Why Did You Have To Die?

Too Much Time on Your Hands?

Double Feature

Holly's Needs

The Jonas Brothers - In Concert!

I am part Tarzan, part Simba

Which Disney Hero Are You?