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I drank coffee today for the first time in a week. It was more of a struggle than I thought it would be to keep the magical bean out of my diet. The rewards were definitely worth it. Amber and Sam took me to a vegetarian breakfast place today where they served me a mug of high quality coffee. Tyson, Mahoney, Skeet, and Max- you would have loved this little dinner. They had Indie rock playing at 11 AM and even have live music in the evenings. Even though there was no meat, they made up for it by adding plenty of butter. Next time you are in Blacksburg stop by Gillies on College Ave.

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Amber and I are about to watch the Friday the 13th remake. It was released this spring on one of the two Fridays that fell on the 13th. It has got me thinking about this newish trend in remaking old classic and even bad horror films. Let me a list of a few films I have watched recently that were either remakes or have recent (2000s) remakes: Amityville Horror, The Exorcist, The Wicker Man, Halloween, The Fog, Psycho, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The new films always seem to ruin the original by adding more blood and killing. Do they not realize that the suspense is what makes great horror films great. I would enjoy remakes if it meant just updating the quality and plot while keeping the suspense intact. Oh well, I guess progress means progress.

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Tomorrow, I substitute teach for the first time in my life. All I am doing is administering a Unit Test, but I still get to have a classroom to my self. That brings about a huge question of cheating. Which makes me remember how kids were cheating in my day. The internet was new, brand new, and it opened up cheating avenues no one thought possible. Now it is cell phones, smart phones, and Bluetooth. I still think the best way to cheat is the old fashioned way. Who will look for it these days? And pay attention to the reward. Writing a list of answers on your arm may be a death sentence, but it also gives you all the correct answers. Wait, teachers like me are out there on the watch for both old and new cheating methodology. Perhaps I never really cheated (sorry about my movie watching instead of reading); however, some of my best friends in high school were the best cheaters you have ever worked with. That's where my experience lies: knowing the mind of a cheater like my best friend.

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The weather in Williamsburg, and Tidewater for that case, is really bizarre. One day it is freezing cold and almost snowing, the next it is hot enough to wear shorts. The only things you can predict are hot muggy days in the summer and cold rainy days in the winter. Both of which I do not look forward to. I must not remember it correctly, but I liked Nebraska weather. It was hot sure, but bearable. And, at least it snowed for my fort building. One thing I enjoy about the weather here is days in the 70s and 80s in December or January. You can always count on a week of theme every year. Global Warming anyone?

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I am actually excited about tomorrow. My plan is to go out for a nice bike ride unless it is still raining like it is now. My alternate is to go for a nice long walk, but that just seems a little silly. I am also going to do a little cooking, some horror movie watching, and some school work. Oh yeah, I get to go into school where there are three classes of students I get to interact with. That is where my real learning happens. My challenge for tomorrow will be to actually be productive around all of the fun.

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When you get sick it feels cold and then hot without warning. I imagine this is what being an old woman feels like, except just really hot sometimes. Advil seems to help for me and my cold. Maybe that helps hot flashes as well. Oh well, I guess I don't have to worry about low estrogen levels.

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I have a new goal for this week: watch one horror movie a day. I know this may sound like a waste of time, but I already waste enough time during the week. Actually, I'm thinking if I watch a movie a day it will keep me motivated to do work until I watch my film. I am open for suggestions, but Saw VI is definitely on the list. The only down side I could see is if I get too scared by one movie and it keeps me from sleeping and taking even more time away from my week.

Tomorrow is also going to be beef stew night. I have been putting that off far too long.

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Sewell and I watched Stop Making Sense yesterday. It is a film of a Talking Heads performance. First of all, the premise of the show was outstanding. David Byrne came out first by himself and a new band member came out with every new song. Secondly, the dancing and "costumes" were outrageous. There were times when Sewell and I were in fits of laughter as the performers gyrated about the stage. Thirdly, the music was amazing. There were a ton of talented musicians in that band. David Byrne has one of the coolest voices ever and the band to showcase it.

Same As It Ever Was

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It is 6:02 on October the 23rd. Guess What. Mole Day! I know it is extremely dorky and not worth the blog post, but it is something I will probably get excited for every year. Today was Tie Dye Mole Day at Lafayette High. It was fantastic. Now I need to bake a pie to honor the day with my best effort.

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I know I do not really write anything personal in this blog. It is personal, but not emotionally so.

Here it goes. I decided to stop running for the Tribe this past week. Since then my life has gotten harder. I bring it upon myself, but I cannot seem to get away from myself. My time is my own now. First time ever. I have no time management skills. I want to do everything and nothing all at once. Even though nothing is an obligation anymore (okay- not true), I feel the need to fill my time with anything except my real work. Also, I keep volunteering for stuff to fill my time. I got to see Brandon today. That was great. Doing my work for class rushed was not great. Tomorrow is a day to get my new life in order and make priorities.

A note on coincidence. Not really coincidence I feel. Thank you Morgan, Sewell, Colin, Charlie, and Gibby.

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Charlie and I are planning a little presentation for tomorrow. It will be the most entertaining presentation by far, but I can not promise on how well the information will be understood. Be prepared for a lot of fun and some arguing as always. I think I get the last word this time. Maybe Charlie feels bad for me though. I don't think he does. He just has a good idea for what works.

Ocean Lakes sweeps Districts once again. Go Dolphins!

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I forgot to comment on this the other day, but I want to bring it to your attention now. IMDb turned 19 the other day. I know what you're thinking. Was the internet even available in 1990? Indeed the website was not available, but there was a movie database started with another name on October 17th, 1990. Four years from that date the internet started to make huge steps and the database became the Internet Movie Database. Now we can all search at our whim to make connections between movies and film makers. I wonder if there is anybody who spends actual time to learn all the nodes and connections within the database. People can memorize thousands of the digits in π.

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Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone

Just playing a little Sporcle and I was reminded of this song. It seems fitting for today because of the current state of sunshine within a dismal spell. Take time to appreciate the sun today and prepare for fall and winter. I know I have been reminiscing about summer, but it is time to move on to fall. I can only hope for crisp air and turning leaves. Maybe a bit of snow come December or at least not too much rain.

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It is cold outside. I feel cold inside right now. That's all.

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The cold weather and soccer on the television has made me think of summer. More specifically European summer. Even closer French summer. To be exact summer in Marseilles. I do not think I have been anywhere more beautiful to experience such great weather. Just look at it. And you would not believe the view from the Notre-Dame de la Gare. I need to go back to Europe at some point when I either have money or get sick of our next Republican President.

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Not Evil, Just Wrong

A new fascinating documentary about the wrongs of Al Gore and the Global Warming hysteria.

I want to scream!!!! There are so many things in this world that are messed up and wrong, but the hysteria behind Global Warming is not one of them. This new documentary is being shown at my college as a response to Al Gore's documentary and his actions to try and stop the environmental impact of humans. I agree that Al Gore is a politician and for whatever reason wants the publicity. Also, he may be too zealous in his attempts to make Climate Change a top priority. There are other problems in America and the world that are bigger problems: poverty, starving orphans, AIDS, rape, murder, drugs, etc. However, we must take our environmental responsibility seriously. As human beings we must treat the world given to us with respect and with conscious reflection. If we keep taking and taking, when WHEN will we take too much. When will Planet Earth snap like Ralphie on Scott Farkus. It might not be Climate Control that lashes out maybe it will be the dead oceans or infertile soil or acid rain. Maybe we will spend so much time fighting each other that nothing will be done to stop our greedy, polluting ways in time.

The title of this film seems to be appealing to intellectuals, but the trailer has things like crying babies, burning fields, and Al Gore with horns. That is to appeal to your intellectual side...right?

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It is a rainy day, so I think I am going to spend my pennies.

Time to take a break from life today. I hope everyone else agrees with me and takes it easy. It is a perfect day to brew some coffee and eat some cinnamon rolls (thank you Mahoney). Even walk around in your underwear after getting soaked seems to be in order. Since the weather will not lighten up, we will. Let the thunder roll. I'm ready for it.

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All my bags are packed

I'm ready to go

I'm standing here outside your door

This is the opening to a song I thought I knew. I was way wrong. The first time I heard this song was on a TV show before I remember caring about songs. The first time I cared about the song was on Armageddon. The last version of the song I heard was last night by Frank Sinatra. This lead to a Wikipedia search which brought about a mystery of results. You know when you think you have the answer (Sinatra had to be the first right) and then you discover something too surprising to believe. It turns out John Denver wrote the song and it was recorded first by the Chad Mitchell Trio. It is most famously sung by Peter, Paul and Mary, John Denver, Frank Sinatra, and Chantal Kreviazuk in that order. I will never listen to Leaving on a Jet Plane in the same light again.

BTW: It turns out cake mix is more versatile than I thought.

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Michelle Mack is a remarkable woman. Not so long ago, people believed that the brain was static and wired like a circuit board. That day is gone. A pre-birth stroke killed most of Michelle's left side of her brain. She is still able to live a full life and can even perform functions unique to peoples' left brain. Essentially, her right brain "rewired" itself in order to make up for important left brain functions. The most fascinating aspect of Michelle's story is that her loss and gain was not found until ten years ago when she was 27. Was it skeptics that kept her in the black or was it an unadulterated inability to diagnosis her uniqueness? Even without any knowledge, Michele and her parents knew something was wrong with other diagnoses. Michelle and her family in Falls Church, VA have been living life to the fullest knowing about their miracle. Now we can hopefully expand our faith to include this remarkable story.

This one I will call attention to the link (watch the video too): CNN Story

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I am finally finished with redoing my old Trek 1000 road bike. I still want a white seat and some white pedals, but this will do for now. I already have a fixed gear bike and a super nice road bike (thanks Mom and Dad). This is somewhere in between. I envision myself riding to work, to the store, or even to another state. There is room for cargo and it still rides very smoothly.

Celebrate Columbus day by remembering his accomplishment in the face of adversity, but also remember the real "first discoverers" who pioneered so much themselves.

P. S. I agree with Massam: NASCAR is a sport. Also, those engineers really know how to get the most from those vehicles.

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I have written about some things that matter a lot to me in some way or another, but I just noticed I really have not written about Chemistry. Chemistry is not some subject you learn in high school or college, it is a set of principles and theories that keep your daily lives worth while. I sometimes think about when people say things like, "Without English you could not communicate." or "Without Physics the Earth would not exist." Those are horrible reasons to learn a subject. People existed before language, before Issac Newton, and certainly before alchemy. These people lived abundantly, communicated prolifically, and learned necessarily. Then the question becomes, "Why learn Chemistry?" My answer is and forever will be, "Chemistry defines the nature of the world you live in. It is as the most fundamental aspect of your life." Do not learn chemistry in a vacuum. Learn it with Physics and Biology. Learn it with Philosophy and Government. Learn it with History and English. Learn it with Math and Economics. The principles you discover in Chemistry may not answer all of your questions, but they will give you insight into your dilemma to find the answer. Learn Chemistry to have control (mentally and physically) over your life.

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It was another win for the juicers last night. A Fraud (#1: $33,000,000) jacked a 3 ball pitch to straight away center to tie the game and then big money Teixeira (#3: $20,625,000) finished it off. Can a small time team like the Twins (#1: $11,600,000) or the Royals (#1: $12,000,000) or the Rays (#1: $8,250,000) ever have a chance. Look at who is the playoffs; only the Rockies (#1: 16,600,000) and Twins are not big time spenders. Even when an "underdog" make it to the playoffs they have little to no chance to win the World Series. How can you compete with roiders and a billion plus dollar budget. The Royals have no hope, but I would love to see it once in my lifetime. I know ever fan says next year...I will not. Instead I will say, not the Yanks this year. Go Twins! Roll Rockies! Baseball is no longer America's pastime, it is America's embarrassment.

Note of importance: I do have utmost respect for Derek Jeter (#2: $21,000,000) and Mariano Rivera (#6: $15,000,000). They should opt out of their contracts and play for a respectable team next year. Maybe go to the Nationals (#1: $8,000,000) and give them a chance.

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It is my honor to enlighten my readers to a new, exciting entry into the blogging community. Jameson Bilsborrow and Benjamin Massam have decided to start a blog together. These two teammate of mine are highly opinionated and will showcase this in a argument/counterargument format. I look forward to the first entry in Bilz versus Ben.

Actually, I have some insider information on the topic and will formulate my own argument to post as soon as their blog is up and running (sometime in the next few days). Get ready for a coffee drinking, cake eating good time.

For now, I will defend the principle of blogging. I enjoy the nature of having my own blog for reflection and discussion. I want to encourage others to blog just as much as I hype my own blog. I want you to try your hand at it. Document your life and share it. Who knows, you could inspire someone, someday to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Apparently the high school Chemistry book I will be doing my student teaching from is at a 16th grade reading level. Our professor told us the formula we use does over estimate the reading level of Science textbooks, but it still goes to show how poorly our science texts are written. I'll knock the grade level off by a few and say that the textbook is meant for high school seniors or college freshman. Now imagine a class of mostly 11th graders trying to read a book meant for students thinking and reading on a college level. Of course the reading is going to be frustrating. In the two sections of 200 words that I picked out to use (one on the atom and the other on solubility) there were an average of 5-6 bold words. This means that students are expected to learn these words by sifting through the text. If I had to read a high school English book like this, not one of my reading would have been done. And I already did not read that much. I understand why some students would be so frustrated with high school Science, especially if they do not have the same passion I had growing up.

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First, Amber figured out what the numbers mean and even corrected me from yesterday. I am surprised Dad has not cracked the simple meaning of the title.

Second, I added a history to the blog because I have now been posting longer than I even thought I would. I don't want to clutter the blog, but some things are just necessary.

Peter Gabriel is blaring (quietly) from my computer right now. Perhaps that means it is time to write about my favorite (or almost favorite) movie. Say Anything is a beautiful movie about young love and the confusion that brings. John Cusack is playing himself in a role where talking to a recorder is the best excuse the director, Cameron Crowe, has for filming some of Mr. Cusack's best monologues. Whenever I am driving in the rain in a bad mood I simply think "The rain is a baptism" and try to cleanse my spirit before I get to my destination. Mr. Gabriel is a great choice for the most pivotal point in the movie. He too is a confused man and as my father pointed out paranoid (We Do What We're Told).

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I have been missing trivia a lot lately. It seems like Monday nights are just not that much fun without some kind of competition to stimulate my useless mind. Maybe it is because Monday Night Football takes up the time or maybe it is because there is a new girl doing the trivia. Either way trivia is definitely missing out on the presence of the LuckDragons. Hopefully we can get a team together soon and take down all-comers. Also, maybe we can actually use the tokens this time as promised. It is always a let down when you can't use something you win. That reminds me... glasses/mugs are a great prize for road races. They are very useful.

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I do not watch television except for sporting events, well not intentional television that is. If there is a show I want to watch, I just watch it on hulu. Normal television is just not convenient anymore. In order to watch a television series at my house it requires: 1) Making time to watch the show 2) Making sure no one else needs the television 3) Combating the noise levels in the house. Watching shows on hulu allows for television watching to be enjoying instead of frustrating. The commercials are short, the quality is good, and (as long as the internet connection is smooth) the shows are available anytime after they air. All of the shows I watch are on hulu: Heroes, The Daily Show, Monk, Psych, House, Arrested Development etc. The only problem is that some cable stations (AMC, HBO, Showtime) are not online. I even enjoy a few web shows like DormLife or MayneStreet that only air online. Sooner or later television will be obsolete and web shows will be where it is.

P.S. Thank you Max for starting back your blog.

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There are very few things that are better than sitting around and talking about nothing in particular. Last night I got to do a lot of that with my favorite people. First, Amber and I went to a s'more making party where we sat around a fire and talked mainly about being scared. I envy the cowboys for being able to congregate around a camp fire every night. Though I doubt they had discussions like my friends and I do. Then we got to talked with Tyson in the Mermalair while burning some incense. Lastly, we finished the night off with Pete's interesting take on life. If I didn't ever have work to do, I would spend my time talking with people about anything. Wait, I already do that too much... maybe I should do some work tonight to make up for it.

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Drew and Max Embracing

Amber is here and she will be guest blogging:

Hello, I first want to say what a privilege it is to be part of Drew's blog. I have recently been thinking about starting my own blog because of the hype Drew has been giving it. I think Drew was influenced to start his blog through his friend Max, who is an avid blogger. To me, Drew and Max have a different kind of friendship. Let me explain...Drew and Max were both in Williamsburg this past summer and every time they hung out, it was allllll day long- to the point I think it is too much. I have never been jealous of Drew hanging out with any girls but for some reason, I get extremely jealous when Drew hangs out with Max. It is probably unhealthy for the only person I am slightly afraid could replace me is a guy, but hey, it's reality.

Sorry Drew, I'm sure you did not intend for me to guest blog about your possible relationship with another man.

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Yesterday we had to write about two very compelling subjects in Content Area Reading and Writing. The first was what we valued most. My sentence at the end was simple, but I have been thinking about it since class. It was: “If I were to have nothing else in this world, I will always have my faith and as long as they are alive my family.” We were only allowed to pick two things and I thought out of what is important to me these are the two things I want to be top. I know I may not do the best at making the priorities in my life feel like it, but at least I believe it deep down. The second subject we wrote on was our favorite place. Of course I chose Robertson’s Pond. The picture is of my childhood wonderland where Grandpa Ed and I would hunt frogs and catch catfish and learn how to be pondologists. Although the pond has long since dried up, I still run by while I’m in Maryville and cherish the memories. Without Mr. Robertson and his pond, I would never have enjoyed science or Chemistry or pie baking (okay maybe Grandma Mary had something to do with that, but she loved the pond too).

I hope my family, both actually and figuratively, continues to grow. I pray that everyone can find their own Robertson’s Pond.

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In case you did not notice: IT IS OCTOBER. That means Halloween is only a few weeks away and it is time for the horror movies to start airing on TV and in your local movie theater. I love watching a good scary movie with friends or even by myself. Make sure you go out and find your favorite movie to kick off the season. I will always recommend John Carpenter's Halloween. Its deliciously horrifying portrayal of Michael Myers will give you nightmares for weeks. Not really, but who doesn't like a classic that has inspired 10 sequels with more on the way.