Reno Balloon Race 2006

"I love this crazy tragic, sometimes almost magic awful beautiful life"

I discovered this video this weekend while I was with some friends. My friend, Zach pointed it out. It's a time-lapsed video of the Reno Balloon Festival. Keep track of the Eagle balloon. It seems to have some technical difficulties. It starts out near the middle of your screen then swirls around a bit, disappears, and re-appears later in the shot and then is done for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyyCcjbrWOM
This video is just so peaceful and there is so much going on, so I feel like I could watch it over and over again and still not catch quite everything.

This reminds me of a time when I was in Washington visiting my sister. We drove past a car dealership that had tons of balloons placed outside on the cars and they were just all bobbing up and down in the air, much like these balloons in the video.

*NOTE: I attempted in various ways (including the 2 that we learned in group presentations) to post this video not as a link, but as the actual YouTube Screen and was unsuccessful as you can see. If anyone has friendly advice, I'm all ears:)

"As we go on, we remember, all the times we, had together. And as our lives change, come whatever, we will still be, friends forever."
~Vitamin C~

So, yes, this isn't the highest quality of songs, but it gets the point across. It is almost graduation. I am getting very sad when I really should be getting excited. I spent the weekend with some old friends that I used to see much more often. I found myself being very sad on the way back. One of the friends I speak of is from Boston. As I was leaving to come back to Milwaukee, he gave me a hug and we realized that this could potentially be the last time we see each other. He is also graduating in May and will be moving back to Boston and who knows where I will be.

Which leads me to my next issue: where am I going to be after graduation? I am having a near nervous breakdown trying to figure out the next phase of my life. I am barely coasting through the end of the semester while not realizing that it is almost gone! Even the stress of planning a graduation party is something that I don't want to deal with when really it should be a fun time.

Ugh!--so that is my rant for the evening.

45 Natural Highs

1. Falling in love.
2. Laughing so hard your face hurts.
3. A hot shower.
4. No lines at the supermarket.
5. A special glance.
6. Getting mail.
7. Taking a drive on a pretty road.
8. Hearing your favorite song on the radio.
9. Lying in bed listening to the rain outside
10. Hot towels fresh out of the dryer.
11. Chocolate milkshake (vanilla or strawberry).
12. A bubble bath.
13. Giggling.
14. A good conversation.
15 The beach.
16. Finding a 20 dollar bill in your coat from last winter.
17. Laughing at yourself.
18. Looking into their eyes and knowing they Love you.
19. Midnight phone calls that last for hours.
20. Running through sprinklers.
21. Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.
22. Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.
23. Laughing at an inside joke with a FRIEND.
25. Accidentally overhearing someone say something nice about you.
26. Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
27. Your first kiss (either the very first or with a new partner).
28. Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
29. Playing with a new puppy.
30. Having someone play with your hair.
31. Sweet dreams.
32. Hot chocolate.
33. Road trips with friends.
34. Swinging on swings.
35. Making eye contact with a cute stranger.
36. Making chocolate chip cookies.
37. Having your friends send you homemade cookies.
38. Holding hands with someone you care about.
39. Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
40. Watching the expression on someone's face as they open a much desired present from you.
41. Watching the sunrise.
42. Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
43. Knowing that somebody misses you.
44. Getting a hug from someone you care about deeply.
45 Knowing you've done the right thing, no matter what other people think.

Happy Birthday Boo!

“Everyone has the power for greatness, because greatness is determined by service.”
~Martin Luther King Jr.~

In honor of my sister's birthday, I thought I'd write a little bit about my her. I know I have mentioned her on here before, but I am extremely proud of her:) Her name is Brittany, but we all call her Boo.

She will be gone for 27 months serving in the Peace Corps in Niger, Africa. My family has set a website up for her, so friends and other relatives can stay updated on what she is doing for those 2 years of her life. Feel free to log on at www.meandmyswissarmyknife.com and you can even sign the guestbook.

Whether you agree with her views or not, I have come to learn that I can still admire her for what she is doing. She is living in the poorest country in the world teaching environmental awareness to the people in her village. The people in Africa need all the help that they can get and it's people like Brittany and all of her fellow Peace Corps volunteers that are trying their best to make this world a better and more sustainable place to live.

Luckily we are able to talk to her occasionally and if she is in the capitol city of Niamey, she can have Internet access. Other than these forms of communication, we revert back to the days when it was normal to write a letter and send it by "snail mail." It's a nice reminder of the more simple times.

I love you Boo and Happy Birthday!

The Ultimate Summer Night

"Candyman tempting the thoughts of a sweet tooth tortured by the weight loss"
~DMB~

I am one of those people that has no problem listening to music while doing homework, in fact, i much prefer it. A band that I commonly find myself working to is the Dave Matthews Band. I know some people think they are overrated or has-beens or whatever you want to call them, but I still love them.

Along with loving their music, they put on some of the best concerts at Alpine Valley. The DMB concert is an activity that simply makes my summer! I have been getting more and more excited about the concert this summer as the days towards graduation creep closer. It is a day where all of my friends, wherever scattered around the state, meet at Alpine Valley and make memories that will last us forever. One of my favorite songs to hear in concert is "Ants Marching," so I have happily quoted the coolest part of the song to hear live.

I am also trying to practice with linking things to my blog, so if you haven't had the joy of experiementing DMB at Alpine Valley then take a look.
Although a little long, this is one of the better recordings that I was able to find..... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXtp1Aap9oo

I tried to make the link work when you click on the word "this" but I simply have no idea how to do this, so if anyone wants to share their knowledge with me, feel free.

A place I hope to work....

"Good Sounds. Good Cause. Good Soda"

I got very excited today.

If you were in the Union at all today, you may have noticed the Nutrisoda booth set up in the concourse. I know I did. For the past week or so, I have been noticing a banner advertising the Fresh Air Tour in the Union. I decided to do a little more research to find out just what that was. It is put on by Nutrisoda with a tagline of "Good sounds. Good cause. Good Soda." This still didn't explain too much, so I decided to stop by the booth in the Union today.

I walked up and listened in on a girl asking how she could get the free products that were displayed. The Nutrisoda representative simply asked that we plant a virtual tree. "It takes less than 2 minutes." The best part was this...A company whose name escapes me right now said that every virtual tree that was planted will actually be planted, so I decided to plant two virtual trees and then let others participate.

The Fresh Air Tour is a concert tonight in the Gasthaus that is promoting this cause of sustainable development and good old mother earth.

While I was learning about all of this, I got into talking to one of the girls that was working the booth. I asked her if she worked for Nutrisoda and how she got involved in this. She works for a Minnesota based marketing company, which I am extremely excited to research more. The company is a marketing that supports the natural and organic industry. I love the whole concept of what Nutrisoda is doing and what The Fresh Air tour is doing.

So, come out to the concert tonight and support the efforts! It's FREE!

an always entertaining family gathering

"That's because you're country folk"
~Grammy Dee~

Any time that the extended family gets together is a guaranteed great time. It's always entertaining. The most entertaining part, however, has got to be my grandma. She has been through quite a lot in her life and quite frankly deserves to say whatever she wants. And trust me, SHE DOES. She has no censor, so most of the time whatever comes out of her mouth is bound to entertain anyone who hears it.

The quote from above is from the entertaining post-Easter dinner conversation. My mom and sister, my grandma, 2 of my cousins and their mothers (my aunts) were sitting around the table just chatting. My family is from Lake Geneva, WI, whereas, my cousins are from suburbs of Chicago. Apparently because we don’t live in or near Chicago, my grandma seems to think that we are “country folk.”

This is one example of the many ridiculous, random comments that my grandma makes. I could go on to list all of the things that my Grandma has said that has made quite the impression on all of us, but it will most defiantly not be as funny unless you met my grandma.

I’m glad she is still with us through the brain surgery, the heart problems, and all of the cancer. Because of this, I appreciate all of the unpredictable things she has to say. Especially because she is completely aware that she is not being politically correct. (I know this isn’t PC, but I don’t care” is one of her most favorite disclaimers).

the notion of the real world....

“ ‘Welcome to the real world’, she said to me condescendingly”
~John Mayer~

Funny. A bit sarcastic, just as I am. So true.

Lately I’ve been feeling the pull of the “real world” on my regular routine. Not only do I have 6 classes to balance with various clubs and jobs, but now added is the job search. It’s not only the job search because I actually think that is kind of entertaining. What begins to be a bit stressful is what needs to be figured out even sooner than the job. And that is….my living situation post-graduation. Sure, I could go back and live with my parents in Lake Geneva; they welcome me with open arms, but I’d like to grow beyond that.

I am graduating, and hoping to someday work in the advertising field. “Someday” being the operative word. I am only 21 years old and will remain that age until September. I don’t think that I need to, nor am I ready to settle down in a “real” job/career yet. On the other hand, I have a hard time going through 4 years of college just to graduate and say “I’m a beverage cart girl at my local country club” or “I’m a flight attendant for Midwest.” Both of these are viable options—sure, I could go back to the job I have had the last two summers because it’s great money and a lot of fun, but not so prestigious. Or I could go and be a flight attendant like my mother did because it would be GREAT to have the travel benefits.

The next question comes in of location. Let’s assume, I am going to grow up and get a “real” job. Where do I do it. I have some great contacts in the Milwaukee area and could find a job much more easily here, than anywhere else in the United States (or beyond, I suppose). It is true that I wouldn’t mind to end up in the Midwest someday, possibly to raise a family, but I’m obviously not ready for that quite yet. With friends scattered across the U.S. I have options to live places like Boston, Phoenix, San Diego, Chicago and so on…..

What to do, what to do????

Mudfest 2007

"If you think sunshine brings you happiness, then you haven't danced in the rain"

Well, this weekend, we sure danced in the rain. I went to visit some of my friends at UW-Platteville for the first time this weekend. We took a road trip over for Mudfest 2007. Apparently it's a huge deal. Mudfest is an annual rugby tournament hosted by UW-Platteville.

We got there on Friday and had a great night out, but Saturday is when the festivities really began. It was an early morning for us to start our day of fun. We got down to the rugby fields and attempted to watch some of the games, but soon gave up when we decided that not knowing the least bit about how rugby is played really hinders the enjoyablity factor. After finding a rugby player to explain some of the rules to us, we stayed for a little while longer before abandoning the rugby tournament.

Then came the real fun! We were in the car on the way back to my friend's house when the radio alerted us of a tornado warning. Me, being the weather freak that I am was quite alert and very scared. As we were climbing the stairs, we could really tell the weather was on its way. But instead of taking cover like we should, we kept going in and out of the apartment to look at the weather. It was, in an odd way, addicting. I was extremely scared, but couldn't make myself go inside away from the storm. The tornado had touched down and was sighted in the very near area. It was the most frightening, yet most thrilling tornado experience I have ever had.

Once the tornado scare passed, we all continued to have a great weekend. I also teased my friends at Platteville about how "hick" it was, while really knowing that it would be much like any other college town if I went there. I finally took the trip and would be happy to go back any day:)

surprises, oh glorious surprises

"The difficulty is capturing surprise on film" ~F. Murray Abraham

Ok, so undoubtedly not the most attractive photo, but the surprise was in fact caught on file. Of course, people can only assume my (and my sister) level of surprise and not really feel it, but it was quite a shock, I’ll tell you that. This was right before we left to get on the last plane to St. Martin when we opened the envelope about the Jimmy Buffett concert. You can notice the happiness in my sister's eye even though half of her face is cut off.

A little background: It is becoming an annual thing that my dad plans a surprise vacation for my sister’s and I (or just my twin sister this year, seeing as my older sister is in Africa). Last year we went to a Jimmy Buffett concert in Ohio and then headed to West Virginia to go whitewater rafting. These trips seem to include a common theme of Jimmy Buffett and are always a highlight of the year!

Envelope 1
Passport, airline tickets, flight itinerary
Depart Milwaukee, 3/22 at 7am
Arrive in Charlotte, 9:22am
Depart Charlotte, 11:20am
Arrive St. Martin, 3:03pm

Coming Home
Depart St. Martin, 3/26 at 4:05pm
Arrive Charlotte, 8:12pm
Depart Charlotte, 9:45pm
Arrive Milwaukee, 10:49pm

Envelope 2
entitled: “Beach Plaza Hotel” This is where our 'home base' would be for the next few days.
attached was a map of the Caribbean and a map of St. Martin/Maarten * so my sister and I could actually figure out where we were going.

*Note: half of the island is Dutch and half of the island is French, so depending on which half you are on, the spelling is different.

Envelope 3
entitled: “Golden Eagle”
This envelope explained the amazing boat that we would be spending the next day on. The Golden Eagle is a sailboat based out of Philipsburg. As far as this envelope goes, we knew that we would be taking this boat for an all day, 8-hour cruise around the island. We were told that we would make stops to snorkel, swim, and have a traditional island lunch.

Envelope 4
Activity Itinerary
Brief summary….
Thursday: Arrive in St. Martin, get car, check in at hotel
Friday: leave hotel, get aboard Golden Eagle/full sail around the island
Saturday: leave hotel, take Golden Eagle to Anguilla and explore the dunes, return to St. Martin
Sunday: whenever and whatever we want to do
Monday: explore a bit more, depart St. Martin, Arrive Milwaukee

Also included is a map of Anguilla and an explanation of the Dune Preserve

Envelope 5
Revised activity itinerary
The coolest revision ever…….
Highlighted below the heading “Saturday 3-24-07
“Gates open at the Dune Preserve. Party begins. JIMMY BUFFETT AND THE CORAL REEFER BAND live on the beach for only 3,500 of their closest friends.”

Also attached is a picture of the man himself and our tickets and a list of FAQs.

Surprises are great, whether you expect them or not because you know there is always so much thought put into it.

spring break=forgetfullness

I am standing at an airport kiosk with little time on the Internet, so I am sad to say that my time is limited. Spring break tends to come along and it makes me forget reality. That being said, I have been in Arizona with limited access to a computer and thus limited access to blogging. Tomorrow I leave to go out of the country and will have no Internet access.

Considering my time is limited, I don't have too much time to look at all of my blogs, but here is what I have to say.

One Million Love Messages........message 74 and 75 (I believe) are great. They demonstrate part of why I love this blog. It is interesting to see what a sharp contrast both writers exemplify, yet they are simply both displaying their love for their significant other. One does it in a poetic way, while the other simply comes and and says it, yet both are getting the message across.

My other blogs continue to not intrigue me too much. The tabulas blog does come up with photos that always illicit some kind of emotion, whether it be good or bad. Since the last comment on the doll photo, I have loved the next photo that was posted, which was a simple room. Check out the blog to see this picture. Something about it is quite nice and calming. Beyond that, a stint on a picture with a baby in a car seat also drew emotion out of me, but not so much calming.

As I continue on my airport journey.........that being, my flight has thus far been delayed 4 hours, I will try to post again when I get home around midnight (previously, it would have been by 8) but welcome to America. Delays.

a gloomy day for blogging.....

Sometimes I am very much so disappointed by my favorite blog, one million love messages. But it seems that just about every other time that I go on, there is not update—sadL I seem to always talk about this blog, so I will try to focus on a new one.

What originally attracted me to the tabulas blog was I think a quiz that it offered. Now I am sure none of you are;) but I am a huge fan of procrastination, so I like to find things to distract me. This website offers many pointless quizzes to distract my time. I don’t mean to bash any site because I obviously liked it at some point. I just seem to be quite distracted lately…

I don’t know if it is just the gloomy weather or what, but none of the blogs I frequent are even remotely holding my interest today. Usually I am at least outraged at the stupidity of them (or me for choosing to read them), but today I just keep scanning down. Blah, blah, blah.

You know it’s gloomy when I can’t even pick a favorite quote out of any of the blogs to post for your enjoyment.

aaaannnddd.............CREEPY

So, as I went to visit one of my regular blogs, I was shocked to see a alarmingly large picture of a relatively creepy doll. This would maybe be seen as a bit more acceptable if the posting offered any text besides "Currently listening to: only lovers left alive - the long blondes." Yup, that's all. That ambiguous quote is all that was given to explain the picture of the bug-eyed doll--and thank god, you can click on the picture and it gets even bigger--CREEPY!

loving the love messages....

"Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life."
Leo Buscaglia

I am very excited to report that I have received my first comment from someone not in this class. The person who started "one million love messages" commented on a post of mine:) This makes me love this blog even more. I am also pleased to report that there have been 3 new posts since I looked at the blog last night (less than 12 hours ago). I am personally working on a love message to contribute to the mission of one million. Everyone reading this needs to go on the site and contribute as well because we all need a little more love in the world:)

correction.....

In my previous post, the quote "it takes not only sunshine to make a rainbow" was supposed to be published in yellow. This is keeping in line with a common trend of previous posts.

A little sunshine in the rain.....

My favorite blog that I look at is still "one million love messages." It’s something about the anticipation of going on to see if anyone has posted any other love notes. They also include a daily love quote and we all know now what I sucker I am for quotes. Quotes are also incorporated in the love messages that are sent. Although I cannot readily find dates of when these postings are posted, this is the most recent post of a guy asking his girlfriend to stick with him through the rough times because it's not always easy but that doesn't make it bad. " It takes not only sunshine to make a rainbow." I think that many of us can relate and that's why I like to read this blog.

I am disappointed to say that the trashiest blog that I am now watching is the one that is most readily updated. There are enough postings on "Just Jared" to keep me busy for hours. Beyond the posts, this site has many, many followers because I rarely see a post that doesn't have at least one comment on it.

Note: I have officially abandoned "make it funny" because it has yet to be updated since I have been watching it.

Sometimes I choose bad blogs............

As I was reading on the blog entitled "I used to think that was cute" (http://tabulas.com/~vapidocracy/), I noticed something on the right side column. This blog is so kind as to provide all of us readers with links to flickr. I appreciate this.

I also need to express my love for the "one million love messages" blog. It's so simple, yet I find myself addicted to returning to the site just to see if anyone else has added a message of love. It is such a breath of fresh air just to see people simply in love.

http://justjared.buzznet.com/ I swear I just get dumber the more I read this blog. I am not quite sure why I have decided to choose this blog as one I will read on a consistent basis, but I did indeed. And I must say there is something addicting about it in an absurd kind of way. Today's feature story.......Fashion Face Off: Bell Bottoms. REALLY?!?! Enough said.

On a completely different note, the blog about the Gap (Red) campaign. At last, celebrities doing something good in the world.

Sticking with my common thread of quotes, I love this one.
"This is huge and it’s beautiful and it’s a reminder that (RED) is a generous idea. It breeds creativity. It inspires. It connects. But most importantly, it delivers."
I hesitate to give too much information because I would prefer to leave it a mystery and force each and every one of you to go onto the blog and learn about project (Red).

New blog.......

As I was searching through my other blogs, one linked to this one which I find fairly interesting. http://www.1millionlovemessages.com/

I plan on sifting through all 5 of the blogs until I can pick which 4 are my favorite. I may also just continue to look at all 5 if time permits.

And the journey begins........

Well I have to deviate from my typical blog style to satisfy my assignment for the upcoming weeks.

On that note, I searched for quite some time on technorati to find four blogs that could hold my interest for two weeks straight. I ended up choosing the following four....

http://tabulas.com/~vapidocracy/
http://joinred.blogspot.com/
http://justjared.buzznet.com/
http://makitfunny.blogspot.com/

I did have a common theme in my blogs and that was quotations. Before I knew or read anything about blogs, I knew that I needed something that I would be able to publish in each of my blogs in case I ran out of ideas. That is when I decided that I would choose the common theme of quotes.

I will leave this blog post thinking of what I can do to thread my blog together in a more cohesive manner.

Sacrifice for Real Beauty

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through in once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.

I actually just got this quote in an e-mail from a friend and I think it's beautiful.

When I was talking to my sister before she left for Africa, we were talking about what I should do post-graduation. Her one line of advice she told me was to decide by asking myself "what can you do to make this world a less shitty place?" This is a huge challenge, but she is currently making a huge sacrifice and helping people in Africa. Finding something to satisfy this bit of advice is not the easiest thing, but a great guideline!

That was a side note, but I thought fit perfectly with the quote. Beyond that, I just need to share with everyone how sick I am of the body image battle. I am surrounded by people who seem to have an extremely hard time going out in public without makeup on or without perfectly straightening their hair--get over it! If you follow the guidelines listed above, which I understand can be extremely difficult, you will find yourself to be much more beautiful of a person, inside and out. Wow, how cliche does that sound? I don't care how cliche it is, because it is true. Any small sacrifice I have made, and the many that people I know have made, make me believe it with all my heart.

When asked what beautiful is, everyone should answer with the quote that is listed above.

Miracles.....or not so much

“We don’t like to believe miracles exist, but they do. Things happen; we can’t explain them; we can’t control them, but they do happen. Miracles do happen in medicine. They happen everyday; just not always when we need them to happen.”

It’s in times of loss that I question my belief in miracles. Unlike what the quote says, I do like to believe that miracles exist. I like to because it’s happy and positive and I try to stay positive in times when I really need a miracle to happen.

But what happens when you being positive doesn’t pay off? What happens when the miracle you were praying for doesn’t come true? I start to question whether I think miracles are real or not. Until the next thing comes up in life that I need a miracle for, my hope has diminished.

Do you believe in miracles?

"Death ends a life, not a friendship."

I am not trying to make people feel bad or be that depressing girl, but alas......... I lost a best friend of mine this week. It is one of the hardest things that I have ever gone through and it will continue to be an uphill battle. My family and my friend's family are very close so this has been rough on all of us. Everyone is doing well supporting everyone else, so that has been nice to see. Someone sent me this quote and it is completely true. It makes me shed happy tears for a change.

Stefan's had some bad times in his life and was just starting to turn things around.

Tomorrow all of his friends are getting together to put together a slide show and his boards of pictures for his services this weekend. It is a time that everyone needs to put the little things aside and realize what really matters in life.

He was a great friend and a great father and will be watching over all of us!

R.I.P Stef--you'll always be in my heart.

Hanging on the Wall.......

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the hospital. I am finding my way around the hospital quite well and keep finding myself reading this quote. It is down the hall from the surgical intensive care unit and on the way to the cafeteria. The quote is by the elevators where everyone can see it.

It is important to remember that you need to have faith. You need to know that whomever you are visiting in the hospital will make it through their injury. Reading this quote today when I was at the hospital made me believe just a little bit more.

I know it sounds silly, but when things are so hard and so depressing, a little thing like brightly colored walls and an uplifting quote puts a smile on a persons face.

Three is not a charm.......

"bad things happen in threes"

I can't tell you how many people have told me some version of this quote in the past two days. I don't mean to keep posting these depressing blogs, but from what I've gathered from a few of the readings is that my blog is for me to express my feelings. And I can't escape this feeling.

There is nothing else on my mind except how my friend is doing. Monday morning one of my best friends was in a very serious accident. He suffered major brain trauma and is a medically induced coma for a minimum of 2-3 weeks. To top it all off, we all have to wait around to go and visit because the roads are in such bad condition. I am the go-to person in the situation that knows all of the information, so I have re-told some version of what has happened a million times.

As you've seen from my past post, I have had other bad things happening in my life and I'd say that this tops them all. It makes me look at religion in a whole different way. I don't usually rant and rave about religion, but I can't understand why anyone, namely whatever god you may worship, would let this happen.

Here's to hoping for brighter days.

college and the real world

“You have four years to be irresponsible here. Relax. Work is for people with jobs. You’ll never remember class time, but you’ll remember time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So, stay out late. Go out on a Tuesday with your friends when you have a paper due Wednesday. Spend money you don’t have. Drink ‘til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does…” --Tom Petty

As I plug on through my last semester in college, I get increasingly scared about what lies ahead.

I came to visit some relatives in Michigan this weekend that happen to live a hop, skip, and a jump away from Michigan State University. My sister goes to UW-Madison and felt it was necessary to go see MSU for comparisons sake. Beyond MSU, we also made our way to Ferris State to visit a friend. This weekend I managed to see two other colleges in Michigan.

As I was visiting these other schools, I realized just how great the college life is. Both of these campuses were very different than UWM and many of the other campus' I have visited, but still were great. I love college towns and found myself finding the same things on the MSU and Ferris State campuses that you'd find on most any college campus--Noodles, Qdoba, some 24 hour breakfast joint, etc. It's funny how different these schools are, yet how much similarity can be found as a part of any college life.

In college, it's acceptable to get drunk on a Wednesday, take two naps a day, do all of your work the night before it's do and so on. My excitement for graduation decreases slightly as it becomes a reality that I will no longer be able to live this relaxed lifestyle.

"When it rains, it's sure to pour"

It seems that I have become all to familiar with this quote. It is actually from a Jason Mraz song, but absolutely relates to my life. I know this is taking a negative approach, but that is a hard rut to get out of. I have tested this theory of all bad things being thrown at you at once with my friends, and most seem to agree. I feel like when one bad thing happens, there is sure to be at least one more on top of that and so on. And I’m not talking about bad news like you got a C on your test, I am talking about a young man, a friend, dying or about your mom who is 50 years young finding out if she has breast cancer. These are things that a bad news.

Tomorrow I have to go to the funeral of someone my age, the second of this kind since October. When talking about this with my mother who may be fighting a battle of her own very soon, she is baffled at how many losses my friends and I have had to deal with in our lifetime. Why is it that my friends and are are losing people close to us and an unusual rate? Why do all bad things seem to come in waves?

I will tell you that it sure puts things into perspective.

Super Bowl!

"From what I understand monster.com and hotjobs were almost out of business when they ran the Super Bowl ads."
Jay Chiat

I love the Super Bowl. I love everything about it, but my most favorite part is the advertising. I suppose that is fitting considering I am an advertising major. It is amazing to me that one event can draw enough fans to justify paying over $2 million for 30 seconds on television. Beyond that, the success rate of these ads is truly amazing.

One of the best parts of this Super Bowl is that a local UWM student won a nationwide competition to produce a 30-second TV spot for Chevy. The ad was aired in a $2.6 million spot.

Here is a link to one of the stories about her http://www.channel3000.com/news/10920991/detail.html
Hopefully I will be able to post her commercial when I learn how to do that:)

Dane Cook and wasted moments

“I hate it when somebody turns around in my driveway. You're just sitting comfortably watching T.V., you hear a car pulling up like ‘Who is this?!’ It's so disruptive you look out, strange car, you dont know if it's a government official. You start getting concerned. ‘What? I dont know this car," then they turn to leave you're like ‘You son of a bitch, you wasted moments of my life! Moments i will never get back!’”

I love Dane Cook. I think that I could listen to him everyday and never get sick of him. Until I head Dane Cook, I hated stand up comedy. I just didn’t really think it was all it was cracked up to be. When trying to pick just one quote to use from Dane Cook, it was a huge problem! I chose this one because I thought it was a pretty interesting topic.

How often do you waste moments of your life doing things that don’t really matter?

In the quote, Dane Cook talks about wasted moments when you get up to see who is turning around in your driveway. While this may not happen very often, I can think of one wasted instance that I often think about. How much time do you think you waste in your lifetime showering. Ok, so it’s not necesarilly a waste of time, but just think of all the time you could save if you just had a magical button that made you clean.

What do you waste your time doing?

Have wedding vows lost all meaning?

"Remember tonight for it is the beginning of always, a promise, like a reward for persisting through life so long alone, the belief in each other and the possibility of love, a decision to ignore or simply rise above, the pain of the past, a covenant which at once bonds two souls and yet severs prior ties, the celebrations of the chance taken and the challenge that lies ahead, for two will always be stronger than one, like a team braced against the tempest of the world; and love will always be the guiding force in our lives, for tonight is mere formality, only an announcement to the world of feelings long held and promises made long ago in the sacred space of our hearts"

This quote comes from a wedding scene in a show I watch. This is part of the speech given by the best man and I loved it when I heard it. I almost want to use it in my wedding one day.

When I was thinking of what I wanted to do for my blogs and I finally decided on quotes, this was the first one that came to my mind. I attribute this to the fact that I was shopping for an Anniversary gift today. My parents will be celebrating 25 years this week!

That got me to thinking about marriages and the divorce rate these days. I have more friends, by far, whose parents are split up then those who are together and I have yet to figure out why that is the fact these days.

I think I should explain....

I love quotes. I think they're great. Anytime I am watching most of my favorite shows, I always have my computer in front of me ready to type up a quote that I think is worth saving. I know it sounds silly, but I know plenty of people that do the same. I just think that there is so much meaning in a simple quote and I have a weakness for over-analyzing things.

So, on that note, I'd like to invite you to view my Quotable Quotes if you ever find yourself in need of a great away message;), a good comeback, a new way to say I'm sorry, or for any of the other million times that you may find yourself at a loss for words.