Growing Pains. Created by Neal Marlens. Perf. Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, Kirk Cmeron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller. ABC. 1985. ¹
Berenstain, Stan and Jan. The Berenstain Bears. New York: Ramdom House, 1974. ²
Sachar, Louis. Sideways Stories from Wayside School. New York: Avon Books Inc., 1978. ³
The Lion King. Directed by Roger Allers. Perf. Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones. Disney. 1994. ⁴
¹ Although I was only three years old when Growing Pains ended, I watched the Disney Channel reruns religiously. At first I wanted nothing more than to be a Seaver, but then I found out cooties weren’t real and soon realized that Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) and I were destined to be together. That was until Luke Brower (Leonardo DiCaprio) decided to crash on the Seavers couch. He became a part of the family and the heart throb of every preteen girl that watched the show. I was convinced that Mike would understand that my feelings had changed, and that we could still be friends. To say the least, Growing Pains showed me that life isn’t perfect, family will always be there for you, and that boys aren’t always gross.
² My favorite animals as a child were bears. They were just so cute and cuddly. This might be one of the reasons I clung to The Berenstain Bears books as a small child. A family of bears living like humans grabbed my attention before any other source of entertainment did. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Brother Bear, and Sister Bear were my roadmap to learning lessons and structuring some basic morals and values that everyone should follow. I knew if I stole honey from Mama Bear, I would have to suffer the consequences from Papa Bear. Basic concepts – yet immensely important in life.
³ Once I started school and graduated from my Hooked on Phonics kit, I was ready for chapter books. Sideways Stories from Wayside School was my first insight to what “big kid” school would be like. Louis Sachar’s Wayside School and its energetic students and all their exciting adventures made me excited to go to school every day. I was eager to leave kindergarten and never look back.
⁴ Right around the time I began to read, I was frequently found sprawled out across the living room floor watching Disney’s The Lion King. Don’t get me wrong, I was an active kid and spent much of my time outside running around with my friends, but when it came to sitting back and having a laugh, Timon and Pumbaa did it best. I like to think that The Lion King opened my eyes to the world around me. How was I supposed to know there were so many different places in the world besides my backyard? Now that I’m older, I plan on traveling to as many regions of the world as I can, and I thank The Lion King for that.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Unrelated blog #2
I'm sure everyone can agree on this next subject. I'll be discussing the irritating task of selling back textbooks.
So today, I walked downtown to the bookstore on South Main with a friend with the expectations of getting a handful of cash in return. You can only imagine how excited I was to get some money before the endless feat of finding a job this summer (refer to previous blog...). We were enjoying the weather while lugging thousands of pounds of textbooks on our backs (that may be an exaggeration). Once we reached our destination, we followed the signs to where we would inevitable receive mounds of cash for our laborious walk.
I sold my chemistry book and answer key, physics book with CD accessory, and my sociology book back for a grand total of $155. Not bad you may say. Except, when I really think about it, I bought all three of them for about $500. My mood dampened a little.
I understand that the university doesn't want to take back tattered and torn books for full price, but I rarely used my chemistry book, and I did not opened my physics book AT ALL. I was upset, naturally.
My friend was less lucky. She was unable to sell back her "special VT" edition psychology book, along with a geographical mapping book. She was successful in returning an American Lit book. And when I say "successful" I mean, she got some money for it. $16 back from a brand new book that cost her almost $100 at the beginning of the semester.
After our adventure we immediately drowned our sorrows in a necessary trip to Moe's for lunch.
So today, I walked downtown to the bookstore on South Main with a friend with the expectations of getting a handful of cash in return. You can only imagine how excited I was to get some money before the endless feat of finding a job this summer (refer to previous blog...). We were enjoying the weather while lugging thousands of pounds of textbooks on our backs (that may be an exaggeration). Once we reached our destination, we followed the signs to where we would inevitable receive mounds of cash for our laborious walk.
I sold my chemistry book and answer key, physics book with CD accessory, and my sociology book back for a grand total of $155. Not bad you may say. Except, when I really think about it, I bought all three of them for about $500. My mood dampened a little.
I understand that the university doesn't want to take back tattered and torn books for full price, but I rarely used my chemistry book, and I did not opened my physics book AT ALL. I was upset, naturally.
My friend was less lucky. She was unable to sell back her "special VT" edition psychology book, along with a geographical mapping book. She was successful in returning an American Lit book. And when I say "successful" I mean, she got some money for it. $16 back from a brand new book that cost her almost $100 at the beginning of the semester.
After our adventure we immediately drowned our sorrows in a necessary trip to Moe's for lunch.
Unrelated blog #1
It's Sunday, May 10th and I am officially 3 days or so away from summer. That means no class, no homework, and sleeping in until my body absolutely needs to wake up. I won't lie, I'm excited! The only thing I wish I didn't have to worry about was my source of income for all the fun activities I plan on partaking in this summer. I'm talking about road trips, concerts, shopping, and a number of other exciting opportunities that require MONEY.
There is just one problem - jobs are no where to be found! I've applied to numerous businesses and have only heard bad news. No one is hiring because no one has the money to add to their staff. The economy is in a bad place right now, and unless a miracle presents itself to the global markets, it looks like I'll have to spend my free time picking up miscellaneous projects from my parents and neighbors and ask for some cash in return.
This situation may be disastrous and could dampen any body's spirits, but I've decided to turn my luck around. Instead of getting in on someone else's business, why not start my own? Who knows? Maybe I'll sell lemonade on the corner like the good old days or walk dogs a few times a week for a little spending cash.
Entrepreneurship is one option. The other is to limit my summer spending almost 100%. Depressing, I know. However, there are a lot of fun summer activities that don't require large quantities of money. I'll have to revisit the summers of my past and take away some good ideas. I think I might convince my friends that playing outside would be a better idea than going to a movie. When I receive looks of complete confusion, I'll just explain all the benefits they'll get by running around outside instead of staring at a screen in the dark. I'm hoping the exercise and a great tan will win them over.
We'll see what happens. No matter what I choose to do, I think I'll have an interesting summer.
There is just one problem - jobs are no where to be found! I've applied to numerous businesses and have only heard bad news. No one is hiring because no one has the money to add to their staff. The economy is in a bad place right now, and unless a miracle presents itself to the global markets, it looks like I'll have to spend my free time picking up miscellaneous projects from my parents and neighbors and ask for some cash in return.
This situation may be disastrous and could dampen any body's spirits, but I've decided to turn my luck around. Instead of getting in on someone else's business, why not start my own? Who knows? Maybe I'll sell lemonade on the corner like the good old days or walk dogs a few times a week for a little spending cash.
Entrepreneurship is one option. The other is to limit my summer spending almost 100%. Depressing, I know. However, there are a lot of fun summer activities that don't require large quantities of money. I'll have to revisit the summers of my past and take away some good ideas. I think I might convince my friends that playing outside would be a better idea than going to a movie. When I receive looks of complete confusion, I'll just explain all the benefits they'll get by running around outside instead of staring at a screen in the dark. I'm hoping the exercise and a great tan will win them over.
We'll see what happens. No matter what I choose to do, I think I'll have an interesting summer.
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