Haha, talking about politics always gets such interesting and amusing results! I love it! Anyway, of course I watched John Kerry's speech, and I'm sure you're all wondering what I thought about it! (I say "you all" because even though I don't get too many comments, I have a sneaking suspicion that more people read this than just the people who comment. If that's not true, then I'll just pretend lots of people read it in order to make myself sound cooler) Even if you're not interested, I'm going to tell you anyway because it's fun and it makes me feel important!
 
Well, I don't feel like giving lots of details, because I'm sure the people who care saw it themselves and the people who don't care didn't watch it and really don't care to read about it either. Well, this was the first time I had ever heard Kerry speak, other than a few brief clips from the news. So overall, I thought it was a fairly dynamic speech full of conviction. Kerry established many of his ideas and plans that so many people had previously claimed to be unsure of. I'll admit, at first I wasn't too impressed with him. I thought he sounded kind of formal and impersonal, but later on in his speech, he started to win me over. He seems to have faith in his ideas and to have finally set boundaries on what he believes. That should be a good thing and should make the Republican claim that he changes his mind so much and doesn't know what he believes even weaker. So I was not disappointed in the speech, but I still feel as though Kerry is a bit rigid, formal, and impersonal, although not to the point that it becomes a major turn off. I think that John Edwards is more charismatic and informal, and therefore connects better with the public. This balance should be good for them and allow them to attract more potential voters.
 
For some reason the subject that I had considered boring, dull, and uninteresting for so many years has now sucked me into its grasp. Maybe it's because I've been caught up in the buzz of the Democratic National Convention, because I've been talking to lots of friends who are also very excited, because it's the first presidential election I can actually vote in, or maybe it's simply because I don't have anything better to do. Either way, I have to say that I've gotten pretty excited.
 
Although I'll admit I don't know too much about Bush and his plans because I didn't pay much attention over the past few years, I can't help but lean away from him. According to what I've heard from several other people, he has only done bad things for the country and will only continue to screw it up. Of course those people were Democrats and therefore very biased. I also know that I've based a lot of my assumptions on what I've heard over the past few days. This may be a bad thing to do since everything I heard was very one-sided and uncontested.
 
I don't mean to sound as though I've recently been brainwashed, but I've been seriously considering switching to the Democratic party. I mean, my middle initial is wrong on my voter's registration card anyway, and since I have to go get that fixed, that would be the perfect opportunity to change. It was fate. I was meant to be a Democrat. Seriously, how many times have I made fun of Bush this summer? Too many to count. How many times have I ever taken up for him? Never. Most Republicans would probably consider me a traitor and disgrace to their name. I really think that I agree more with the Democratic views anyway. Plus I really don't think it's a big deal if I switch. For some odd reason, it feels exciting and defiant to become a Democrat. Don't ask me why, I'm just crazy like that! Additionally, after a wonderful conversation with a fabulous person I hadn't spoken to in AGES, I feel even more convinced and compelled to do so. Or should I wait until I learn more about the Republicans? Hmmm.......I'm thinking no!

I've been watching several of the speeches at the Democratic National Convention, and I have to say that they're pretty interesting. I've never paid attention to a presidential election before, and it's really kind of exciting. It makes me want to be a Democrat (but don't tell my Republican friends, or they would think I had joined the dark side).
 
I watched the speech by John Edwards tonight. I think he gave a better overview of their (himself and Kerry) political views and what they plan to do to better the country. I think they have a lot of good ideas and seem to really want to help  average Americans, but some of these ideas sound like they would take a lot of money and be really hard to accomplish. Where would they get the money to fund all that health insurance and education they want to provide? Take away the tax cuts from the rich that Bush ordered? I don't think the rich people would be very happy about that. I think it's really great that they want to establish equality among everyone in America, but there are so many people in America who are still so narrow-minded and bigoted that they will probably never see themselves as equal to a person of a different race or socio-economic background. The government can only do so much to establish equality, people will still have their own opinions on these matters. Although I know this is about as one-sided as it gets when it comes to hearing about each political party and their views, from what I've heard so far, it seems as though the Democrats have some pretty good ideas. John Edwards is very charismatic, and it seems like the crowds really love him (maybe more than Kerry, some would suggest!).
 
I never thought I'd say this, but I've actually enjoyed watching these speeches and learning how the whole campaign process works. I'm pretty excited to finally hear Kerry's speech tonight.
 
And on a whole different note, I can't believe how amazingly young Teresa Heinz Kerry looks for a 65 year old!

Sorry, but I had to post again because I was up and thinking about stuff. Plus I want to experiment with new fonts and colors. :)
 
I was thinking about a conversation I had with one of the carryout boys at work last week. I went to high school with him and we were both in the band, and while I never talked to him at school, I knew who he was. He's only going to be a senior in high school this year, but he is surprisingly very mature and probably the coolest carryout we have right now. It must be because he went to Capital (haha). Anyway, he asked me all about college, what I was doing there, how it was, what I was majoring in, etc. So I told him I was probably going to major in English or history or maybe both, but I didn't really know what I was going to do after that. Then he proceeded to tell me how he was already halfway to having an amateur pilot's license and he was planning to go to Fairmont State College next year because they have some kind of special aeronautical program. He also wanted to get a business degree  in case he couldn't be a pilot.
 
That made me feel incredibly stupid. Here I am, already finished with my first year of college, with little more than a faint idea of what I want to do, and he's not even out of high school and already has a plan he seems confident with. Of course I had plans in high school too, but nothing that ever seemed permanent. I went from museum curator or historian to music teacher or advertising executive, and once in 11th grade when I was doing really well in chemistry, I thought I might be a chemist. Ha! That thought makes me laugh now. Clearly I am not made for a career in the fields of math or science, as evidenced by my grades in those classes the past year! So yeah, I had plans, but none of them ever lasted.
 
I just decided that I might like to major in English and history during Christmas break of this past year, mainly because I like to read and analyzing literature is something I wouldn't mind doing.  I find history very interesting and like to read and study it, so I think I could be interested and happy with that as well. That's all well and good that I like those things, but I really don't know what to do with a degree in English/history once I'm out of college. When I tell people I'm interested in those subjects, they usually assume I want to be a teacher. Half of my family are teachers and I really don't want to do that. My mom is like everyone's favorite teacher from elementary school, and I see what she does and know that is something I would never like. So if I tell people I don't want to be a teacher, they seem to think I should be a college professor. That wouldn't be so bad, but it would require a tremendous amount of school. My family (especially me!) is going to be so far in debt once I finish an undergraduate degree, I don't see how I could afford to go to grad school even though I think I would like to. I've toyed with the thought of going into journalism, although I'm not exactly sure what type and don't really have the experience.
 
It's not like I don't care or I haven't thought about it. I've spent so much time contemplating it! Also, sometimes I'm afraid that I don't have the confidence to follow through with what I really want to do. I mean, I know I'm not stupid, but I really don't feel that intelligent either, especially at college. I feel like everyone there is so much smarter than me. I know that not EVERYONE there is smarter than me, but I think a lot of people are, and I can't seem to convince myself otherwise.
 
Throughout your childhood, people always ask you what you want to be when you grow up. I always had a different answer each time it was asked. Eventually I just avoided it and thought that I had plenty of time to grow up. Now, I feel that the time I have left to answer that question is rapidly diminishing. I need to stop avoiding it and settle on something because, as scary as it sounds, I'm almost grown up, and the truth is, I've never been more confused over this question in my life.

So I'm back from my vacation. I'm sure I'll contradict myself if I say I had fun at a beach, but I did have fun. I like the ocean, I'm just not crazy about the overcrowded atmosphere, the cheap and tacky souvenir shops, the loud annoying people, and the commericialized towns that try to suck as much money from tourists as they possibly can. Oooo that sounds bad when I say it that way. Half the time I write things and I think they end up sounding meaner, angrier, or more depressing than I mean for them to. I'm really not that bitter. Anyway, this was a nice beach. It's a state park, so it's not commercialized. In fact, the only building on the entire island was a bathroom and concession stand area built by the park. It was a small island, 1/2 mile wide 3 1/2 miles long, and it was left undisturbed. One side was the ocean, the other side was a marsh, and the middle was a forest, supposedly inhabitated by lots of forest animals, like deer, raccoons, and foxes and other strange and exotic animals like that. At least according to the information in the visitor's center, I didn't really see anything. Anyway, there were only about 50 people on the whole island when we were there, and they were very spread out. The town we stayed in had a population of a little over 1000 people and was one of those old-fashioned towns with a designated historical area. There were no chain restaurants except a Domino's and a Dairy Queen, both cleverly disguised as brick buildings instead of their usual facade. So it was a quaint little town and a quiet little beach and I liked it.
 
I was so out of it at work today, anyone who went through my line probably thought I was a complete moron. I kept mispronouncing prices, miscounting money, dropping things, and completely zoning out. Everytime someone asked me a question, I stared at them blankly for a few seconds before thinking of an answer. Delayed reaction to the brain. I can't understand how my till managed to come out perfectly even at the end of the day. Ha, I'm just that good of a cashier. (sarcastic snobbery) Actually that just proves that my job is so monotonous and requires so little use of the brain that it can be done perfectly even when a person isn't paying any attention and is in a completely different world. This had better be the last summer I have to work in a stupid grocery store.
 
Ok, so there are only two guys and almost a dozen girls who have the address to this page. The only people who regularly leave comments are the two guys. I find this a bit odd and for some reason it bothers me a little. No offense to anyone of course.
 

I just finished reading The Sound and the Fury today. After finishing it, it is easy to see why it has been declared one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. It was the sort of book that immediately after you finish it, you have to sit back and reflect on what you've just read. Despite Faulkner's belief that the book was his "most splendid failure", I think it is most brilliantly written.  That makes me wonder if any writers are ever satisfied with what they write. I know that I am by no means a writer, but the things I do write, for school and such, I am never satisfied with. I know that when you read about authors, so many of them seem disappointed with the outcome of their work.

While this was not the first book I've ever read using the stream-of-consciousness technique, it was the most unique in that it used the perspective of four different narrators to tell the story. It's amazing how each section was written in such a different manner, but was still able to fit together perfectly in order to tell the same story of the demoralization and downfall of a once prestigious family living in Mississippi during the 1920s. Not only did learning about the history of the Compson family through the eyes of three different characters give the reader a more accurate and detailed character sketch of each one, but it also allowed the reader to take a closer look at how certain events throughout the course of time affected both each member of the family and the family as a whole, and how they contributed to the deterioration  of the old moral codes of the South.

The use of time in each of the sections was also a major contributer to the understanding of the story. The way each character views time, living in the past, present, or a mixture of the two, helps to explain why certain events occurred and why each character reacts the way they do. After learning of the family's tragic past and conflicted and immoral present, the story ends with a small bit of hope for the future, found in the most unlikely of places - in the steadfast heart of family's faithful (but often overlooked and shunned) cook Dilsey.

Although Faulkner never believed using stream-of-consciousness as a narration technique did justice to what he wished to convey in his novel, I have to say that it was still absolutely brilliant. I stand in complete awe and admiration of anyone who can take what seems to be a mangled mass of words that normally wouldn't fit together and turn them into a thought-provoking work of art.  That is something I feel I could never do.

I also read The Best American Short Stories 2003. I sort of bought the book on a whim back in December, mostly just to get an example of what is considered to be the "best" in the genre of short stories at this present time. Before now, the only collection of short stories I had ever read were written by Kafka, and anyone who has ever read Kafka knows that to expect anything from him that is completely understandable and decipherable would be utter madness.

While several of the people that reviewed the book on Amazon were displeased, I can't say I was disappointed. I wasn't crazy about all of the stories, but I certainly wouldn't call them badly written. However, many of them did have similar themes, namely people of different ethnic groups trying to fit into modern American society. That didn't really bother me any, considering I had a whole class about that last semester. Anyway, I really enjoyed reading most of these stories. They were short (obviously) and easy to read. A welcome break from the longer novels I've been reading. Now I'm sad because I don't have any more books of short stories to read. Haha, I guess I'll have to go out and buy something!

I think that what I learned most from that book was concerning the difference between novels and short stories. I had never considered short stories as their own separate genre before, I suppose I always thought that they were like miniature novels; same basic structure, only shorter. I like how the editor, Walter Mosley, describes them in his introduction. He says, "A novel is like a mountain - superior, vast, and immense. Its apex is in the clouds and it appears to us as a higher being - a divinity. Mountains loom and challenge; they contain myriad life forms and cannot be seen by anyone attempting the climb. Mountains can be understood only by years of negotiating their trails and sheer faces. They contain a wide variety of atmospheres and are complex and immortal. ... But if I will say that if novels are mountains, then stories are far-flung islands that one comes upon in the limitless horizon of the sea. Not big islands like Hawaii, but small craggy atolls inhabited by eclectic and nomadic life forms that found their way there in spite of tremendous odds. One of these small islets can be fully explored in a few hours."

So like I said, I hadn't really spent too much time reading short stories, so I was surprised to find not a short, condensed novel, but more like a small segment taken from someone's life. It was like reading in detail about one certain event or one aspect of a character's life. Most of them didn't have conclusions that really left the reader with a sense of closure. It was more like either an open ending so that the reader would never really know how the story ended, or the end of a memory recalled by the character. All in all, I would say that the stories were simply written, but powerful enough to convey some sort of message to the reader. The themes were quite obvious, but that's part of what made it a fun, easy read. Now I really need to find some more short stories. Not that anyone other than me would find any of that very interesting anyway.

*Sigh* I wish I could write.

I know that probably wasn't the best book review ever, but it's very late. I don't know why I stay up so late. It's incredibly stupid, but I continually do it anyway. I suppose it's the one stupid, crazy thing I do, and if it's the stupidest and craziest thing I ever do, then I think I'll be in pretty good shape.

Now my parents want to leave for the beach in about an hour and I haven't even slept yet. Oh well, I'll sleep in the car, it's a very long drive.

I know this will probably make me sound boring, but I don't really like beaches. Not the crowded kind where there are tons of people laying out in the sun and all that stuff. That's why I'm excited about where we're going. It's not a beach in the sense most people would think of when they hear the word "beach". It's an island that is a state park out on the southern part of the outer banks. From what we've read, it's not very crowded at all, and it's not the type of beach where you go swimming and lay out and stuff. It's more like a wildlife place. They're supposed to have lots of animals, plants, and marshes around the island. Evidently it was also an important place during the Civil War. There was a fort there at some point, but it's long gone now. Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing the ocean (because I love the ocean even though I hate crowded beaches), walking around looking at the atmosphere, and collecting seashells (which are supposed to be very numerous).

Sometimes I worry that people will think I'm a boring person if I tell them I don't like going to the beach in the traditional sense. I'm perfectly happy being in a small, empty part of the ocean just walking around collecting seashells and such than I would be at some huge beach. Sometimes I'm afraid that other people would think I am boring because I don't like things like beaches, huge parties, and I don't know, just general things like that that most people seem to enjoy. I would much rather spend some time with a small group of friends renting a movie, going to dinner, or just hanging out at someone's house for awhile than running around with all kinds of people going crazy and all that jazz. I don't think I'm a boring person. I have lots of fun, and I'm pretty sure my friends don't think I'm boring either. It's just everyone else that I wonder about. I don't get as excited about some of the same things other people do, and they act like I'm no fun because of that. Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter what they think anyway!

I've just always had this thing where I've wanted to be popular and well-liked by everyone. I mean I've never been an outcast. Everyone has always talked to me and been very friendly, just not as much on a deeper friendship level. At my high school, I always  felt like I was on the outskirts of fitting in. I was either a little too studious, a little too quiet, or not quite crazy enough. Of course that doesn't count for my friends from middle school. I've never felt that way around them, I just kind of lost touch with them until last summer. Anyway, now that I'm in college, I have the opportunity to be that person I've always wanted to be. I could go out and be well-liked by tons of people if I so choose. The thing is that it would require me to change certain things about myself that I don't really want to change. I think I realized that I don't really need to change and I don't have to be that popular and well-liked. I'm just fine the way I am now, and if I don't change, it will probably be better for me in the long run anyway.  I know I did not come to that conclusion completely on my own accord; I was influenced a bit on the way.

Well I'm not entirely sure how I ended up switching topics so much, but oh well, I guess that's what happens when you just type out whatever is going through your head. In all honesty, I still need to pack (procrastination kicking in again), and I think my parents are going to wake up any time now to leave. Sorry this is such a long post and that I kept on rambling about myself so much.

And I still wish I could write. :/

 

Well I had an interesting day today. At least I thought it was interesting. I went to the DMV earlier to try to get my Learner's Permit, and it turns out that you have to show a birth certificate now in order to get it. I've had four different Learner's Permits, and I know that I never had to show a birth certificate except for the very first time I got one. They said my expired Learner's Permit wasn't good enough because it was expired. So yes, I was kind of angry, but I didn't say anything back because that would make me look stupid and mean. So next time I go over there, I feel like just dumping out everything in purse and saying "Here, I have four high school ID cards, one from each year of high school, a Social Security card, a Kanawha County Public Library card, a state library card, a library card from the University of Charleston, a college ID, two perfect attendance cards from the 2000-2001 school year, a movie rental card, two debit cards, a savings account card, several phone cards, an empty Gap gift card, and even one of those silly little diploma cards they give you when you graduate. Is that enough ID for you?" Haha, that would be a really smart ass thing to say though. But it's so tempting. You see, every time I go to try to get a permit, something always goes wrong. I don't have the right kind of ID, they're closing early that day, someone isn't there who can do the test, really dumb stuff like that. I've never once been able to go and just get it over with. I think I have a right to be a little frustrated with them. So I still don't have a permit. I guess I'll have to go back tomorrow.

So after being a little upset over that, how did I cope? I bought a CD. Which frustrates my mom because she thinks I worry a lot about not having enough money for the school year, then I go out and "waste" my money on CDs. Oh well, she wouldn't understand. I don't think she owns any CDs.

So after that, my mom decided she wanted to go to Kohl's for awhile. I really don't like that store, and she said she'd only be gone for a few minutes, so I decided to stay in the car and listen to my new CD. Well, a few minutes turned into over an hour.

So while I was in the car, just chillin' listening to my music and looking through some pictures I just got developed, this guy with a clipboard walks up to the car (the windows were down) and asks if I will sign his petition. It was a petition to get a third party candidate running for president. Normally I probably would have said no, but this guy was really really cute, and I really didn't care either way. So I signed it and we talked for awhile then he left. Andrea would be so proud.

About 10 minutes later, this other guy came up to the car. He was old, like AT LEAST 26-27, probably older than that. He was like, "Hey I just saw you sitting in the car over here and thought I'd come over and chat." I was thinking, ok...yeah that's a little weird, but whatever. He randomly started a conversation, and kept asking me all these questions, when I really just wanted him to go away. Finally, he says "So, I was just wondering if you'd like to go out sometime." Haha, yeah right. No, I just politely said no thanks and he just said ok and left. I can't believe some guys actually do stuff like that. Seriously, I was so much younger than him. Did he really think I'd be interested in going out with some strange older man who randomly approached me in a parking lot? I don't think I'd ever be that desperate. Next time my mom says she's only going to be a few minutes in a store, I'm going with her because A)A few minutes really means an hour to an hour and a half, and B)I don't want to be asked out my strange older men who drive yellow motorcycles.

So I still don't have a Learner's permit, but I do have a new CD, so that pretty much made my day. Ha, who cares about driving anyway! Other than that, I'm leaving Thursday morning to go to a beach!

I don't know if anyone else has watched Jeopardy in the past 6 weeks or so, but there's this guy that has been on the show for 33 days and won over 1 million dollars. I don't watch it every day, but it's on frequently in the house during the rare moments when the Tour de France is not on. I find it a rather curious coincidence that just as soon as they changed the rules so that a contestant can stay on the show for more than 5 days, some guy comes along and stays on for at least a month and a half. The same thing happened on a similar quiz show in the 1950s, and it turned out that the people in charge of the television station were giving the guy answers ahead of time in order to get their ratings up.  Sounds a little fishy to me. Oh well, if a scandal breaks out, you heard it from me first. If he really is just abnormally good at trivia, then I guess I'm just a cynical person.
 
Sorry nothing interesting to say. Except we might actually be going on a family vacation this week for the first time in five years. I'm not sure where we're going. Probably somewhere in North Carolina. My family tends to plan vacations a day or two before we're supposed to leave. We pretty much just pack up the night before or the morning of the trip and go. So, I suppose I'll find out what's going on later this week. Or we might just stay home. Who knows. My family is crazy when it comes to planning things.
 
I feel as though my electronic dictionary/thesaurus has been underappreciated all these years. I just want to say thank you for telling me the definition of ubiquitous and garrulous. Don't worry little buddy, you're not dying, I just bought you new batteries today, you're going to be just fine.
 
Ok, I'm feeling really random, so here's a quote for you from some book of inspirational quotes I got for Christmas a few years ago.
"Even a fly doesn't get a slap on the back until he starts to work."
Now if that doesn't motivate you, I don't know what will.

Ok, I'm going to try this again. It won't be the same as the first time I wrote it, but I'll try to remember as much as I can. Oh, and FYI, I didn't catch the mosquito. I chased it around my room a bit, then it hid from me and I couldn't find it again. I hope it didn't bite me in my sleep.

Laugh if you must, but Tuesday night I went to the Clay Aiken concert. Just my friend Jessica from Capital and I went because we couldn't find anyone else who liked Clay enough to spend the money on the tickets. Jessica and I had been faithful Clay fans since halfway through American Idol 2 and were very excited that he was coming to Charleston. Anyone who comes to Charleston that is not country or Kid Rock is exciting. So, we made our way through the mall to the civic center not sure what to expect.

I didn't think our seats would be very good because I was too lazy to get up early and go to the box office to get the best tickets. When I got there, I bought the best seats available, but they looked far away on the diagram. So, upon reaching our row, we discovered that the seats weren't really that bad after all. Too far away to get good pictures, but I took some anyway, mostly just to finish off a roll of film. Now, in order to understand how the rest of the evening could have been funny, I will try to recreate our surroundings.

We were sitting diagonally facing the right side of the stage, 16 rows back. That put us in the second tier of the seats that pull out. To Jessica's left was a man and woman, both in their late fifties, although the woman looked older than the man. The man was bald, with a few wispy pieces of yellow-white hair covering the back half of his head. He was wearing khaki shorts and a baby blue t-shirt with the letters "CLAY" strung across the front in dark blue, outlined in white. The shirt was definitely homemade. It was too plain and cheap-looking to be bought, plus the letters were crooked and unevenly spaced. He also had a camera hanging around his neck and was not shy about taking plenty of pictures. He was very excited to be there, much more excited than you would expect a fifty-something year old man to be at a Clay Aiken concert. The woman with him had short gray hair and didn't seem very enthusiastic. There may have been other reasons for that, which I will get to later (hehe).

In front of us was another fifty-something year old man and two women, one in her fifties, the other in her early sixties. The younger woman had brownish-gray hair and wore a Clay shirt she had just bought from the booth outside. She never let go of her digital camera, but seemed unsure about how to use it at times. The man was even balder than the aforementioned man, but had a neatly trimmed light brown beard. The only parts of the concert he seemed to enjoy were the parts where there was no singing. He seemed to be perpetually scowling. The older woman had wavy shoulder length silver hair that was parted on the side and secured with a tiny silver clip. She wore small silver square framed glasses. Her enthusiasm and excitement projected an attitude much younger than her appearance would suggest.

To my right were two more women, one in her fifties, the other probably seventy-something. The younger woman had cropped brown hair and wore a very loud floral print shirt. She had a friendly demeanor, and every time I would move my head ever so slightly to the right, she would look at me with a half smile as if to say "Oh dearie, aren't you so sweet!" I tried not to look right very often. The older woman beside her was very wrinkly and frail looking. She never moved or talked once during the whole concert, but still seemed to enjoy herself. Although the younger woman seemed to have a fairly boisterous personality, always wanting to talk to someone, she was clearly at the beck and call of the small, silent woman.

I didn't turn around and get a good look at the people behind us because they might have thought I was a little weird. Lets just say that they were pretty much the same type of people.

So basically, we were surrounded by old people, a fact that was verified by Jessica's horrified grimace as we made our way down the row to our seats. Seconds after we had taken our seats, the brown-haired woman leaned over so close that if I had moved my head an inch, I would have touched her face. I couldn't even see her out of my peripheral vision. She put her hand on my knee and said directly into my ear, "Will you ask that woman over there how much that book costs?"

I really didn't know what she was talking about. I had just sat down and hadn't yet had time to take in my surroundings. The first thoughts running through my head were "why is this woman so close to me, what is she talking about, and why does she want a book like that? It's probably way overpriced." I finally realized that she was directing me towards the gray-haired woman beside Jessica and was inquiring about a souvenir book full of airbrushed pictures of Clay that the woman had been looking at. Before I could reply, the silver-haired woman in front of us had already turned around.

"Fifteen dollars, and boy is it worth it!" she exclaimed, pointing at a picture of Clay wearing a suit and leaning up against a car. She had the same tone of voice and look in her eyes as a 13-year-old with both an 'NSYNC and Backstreet Boys poster.

Jessica and I just looked at each other, using all the strength and composure we had to keep from erupting into obnoxious laughter. Somehow we managed to keep it in.

At that point, the brown-haired woman, realizing she was still holding my knee, said "Thanks, hon!", awkwardly patted my knee, then turned immediately to the older woman beside her. She left the row and returned several minutes later with a large bucket of popcorn and a souvenir book. I can't believe she wasted $15 on something so stupid.

Finally the fun started when the opening act came on stage. Everyone knows that one of the principal components of a concert is extremely loud music. This should be expected by anyone attending this sort of event. However, the old people seemed utterly shocked, as though they'd never heard of such a concept. At the first chord of the opening act, several of them jumped, then immediately covered their ears, jolted by the intensity of the volume. The bald man in front of us was the worst. He kept his fingers in his ears practically the entire time, and when the lights started flashing around the room, he would cover his eyes, as though he were being blinded by a simple rotating light. It became a strange sort of dance, watching him try to cover both his eyes and his ears at the same time. Jessica and I were cracking up, laughing as loud as we could. It didn't matter, he couldn't hear it because the music covered it up. As soon as the opening act was over, the man left and returned with cotton stuffed in his ears.

It may sound as though Jessica and I were the only people there under the age of fifty. That's not entirely true. Some of them were forty. No, it wasn't really that bad, but I think it's safe for me to say that people between the ages of 15 and 30 were the minority group. It just so happened that all the people near our age were sitting at least two or three rows behind us or in front of us.

While the old people did not want to join in with the cheering and screaming of the crowd, Jessica and I did not feel the need to refrain even if we were the only people in the vicinity doing so. We paid good money to be there, so we wanted to have fun. The old people around us did not take to noise very well. Each time the crowd got the slightest bit noisy, they quickly covered their ears. Eventually, Jessica and I figured out that the more we screamed, the more the old people covered their ears, an obvious correlation that took us far too long to figure out. We affected them more than the whole audience. So, a little before the concert was half over, Jessica and I, being the slightly goofy girls that we are, started screaming together as loud and as high-pitched as we possibly could, especially at random moments when many people around us were fairly quiet. Each time we would cheer, the old people around us would quickly cover their ears and glance our way with an evil look. It became a reflex for them, the same way you jerk your hand away if you touch something very hot. Jessica and I thought it was hilarious. Not so sweet and innocent now, huh brown-haired woman beside me! Ok, so maybe it was mean, but it was harmless fun, and people everywhere were always cheering. We couldn't help it that we were stuck sitting around old people. So what is the moral of this story? Old people are not much fun at pop concerts, but even if you are stuck surrounded by them, you can still have fun.

So now that I described our surroundings, I guess I should give my opinion of the concert. I'll spare the details because a concert is a concert, they're all a lot alike, and this post is already super long.

The opening act was some girl named Cherie. Jessica and I thought she was French-Canadian because of her accent and the Celine Dion kind of twang she had when she sang. She had a good voice, but I didn't like the music. It all sounded very much the same and was too dancy to enjoy listening to, but not dancy enough to dance too. If that makes any sense. It seemed like she sang forever.

Finally Clay came out. He sang every song off his album, a short tribute to some James Taylor songs, during which his back up singers sang lead, and a few other songs. I always supported Clay throughout American Idol 2, but when his CD came out, I didn't listen to it as much as I thought I would. I knew all the songs, but didn't really know the words, so I was excited about the concert, but not jumping up and down in anticipation. I have always thought that Clay has an amazing voice, and that thought was ascertained by this concert. Some bands or singers can sound great on CD, but then you see them in concert and they're a big disappointment. Clay was the opposite. He sounds so much better in person than on CD. It was just over a year ago that I remember sitting in my living room watching Clay sing the song "Solitaire" in the American Idol competition. Back then, he was standing in front of the judges, still a nobody, still hoping for the chance to live his dreams. Now, here he was, after a year in the spotlight, singing the same song that had given me chills watching it on television, giving me chills once again, standing only a couple of hundred feet in front of me. I have to say that I like Clay even more now than I did before the concert. I don't care what anyone else says, I think Clay Aiken is great.

Well, I think that's basically what I wrote last night. It doesn't quite measure up to what I had before, but I suppose it will have to do.

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just spent at least two hours writing this really really long post about this concert I went to Tuesday night. It was so good, so detailed, the best thing I've written in awhile and now it's all gone because my Internet is a piece of crap and lost the connection right when I clicked publish!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll never be able to write it that way again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like I could cry :*(
I guess I'll try to rewrite as best I can in the morning, but I know it won't be nearly as good. On second thought maybe I won't! I really hate this blog thing right now! I hate the stupid Internet service we have too!! Plus there's a really big mosquito flying around my room right now that's making me very uncomfortable. I don't want it in here while I'm sleeping. Maybe I'll track it down and kill it. Take out my aggression on the Internet on the nasty mosquito. Sounds like a plan.

I'm so excited that I have so many comments! I never dreamed that writing something about politics would cause such a commotion! Very interesting. Anyway, thanks to Andrea's awesome digital camera, which I'm going to steal next time she's not looking, I have some crazy pictures from Friday night. I, myself, am not cool enough to own a digital camera (not yet, anyway, but I'm still holding out for my birthday), so my regular old boring pictures will not be developed for quite some time. When I do get them back, which probably won't be until the end of summer, I plan on adding them to my Webshots page. Until then, there are always these pictures . There are also two hilarious video clips, but I have no idea how to put them on this page so people can see them. If anyone has any idea about how to put video clips on this page or on some other page on the internet so I could create a link, that would be awesome. Trust me, they are hilarious and definitely worth seeing.

I also want to add that I'm so excited that I've influenced two of my friends to start their own blogs. That's so awesome! :)

Note: This whole post is really just a message to one person.

Jessica,
I really don't think I should apologize for expressing my opinions, and I think I have justification in doubting the seriousness of your threats. In the seven years we have been friends, I can't think of one instance in which you have actually followed through with one of these threats. Plus I know how you love to mess with people, like the time you convinced that girl at your college that you didn't have a tv the entire time you were growing up and your only source of entertainment was a radio that only played news broadcasts. I'm not that gullible, but just in case you are mad, I'm not sorry for what I wrote, but I am sorry I offended you. I had no idea your sentiments for the president ran so deep, to an almost freakish level (j/k). So you don't have to leave a comment if you don't want to. Just know that if you don't, that's really mean and it will make me look really stupid, so you really should.

LYLAS,
Alison

I've never really been interested in politics. In fact, this time last year, I probably would've had trouble describing the difference between a Democrat and a Republican. However, because I will be able to vote in the upcoming presidential election, I decided to take an interest so I can make my own informed decision. That's the main reason I watched Bush's speech on TV Sunday. Let me start out by saying that I really have no idea who I support for president. I guess I'm equally split between Bush and Kerry and don't really know enough about what each of them support or even what I believe to make a decision as of yet. With that in mind, I must say that I was not really impressed with Bush's speech. I know it was more of a friendly visit then a campaign visit, but still, with elections coming up in around four months, one would think that he would always have that in mind with every public speech he gave. I found it a little silly that he spent the first 10-15 minutes thanking the mayor, the city council, Shelley Moore-Capito (who my parents think is only in Congress because Bush supported her so much during her campaign), and pretty much everyone he could think of up to the boy and girl scout leaders and church officials, even all the people of West Virginia. Obviously, this roused plenty of cheers and excitement from the large crowd, all Bush supporters who probably would have cheered at anything he said that was the least bit praiseworthy or patriotic (and by patriotic, I mean all those things about "chasing the evil terrorists, who can't be reasoned with, out of their holes until every last one is gone" or something to that effect). Not to be overly critical, but there were some things he said that I found humorously ironic. For example, at one point he said something about how he was proud to be in the presence of someone who didn't try to change the constitution. I'm not sure who he was referring to, but I don't think I'm mistaking when I say that it was Bush who tried to change the constitution by adding an amendment banning gay marriage. Also, he said something about how there were so many more jobs in America. Funny, just a few minutes before his speech, the news people interviewed a woman who was concerned because she had just been laid off, along with about 270 people from her company. I'm sure she was hoping for more from the president than just a questionable statement that there were many more jobs available.

Basically, his speech had two parts. Part one: Thank you, thank you, thank you, West Virginia is great, blah, blah, blah, lots and lots of cheers and applause from the audience (who obviously would have cheered if he'd said something as simple as "Iraq and Afghanistan are bad"). Part two: Terrorists are bad, we're going to chase them down until they're all gone, we have to take the fight to them so they don't bring it to us, the people in Iraq are so much happier, they're living under a free government now (but aren't there still lots of soldiers in Iraq trying to keep the peace and even scaring some of the people? I'm not entirely sure I'd call that happy, living with soldiers and guns in your backyard), and the forefathers of America would be happy with the situation of America because we're trying to spread freedom and democracy to nations that were formerly trapped and oppressed by unjust rulers. Maybe I'm wrong to be skeptical, the audience seemed thrilled with these comments. I'm not entirely sure I buy all of that. I can honestly say that there was nothing impressive to me throughout the entire 25 minute speech. Well, I take that back, the number of secret service people that seemed to be following the president, wandering around everywhere was pretty impressive. Oops, it seems that my unbiased opinion has become sort of biased. Oh well, I read that John Kerry is coming on July 15. I'll try to hear what he has to say, then maybe I'll be just as critical of both. Then I'll have to vote for Ralph Nader. Just kidding.

Anyway, back to what I was saying before. I'm not entirely sure where I fit in in the whole conservative-liberal spectrum. I'm a registered Republican, but I didn't really think about it when I registered. I wasn't even planning on registering to vote at the time. I was at the DMV, getting my Learner's Permit for the 3rd or 4th time, when the guy working there asked me if I wanted to register to vote. So I said sure, and when he asked me if I wanted Republican or Democrat, I just said Republican. I hadn't really thought about it. My mom is a Democrat who is not afraid to verbally express her disdain toward Bush, while my dad is a Republican who rarely talks about politics. I think I was influenced the most by some very conservative friends who, in my opinion, have a low tolerance level for people who are the slightest bit liberal. I'm sort of hoping those people don't read this, or else I have a feeling I'll be in for some political lectures.

As far as my own beliefs go, I'm not really sure what I support. I find it difficult to say that one side is right and the other is wrong. I think that both sides have good and bad points to their arguments, and find it very difficult to say that I completely support one argument and think that the other is entirely wrong. That's why I'm horrible at arguments, I can't keep supporting my own argument because I end up finding something reasonable and agreeable in the other person's argument. Some examples on some issues that these friends feel strongly against: Abortion. Please don't disown me as a friend (if you read this, which I'm hoping you don't), but sometimes I think there are circumstances in which abortion may be the best option. Having an abortion just because you can may seem wrong, but I can definitely see instances in which it would not be a horrible thing. Rights for homosexuals: While I may not agree with the homosexual lifestyle, there always have been and always will be gay people in the world, it's not like they're suddenly going to convert to being straight. Anyway, throughout the course of my life, I have met some gay people who are very nice, and it would be sad to think that they should not have the same rights as everyone else. Who are we to condemn people and make them unequal to ourselves just because they choose to live their life differently? I'm sometimes afraid that thinking things like this is blasphemous to my religion, which is why I don't always know what to believe. As far as the war goes, I don't like the thought of always "chasing after the bad guys" like Bush says. I know that you have to stand up for yourself sometimes, but I really don't think it is America's responsibility to try to free the oppressed masses all over the world. I guess I really don't have a strong opinion on anything. I'm just walking a balance beam between two different views. Then again, I guess it's not really a big deal which political party you belong to, because in the big elections (yes, I know that's a very specific, professional term) you can vote for the candidate of whichever party you want. So I'll just keep my balance awhile longer.

Ha, I fixed it so anyone can comment, not just registered users, so now no one has any excuses!

Mission accomplished! Surprisingly, WHM and MPB pulled it off, blindfolds and all! All in all, it was quite possibly one of the funniest things MPB had heard or seen for awhile. Funnier because the two captives were convinced that they were going to go someplace scary, like a club. It seems as though the former captives are already planning an attack to get back at WHM and MPB. Be afraid.

Editor's note: I would like to say it was mildly disappointing that WHM did not see her waiter "friend" at A&W. It would have been a funny and interesting encounter.

On a different note, President Bush is coming to Charleston tomorrow for the 4th of July. Some of my friends are going to see him. What am I doing? Working of course! Which is actually great because I get paid time and a half, but it sucks because I have to close. I had to close on the 4th two years ago and those hours were quite possible some of the most boring hours of my life. It also means that I get to sell lots of alcoholic beverages to people drunk or half drunk late at night. The excitement and anticipation are killing me.

Sorry you have to register to leave me comments. You should register anyway though, it's not that bad, then you can leave me all kinds of comments! Oh well, thanks for at least reading it! (You know who you are!)

Today my unmasked accomplice, who will be driving the getaway car, and I will be on a mission. What sort of mission? One that will require cunning skill, careful planning, lots of scheming, and a surprise attack. Sort of. The person formerly referred to as my unmasked accomplice shall henceforth be known as Wild Hula Monkey, or WHM for short, and the person previously referred to as "I" will now be known as Magic Panda Bear, or MPB and shall be referred to in the third person, so as to conceal identities and prevent any unwanted association between MPB and the author of this post. These code names that have been out of use since about 8th grade should help keep the strict confidentiality of the mission intact. At approximately 5:30 P.M., WHM and MPB will attempt to blindfold and kidnap two of their friends, whose names, both real and code, shall be kept secret for their safety. The kidnapped persons shall be taken to an undisclosed location (a.k.a. a movie theater) and will not know where they are going before their arrival. Evidently it takes this sort of plot to get all four of these people together at the same time. MPB has an inclination that the kidnapped victims may be a bit uncooperative and experience some discontent about not knowing where they are going, but WHM assures her that the plan is foolproof. Updates later on whether or not WHM and MPB accomplished this mission with the ease and air of mystery they were hoping for.