NIU

NFL tickets

Posted by Stacy on Saturday, May 31, 2008 3:43 PM

It is so convenient and easy for me and my friends to go online to get our sports tickets now the our school has gotten with the times. Our university has just set up their program for buying sports tickets online and now all of my friends and I have already gotten our season tickets. I used to play hockey in high school so I am all about the hockey season tickets, where most of my friends are really in to football. This is ours school's most watched sport so the server for buying the football tickets is a little bit different. Since there are so many people who buy football tickets that to get season tickets you have to be online and ready the second they go on sale if you can ever hope to get good seats. It is sort of like going for Super Bowl NFL tickets or Stanley Cup hockey tickets. Luckily for me, I don't mind the bad seats in the stadium and don't lose any sleep over getting my football tickets way early in the morning. This year will be our senior year and we have all agreed that we want to try to go to as many sporting events and student activities as possible since we won't be able to do it anymore. We are all also setting up our intramural sports teams. We are trying our best to get a team for each sport offered and the only one that has been really hard has been the soccer team because not many of our friends want to play the sport. As readers may imagine by now, our little group of friends is a little little fanatic about sports of any kind. Each of us has played at least one sports of some kind for our entire lives. One time we took a fun little survey of our friends and realized that between us we had all, at one time or another, played every sport offered in highs school. Between us though I remember that the most prominent sports were football and track, two sports that I never played.

Games

Posted by Stacy on Tuesday, May 27, 2008 3:17 PM

What is with people and all these online games that they are into these days? I guess I am looking for a little more out of my life than just sitting on my computer all day playing games. There is a world out there that sitting in front of a computer screen, no matter how big it is, is not going to give you. A world of experiences that reaches well beyond the internet world lies just outside your door.

I used to believe that the gaming world was mostly for children, however recently it has been brought to my attention that many of the players especially of online games are the adults. Average working class people who can't get enough of online gaming. For instance, I recently met a second grade teacher who is a very good teacher and is very responsible and hard working. In a conversation, she began telling me that her husband was really into one of the Xbox online games, and would play online on the weekends with his friends. Well, on their wedding anniversary, he was going to forego his weekly game with his friends to spend time with her. She insisted that night that they would spend time playing the online game together, so as to show interest in something that interested him. Well, they played online that night together and she was hooked. As a matter a fact, she was so hooked that for Mother's Day he gave her and Xbox 360 of her very own and a pink controller to go with it. Now in this house with 2 adults and one child age 6, they now have 2 Xbox 360's in it one in the bedroom for her and one in the living room for her husband. Then she goes on to tell me about how she spent all day in the bedroom on Mother's Day playing this game, until her 6 year old came in and said that she hadn't spent any time with him that day all she had done was play this game.

How awful it is to think that now even the most responsible people in our society, are becoming gaming junkies and not even realizing it. The saddest part, in my opinion, of this story is that she thought that this was funny and didn't really see that there was anything wrong with her actions.

affordable medical insurance

Posted by Stacy on Sunday, May 25, 2008 9:50 AM

This summer I have project for myself. Since I am going to be a senior come the fall, I will need to try to become a little more financially independent so I may get a little more help with my loans and debt from the government. I will have a lot more debt than anyone in my family has ever had so it's going to be very important for me to make sure that I get all the help I need. That was the problem and mistake that my parents both faced and made. That is why they still have a good bit of debt because they got out of one hole from loans and had nothing when they bought a home so they still have that debt. Luckily for me I have been keen enough to have learned from their mistake and have already started preparing to get myself out of this debt as quickly as possible. So to start I have been getting all of the loose ends tied up that will classify myself as an independent person next summer. The biggest thing for me to try to fit in has been finding affordable medical insurance. If I can get that by the end of the month then by the time I graduate I will be eligible for a review and consideration as an independent person. I have been getting a bunch of online health insurance quotes to try to find the best one. So far my biggest surprise is how much more I am going to have to work this summer to afford it. It's not that any of the health insurance plans are that expensive but I have maintained a plan these last few years that has allowed me to work as little as possible and still pay all of the bills with playing money built in there. So I have no savings to fall back on, but I do have parents who have bailed me out a few times. This plan is going to be all on me to implement and I mean to do and do it right. Come next year I will be on the fast track to financial independence and reducing debt.

behavioral therapy

Posted by Stacy on Sunday, May 25, 2008 9:05 AM

There are many factors that will determine what type of drug abuse treatment is suitable for a certain individual. Methods will vary across different situations and the choice is usually dependent on the health care provider's call. Each rehab facility is ideally equipped to address different cases of addiction.

Two-fold

According to most experts, drug addiction has two main facets - the physiological affliction and the psychological issue that drives the substance abuse. An individual doesn't acquire the addiction overnight. It is developed over a long period of wanting to sidestep certain issues that he doesn't want to address.

With this in mind, it is important that a drug abuse treatment program manages to address both aspects of the problem in order to ensure sustainable recovery. There is a higher risk for a relapse to occur if any one of these areas is overlooked or insufficiently treated. This is the reason why treatment programs usually combine psychotherapeutic approaches and medications.

Behavioral therapy

Behavioral therapy can come in the form of counseling, cognitive therapy or psychotherapy or a little of everything. This area of drug abuse treatment is basically geared towards helping the individual overcome the mental stressors that drive him to resort to substance abuse. The facilitator also aims to pinpoint the underlying cause of the addiction - i.e. a family problem, social ineptitude, and mental issues - and from there, administer a specific action plan that will resolve it.

Detox

To address the physiological aspect of drug addiction, the individual also goes under detoxification - that is, the removal of toxic residue that has accumulated in the body over a long period of substance abuse. This entails a pretty complicated process that will merit the constant monitoring of a licensed health care provider. Because the patient is bound to suffer from withdrawal symptoms caused by the sudden cessation of drug intake, it is important to have the detoxification process administered by a professional.

Drug abuse treatment has never been an easy process - not even for those who are consciously willing to go through it. The body and the mind are two different aspects and it is entirely possible that one may react differently from the other.

Dahn yoga

Posted by Stacy on Friday, May 23, 2008 2:34 PM

Many schools of thought believe that the Chi energy is the key life force energy that exists in all human beings. They believe that this energy needs to be properly channeled for a person to get the most out of their existence. Recently I have learned of a new word for this essential human energy and that is Ki. Ki energy is a Korean term for this same life force or essential life energy. Practitioners believe that learning to control this vital life force is the key to having total control over the physical body.

These concepts began as a method of teaching the Korean people to have ultimate control over their mind and body. The belief is that ultimate control over one's body through their mind will bring the ultimate benefits of health and well being to the individual while allowing them to reach their ultimate potential on the earth. As this system was developed into its more practical modern form, it was taught to the Korean people in the form of Dahn Yoga. Dahn Yoga takes a more holistic approach to the body and believes that what the mind can perceive the body can achieve. Dahn Yoga uses yoga exercises to gain overall control of one's mind which in this way of thinking is the key to physical, mental and emotional health. Creating a Powerful Brain is the goal of these teachings, and the more powerful the brain becomes, the more powerful the human being can also become and the more the body can achieve. It is not a matter of mind control per say, but a way to center ones self by having a peaceful, calmness in the brain of the person, thus creating an overall feeling of peace love and well being. This can only be achieved by allowing the brain to function optimally and it is believed will even allow a person to understand their own greater purpose in the world.

In my perception of this particular concept, I find it very much intertwined to the teachings of a God centered existence, using the brain as the tool by which one can connect to the rest of the world as well as their maker. There is an interconnected state that causes a force within us all, and this state is what allows each of us to effect another by using our own connectivity. We are all part of the same whole and therefore we all can influence others using our mind, if we are just open to the concept of it.

Lower back pain

Posted by Stacy on Friday, May 23, 2008 1:14 PM

I recently went to see a Maryland Chiropractor for my low back pain and I really was amazed with the results. I was a little skeptical about seeing a Chiropractor, a lot of people seem to believe that Chiropractors are quacks or something; I honestly did not find this to be the case.

On my first visit, I found the office very professional and the staff was extremely helpful and friendly. I filled out all the personal information and past history paperwork and was quickly in to see the doctor. He discussed with me the history in further detail and took extensive notes on what I told him. Then he did a full exam on me and put me through some range of motion activities to see where I was hurting. Then he told me that he would like to take a full set of spinal x-rays to see what exactly was going on in my spine. I consented, and he took the x-rays and then did some therapies on my area of pain, which helped a little. He told me to come back in the morning and he would review the x-rays with me and let me know what he could do. Well, the next morning he reviewed everything with me and explained some of the problems that he saw in my spine, and how although he thought that Chiropractic could help my lower back pain, I needed to understand that there were other areas of my spine that had issues that were not causing me pain, however, they may be causing my body some other problems and that he wanted to fix all of it, not just my back pain.

I consented and began going in to the office 3 times a week. It only took a few days for my back pain to feel better, and then I started noticing some other things about my health improving. Gradually my little finger on my right hand (which had been numb for about a year) started getting feeling back in it again. Then my headaches started to go away. After that I began not feeling well again, and had to go to the medical doctor to see why I was beginning to feel ill again. He said that my blood pressure had dropped and that I needed to stop taking my high blood pressure medication. Well, all this happened in about a year of Chiropractic care.

Now I have relocated to go away to school and I am waiting for my Chiropractor to send me a list of Rockville Chiropractors that he recommends. No one can replace him and all that he has done for me, but I am sure that he will find me someone wonderful to continue what he has started.

surveillance cameras

Posted by Stacy on Monday, May 19, 2008 9:11 PM

For the summer I have been hired to help out with the surveillance security at the mall. They chose me because I am in the department of crime law and justice. I only have year left on my degree so they figured I have a enough book knowledge to do the job and that it would be good experience for me later. My job isn't one with a high level of security responsibility so I wouldn't ever be in physical contact with any trouble makers. My job is basically going to be to monitor the surveillance cameras to make sure I don't see anything suspicious. I have never been trained on any tactics for watching security cameras so they are going to do that for me as well. I think this job will make a great resume booster and hopefully will get me a job for university security in the fall or spring. The university has a pretty great security system which I think would make another great experience. I eventually want to go on to becoming a detective. I think that for me to know how to do this job will be the first step towards that goal after going to college these last couple of years. Once I have learned everything from this job then the university security job would help me to get experience working a beat. Along with field experience I would see how a real large scale security system actually works and how people interact with such a system. I think these things will help me on top of my education to become a great candidate for a detective in some police unit somewhere. I am really an action centered kind of person so I am hoping that any job I get is within a large city where the cases may be more interesting and frequent. Everything is more complex for police and especially detectives in the city. I will probably have to be a beat cop for a long while before I go on to even applying to become a detective because I don't plan on going in to the military, which would give me a leg up in any law enforcement agency. I just feel that my path goes through school and not through the military. I just don't think that it's my style. Anyway I am really excited to begin this new job at the mall and make a real world step towards my goals in law enforcement.

religious tours

Posted by Stacy on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 7:45 PM

All of the other students in the church and I have finally gotten all of our plans together for our big summer trip to Israel. We got all of our airfares months ago but there were couple of seats that got bumped along the lines and hotel rooms that didn't look like they were going to work out in time for us to all leave at once. We're all going over together as part of a series of young adult religious tours that I have been trying to organize both for fun and for college credit as an independent contract. This will be the first successful trip that I have planned and I think that it is going to go very well. I was a bit nervous about planning the whole thing since everyone would be relying on my being as thorough as possible. I had no idea how to plan a trip for myself let alone and thirty-five people all expecting to have some kind of profound experience. The hardest part so far was just coordinating the missionary flights. There are, I have found, plenty of missionary travel plans and agencies but they are little known in the public so it took a little digging to find them. After trying unsuccessfully to get mainstream airfares I finally found a mission travel agency about a month ago. Their prices allowed me to drop the church airfares prices by about sixty dollars per person. Everyone was so excited when I told them that a few more people signed up at the last minute. Since then I have been dealing with all of the particulars of the hotel arrangements and the actual tour routes. We will be there for about two weeks and it takes a lot of planning to see all of the area in that amount of time. For now though all of these things have fallen in to place and the only thing I can do now is wait and see. When we get there I am sure there will be more issues to work out, but I am totally up for the challenge.

luxury Tuscany villas

Posted by Stacy on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 7:22 PM

On my recent trip to Italy I found out that staying in a large hotel is not always the best way to travel. I have stayed in many hotels before and some of them five star resort, however on this trip we tried staying in some luxury Italy villas and found these accommodations to be amazing.

As we traveled through Italy, we enjoyed all the sights and sounds and tastes of the Italian culture. Staying in the luxury Tuscany villas gave us an enormous feeling of living amongst the people of this incredibly scenic area of the world. With the rolling hills and the incredible architecture, we stayed in the most amazing place and enjoyed not only the freedom of the area, but enjoyed seeing it from a little less of a tourist perspective. We would get up early and go for bike rides or walk the whole time enjoying the beautiful landscape.

While in Sicily we stayed at the most extravagant luxury Sicily villas. Sicily was incredible. A unique island full of art, archeology, history, folklore and breathtaking scenery Sicily has something for everyone.

By far, the best kept secret of Italy is Sardinia. Sardinia with its beautiful coastline and incredible waters makes this an area of Italy that you must see. Not much of a tourist attraction, this island off the coast of the mainland is a true delight. Set off and living amongst the natives, this island was by far more like a story book or a fairy tale than just a vacation spot. Often frequented by the rich and famous, this section of Italy makes a post card picture for the weary traveler. Enjoying the quiet luxury Sardinia villas was one of the best parts of staying in this region of Italy. The quaint little towns made us feel quite welcome. The friendly town's people peddling their beautifully handcrafted goods and delicious homemade foods just added to the ambiance of this lovely area. Quite honestly, the only draw back of this area was the difficulty of traveling from one area to another. Public transportation was really lacking in this area of Italy, so from a tourist perspective this was rough, but if you don't mind the adventure, every trip we made, was well worth it, for all we got to see and do.

Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend a trip to these regions of Italy. The Italian experience is incredible and once you go you may never want to return to the US again.

wholesale discount sunglasses

Posted by Stacy on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:51 PM

My mother has recently started struggling with her eye sight. Although, not in need of prescription glasses, she has just recently started wearing those dollar store reading glasses. You know the ones that magnify things to like two and three times the size. They are working really well for her, and she really likes the fact that when she needs a new pair, she can just go over to the store instead of back to the eye doctor for a new pair.

Now lately it seems that the sun is really bothering her eyes and I am getting a bit concerned that maybe her eye problems are more serious than the eye doctor once thought. She keeps promising me that she will go back and get her eyes checked out again, but in the mean time she keeps wearing her wholesale discount sunglasses and saying that everything is fine. Now I know that everything is not fine, and I really wish that she would be more careful. Sometimes, eye problems can be a sign of a more significant illness, and I just really want her to be careful. I have spoken to a friend of mine, and she said that her mother went through a similar thing and it was nothing. That makes me feel a little bit better, but I still would really like her to get it checked out by a professional.

I have recently gotten her a few pairs of replica wholesale sunglasses online, and will bring them home to her on break. At least these sunglasses that I am giving her will make her look a bit more stylish. They are a little more modern than her 70's style glasses that she is sporting these days. Her current pair of sunglasses are the really big ones and make her look like a flashback from another world. I think that she thinks they are cute, but I really think they are too out of date for me to be seen with her in public. Maybe, while I am home presenting her with her new sunglasses, I can whisk her off to lunch and a trip to the eye doctor. She would probably kill me, if I did that, after all she is the very independent sort who doesn't like doctors, but someone needs to guide her in the right direction before it is too late.

promotional products

Posted by Stacy on Saturday, May 10, 2008 8:43 PM

For the university I am doing my summer work study opportunity by helping organize and attend the annual logo merchandise tradeshow. Every year the university holds this event where they display all of the new sports products and all of the new clothing lines which they will be running for the next year. It is mostly attended by company reps for other brands and other school who want to either pitch their own products to us or to try to buy some of the same products for their school's product line. I will be in charge of setting up the booth with our promotional products which are given to us by the companies who sponsor us. These are the producers of our school's clothing lines and the various sports merchandising companies. I have to figure out some new and interesting way to distribute promotional gifts and basically pass out the example tradeshow giveaway items. I am not quite sure how I am going to do it, I was just given the position because I am a marketing student. Thankfully I will have a big team of students that will actually do all of the hands on work. When the tradeshow actually happens I will just get paid for attending and troubleshooting any problems that arise. I hope nothing out of the ordinary happens because if that is the way it goes I will get a fun little paid vacation day to walk around and talk to various sales reps. I want to try and put my name out there for the event so that next year when I graduate I can just drop my name to those people I meet at the tradeshow first and see if I get anything good out it. I am sure that these people would be really excited to hire someone who is already trying to sell them free stuff when they come to pitch their products. I still have another two weeks till I meet with my team so I have a little break before the summer work really begins for me. Until then I am going to be relaxing and getting my business suit tailored.

Boston Red sox tickets

Posted by Stacy on Saturday, May 10, 2008 8:26 PM

Now that the summer is really on its way and all of my finals are out of the way I am getting all of my ducks in a row if you will. I mean I have a bunch of things to get done this summer and I will be satisfied with doing just ta few but my plan is to hit them all. The biggest thing for me is that I want to see the two sides of my family and then build my summer from there. My father's side lives in Chicago and my mother's side lives in Boston. I want to split the summer up as best I can and as much as they will tolerate my freeloading between the two cities. While I am there visiting I want to see the cities from all angles. One thing I have already done is to buy my Boston Red sox tickets and my Chicago cubs tickets. I don't think I could make it a whole month in either city without checking out a baseball game in the middle of the summer. I bought a set of Chicago cub tickets and a set of Boston Redsox tickets for the beginning of each week I plan on arriving in those cities. This gives me a great anchor to make sure that I stick to some sort of a schedule and that I don't doddle, as I am want to do. I also want to do a lot of biking in the cities. I love riding around here and in any city I go to. I think that to see a city by bike is the best way because you can get anywhere fast and you can also just cruise if you want to. Plus in the heat of the summer, the gentle breeze from just riding is enough to make up for just sitting there and peddling a little bit in the heat. So it is looking like this is going to be a pretty awesome summer and I hope that everything, or at least most things, go according to plan and don't fall apart like last year's disaster.

glow sticks

Posted by Stacy on Saturday, May 10, 2008 7:46 PM

So your little one is turning five and requesting a fun birthday party. Well, kids that age are pretty easy to please. You really need to concentrate on a theme that all the partiers will be familiar with and some kid friendly food. And of course, the trend today is to have goody bags with party favors for all of them to take home. Now you have to go for those party supplies. I actually think you should start at one of those dollar stores. They have tons of "stuff" that kids like and they also have party supplies like plates and napkins and streamers and glow sticks, though I haven't ever been able to find the glow necklaces in one. But the glow necklaces aren't quite as kid friendly as the glow sticks are. So, what's it going to be for food items. Most kids love pizza which is an easy way to feed the little devils and most reasonable pizza places will also deliver to your house. Of course, there is also the hot dog option. Most kids love hot dogs too and they love macaroni and cheese. All of those options are pretty inexpensive. And a fruity drinks or little chocolate milks will go over well also. Now, when you need to break the bank is when you have to come up with the entertainment for all of them. It must be something that they can all participate in and you'll be glad you went for broke on the entertainment. Those bouncy houses are always just hilarious but you cannot just pick one up at the party supply store, you have to have those set up by a professional hours ahead of time. And you also need to be sure that there are no litigious parents attending whose darling little Billy, the bully of the playground, won't wind up injuring in the bouncy house or injuring himself. Many parents have a petting zoo set up for the kids or pony rides and things like that. Well, though that is fun also, it probably should be someplace that you GO to, not something you have set up in your back yard. Those critters poop and I personally don't want to be the one to clean up after them. The normal party mess is enough to deal with. Unless you have only a handful of kids attending, you may also want to forego the present opening for when the party is over and everyone has gone home. It's a lot less time consuming and if you write down everything your child received, a personal little thank you note addressed to the child who gave the gift will be a fun thing for them to receive in the mail.

Family health insurance

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, May 08, 2008 9:00 PM

Family health insurance is one of the few benefits that the larger corporations are still offering. Many of them are no longer offering 401K matches or pensions. So many more have eliminated things like personal days, paid holidays and over time. My husband works for one of these companies that have taken away almost all of the employee benefits that they used to offer. It is sad, some of the people he works with have been working there for the past 20 or 30 years or so. Now, these people are losing many of the benefits that caused them to take this job and keep it over the past few decades.

It is really sad that companies are allowed to do this to people who have been long term employees. These people have poured their hearts and souls into this company and now after a lifetime of service, they are just left in the dust as the company tries to cut costs. Working in factory environment, this job also requires a huge amount of physical labor. Several people have been injured significantly during their time working here. Now what they are doing is only allowing people to go on disability for 6 months. At 6 months, they send you a letter saying that they are letting you go. They do say that you can try to get hired back as a new employee, but at their current rate of pay and with whatever benefits they have available at the time. I really think that this is an outrage. In the past, one man was injured so badly at 46 that he had to begin living with his parents again so they could take care of him. He had a back injury and when they went in to fix him, something go messed up, and now this person is barely functional. It is scary to think that people like him may be left in the dust.

As far as I can see it family health insurance is about the only benefit that you can receive from these big companies any more. How long until they stop offering this? I am sure that it is only a matter of time before that benefit falls by the wayside too. Then what will people do. Your average factory worker can not afford to pay out of pocket for their whole families medical insurance, if they do they won't even be able to eat!

Health insurance quotes

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, May 08, 2008 8:05 PM

When I went out this morning it was amazing because there was some kind of fire in the air. Even with a gray sky and a sort of sticky heat all around us, everyone in the streets seems to be energized. This weekend there are families flooding all over town with their kids in their best dresses and suits. Graduation ended a few hours ago and now the long flowing robes slide past me in the street just disturb the electricity in the air for a moment. Everyone who is not part of this crowd is getting ready for this week. Some of us have at most five more days and others have already finished but are still lingering around town. I am one of those unlucky few who have a final every day this week and a project due when I take one of my finals. At least my project is very easy and all I have to do is look up a bunch of health insurance quotes for my medical business class. I know that this wasn't assigned as a difficult item but simply as some extra credit for health insurance quotes that the professor could use to just get a better idea of who is dedicated to the class and who is not. It's not too much skin off of my neck since I can easily fit all of the research for that in while I am studying for finals. So right now I am totally tapped in to that energy that everyone is feeling. It is like standing at the edge of a cliff just waiting to jump off. Some of us have only one more year after this. Some only have one more semester. No matter what happens after this week, we are all ready for it to be over. All the work and money we have devoted to the last four months is finally coming down to this final week of testing. I personally get really in to finals week because it is so easy to take this much more seriously than any other test. I treat this week like the only thing I have to do is finals. All of my schedule is clear but this and I think that is why I have and will do so well. I hope everyone else out there is feeling the energy and not the dreaded crunch.

Pet meds

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, May 08, 2008 7:27 PM

Well, five years ago, I adopted my delightful Hannah, a beautiful golden retriever who is on the smallish size. She always stays just under fifty pounds. Adopting a dog was the best thing I have ever done for myself. I knew that making that decision also meant being able to afford to take care of her in every way. I have worked that out just fine so far. The inoculations come once a year and other than the routine pet meds and an occasional teeth cleaning and of course some basic grooming costs, it has all been reasonably affordable. She is definitely worth much more to me than the cost of taking care of her. So far, any pet meds she has needed over and above the usual heart worm medication and flea prevention have been minimal. But friends have told me to check out purchasing even the Proin and heartworm medications and flea stuff online. For the past five happy years with Miss Hannah, I have always purchased everything from my vet. I know he doesn't gouge his patients but of course he must cover the cost to him as well as make a little bit over that. I think I am going to start pricing the pet meds that I don't need a prescription for online. I don't know how it works if you need a medication that requires a prescription. I think I would go without out my own medications and medical visits if it meant I did not have the money to take care of her needs. She cannot get help from anyone but me and I could get help elsewhere if it were absolutely necessary. She cannot forage for food on her own and dodge the mosquitoes and fleas just because I cannot afford to handle that for her. My plan is to keep enough income coming in even when I retire, that her needs are always met. I hope I never get to the point financially that I have to seriously consider anything like giving up her medical needs. I would rather give up my loving, faithful dog to a trusted, loving home than not be able to financially take care of her. Pet meds or human meds, we are both getting older and beginning to slow down a bit, but we are both still reasonably healthy. I hope that is the way it will stay until we both reach the rainbow bridge.

green products

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, May 08, 2008 4:31 PM

Every once in while my totally cynical view of my generation is shifted to one side because of some type of new contribution I see somewhere on campus. The newest group that I have seen is a great group of kids who are working for a cleaner environment around our school football games. These kids have been going to all of the sporting events now to compensate for our school's lack of an environmental initiative. Our school does have a great program higher up in their objectives like designing new green products, but they don't work enough on a grassroots level. That is where I think it would help students to have such a model like our big, well known university. We as individuals need to know that we can help this problem facing our planet on our own and we don't have to just sit back and wait for some bureaucracy to tell us what we are going to be required to do next. That is where I think groups like this are inspiring and extremely breathtaking in this time. I see in stores all of the new green products, but I don't see the human face to the philosophy. At the same time, many of these products that market themselves as "green" are in fact just a case of someone jumping on a fad or a buzz word. Even though I am quite cynical about my generation's contribution thus far, I still feel that there is a spark about us that could become something great. We need to take full hold of what is going on around this planet because it is a matter our survival and if we do nothing then nothing will ever be done again. I don't think i could bring myself to end an entry this way so I will simply end this entry on a good note. Since those kids began their campaign here on campus, three other student green organizations have since begun and now are registering over three thousand members. So I think that people are really moving at the grassroots level, but we can't let it die there or on the shelf with the last of the organic soaps.

Flowers

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, May 08, 2008 4:14 PM

This is Spring, the wonderful season when flowers bloom everywhere. I just love this time of year and really appreciate seeing the variety of flowers in our garden. Each year we are blessed with beautiful daffodils, tulips, lilacs, roses, etc. Each one seems prettier than the last until the picture show ends. I am not a full-time gardener and, although I appreciate all of the hard work that goes into gardening, it's never been something I worked very hard at. The end result is that I have a limited garden of the everyday variety and not the "work of art" that so many people have. In my garden, after the spring flowers have bloomed, there is very little color left. Everything is beautiful and green, but we are definitely missing the beauty of colorful flowers in the yard. Until now, that is. We now have something very new that provides me with beautiful flowers and colors all summer long.

I believe it was three years ago when I first read about the Endless Summer Hydrangea.

As I have always loved hydrangeas and considered them to be one of my favorites, I was very excited about this information. I went almost immediately to a local nursery and purchased this plant. I could not wait to get home to find the right location in my yard for this plant. The results were spectacular. I made sure there was plenty of water provided for the plant and clipped the dead flowers after their bloom. This was all I had to do and my reward was a profusion of beautiful hydrangeas that I was able to clip and use to decorate my home. They brought beauty and color to both my home and my yard.

Of course, I was so happy with my plant that the next season I bought another one. Again, I've been thrilled with the plant and love having it as an addition to my yard.

I then learned that there was another new plant being sold called the Knock Out Rose. As roses, too, are a favorite of mine, I immediately visited my local nursery and purchased a stunning but small rose bush and planted it in my back yard. From that day forward, I have had none-stop roses all summer long. They always look lovely and are spectacular in bud vases around my home.

I think it is wonderful that I can now have a striking collection of flowers in my yard without the hard work of gardens in the past. This is fun and I am enjoying my garden more than ever before.

Car insurance

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, May 08, 2008 3:20 PM

I recently purchased a new car and of course, I needed to review a few an auto insurance quotes. I do not know why that sometimes seems so intimidating to me. You must have auto insurance in order to drive an automobile and you just have to get yourself ready to hear how expensive it is especially if you need to have comprehensive and collision coverage. And since you cannot drive a car without car insurance, the purchase of the car is only the beginning of the expense. What a pricey right it is. With so many people out there trying to get something for nothing and so many attorneys out there enticing us to sue somebody, anybody, we have to buy as much insurance as we can possibly afford in order to not get everything we own taken away from us. It's a racket in so many ways. It's also totally necessary for so many reasons. What if you were in an accident and had no insurance - and what if the other party had no insurance - what do you do under those circumstances. If it is against the law for me to drive without auto insurance, then shouldn't there be some kind of fine or penalty or something for the other person if I'm involved in an accident with someone who doesn't have car insurance? I think the system needs some rearranging. Shouldn't you at least have your license suspended if you are driving around without car insurance. I mean whether you are involved in an accident or not. Even if you are stopped for a minor moving violation, I think you should be in deep doo-doo if you don't have at least the minimum that the law requires. So, when you check out those auto insurance quotes, pick one that you know you can live with. I am not so sure that there is that much difference in the prices if you stick to the basic coverage. But if I am required to carry car insurance, you better be paying for some too. I have been fortunate enough to be able to carry at least the basic required car insurance coverage and have not had to use it. I think I am supposed to knock on wood just about right now or jump around in a circle and spit three times over my left shoulder or something because that truly is good fortune.

marriage counseling

Posted by Stacy on Wednesday, May 07, 2008 8:57 PM

Many married people will tell you, being married and staying married is not always easy. It is truly a challenge to have 2 lives in perfect sync all the time. I think in the movie the Stepmom, the father said it best, "marriage is a commitment that even when the going gets tough you hang onto that commitment even if it is only by a thread". Sometimes you don't want to, but you do it anyway. That is my view on marriage anyway. In the vows you say for better or for worse, which does in fact indicate that there will be a worse. I think that when most people marry, they don't consider that they will ever have any worse, but it does happen to each couple and you must hold onto that commitment.

In difficult times, it may be necessary to seek out marriage help. It is something that you can do pretty easily these days. You can find marriage counsleing just about anywhere and even most insurances will cover this. Don't hesitate to admit that you have marriage problems, lots of people hit problems along the path and regardless of how you are feeling right now, this is normal. Having a neutral party to help you iron out the issues you are having my help keep the focus on the problems and not on blaming one party or the other. That is the one thing that you have to be careful of, not blaming. You can't just say he did this or she did that. It takes two people to make a relationship work, and two people to make a relationship fail. Most people don't want to admit that they had or have any responsibility in a failed relationship, but they do. If you notice, it is these same people who wind up in similar relationship situations over and over again in their life, and spend their time wondering how they could possibly be in this same place again. The problem is that if you don't fix what is wrong with yourself, then you can never move on. The only person in the relationship that you have control over is yourself, and that is the person who's issues you really need to address. Your responses to what happens in life, may be eliciting a response from the other person as well.

If you really want to keep your relationship going, then be sure that you address the issues that you have both as a couple and as individuals, and then if it doesn't work, at least you know that you gave it your best shot.

alcohol treatment

Posted by Stacy on Monday, May 05, 2008 9:07 PM

Fortunately, there are many different types of treatments that can aid in addiction recovery. First and foremost, however, it is important that the person seeks medical treatment. Drugs can harm things like your heart, lungs, and brain. In addition, the withdrawal symptoms can sometimes even be deadly. For this reason, people can be discouraged from quitting because they feel the effects of drinking or doing drugs are better compared to those of quitting.

It is a good idea to partake in some sort of group support system as a method of drug recovery. This not only helps the person connect spiritually with themselves but also identify with others who are in the same situation they are and who feel the same things they feel.

There are also some other forms of alcohol treatment. These include inpatient treatments such as medical detoxification and long term residential programs, and outpatient treatments such as partial hospitalization or counseling.

Different forms of treatment are going to have different results for each individual. For some, group therapy may be ideal as they need to feel like they aren't alone, while others may be too embarrassed to discuss their problem with others. Others may feel some residential program is more ideal for them.

The effects of addiction can be weighty and dangerous. Aside from the short term dangers that could arise such as traffic accidents and accidental deaths from stupid decisions made while under the influence (such as believing one can fly, picking a fight with someone else due to increased aggressiveness, or even choking on one's vomit), many long term problems can emerge such as heart, blood, and liver problems. Plus, have you ever seen an alcoholic with six pack abs and a healthy appearance or a smoker run a marathon? While at first they may maintain the look of poise and control, over time drugs age you and make you look a wreck, especially if you haven't had the stimulus for a period of time and are suffering withdrawal. Once you become addicted to a substance, it is very difficult to release yourself from the constraints of addiction. It's something like gaining weight...it's so easy to put on weight by eating fatty and greasy foods, but so difficult to try to shave the weight back off. Addiction is the exact same idea. It's so easy to reason away being addicted and to say, "who are you talking about? You must not be talking about me..." not realizing that you are the exact opposite.

People are so testy when it comes to drug addiction as well that it can be difficult to approach the subject with them, even if it is someone very close to you. Our speaker told us that there are some different ways to approach those you care about who you want to alert to their condition but that the method differs from person to person. I could have discovered that on my own without much help. Obviously there is no one cure-all for addiction...if there were one, nobody would ever get addicted to anything! Then again, if there were a cure-all, that would give people an excuse to experiment with addicting things like caffeine and drugs because they would know that they were able to cure themselves of the addiction with the special cure-all.

Anyway, that speaker was pretty interesting just because he was talking about addiction and drugs and alcohol. I don't know about any of my fellow college students, but I would MUCH rather spend my time in a classroom listening to a lecture about addiction than to listen to some psychobabble about geography and what type of rocks are on the ocean floor and what is the chemical equation for ethanol? Plus, the difference between all that nonsensical learning and learning about addiction is that I can actually apply what I learned about in the latter to everyday life...when's the last time anybody asked YOU what a stalactite was?

The moral of this story, kids, is to avoid addiction at all costs because its results can be deadly. Life is too precious to waste it being addicted to something.

alcohol rehab

Posted by Stacy on Monday, May 05, 2008 3:58 PM

I learned at an early age that I come from a family of addictive personalities. I have grandparents and parents who all drink alcohol daily. I have another grandfather who was a complete alcoholic and died before I was born. I have an aunt who is an alcoholic, and a cousin who is a drug addict. In any case, when I was about 19 even before I hit the legal drinking age, I began hanging out at bars where I knew the bouncers and would drink myself into oblivion. The only problem was no matter how much liquor I drank; I never got sick or hung over, even hard liquor. I don't think that I really noticed until one night I was at this bar with a friend of mine and had promised to drive her home. Well, anyway, I wound up hanging out with this guy and that one, and before I knew it my friend said that she was getting a ride home. I don't know how many absolute and orange juices I drank that night, but I do know that the bar tender was counting on me being wasted, and the drinks kept getting bigger and stronger each time. Well when the night was over, actually by now it was morning, I drove myself home. I don't remember driving home that night, and still the next day I was not sick or hung over in any way. This situation really frightened me, I mean what if I had run someone over that night on my way home, would I have even noticed?

I knew that it was time to get myself some help and within a week I had checked myself into an alcohol rehab facility. I was afraid that with all the family history I had that I was really heading to a scary place. Fortunately I was a social drinker, so I didn't get hit hard by the detox phase of treatment, for most people this is the worst part of addiction treatment. From detox I went to some group and individual counseling sessions which have been a great help to get me to see where my behaviors are coming from. They said I was one of the few people who really understood that I was on a bad path early on, and made a conscious decision to change it.

I can't say enough good things about alcohol rehab. It really helps provide you with the support you need to make changes in your life.

Envirophone

Posted by Stacy on Saturday, May 03, 2008 9:25 PM

Envirophone, it is a tricky word to pronounce (for some of us) and it is a tricky word to spell (for some of us), but it is not a tricky business. Your old mobile phone + cleaning up the environment = Envirophone. And this organization will pay you for your old mobile phones. This is without a doubt a win/win situation. I know I switch phones every time I have to renew an old contract with a carrier or if I switch to different carrier. There are usually those 'offers you cannot refuse' or that deal of the month that entices you to purchase a new phone at a discount. Sometimes the offer may have enough rebates that it feels like they are even giving you a new phone. No matter if you pay a little for the new one or if you get it virtually for free, you still have your old phone to deal with. And if you are a member of a family that has phones for each family member, you could have four or five or six old phones to get rid of every time you change. Then there are those of us who have that extremely spoiled child that wants that new and improved and too cute for words new hot pink phone that turns to passionate purple or peacock feather blue depending on the weather or the child's mood (if that phone is not out there at the moment, it will be shortly). "Oh, Mom, it is absolutely THE phone. Everyone that is anyone has that cool new color mood flex phone. And I do have a birthday coming up…" or "I did get a fabulous grade in my nuclear underwater grape peeling class…" or "Fine, I'll just ask Grammy then". Oh, you have one of those too? Well, whatever the reason, you may just find yourself with a box half full of older model used phones. So, what are you going to do with them? Who in the world wants the things? It sickens me to envision them, together with all of the phones from everyone else who has been storing them, just sitting in a land fill somewhere, someplace waiting to see if they will eventually decay. Well, they won't. Or worse yet, to imagine them being incinerated and further polluting the air. Why not give Envirophone a chance. What do you have to lose except, uh, well, uh, actually NOTHING. You have nothing to lose. I'll do it if you will.

drug treatment

Posted by Stacy on Saturday, May 03, 2008 8:54 PM

I had a really great day today despite all of the tension and stress building up over the impending natural disaster that is finals week. I got up this morning and went to my only class. Then I spent about four hours in the library doing some studying to get myself really ready for my first two finals on monday and tuesday. After I finished my studying I decided it was time to feed my caffeine addiction and I walked down to our lovely local coffee shop. I really love this place because all of their coffee is organic and fair trade certified. I feel like that really lessens the impact of my addiction to something that grows thousand of miles away and needs to be shipped here just for me every single day of the year. Anyway so I got my coffee and went to the corner and sat down at my usual booth when I looked at the door and my old yoga teaching instructor walked in the door. This lady is one of the coolest people I have ever met. Ever since we have met we have had a bond that is sort of like brother and sister except she is about twice my age and twice as smart as anyone I know. I said hello and she brought her coffee over to the table where we started to talk. I have always loved just sitting and talking with her the most and within a moment of her sitting down we were right in to the nitty gritty of our lives and how we feel about everything. She told me about how she is currently doing her graduate school research in a substance abuse center working with a hand full of drug treatment patients on her own. We are both in the college of counseling and human health and so I told her about my search for internships for the fall semester at a bunch of treatment centers. She agreed to put in a good word for me and see if I could possibly be her research assistant to get both of our research done quicker and in the same place. I hope it works out but if not it's cool. Just being able to spend the day with her and talk the way we used to was enough to boost my spirits out of the finals week bog that has settled in all around us.

Sardinia Sardinien

Posted by Stacy on Saturday, May 03, 2008 12:39 PM

I have been given an assignment in my German class to design a travel brochure for a place called Sardinia. All I know is that this is a beautiful area in Italy. It has incredible beaches and is very secluded. I am afraid that my German is not good enough to translate the English information I have into German, so that it makes sense. It is really a challenge and my German has really suffered since I had a really lax teacher last semester, who really did not make much sense with the things that he said, and I although I wound up passing the class, I feel as if I didn’t really learn anything in this class. Now the idea of writing this brochure is giving me a lot of grief. It should be rather easy. I can talk about a Holiday in Sardinia and hotels in Sardinia, and it should be rather easy, but yet somehow, I am not sure how to do this.

In English this is what I want to say:

Sardinia is a beautiful island in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy. The beaches are by far the most beautiful that you will ever see. Come visit this island and live among the Italian people in this incredible seaside community. This is not a big tourist attraction, so you will enjoy the peace and tranquility of this local community. Many of the wealthy, rich, and famous travel for Holidays to Sardinia to escape the hustle and bustle of the busy world that they live in. They have already discovered this unearthed treasure that Italy has to offer. Hotels in Sardinia are like staying in a paradise, many overlooking the awesome beaches of this little getaway. There are little towns to shop in and you get all the beauty of a beach vacation and feel like one of the family as you live amongst the people, feeling more like a citizen than a tourist. Sardinia is home to many medieval fortresses, folk feasts, museums and some of the most incredible wine and cuisine you have ever experienced. Porto Cervo, Alghero, Villasimius, Stintino, Carloforte…are just some of the more prominent towns; but all corners in Sardinia are able to pleasantly surprise tourists.

Now, I will try it in German:

Sardinien ist ein schönes Eiland im Mittelmeer an der italienischen Küste. Die Strände sind bei weitem die schönsten, die Sie jemals gesehen haben. Kommen Sie und besuchen Sie diese Insel und leben Sie unter dem italienischen Volk in dieser unglaublichen Küsten-Gemeinschaft. Das ist keine grosse Touristenattraktion und daher werden Sie den Frieden und die Ruhe dieser lokalen Gemeinde geniessen.

Viele der Wohlhabenden, Reichen und Prominenten kommen nach Sardinien, um ihren Ferien auf Sardinien zu verbringen und dem stressigen Treiben der geschäftigen Welt, in der sie leben, zu entfliehen. Sie haben bereits diesen unirdischen Platz entdeckt, den Italien zu bieten hat. In den Hotels auf Sardinien fühlen Sie sich wie im Paradies und viele liegen an zauberhaften Stränden. Es gibt kleine Städte zum Shoppen und Sie werden die ganze Schönheit eines Strandurlaubes erleben und sich wie eine einheimische Familie unter den Leuten fühlen und Sie werden sich eher als einheimischer Bürger, denn als Tourist fühlen. Sardinien ist die Heimat vieler mittelalterlicher Schösser und Burgen, Volksfesten, Museen und einigen, der besten Weine und der besten Küche, die Sie je erlebt haben. Porto Cervo, Alghero, Villasimius, Stintino, Carloforte…sind nur einige der bekannteren Städte, aber alle Ecken Sardiniens können Touristen positiv überraschen.

Flights

Posted by Stacy on Thursday, May 01, 2008 9:39 PM

Usually at this point in the semester I feel a lot different. I will be finishing my third year in about a week and I have nothing to do this summer. The last two years I opted out of my summer and took classes to get a whole semester out of the way. This year though I don't have enough money to be able to afford the extra classes I need to even be eligible for aid. So I guess I am just going to hang around town and work for the next few months. It feels weird that I have nothing to do. The last two years I have had something to look foreword to and even though it was more work I took comfort in having a place where I needed to be. This year I think the only thing I have to plan out is a trip to go see my parents. I think this is one area where I can really put my energy because it is going to be a challenge to find cheap airfare, let alone cheap international flights. I think there are probably plans through the school where I can get discount flights like student airfares. No matter what though, it's going to drain my bank to get from here all the way to the Philippines where they live. With the cost of everything rising, including tuition obviously, I would imagine that discount airfares would be more scarce especially among the international airfares. Either way I am going to be pretty bored other than a quick week with my parents. I hope I can find a sublet for the summer and then spend the whole time with my parents, but usually it's hard to do since almost everyone leaves town. For now though I just have a few more assignments to worry about and some online class work that I need to read before my finals in a week. Finals week is also going to be a killer since I have a final each day of the week at eight in the morning. By the weekend I am going to be a blob just ready to melt in to a couch somewhere.