Holidays at Disney World

I am excited to see Disney World this year during the Holiday season. I am fortunate that Disney has a complimentary admission for all service members. My great-aunt who has never been to Disney will be going with us, and I am very excited that she will be able to experience the "Disney magic".

I watched a special on how Disney World prepares for the Holiday seasons, and they put up about 1,300 christmas trees and millions of lights. The Cinderella castle is draped with lights and is sync to the Fairy Godmother's flick of the wand.

Two more weeks and I will be surrounded by the lights and walking down the streets of Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom.

Thanksgiving

So what do you give thanks for? Personally, I am thankful that I made it to see 30 yrs of age, I am thankful that all of my family is in good health and spirits. I will not be able to spend this Thanksgiving with my family, but I am happy that I will be able to cook a meal for others who are far away from their families as well.

I am already in preparations of the big meal, cornbread dressing, cornish hens, collard greens, bake macaroni-n-cheese, sweet potatoe pie, and red velvet cake. I am getting hungry just thinking about it. Yum!!

I pray that all the soldiers, airmen, marines, and seamen who are far away from home fighting the good fight, are protected and will come home safe and sound. That they will be able to spend future Thanksgivings with their loved ones.

Dark Photography

As a military photographer, there is a term shared by many of my colleagues...Dark photography. I was tested today on my skills in this photography as I was called out to photograph an autopsy of a suicide victim.

Being as this was my first time photographing anything in this manner, I was nervous, anxious, scared to say the least. I did not know what to expect and how I would react, so I spent hours mentally preparing myself for the situation.

I am glad to know that I can handle myself just fine, if and when I am called on again for the task. I neither fainted, vomited, nor ran away.

And for those who have comtemplated or is comtemplating suicide and feel there is no way out, how can you be so sure? If you are dead, then there is no future...no future or opportunity to solve the problem. Ask how it will affect those loved ones left behind, because they are left longing for questions as to why. Left feeling guilty, thinking they could have done something to prevent it. Communicate with your loved ones or seek assistance from a professional when you are having these thoughts, there is always a better solution...don't let suicide be your final one.

Paranormal activity

Tonight my cousins and I are going to check out the movie Paranormal Activity, so we will see if it is as scary as the review raved it would be. It takes a lot to scare me now a day, so I am going to be disappointed if it doesn't deliver. I am sure that my cousins will be scared, we will see. I will give my reviews later on.

Well Paranormal Activity was another Blair Witch Project...the whole movie is through a camera and it is not...I repeat not scary at all. The believability factor was not there for me and one man shouted out in the theater that he wanted his $9.50 back.

Almost 30!

Tuesday I will be the big 3-0. One friend asked how it feels, well I have happy to be turning another year older, to see another day. For me it is also a victory seeing how neither my brother or sister lived to see their 30th birthdays. So although previous birthdays I didn't really celebrate, this one I throwing a big celebration; celebration of life, of family, of friends.

I don't feel any different, and like the saying goes "you are as young as you feel", and just last month someone thought that I was in my early 20s. But I like to embrace my time here on earth, and quickly correct them to my real age. Because I have been truly blessed to come so far, and I am excited to see how far I will go from here.

Going home!

I am so excited that I am going home next weekend. I can’t wait to see my family and know that we are going to have so much fun just hanging out. Family is so important and we should not take them for granted. They are the only ones that you can count on “all the time”. It will be a long trip to get to Georgia, even by airplane; it will take about 8 hours. I have a 2 hr drive after the plane ride which seems to take the longest. This trip is for celebration, I will be turning 30 and I am so grateful to be able to share this moment with family and friends. I still have so much to accomplish with decorations, menus, and scripts; but I am sure everything will work out and come together.

It’s snowing…why!?!?

I have been here for over 5 years now and I know that snow was on the horizon, but this is the earliest. Originally for Georgia, it is something to get use to; that is driving in these conditions; and being able to withstand the low temperatures when you are outdoors for extended periods of time. Unfortunately for me, I get cold really fast and after about 5 minutes I am ready to find a place that is warm and cozy. So why did it have to snow and drop to such low temperatures on the same weekend that I volunteered to march during the opening of the Rockies Game 3 and 4? I am going to dress in layers and bring hand-warmers but that will only last so long for me, and then I will be looking for a building with heat, ahhh sweet warmth! To revive feeling back to my icy cold and thumbing fingers, to bring back the color to my almost frost nip nose, and the movement back to my toes.

2012? Really could the Mayans be right?

How many times have I heard the prediction that they world was going to end, countless times. I remember once when I was very young probably in elementary school and remember in the newspaper and on television, so body was saying that the world was going to end. Being so young and easily persuaded, I believed it and was so frightened that I did not want to leave the house and remember crying and refusing to go to the circus that we were on our way to that day.

As I got older, I was so easily persuaded and now I want scientific proof. As of lately the new thing is the Mayan's calendar which stops at the date December 21, 2012, and some believe that since they were so accurate with this calendar that since it ends on this date, that the world will also. So I did some research on the idea, and one scientist believes that the sunspot cycle will occur in 2012 and will be the strongest one yet. While other believe it will happen sooner like 2010 or 2011. But what does this sunspot cycle entails? Well not the end of the world, but just a malfunction in our technologies such as cellphones, GPS, and weather satellites.

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/10mar_stormwarning.htm

Sabotage

One of the ultimate lows that one person can do to another. What is the motive? Usually jealous or greed...I recently became the victim of sabotage in my workplace and it doesn't feel to well.
Why must we set people back instead of helping them pave the road to success? I can understand not having the same ambitions, but really to deliberately go out of your way to hinder someone's dreams and aspirations.
If you find yourself the victim of sabotage, please don't give up so easily. Fight to the end to win your personal victory, I am not saying it will be an easy journey. But "snakes" that try to throw you of your "Eden", should not get the pleasure and should feel the re percussions.
I for one am not giving up, and will fight to the end to get what I want; everything that I having to working so hard for and I can not just throw my hands up and quit.

Pledge of Allegiance

So I wanted to test a theory. When learning to recite the Pledge as a young child, they may not fully understand what they are saying at the time, but as an adult they would be able to interpret it for themselves.

So yesterday, while I was on the phone with my mother, who has been out of school for over 35 yrs, I asked her if she could recite the Pledge of Allegiance. At first, she thought she wouldn't be able to, but after a couple of tries she was able to recite it almost perfectly. So it is important I think to be able say a pledge that you will always honor and respect your country. But if it is removed, what could be the effects of our youth towards their country? So part two to my experience, I am going to call and ask the same question to my 6 yr old cousin. I will let you know my results.

Brainstorming controversial topics

I am finding it hard to pick a controversial topic that hasn't already been done and one that I am truly passionate about. I posed the question to some of my co-workers and they were able to give me some good ideas...like child discipline and allowing gays to serve openly in the military. Since I don't not have first hand experience in either of these, I don't have any children of my own nor do I know any that is gay that is offended about the laws restricting them rights. I pondered so more, because I feel to do my best work I would have to be truly passionate about it. So then I went out and searched the world wide web, it has everything right?

Well it did help me, the web that is, because I think I have found my topic of discussion/debate. The Pledge of Allegiance, the whole debate with removing it from our schools and the opposition to "Under God". My next step is the library to find my sources, this should be fun. I already have a head start for my argument after taking a history class this past spring, with talking about the documents written by our Founding Fathers that so clearly intertwined religion with law. Lets see where this takes me...I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be an exciting journey and hopefully a shift of paradigms.

Writer's Block

Last night I was a little overwhelmed by all the things that I have to accomplished in so little time it seems. Now that I am officially signed up for English Comp II, I am hoping that it will spark my creative writing and that I can stop putting off writing the short stories that I want start to immortalized by brother and sister. I came up with the idea while I was in the desert, I am promise myself that I would gather memories about my siblings so that they would live on for generations to come. See, my brother passed away 4 December 2002 at the age of 21 from a stroke, and the following year on 28 November 2003 my sister passed away at the age of 29 from a heart attack; leaving behind a daughter and husband. It has been difficult to accept, and I don't believe that I have really grieved so I figured that writing these stories will keep my memories of them from fading away, afterall it's all that I have left of them.

I have attempted to start on them, but have experienced writer's block. So I guess if I just start writing and keep writing that I will get over the block.

Again, I am overwhelmed by all the other things that I must accomplish right now as well, there are the tasks and inspections that are coming up at work. Then putting together my package for a commissioning program, and then there is the birthday party that I am organizing for October, and family trip coming up in December that I am heading. So much and so little time!!!