College Happenings

I think it is so great that so many of our tax dollars are supporting the war in Iraq. I think it is great that after our counrty was attacked by Osama and his buddies that we go ahead and attack Iraq. I think it is great that our leaders lied to us and sent us to this unwinnable war.

I really do think is is good that we caught Saddam and he is now on trial for crimes agaist humanity. I think it is annoying that Bush acts like it is a great achievment and he is all proud cause he got revenge for his Daddy.

But, I think Saddams trial is a joke. It seems he is still totally in control. You know he scares the crap out of the judges. They are probably scared for their lives. Seriously, if we are going to go to war cause he is all evil, if we are going to spend billions of dollars and lose thousands of lives over this guy, then why couldn’t the trial be here in the US. Our judges don’t have to fear retaliation, witnesses could be better protected and I doubt Saddam would be able to walk out of court.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein’s trial turned chaotic shortly after resuming Sunday, with one defendant dragged out of court and the defense team walking out in protest. The former Iraqi leader was then escorted from the room minutes after shouting “down with America!” Seeking to assert tight control, the new chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman pressed ahead with the proceedings even after the opening drama, hearing three prosecution witnesses before adjourning the trial after 4 1/2 hours

School this week didn’t quite seem like school yet. Maybe that is because I was busy being sick and changing my schedule around. For everything. Work schedule, NAJA schedule, class schedule. Crazy!

I am loving my opinion writing class. Thursday our teach asked everyone to write down a pet peeve. Then she went around the class and we all got to listen to everyones gripes. It was pretty cool.

People are really bothered by cell phones. Annoying ring tones, people who talk on their phone at the movies or in line at the bank. Ringers instead of ring tones, and any other annoying cell phone habit one can think of.

Other things people didn’t like, bad drivers, vanity license plates, rude neighbors, rude customers, out of control bike riders and my favorite, non-tippers.

Now we all have to write editorials about why our gripes are good. You know take the other side. For instance, I guess, non-tippers are good because they help me to learn to live on a budget and it keeps money in the peoples pockets. I guess.

I am gonna have to work on that one.

On the subject of gripes. Everyone in the media better lay off my man James Frey. Who cares if he called it a memoir and then imbellished. One root canal instead of two, who cares. He wrote it so that we believed two. I am sad for him, he looked sad on Oprah. She knows his work is good, she is just mad cause everyone is ripping on her for picking his book.

His books touched my heart and I think he is an excellent writer. Keep on man!

Before I get to my warning, I have to tell you all, the J-school building is so flippin hot! I think I am going to die. One would think old people live in the building. It is like 90 degrees. I am going to throw up on myself.

Anyway…my friend Adell has a 19 year old sister. She is a student at Montana State ( that other university). She doesn’t smoke and rarely drinks. She uses the birth contol patch.

On Friday, she was out with some friends. She was the DD so she wasn’t drinking. She went outside for some air and fell down. She got up again and kept falling, like she had no balance. So, she went home and went to bed. The next day she slept most of the day and then when she woke up her words were slurry. She wasn’t making sense and still couldn’t walk on her own.

So she finally went to the emergency room and after a million tests they found out she had a blood clot cuased by her birth control. The patch.

All birth control has a risk of causing blood clots and it is worse if you smoke.

Be aware.

Well, one nice thing about the first day back is it is all about the syllabus. No lecture or homework, not even a full class period. Teachers basically just seein who is in class and who is droppin.

There were like a million highschoolers on campus today. They are pain, they get in the way. Learn the flow of traffic.

There were no sandwhiches in the UC today. What is that about? I love the sandwiches there. Hopefully they’ll get that lined out.

There was an electrical fire in Griz Central, so no one could do any financial aid or add or drops. It was funny watching people freak about that.

I guess it is time to get back into the flow of things.

I love the University of Montana…everyone here is a slob…well the majority. It is great!

I see lots of wild animals at home. Deer, rabbits, elk, lots of water fowl.

This weekend I got to see a different variety of animals.

Kristin and I saw some Big Horn Sheep. I’ve only seen them twice before. She said they are always around Big Sky.

Chris and Jason went into West Yellowstone yesterday and they saw some wolves. They said they were about 100 yards away. Chris said they were bouncing and playing and chasing mice. I am totally jealous. I have never seen wolves in real life.

This morning there was momma moose and her baby in the yard. We watched them for about half an hour. The momma trashed some Aspen trees. She would wrap her mouth around the middle of the tree and pull down and snap it. It was pretty amazing to see her power.

It has been a great weekend! Now I am back to Missoula and school. Yeah me.

My dear friend Kristin took me skiing today. It was wonderful! There was plenty of fresh powder and the weather was great! It was snowing, So we couldn’t see the top of the mountain. It didn’t matter though.

I like skiing bigger resorts. It is so nice to ski all day and not hit the same run twice. Big Sky is huge. Even though it was Saturday the lines were pretty short. Barely a wait.

Since it was my first day all season my thighs were burning the first two runs. After that I was good to go.

The temp. was great, not to cold, not to warm. I loved it. Loved, loved, loved it!

I have some pictures, but I can’t figure out how to get em on here, but I will work on it.

Well, one more day till school starts, then back to the grind stone.

I am thankfull I had a great day to play.

My perfect man and I took a trip to Big Sky. My friend Kristin and I are going skiing tomorrow. Yeah!!!! I can’t wait.

Chris (my perfect man) and Jason (Krsitin’s husband) are not going skiing. Chris is more into motorized sports. So they will do what ever it is that men do when the women are away.

I am super excited. There is a ton of snow and it is going to rock.

I’ll let you all know how my day went.

Wyoming girls rock! Don’t you wish you were one?

This is one of those email get to know you things.
You can learn interesting things about people sometimes.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30am
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? ??
4. What is your favorite TV show? Desperate Housewives
5. What did you have for breakfast? toast
6. What is your middle name? Ann
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian
8. What foods do you dislike? Brussel sprouts
9. Your favorite Potato chip? Ruffles
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? The Holly’s
11. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy

12. Favorite sandwich? Tuna fish

13. What characteristics do you despise? Manipulative people
14. Favorite item of clothing? A worn out sweatshirt

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation,
where would you go? French Mediterranean area
16. What color is your bathroom? White

17. Favorite brand of clothing? This brand my Aunt Jill sent me last year. It is under shirts and pj bottoms, I can’t remember the brand, but they are so comfy.

18. Where would you want to retire to? Haven’t been to enough places to know yet.
19. Favorite time of day? Mornings…if no one bugs me

20. Where were you born? Custer, SD

21. Favorite sport to watch? nascar

24. What laundry detergent do you use? Tide

25. Coke or Pepsi? Dr. Pepper

26. Are you a morning person or night owl? Morning now a days

27. What size shoe do you wear? 9

28. Do you have pets? 1 wonderful lazy eyed cat and 2 stupid ducks.
29. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share with
everyone? Hmmm…
30. What did you want to be when you were little? A scientist, then a writer.
31. Favorite Candy Bar? Twix
32. What is your best childhood memory? Christmas with my family, and Glenn walking into numerous poles.
33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Oh my gosh where should I start. Paper girl, maid, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Ole’s, landscaper, secretary, there are so many more. It is ridiculous.
34. What color underwear are you wearing? None of your business.
35. Nicknames: James and Jaime like it is said in Spanish, ya know with an H sound.
36. Piercing? Ears

37. Eye color? Hazel

38. Ever been to Africa? No
39. Ever been toilet papering? no
40. Love someone so much it made you cry? yes

41. Been in a car accident? no

42. Croutons or bacon bits? Both

43. Favorite day of the week? Friday
44. Favorite restaurant? Olive Garden
45. Favorite flower? Tulip

46. Favorite ice cream? Yuck
47. Disney or Warner Brothers? Warner Brother

48. Favorite fast food restaurant? Fireside

50. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? twice

52. Which store would you choose to max out your
credit card? Bed Bath and Beyond

54. Bedtime? 10-11

56. Last person you went to dinner with? My perfect man.

58. What are you listening to right now? People talking, (I’m at the gym) and classic rock
59. What is your favorite color? pink

60. Lake, Ocean or River. ????

61. How many tattoos do you have? 2

62. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Chicken

Things have been slow in my life lately. No exciting stories. I went for a nice long hike in the mountains the other day, enjoyed the fresh air. It was nice.

Due to the fact that I have no stories to tell you, I find some strange news.

This is from Chuck Shepherd’s News of the Wierd

In December, according to police in Jersey City, N.J., Roselean Walker, 36, sat at one screen in a movie cineplex with her boyfriend while her 11-year-old son watched the longer Harry Potter film at another screen, but after her movie ended, she tired of waiting for the son and went home with the boyfriend to New York City. When police called her the next morning to come pick up the boy, she demanded that they drive him home. After officers ordered her immediately to the station, she showed up in a bad mood, threatening a lawsuit for the inconvenience, and wound up being charged with assaulting an officer (in addition to endangering a child’s welfare). [Jersey Journal, 12-9-05]

According to the Nov. 10 Evening News of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., a father was under investigation by police after War Memorial Hospital reported an assault on the man’s 11-year-old son. Police said it appeared that the two were playing a video game, that the son had beaten his dad by using a secret upgrade that made his character more powerful, and that the dad, in anger, had spanked the kid, put soap in his mouth and slapped him several times in the head. (The father said only that he had punished the boy for lying.) [Evening News, 11-10-05]

Animals Gone Wild: A billy goat reportedly attacked Zimbabwe’s strong-arm President Robert Mugabe during a gas-station stop en route to the mountain resort of Nyanga in December, injuring Mugabe’s scrotum and large bowel. And Fremont, Calif., police officer Paul Rush, who was escorting a teenager home from a traffic stop in January, reported to a hospital emergency room afterward because five chihuahuas had attacked him at the front door of the teen’s home, biting his ankles. [ZimDaily.com, 12-21-05] [San Jose Mercury News, 12-30-05]

In December, the Bush administration’s Department of Justice filed a “friend of the court” brief at the U.S. Supreme Court, supporting Anna Nicole Smith in her battle with the son of her late husband, J. Howard Marshall II, over his estate. Smith and the administration believe that a federal bankruptcy court (which backed Smith) should control the case and not a Texas state court (which had sided with Marshall’s son). [Los Angeles Daily News-AP, 12-26-05]

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

-Martin Luther King, Jr