[beanbag]

I have discovered the importance of resisting temptation. I have yet to discover the correct method of resistance, however. I have spent so much money on junk! I spent $4 on coffee last night, and almost $2 on junk today (my friend and I did a bookstore raid today before *coughs* aerobics. we bought a bunch of candy. )...I need to stop!

Okay now that I'm done being random (for the next 5 minutes, at least) I'll move on. Today was an alright day...speeches started today, and everyone did a really good job. I have to get a move on with mine, cuz my speech is monday!

I can't think of anything else worth writing about right now...or, anything else I want people reading lol...and, it's almost 11 and I have class tomorrow at 8 am so I am going to skip on out.

ma salama.

[Brian-Alexander]

good morning to you,
hey whats new besides halloween wait halloween is tomorow i must be going crazy well i am sick again today and my mom made me stay home so thats probally why i havnt been out the house except for church last night

[beanbag]

I'm sorry to hear you're sick, Brian. I am, too. I was running a fever yesterday, and a little today...and I had my midterm tonight! A guitar concert...it sucked lol. We were all nervous, and kept messing up. Hopefully the audience didn't realize it. And I saw someone I half expected to (and wholly hoped) but didn't really think I'd see there, so that was all good...very good.

Ummm...I can't think of much else. I have class tomorrow morning, and I have a speech to prepare. As soon as I finish hanging up my clothes, I'm going to go and (hopefully) sleep off my sickness.

Random Thought of the Day: Caramel apple pops are the BEST. They remind me of jr. high.

ma salama!

[beanbag]

aww today was my little brother's birthday. he's all grown up! *teary smile*

okay, I have a speech tomorrow (ew!) that I have to finish preparing for.

ma salama!

[beanbag]

hmm...I don't exactly have much to say, but I'll post anways.

I gave my speech last monday, and I should be finding out my grade this monday. I'm a little nervous...I'm hoping for a B. I know it wasn't A material for the guidelines my teacher set out (I went a minute and a half overtime ) but a B would be nice. I'm praying I don't get less than a B-. And I'm really praying I get an A in the class, especially because I'm planning on getting my AA in speech and using that as my base before I transfer. It would be nice to get all A's in my AA-related classes. My dad thinks it's unnecessary to get an AA in speech when I'll be getting my master's...he says AA's don't matter when you have a BA or a masters, but I don't care...and that's a different story anyways.

for anyone reading this...please keep me in your prayers. I'm going to be visiting UC Berkeley again sometime this month (I'll be meeting with some polsci/mid. eastern studies advisors to discuss transferring and classes) and I'm going to be deciding if I want to apply there or not. it popped up so suddenly, but it seems like such a good place to be. It's the *only* school I've found with all the academic programs I want, and there's a huge christian presence on campus (they have their own residence halls, constructed by the local churches!) and all this stuff. so I dunno...it's a hard time in my life, because no matter what decision I end up making, I'll be moving out when I'm 18. It may seem like a long time, but it's really not. Time has flown by over these past two years, and it seems to speed up with every month. These next two years are going to be gone before I know it, and whether I'm moving to Virginia or Berkeley, I'll still be moving out. And as my friend put it when she was packing to leave for Tennessee, I'll most likely not be moving back in. I think that's the scariest part of all. Going away on extended vacation is hard, because I miss my mommy (and my dad! and the rest of my family, sometimes... ) but I always know my house is waiting for me, my room is waiting for me, and most importantly, my family is waiting for me. This is different though. This isn't vacation, it's...leaving. For good.

Anyways, I'm through depressing myself for now. It is something I think about almost daily, though, so chances are I'll go through it all again tomorrow lol. Have a wonderful, blessed evening!

ma salama.

[beanbag]

ladeda. first things first...my speech grade SUCKS. my projected grade on my speech is a D+. apparently it was all delivery stuff, though. she said my material was good, my written speech was good, etc but that I gave myself too much to learn, I got nervous when I realized I was out of time, and sped up and stuff like that. I guess I still have a chance of getting an A in the class, because she said I can, but I still feel kind of bleh. my very first real college paper got an F, but now that I've been doing this for over two years, I kinda thought I'd get better at it!

anyways, that was the bad news. the good news...I GET TO SLEEP IN TOMORROW!! I don't have to get up at 6:30, which is quite exciting...I get to sleep as late as I want muahaha. knowing me, I'll either get up at 8 or at 2 lol.

okay anyways...I'm going to enjoy my mini-vacation and read...

ma salama!

[beanbag]

oh yeah...I knew I was forgetting something. I hope people actually read this post, because it's kind of important...I was gonna post this in general discussion, but I didn't know if I could or not.

anyways...

my brothers and I are each going to pack a shoebox for needy kids which'll then be sent around the world. here's the link: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index...hristmas+Child

I would really encourage those of you who can afford it to do so, because it's such a blessing and such a ministry. plus, my brothers and I love shopping for fun presents, and it's so worth it to imagine what their faces will look like when these kids are opening presents...there are a ton of pics on the site, so it isn't that hard to think of.

okay I'm out for reals.

ma salama.

[beanbag]

ladeda. I feel like I'm writing to air lol. oh well...I like writing to air. kind of.

anyways...life is okay, aside from the fact that I've been sick for 3 months. but then again, things could be worse. not much worse, but still.

I'm so not excited about the debate this wednesday for speech class, but what can I say...I need an A on the debate to do well in the class itself. especially after my lovely C- speech.

not much else to say so I'm out.

ma salama.

[Handofpromise]

Ahlan wa sahlan....hehe...Hello my sister...I'm off to the towerrr......to the towerrrr...hehe...i gotta go now....pee...

[bingsWRX]

hey there! haven't seen ya around for a while. just thought i'd write a quick note to say hello. it seems like it has been forever since i've been on here. but have been able to make time for it the last couple of days. that's usually how it is for me. i'm on here whenever time permits! i hope all is well. lemme know how your second visit to berkeley went! take care!


bing

[beanbag]

lol Ashur...nice post. to the tower! Rapunzel, Rapunzel!

and it's nice to hear from you, Bings. I hope everything's going well for you.

I haven't been in here (or on here either) much for the past couple of weeks. I've been kinda busy with school, and I've rediscovered this chat server I was a regular on back in the day. In January I'll have been there 6 years lol...so I've been busy catching up with the few people I remember who are still left.

I'm really excited...I'll be visiting Berkeley this Tuesday to meet with a couple of people...one to tell me exactly what I need to transfer, the other to tell me what classes to take before transfer, and then what to expect if I do in fact come to school at Berkeley. I'm considering maybe dropping by financial aid, too. Berkeley is pretty expensive, and my parents aren't made of money...I'm not either. I'm thinking about filing as independent, and paying my parents "rent" or something to live with them, that way I can qualify for financial aid at Berkeley. Otherwise, I honestly have no idea how I'll pay for it. Also, financial aid looks at the year prior, so if I want to transfer next year or the year after, I have to file as independent now. My mom doesn't like the idea, mainly because I won't have insurance under the family plan right now, but how often do I go to the doctor anyways? My dad is more into the idea...I think he was willing to look into individual insurance for me. The thing I need most right now though is a job lol. That'll maybe put a small dent in the school costs.

Anyways, I have to get back my homework, so that's all for now.

ma salama!

[beanbag]

I spose I should write something here, so here we go...

I have decided to go to Berkeley for school. this means moving out next august. this means being away from my parents and my family. this means living with a totally strange girl, in a totally strange city. although, the thing that scares me more is living with a totally strange girl. I mean...I don't know what kind of person she'll be, what kind of strange habits she'll have, what kind of people she'll bring "home" with her. I will be so totally blessed if I can get into the christian housing, but I'm not counting on it. at least I'll only be 15 minutes from where my dad's office is, so anytime he's in town he can drop by and see me. and I now know the way to the train station, and exactly how long it takes to get to the end of the line to where my parents can pick me up. although, the end of the line is in the city where my dad works, and while it takes the train an hour to get there, it would take my dad half an hour, round trip. and apparently there's this system called "car sharing", which my mom said is way cheap. so I could even get a car and come home on my own for the weekend.

anyways, enough about berkeley. I am SO happy school is over. (almost). I have my arabic final this saturday, and my speech final next wednesday...and then...I'm free! I'm still trying to figure out my classes for next semester...it's all one big mess, but I'll survive.

I think I've written enough for now. come back later.

ma salama!

[Rhonda Schofield]

Berekly? Sweet! Oh, and about the whole living on your own thing... it is GREAT! I moved out this past August and I love living on my own! There are so many freedoms... it is great! Then again I have a really free spirit.. my room mate here misses home a lot.. she goes home about every other weekend..! I have only been home once! Lol! We are quite different..
As for your room mate.. I hope you get a good one! I will be praying.. I think that it would be cool if your roomy was a christian.. mine is not.. it would be a lot easier if she was but I still manage and I am sure that you will as well!

[beanbag]

thanks for the prayers, I appreciate them. I was talking to one of my friends last night about the probability of having a non-Christian roomie (she doesn't have that problem, cuz she's at a Christian college...lucky her lol) and the possibility of her having very...strange habits and stuff. It kind of scares me lol. and I so don't look forward to sharing a room. I had to share my room enough when I was little...I've only had my own room for about 6 years, and I have to give that up again lol. ah well, such is life.

I'm pretty happy about school next semester...I was approved to skip english 101, so I'm going straight into 102, and that means I can take this (transferrable) philosophy class which had 101 as a prereq, so I'm like...yay. and my brother and I are gonna go to school together...he's taking a study skills class at the same time as my philosophy class. my little brother is all grown up. *cries*

well...I can't think of anything else to write, so this is my cue to leave.

ma salama!

[beanbag]

today has been both good and bad.

good: I got to go see my aunt and cousins before they go down south for a few days for new years. it's crazy...if I don't see them for two days, I feel like I haven't seen them in years. we're just really close, I guess. and, I got my christmas present from them today (the rule is that they don't get their presents until they come here and we don't get ours till we go there) and it's totally fun, so that's yay.

bad: I found out today right after dinner that my great-grandfather passed away this morning. my mom waited until after we went to my aunt's house to tell us, because she didn't want us to be all upset while we were hanging out with my cousins. it doesn't really affect my brothers as much, because they don't know my mom's family very well, but my great-grandpa has been around as long as I can remember. I don't know what it's gonna be like going there and not having him there. at least I can be thankful we got to visit him this summer. I mean...we were expecting that he wouldn't last until next time we got out there, but still. there's always that hope that maybe there will be a next time. it's just going to be so hard...he was always there, always calm, always loving. I guess I shouldn't envy his being in heaven by wishing he were back here with me, and at least he'll get to be with my granny there until we see him again. it's just not fair...all of the older people I love are slowly disappearing, and he was the oldest of them all, so I took it for granted he would last.

anyways...that's all for now.

ma salama.