My Puppies :)

This blog is just for you, Professor Wright!

I previously wrote about coon-hunting, but now I'll write about our precious coon dogs! My family has three dogs. They are all mountain curs. This is actually the breed of dog that Old Yeller was in the book Old Yeller.   Before we got our three current dogs, we had a mutt named Whiskey and a beagle named Chocolate. Chocolate was hit by a car only a few years after we got him, and Whiskey, who was 17, was run over by a trailer about a year after we got our first mountain cur. Mountain curs are excellent treeing dogs and come in three main colors: yellow, white, and brindle. They are also known for their distinctive bobbed tails.

Kujo

We got our first cur in the summer of 2001 and my brothers named him Kujo after the killer dog in Steven Speilberg's horror film Cujo. Kujo is a yellow cur. Because he is the oldest of our dogs, he fits into the "old and wise" category. He is the best coon dog our family has ever had, but unfortunately his age is catching up to him, and  he has a heart murmur and recently developed thyroid problems.

Gunner

Our second mountain cur, Gunner, came to us a year and a half after we got Kujo. The breeder who we got Kujo from asked us if we wanted the white puppy. He had these weird swollen looking ankles in his front legs and one of his feet was angled inward slightly. The breeder wasn't sure if he would develop properly or not, but said we could have him for free if we would take him. With much begging from my siblings and I, our parents gave in, and Gunner was ours! His ankles still bulge (you can sort of see it in the picture if you at the leg on the left of the picture) but he isn't affected by it at all. Gunner is an endless ball of energy and very strong, but not exactly the brightest crayon in the box. If I were to label him, he would be the strong-but-stupid-jock.

Rebel (on the left) and Bell (on the right)

In late 2007, we got our third dog. The breeder offered us a deal. If we raised our puppy and another puppy from the litter together for the first year, we could keep our puppy for free. The breeder chose a female, Bell, and we chose a male who we named Rebel because of his unique brindle coloring. We raised the puppies together, teaching them the basics of being a coon dog, and after a year, we gave Bell back to the Breeder and kept Rebel. Rebel is still fairly young, so he is still pretty new at coon hunting, but he is showing great promise!

My Dorm Room Hates Me!

Update on last week's post about the TV...it still doesn't work. Our RA still hasn't gotten back to us. Mediacom still sucks in my opinion. And now, another fun problem. It seems to be well known across campus that the dorms are kept at a toasty 90 degrees. Most everyone I know constantly has a window open or else we would die of heat exhaustion. In addition to being uncontrollably hot, our heater has another annoying surprise for my roommate and I. Last night, we both had trouble sleeping due to a lovely high pitched squealing noise. Too drowsy to actually figure out what it was, I attributed it to some strange musical instrument being played by my ever musical neighbors. After I actually gained consciousness this morning, I discovered the constant high pitched noise was coming from our heater. Imagine a tea kettle constantly screeching and that is precisely the infuriating sound currently slamming into my skull. Occasionally, the noise will cease, and we will be rewarded with a few minutes of blissful silence, but then inevitably the ear-piercing screech will come back to slowly drive us insane. Several times today we have tried to talk to our RA about it, but of course she is never in her room. If this noise doesn't stop, I am going to never get any sleep and go on an insomniac rampage with a sledgehammer against this stupid heater!

I am thankful for...

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I feel a list of all the things I am thankful for is a perfect blog topic.

-My family: Although we aren't perfect and we don't always get along, I am still incredibly thankful for my family. My parents are loving and supporting and have providing a stable home for my siblings and I. I have always been close to my sister and have always learned from her example. Over the last few years, I've grown much closer to my brothers and am so happy they brought my sisters-in-law into our family. Now that we're older and we don't all live at home together anymore, I am very thankful for the times when we can all be together, however seldom they may be now.

-My friends: My friends are my source of sanity. They are always there to give me advice, listen to me vent, and just relax with in the hot tub on a cold winter night.

-Jordan: Jordan is probably my favorite person in the world. He can always make me smile, and I am very fortunate to have him in my life.

-Good health: I am thankful myself and all of my loved ones enjoyed a year of good health. There is nothing more devastating to a family than an illness or death, and we were very fortunate to not have experienced either.

-Opportunity: I am thankful that I live in a situation in which I can get a college education. I am also thankful I have the intelligence and skills to succeed in college.

-Not-sucky-roommate: I am thankful I didn't get an annoying or loud or hostile or obnoxious or mean or crazy or smelly roommate :)

Television Rant!

My roommate and I have not had TV in almost three weeks, and it's starting to get on my nerves! We had no problems until Mediacom decided to switch to all digital channels a few weeks ago. We have a brand new digital TV, and at first, we didn't have any problems. We got a bunch of digital channels and everything was fine, but then slowly, our signal started to deteriorate. The picture would break up, then freeze, and we would eventually lose the signal. After a couple days, we were unable to get any channels. All we got was a message stating "Digital channel strength is too low." We figured there were just a few bugs in Mediacom's system so we patiently waited a few days and attempted to rescan for digital channels a few times a day. Unfortunately, nothing changed. After about a week, I contacted our RA, who is never around, about the problem. She didn't get back to us for almost another week. She told us she would figure it out and let us know what we could do, but she still has not contacted us. I also tried calling the Mediacom company to find out what could be done about the problem. I talked to a stupid machine for about 10 minutes, then was put on hold for another 20 minutes, and when I finally talked to a live (but foreign and hard to understand) person, she told me she would have to transfer me to a different department. After being put on hold again, I finally talked to a guy who I though was going to be able to help me. After explaining the problem to him, I asked him simply what the nature of the problem was and what steps I could take to fix it. He told me he couldn't help me and then proceeded to hang up on me. So much for customer service! A week, one phone call from hell, and an ever-absent RA later, we still have NO TV! It's not that I watch a lot of TV in the first place, it's just the fact that I couldn't watch it even if I wanted to that really bothers me.

ISU Upset!!

I am a huge Iowa State fan, and I try to get to at least one or two football games a year. This year, my friends and I got tickets to Friday's game against Oklahoma State. Okie State was undefeated and ranked 2nd in the nation, so everyone assumed Iowa State was going to get killed. Although I love my Cyclones, I thought I was going to freeze my butt off watching them lose big time in forty degree weather. Fortunately, I didn't even feel the cold because by the end of the game, I was jumping up and down with excitement; the Cyclones refused to lose!

Jordan and I on the field after the game!

At first, the game was pretty mild. At half time, the Okie State Cowboys were up 17 to 7. After the Cowboys' first drive in the second half, they raised the score to 24-7.We all sort of figured the score would continue to open up and we'd lose the game, but boy were we wrong! Iowa State overcame a 17 point deficit to tie the game 24-24 late in the fourth quarter. Jack Trice Stadium was insane with over 50,000 dedicated ISU fans exhilarated at the prospect of pulling off the biggest college football in the last few years. In overtime, both teams made touchdowns and the extra point, bringing the score to 31-31. In the second overtime, Okie State had possession first, but one of their pass attempts was intercepted. Iowa state scored the game winning touchdown bring the final score to 37-31. The crowd went insane! I along with tens of thousands of ecstatic Iowa State fans stormed the field at Jack Trice Stadium. Standing amidst a sea of Cyclones fans screaming the words of "Sweet Caroline" and "Don't Stop Believin'" as they were played over the loud speakers after Iowa State pulled off the upset of the decade is an experience I will never forget. I definitely chose the right Iowa State game to go to this year!

Thousands of Iowa State fans flooding the field after the game! I'm somewhere among them!

Tough Week

This week, I have been incredibly stressed out. One reason is the huge amount of work I need to get done before fall break begins and another is Jordan problems. Not Jordan problems as in me-and-Jordan-problems, but as in Jordan's-parents-completely-suck-problems. Last week, I wrote a little bit about his family history and I just need somewhere to vent about all that happened this week, so I figured a blog would be a pretty good place for that. On Tuesday, Jordan found out his parents had a court date  for child support that day. His dad has never paid a dime in child support and has been taken to court for it before, but Jordan knew nothing about it this time until the day of. I guess I'm not sure what the exact legalities of child support are, but I figure that it is supposed to have something to do with actually supporting the child. Unfortunately, Jordan's mom does not support him at all, emotionally or financially. The settlement ended up being that $300/month will be paid to Jordan's mom until he turns 18 and all of the retroactive child support for the last 6ish years is paid back. We both know that she is just going to pocket the money and spend it on booze and other stupid stuff. This upset Jordan enough, but things just kept getting worse. Jordan called his mom and asked if she was going to use any of the money to help him pay for food and gas. (Because she doesn't even live in the same house as him, he has to buy his own groceries.) At first, she claimed to know nothing about the settlement, but then went on to flip out on him, saying how it was Jordan's fault it all happened, and hung up on him. He tried calling her back numerous times, but she refuses to answer any of his calls or texts. All week, Jordan has been very upset about this whole ordeal. His mom is still refusing to talk to him. Lately, he has been all worried about next year and paying for college and stuff, and this is just adding so much more unnecessary stress to his life. I wish he could be done with all of this crap and just live like a normal teenager without having to worry where his next meal is going to come from. He is convinced his own mother doesn't even love him, which gets him very depressed. It's so hard being away from home when he's going through this stuff. For the last 2 years, I've been with him every step of the way, so now I just want to be able to be there with him like I always have been. It breaks my heart that I can't do that now :(

Coon Hunting!

After my last semi-depressing post, I decided to write about something a little more upbeat: raccoon hunting! My family is very, very into hunting. My dad and my brothers are most definitely hunting fanatics, especially when it comes to coon (raccoon) season! We have three dogs, specially trained for hunting raccoon. The process of coon hunting is quite different from most other types of hunting because it takes place at night and you have to rely on dogs to find your prey. Jordan and I went with my dad on Friday night and got 11, a pretty good haul. This is the process for a typical night of coon hunting...

First, you get dressed up in warm clothes and headlights (or flashlights). Then we put tracking collars on our dogs that send signals to our handheld GPS. This tells us where the dogs are if they get too far away from us. After we load up the dogs and equipment, we head to our hunting spot, usually a woods or farm. When you get to your destination, you let the dog out and basically follow him wherever he goes. The dog will sniff out a coon's trail, bark signalling he found something, and then follow the trail. When the dog has located the raccoon (usually in a tree), he will bark repeatedly and put his front paws on the correct tree. This is called "treeing." You then "shine" the tree by pointing your lights up in the branches so you can see the animal's eyes reflecting. I'll spare the gory details and suffice it to say that next you shoot the raccoon and that's the end of it. On an average night of coon hunting, if you go for a few hours and have good dogs, you can get 7 or so, but on a really good night, you can get 20 or more. Depending on the size of the raccoon, you can get anywhere from $3 to $40 for a coon hide.

Most people don't picture me as a hunter, but it's something I've been raised to do. I shot my first deer when I was 14 and have been coon hunting many times. Although some people think it's gross or cruel or stupid, for me, hunting has really been just a great way for me to bond with my dad and my brothers.

My Experience with Alcoholism

This week in biology, we had a "hot topics" class. For these classes, we are assigned an article to read, and then we have to use that article and other sources we find on the topic to answer questions.This week, the article was about the hereditability of alcoholism. Researchers have found that genetics explain approximately 50% of alcohol dependence. This topic really shook me, but not because anyone in my family is an alcoholic. I know I talk about my boyfriend, Jordan, a lot, but that's because he is such a huge part of my life. The reason for this isn't because I'm just a naive 18-year-old who's life is completely focused around my boyfriend, but because I am one of the few stable people Jordan has in his life. Over the course of our two-year relationship, I've often been a mother to him in addition to being a girlfriend. This is because Jordan doesn't have a mom or a dad anymore. Alcoholism has destroyed both of them. Jordan's father has been an alcoholic since before Jordan was born. His struggle with alcohol intensified for years until it lost him his job, his wife, and ultimately his family. When Jordan was in 5th grade, his parents went through a very nasty divorce. His dad, in addition to being a violent alcoholic, had been having an affair, and it tore his mother apart. His father left and his sons (Jordan has 2 older brothers) did not hear from him in years. Soon after the divorce, Jordan's mom began to drink too. Slowly, she changed from a loving mother to an unpredictable, unreliabe, irresponsible woman whose life revolved entirely around drinking. Jordan's older brothers were out of this house by this time, so it left only Jordan and his alcoholic mother. His mom was fired from her job, tossed away most of her money on booze, starting dating a very shady guy, and completely stopped acting like a mother. Jordan had no one to buy him groceries, sign his permission slips, drive him places, or check if he had his homework done. His mom would go in cycles. One day she would apologize to him, promise to change, buy him lots of nice things, and act like a mom for a few days, but then she would always ultimately fall back into the old routine of never being home, not supporting him, and not being any sort of parent. The string of broken and empty promises and continuous abandonment hurt Jordan very deeply. Because of this situation, Jordan has essentially raised himself since he was in 5th grade. He would go days or weeks without his mom ever coming home, until one day about a year and half ago when she stopped coming home at all. Without telling him, she moved all of her things out of their house and into her boyfriend's place. Since then, Jordan has been living by himself. Although this situation is awful, he is lucky to have people to support him. Jordan's oldest brother has a family and a demanding job, but he helps out as much as he can. Other than this brother, Jordan doesn't have much of a family of his own, but he is very much a part of my family. My parents love him, and he gets along great with all of my siblings. My grandmas, aunts, uncles, and cousins, especially the young ones, all adore him. As for me and Jordan, our relationship is different than most teenage relationships. Many of our "dates" have consisted of grocery shopping, tutoring, cooking, laundry, and paper work because he doesn't have a mom or a dad to help him with these things. Although it can be hard and most definitely heart-breaking sometimes, I wouldn't have our relationship any other way. Because of his situation, we are more mature and more responsible than most people our age. I have so much respect for Jordan because even though both his parents are alcoholics and they have both abandoned him, he is still a good person who doesn't use his family as an excuse for bad behavior. He is a smart, dedicated student, a talented athlete, and a kind, generous person who refuses to let his parents' mistakes define him. For this, I am extremely proud of him, and it is probably the thing I love most about him.

Grades are good! (So far...)

So far, I am very happy with the grades I have been receiving in my classes. Here's a breakdown of all my classes a little over halfway through the semester...

Chemistry: I really like chemistry, mainly because it is mostly math problems. I am good at math so equations and conversions make sense to me. I only missed one question on my first chemistry test and I am pretty confident about how I did on the second one I took on Friday. After fall break, Dr. Drolet started teaching our class, and I think he is really cool! He makes class very interesting, so I actually enjoy going to it.

Biology: Biology is definitely my toughest class. Instead of it being ruled by equations and numbers, biology is a whole lot of complex concepts. I have not had a biology class since freshman year of high school, so everything is completely new to me. I have had to study very very hard for the tests. On my first test, I got a 94% and on the second I got a 91%. I am happy with those grades because I worked really hard for them. Before this class, I haven't had to study much before, so it feels good to actually really earn a grade like this.

Psychology: I love psychology! I find it very interesting, and I am actually considering picking up a psychology minor. I find most aspects of psychology fascinating, especially development and abnormal psychology. I am really excited to take more psych classes in the future. So far, I am getting around a 97% in the class.

IS 101: I love the Michael Crichton part of this class, but I'm not going to lie, the liberal learning stuff kind of sucked (am I allowed to say that?). I am so glad the portrait of a learner paper is done though! Now we can get onto the good stuff! I have read a few chapters of State of Fear already and so far I really enjoy it. Can't wait to get further into the science-y stuff of this class!

Community Involvement

This week in class, we discussed how involved we and our parents are in our communities. When you asked us to raise our hands to show which organizations our parents were involved in, I think I only put my hand down twice. I have always been very proud of how involved my parents have been in my school, church, and community, and I have definitely learned from their example. Here's a list of some of the things my parents are currently or have previously been involved (and by involved, I don't just mean in name only) in. Mom - president of the St. John's Ladies Guild, on Gundersen Lutheran Nursing Council, religious education teacher, parish council member, president of Light of Christ (our religious education board), Ft. Atkinson Book Club member, Turkey Valley Music Boosters president, athletic boosters member, and little league board. Dad - volunteer firefighter, first responder, parish council, Confirmation teacher, Trinity Catholic School Board member, 3rd degree Knight of Columbus, little league board, and union member. I know this isn't a complete list, but it gives you an idea of how active my parents are. It annoys me when people refuse to be a part of things because they say they are too busy. If my parents can take care of 4 kids, hold full-time jobs, and juggle multiple involvements such as these all at the same time, I'm sure those who think they are "too busy" can do it too. In my opinion, it's all about attitude and a willingness to do one's part in their community. I am so glad to have them to learn from. Because of them, I have been very involved in my school, church, and community from a very young age and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

Wedding Day Part Two

Wedding Day Part Two: The Event

My siblings and I
Jessica - Liz - Matt- Me - Joey

Although were were nearly two hours late for taking pictures, we got them all taken and the wedding started on time. We lined up in the back of church and on our cue, walked up the aisle and took our places. When it was the ring bearer's turn to walk down the aisle, he practically ran in, covering his face with his arm. It gave everyone a good laugh. The rest of the ceremony went smoothly...except for the part where my brother dropped the rings!

When the wedding party arrived at the reception, everyone began to eat. Because both our family and Liz's family is so big, there were over 400 people at the reception! My other brother Joey served as the best man, and gave a hilarious speech about my brother that brought back a lot of great childhood memories. After the cake was served, it was time for more pictures, but this time they were with all my cousins and friends who were at the wedding. After some of the pictures, a very competitive game of tag broke out between Jordan and my little cousin Ashlyn. This is a picture of her telling him, "You run, and then I'm gonna getcha!"

Soon, the DJ started and the dance began. After the couple's first dance and the father-daughter and mother-son dances were finished, we hit the dance floor! It was a blast! My family was there, most of my friends were there, and the music was great, so I had an awesome time. After a few hours of dancing, singing, and a few karaoke performances, the night came to an end. My voice hurt from singing, my legs killed from dancing, and my eyes were barely staying open, all signs of a great night! I am so happy to have gained another sister and wish Matt and Liz the best!

Wedding Day Part One

Yesterday was my bother Matt's wedding! I have a lot to say about it so I'm going to divide it into two separate blogs: the preparation and the actual event.

My sister, her boyfriend Matt, me, and Jordan before the wedding

Wedding Day Part One: The Before

I never realized how much work went in to planning a wedding until I was a part of one. From the big choices of dates and locations to the smallest decorating details there is a lot to take care of. Many of these decisions are made far in advance, but the week before a wedding is still a very busy time. Thursday morning, my mom and I worked on making food for the rehearsal supper the following night. Thursday afternoon and evening was spent decorating the reception hall. Friday morning, more food was made and the rehearsal supper site was set up and decorated. The rehearsal took place at the church on Friday night, and afterwards, we headed to the rehearsal supper. At the supper, we ate and then my brother and sister-in-law handed out gifts to the wedding party. Included in the bridesmaids' gifts were jewelry for us to wear the next day. The necklace and earrings were a gorgeous fuschia that went perfectly with our cobalt blue dresses. After the rehearsal stuff was picked up, the wedding party all headed for home to get some rest before the big day.

Helping Matt get his cuff links on

Early on Saturday morning, I went to get my hair done. My mom scheduled my appointment at the only hair salon in my tiny hometown. My sister is not a big fan of the stylist there, so she scheduled an appointment with her friend from high school who just graduated from cosmetology school last winter. I wish that I would have followed my sister's lead and gone somewhere else. We'll just say that when I got back from my appointment, the 8o's called, and they wanted my hair back. I'm talking tight ringlet curls piled on top of my head and sticking out from the sides and back in all directions. It was a disaster! Thankfully, my sister's friend was able to free some of my hair from its time-warped tangle and make me look semi-normal. Because my hair had taken so long, I had to rush to finish my nails and make-up and get dressed in addition to helping my brother get dressed. By some miracle, we ended up making it to the church right on time, which proved to be a not-so-great thing...

My sister and I goofing around with the matron
 of honor's husband  while we were waiting.

The photographer was late. Two of the other bridesmaids were late with their hair. Some of the groomsmen showed up late. The ring bearer's pillow got misplaced. All in all, we didn't take pictures for an hour and a half after we first got to the church. In the meantime, we tried to entertain ourselves by taking goofy pictures and dancing in the church basement. Finally, we got all the pictures taken, and the wedding was ready to begin.

Fall Break Come Faster!!

I cannot wait for fall break! No offense to Wartburg, but I cannot wait to get home! Fall break promises to be one of the greatest weeks of my year with all of the things I have planned. Right after IS on Wednesday, I'll be leaving to go to the first high school playoff game. My high school team finished the regular season as district champs! I hope they win and keep going in the playoffs, so I can keep watching Jordan play! I know for sure that I will cry when his last high school game ends. Thursday, I am going to a haunted house with a group of my friends from home. Even though I usually end up crying because I am so scared, I am still looking forward to it. On Friday morning, Jordan and I have a date with his 6-year-old nephew, Kade, to carve Jack-O-Lanterns. Kade is an adorable little guy, and I love to spend time with him. The afternoon on Friday will be spent decorating the reception hall for my brother Matt's wedding, and the rehearsal and supper will take place that night. Then Saturday is wedding day again! Matt will be marrying Liz Hageman, and I couldn't be happier! I get to be a bridesmaid in the wedding which is so much fun! I can't wait to celebrate the wedding Saturday night at the dance (I love dancing!!). The wedding's colors are cobalt blue and pink. Our dresses are long strapless, sweetheart dresses in a gorgeous blue. I am seriously shaking in anticipation! Unfortunately, I first have to survive two major tests before I get to have fun. Hopefully, I'll be so busy studying that the time will fly by, and before I know it, I'll be driving up to those [Wednesday] night lights!

My T-shirt

I figured it would be helpful to have an explanation of the things depicted on my T-shirt.

Starting on the back...

My name appears at the top in my favorite color, green! Below I am illustrated as a green person surrounded by other people, my family. At the top are my mom and dad, on the sides are my brothers and my sisters-in-law, and on the bottom is my sister. I chose to put my family on the back side of my shirt because they've always "got my back."

To the sleeves...

On one sleeve is a cross showing my faith. I am a cradle Catholic and went to Catholic elementary school, so religion is a pretty big part of my life. Underneath the cross is my birth date. 

On the other sleeve is the number 21. I chose this number because it is my boyfriend's football and baseball number, and I love watching him play!

To the front...

On the front are numerous drawings of things and activities I enjoy and are important to me. On my left side, I drew a heart. Inside it are the initials of my boyfriend and I. Jordan is a huge part of my life, so I had to include him! (He helped me come up with a lot of the other stuff to put on here!) On my right side is an orange ribbon. Orange is the "color" for leukemia, and because my sister had this type of cancer, I hold this cause very close to my heart. In my anatomically correct stomach (because I am a bio major!) is ice cream, my favorite thing to eat. Also included on the front are activities I enjoy including fishing, tennis, baseball, football, cheering for my high school, music, and my love for the Cyclones! On my right side is a ruler marking 4 feet 11 1/2 inches, my height! Being short is usually the first thing people notice about me, and I am always hearing tons of "short jokes" (especially from Brady!).

At first staring at this blank white T-shirt was intimidating. I'm not really much of an artsy person, but after I started, doing this project was actually pretty fun!

Hockey

This week, I ordered tickets for next weekend's Waterloo Blackhawks hockey game. I'll be going with my boyfriend, Jordan, and our friends Phil and Paula. I am very excited and it will definitely be a good time! I really like watching hockey now, but if you would have asked me about the sport 3 years ago, I would have told you I am NEVER going to a game again! Let's just say I had a less than desirable first hockey game experience...

Three years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I went to a Blackhawks game with 5 other girls. We were dazzled by the light show during the starting lineup and the overwhelming sound of cowbells ringing all around us. The game started, and we spent the first ten minutes attempting to just follow the puck and figure out the rules of the game. As the first period proceeded, we began to catch onto the game and started to cheer along with the rest of the fans. I watched as a Blackhawks player swung his stick and sent the puck flying up into the air. The next thing I knew, the puck was in my lap. Completely dumbfounded, I picked up the puck, turned it over in my hands and realized there was blood on it. Still utterly confused, I turned to my friend Julia who was sitting next to me. At this moment, I was suddenly aware that my ear and the side of my head were in an incredible amount of pain. I also realized that there was blood gushing at the top of Julia's head. My friend Jordan, who was sitting on the other side of Julia, suddenly exclaimed, "Julia, you're bleeding!" Julia replied with a very faint "No shit!" and proceeded to fall backwards and nearly pass out. Slowly, my hurting head pieced together the scene before me. The puck had ricocheted off of the large ventilation shaft hanging from the ceiling, made its way through a tiny gap in the netting less than two inches wide, slammed into the top of Julia's head, bounced into the side of my head, and finally landed in my lap. The other girls called for help and the events center medical staff quickly rushed to our aid. They hurried Julia off to an examination room, leaving the rest of us in complete shock. My head ached terribly, but at least I wasn't bleeding. Not knowing what else to do, we walked to the bathroom where I washed the blood off of the puck in the sink. We retook our seats and waited for news of Julia. The only adult with us, Jordan's mom, went with Julia so we were all alone. Finally, Jordan's mom called us. Although Julia seemed fine, other than the bleeding, the paramedics insisted on strapping her to a stretcher and taking her by ambulance to the ER where she got several staples in her head. When Julia and Jordan's mom finally got back, the game was nearly over. After the game, the manager took us to see the players where we got their autographs. Julia even got the player who hit her to sign the actual puck he hit her with! I ended up with a swollen and bruised ear for a week. Needless to say, none of us were too keen to go to another hockey game. Last year, however, my boyfriend finally convinced me to give hockey another shot. We went to three games last season, and even though I ducked and covered my head every time a puck flew in the air, I've come to really enjoy watching the sport.

What scares you?

Halloween is fast approaching! I recently saw a sign hanging up that read, "What scares you?" and I thought it would make a perfect blog topic. So here is a lovely list of the things that scare me. Most of them are pretty strange...

1) Trains. Trains terrify me! During Drivers Ed., we were shown a movie about trains. Although the point of the movie was to emphasize railroad crossing safety, it scared me to death! The movie and the discussion that followed was full of horrific train accidents where people would get hit by a train and turn into "pink mist." Since then, I have been terrified of trains and railroad crossings, which is not a good thing because I have to cross train tracks to go pretty much anywhere from my house. Last year, one of my classmates hit a train with his truck piling on even more fear of trains, and recently, I watched the movie Unstoppable about a runaway train. Terrible terrible terrible idea! I am more freaked out than ever. I don't even like the sound of trains anymore!

2) Moths. Moths freak me out. They are so gross looking! They have those big furry looking bodies and ugly looking wings. I absolutely hate walking underneath the lights on my porch at home because the moths are attracted to them and then they swarm all over me and touch me and get in my hair! Ugh gross! Not only are they repulsive, but they also scare me. When I was little, my dad made up this story about "slasher moths." These so-called "slasher moths" had 2 inch fangs that they would attack you with. I know it's stupid and it was all made up, but every time they swarm around me, I'm still scared one of them is going to whip out their fangs and bite me!

3) Coyotes howling. I live in a very rural area, surrounded by farms and timber. In the summer, there are tons of coyotes that howl all night long. My parents think it is beautiful to listen to, but I absolutely hate it! I know that I am in my house and safe and that coyotes don't attack people anyway, but they sound like really scary wolves to me! Sometimes they are so loud I swear they are sitting on my roof howling directly into my window. There have been numerous times where I have woken up to their awful sound, and paralyzed with fear, I make my sister get up and shut the windows so I can't hear them anymore. I think I'm so scared of them because when I was little, my sister and I watched the Disney movie Beauty and the Beast all the time. In the movie, a pack of wolves attack twice, and that part always scared me to death! Since the coyotes sound exactly like those stupid wolves, they terrify me!

Baby of the Family

The Family on my Graduation Day
Joey - Monica - Mom - Me - Dad - Jessica - Matt - (Liz is missing)

My family is a big part of my life, and since I haven't done so yet, I'm going to use this blog to formally introduce the Boyer clan. My parents are Donny and Jeannie Boyer. My dad is a carpenter, and my mom is a nurse. I have three older siblings, 2 brothers and 1 sister.

My oldest brother, Matt, is 28. He works as an agronomist for a crop chemical company in Guthrie Center, Iowa. He is currently working on completing his thesis for his Master's degree from Iowa State University. Matt is an avid hunter and is completely and helplessly addicted to caffeine. On October 29th, Matt will be marrying Liz Hageman. Matt and Liz have been dating since 2004, so it's about time they tie the knot. Liz is currently getting her doctorate in kinesiology from ISU.

Joey is 26 and works as an engineer for John Deere in Cedar Falls. Joey loves to cook and he ran in last year's Chicago marathon. He married Monica Carolan the weekend of Orange EXCELeration. She works in marketing at the Waverly Health Center. Up until two weeks ago, Joey and Monica lived in Waverly only 1/2 a block from campus, but they just moved into a house in Cedar Falls.

My sister, Jessica, will turn 21 in 1 month and 1 day. (She is very excited!) She is a junior at Loras College in Dubuque, and will be transferring to Allen College in June to complete the 3+1 nursing program. Sometimes people will mistake Jessica and I for twins even though we don't think we look anything alike. Jessica has a boyfriend of over a year who was a 2011 graduate of Wartburg's computer science program. He lives in Des Moines, so she spends lots of weekends there!

We also have 3 dogs: Kujo, Gunner, and Rebel. My dad sometimes refers to his favorite dog, Rebel, as his youngest child. Its pathetic really.

Anyway...with all these older family members, I am the baby of the family! Sometimes this is a blessing, and sometimes it's a curse. Here's a breakdown of the pros and cons of being the youngest.

Pros                                                                            Cons
-My siblings had to drive me around everywhere            - I now have to be my siblings' DD
-I could get them in trouble by tattling                            - They got revenge by beating me up afterwards
-My mom made them play with me                                - They always won
-They babysat me                                                         - They told me scary stories so I couldn't sleep
-I had them to protect me from other kids                      - They teased and taunted me more than anyone!
-I got babied by everyone                                             - No one takes me seriously now that I'm older
-I got to be an only child after they moved out               - Being an only child when you're 16 is no fun
-I'm cuter 'cause I'm the baby                                        - They're "wiser" 'cause they're older (not true!)

Graphic Novel

When I first found out that the book we had to read for IS was a graphic novel, I was not very happy. I have no interest in comics or art or anything of the sort, so I was definitely not looking forward to reading Persepolis. To my surprise, I didn't completely end up hating it. The pictures made the story go by much faster and made it easier for me to get into a story I most definitely wouldn't have chosen to read about on my own. Without the pictures, I don't think I would have completely understood the war and the revolution that took place in Iran either. In addition, if the story was written in just text, I think it would have been a little too depressing. The bits of humor sprinkled into the drawings turn a pretty heavy story into a fairly easy read. There were things that I definitely didn't like as well. I really did not like all the politics in the book. I realize that politics and war and revolution were the things that shaped Marji's life the most, but I just have no interest in reading about them. I got pretty bored during the parts where politics were discussed. Also, I didn't really like Marji very much as a character. I respect her courage and her tenacity, but I just disagreed completely with some of the decisions she made, especially about drugs. Due to personal experiences, I have very little respect for people who choose to destroy their lives and the lives of those around them with drugs and have virtually no pity for them either. (I could go on about this forever, but that's a story for another blog.) Overall the experience of reading Persepolis wasn't terrible, and I almost actually liked the story. As for graphic novels as a whole, I realize now that they are much more than just really long comics, and given the right story, I think they can be a very effective medium.

The Worst Homecoming Imaginable

All week I have been looking forward to my high school's homecoming game and dance on Friday night. My boyfriend was on the homecoming court, I love football as you already know, and I also love to dance with my friends. You would think this was going to be an awesome night, right? Wrong. I promise that even though this blog is going to read out like a bad teen movie, it is really the story of Turkey Valley's 2011 Homecoming from Hell. The day started out promising. Classes flew by, I packed up my stuff, and headed for the booming metropolis of Lawler, Iowa, population of about 500. Pulling up to Brady's house, I was excited to see cars belonging to members of the "old gang." We always used to get together at Brady's house before football and basketball games, and his mom Janel, an angel on earth, would feed us and check on how each of us was doing. (It is one of my goals in life to grow up to be just like Janel Kuennen!) It was great to be back among people I've known almost all my life. After our get-together at the Kuennen's, we all headed to the game. The first half went well. We were up 22-14 at halftime, but the good times ended shortly after. At the end of a third quarter, one of our players went down hard. He was taken by ambulance for a concussion. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, my boyfriend, Jordan, didn't get up from the pile after being tackled on a long run. Every time he gets hit and doesn't get back up, my heart sinks. Jordan couldn't walk, so they carried him off the field and set him on the bench. I barely noticed that we scored again. All my attention was focused on the trainer furiously working on Jordan's leg. By the middle of the fourth quarter, our opponent, Bellevue, made a touchdown and the 2 point conversion, and the score changed to 28-22. The ball was in our possession, but our quarterback threw an interception, and another one of our players went down with an ankle injury. With 3 of our starters out of the game, Bellevue made a touchdown with less than 30 seconds on the clock. The score was tied 28-28, and they still had the chance for the extra point. Their kick was good. We couldn't make a comeback in the 5 seconds left of the game, and we lost our homecoming game by 1 point. When I got to sidelines after the game, all the seniors were crying. Jordan was still on the bench. The trainer said he needed to go get x-rays of his leg right away to make sure it wasn't broken. Jordan was inconsolable; if he had a fracture, he'd be out for the rest of the season. Brady and another guy carried Jordan up to the school and into the locker room. It was obvious we were going to miss the dance and the homecoming court's grand march. Instead, we headed to the emergency room in Decorah, and waited while Jordan got x-rays. Thankfully, they didn't find a fracture, and he only ended up with a bone bruise. It was still definitely the worst homecoming ever. Three players were injured, and two ended up in the ER. Jordan had to sit on the sidelines and watch his team lose by one point with 5 seconds left, completely helpless. We missed the dance, and he missed his entrance as a member of the homecoming court and almost lost his football season. The only good thing was that Jordan didn't break his leg. Even so, last night's game was still the homecoming from hell.

Bad Morning :(

I went to bed late Wednesday night, but couldn't fall asleep until the early morning hours due to the loud, obnoxious, door-slamming, opera-singing, people who roam the hallways of my floor late at night. (Seriously, people SING all the time on my floor. Like loud classical singing at all hours of the night. Seriously! Is that really necessary?) After I fell asleep, I was woken up just a few short hours later, around 2:00am due to sharp pains in my abdomen. I tried as best I could to get comfortable and fall back asleep, but it didn't work too well. At 5:30, I gave up on sleep and decided to just get up. Bad idea. Upon sitting, the pain in my stomach got much much worse. It was happening again. Since June, I have been having intermittent severe abdominal pain. The first time it happened, I ended up in the emergency room. They ordered an ultrasound, thinking it was my gallbladder, but the test came back normal. Since then, the pain has come back four times, always in the same place, but always going away after a few hours. Thursday morning, I decided to stick it out, wait for the pain to go away, and head to my 7:45 lab. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. I couldn't move. I couldn't sit, I couldn't stand, and I couldn't walk. The pain immobilized me; it was the second most sever I've ever felt it. I waited until 6:30 to see if it would pass, but it didn't. There was no way I could go to my lab like this. I called my sister to see what to do. My sister told me to try to contact my professor about missing lab and to get a note from the health center to send to my professor. I called my mom next to let her know what was going on. She told me if I couldn't get an appointment down there, she would come get me and take me in back home where she works at a clinic. The health clinic on campus doesn't open until 8:30 so I left them a message around 7:30, emailed and called my professor, and attempted to fall back asleep. Apparently my short night's sleep caught up to me because the next thing I knew it was 8:55 and the pain was mercifully gone! Shortly after, the health clinic called me back and told me they had an opening at 9:45. I quickly showered, got dressed, and headed to the clinic. I told the nurse and the PA on staff what had happened that morning and what kept happening over the summer. The PA decided to send me to the hospital for an abdominal x-ray and some blood work. I spent the rest of the morning waiting in those so aptly named waiting rooms all over the Waverly hospital. They poked and prodded me then sent me back to campus. When they called me later I was happy to learn that there was seemingly nothing wrong with my pancreas, liver, or gallbladder, but do to the x-ray results, they decided to put me on a prescription stomach medicine. Hopefully this medicine does the trick so I won't have any more bad mornings.

Studying...

I am writing this on the eve of my first college exam, after having studied for nearly five hours straight. In a little less than 14 hours I will be in SC 134 taking my biology test. Before now, my idea of studying was reading over my notes the period before a test. Fifteen minutes tops of reviewing and I'd come out with A no problem. In college, however, everyone says that cramming won't work. Unfortunately, I don't know any other way to study. In high school, teachers told us pointblank what was and was not going to be on the test. In college, we aren't given this luxury. Somehow 4 chapters of biology are going to be condensed into a 66 question assessment. Yikes. Basically, I am employing every study tip I've ever heard, but never used before. Reading, going over practice questions, making flashcards, I've done it all and am still not very confident. This is a very unsettling experience for me because I am way outside of my comfort zone. Never before have I felt so unsure about what I know. Right now, I just want to get the test over with just so I know what it's like. Even if I get a poor grade, I just want it over so I know how to prepare better the next time. Ugh! I feel frazzled, scatterbrained, and in need of large amounts of caffeine. I want to study more, so I can feel more prepared, but I don't know what else there is for me to do. I've read everything, went over my notes a dozen times, and gone through my SI questions. Thankfully I have another SI session at 8 tonight. Hopefully it helps so I'm not up studying all night :S

Friday Night Football :)

Jordan and I after last year's homecoming game
(The one game I didn't cheer for because
I was on homecoming court)

I love football. It is by far my favorite sport to watch, play, and cheer for. In high school, I was a cheerleader my sophomore, junior, and senior year, and honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of the entire high school experience. Don't worry though, I'm not the stereotypical blonde, ditzy, peppy-all-the-time cheerleading type. I'm a pretty laid back person and not much of a girly girl. Actually, when I told my friends I was trying out for the squad, they all laughed at me. No one thought that I fit into the whole skirt-wearing, chant-yelling group. They figured I would fit better into the actual football team than the cheering squad. (I actually contemplated playing football in junior high, but after my brothers told me they would disown me if I did, I decided against it.) I had always wanted to be a football cheerleader. Since I was in six-years-old, I have only missed one Turkey Valley (my high school, go Trojans!) football game, and I loved yelling along with the cheerleaders and always dreamed of being one someday. To me, being on the cheerleading squad was my way of being on the team. We got to hang out with the football players, ride the football bus, and got a front row view of all the games. When I made the squad, two senior cheerleaders took me under their wing and taught me everything I needed to know. Soon, I was a jumping, yelling, stunting cheerleading machine! Fridays during fall were the highlight of my high school career. Each week I would wake up with those Friday night light chills  and butterflies and count down the hours until the game! During my junior year, those butterflies multiplied when I started dating Jordan, our sophomore star running back. Watching him play was incredible, and we fit into the high school movie cliche of the cheerleader dating the football player perfectly. During my senior year, Jordan racked up 1,500 yards rushing and was named to the all-state team as a running back. I couldn't have been more proud. Even though I've graduated, I am so happy I can still be a part of my favorite part of high school. I've made it to every game, seen every touchdown, and continue to be Jordan's #1 cheerleader. Although I have to do my cheering from the bleachers now instead of out on the track, I still wake up every Friday morning with those same under-the-lights chills.

Wartburg vs. Upper Iowa

This weekend, I had the opportunity to go on a college visit. I realize most people don't continue to tour campuses after they're already enrolled in a college, but alas, my boyfriend is still a senior in high school and wanted to take me along. We traveled the half hour from my house to Upper Iowa University in Fayette on Saturday morning. The visit took place during Upper Iowa's Homecoming and was specifically geared toward potential football players. My boyfriend really wasn't all that interested in going to UIU before the visit, but as he is a pretty decent football player, he accepted the invitation to the recruitment day. We listened to the university's athletic director and football coaches, were given a campus tour (by someone who just happened to be one of my older brother's best friends from high school), did some tailgating, and watched the homecoming game. Because I have already experienced the college life, it was interesting to see how a different college does things. Throughout the day, I made a mental list of comparisons between Upper Iowa University and Wartburg.

UPPER IOWA                                                                WARTBURG

-Division II athletics                                                         -Division III athletics
-Doesn't really do much winning in football                       -Actually wins football games
-Free laundry, printing, and copying                                  -Free dryers that take 2 hours to dry your clothes
-Air conditioning in EVERY room                                    -Must develop asthma/allergies to get AC
-Very non-intimidating mascot (Peacocks)                        -Awesome mascot (Go Knights!)
-Must trek across a huge and spread out campus              -Can get to any class in less than five minutes
-Must brave the elements and walk outside                       -Sky-walks. 'Nuff said.

I think Upper Iowa's few advantages are definitely overshadowed by Wartburg's big advantages. Oh and Wartburg has me as a student. Big plus :)

Jurassic Park

Although I've seen the movie Jurassic Park multiple times, I've never really thought about it much. In the past, I've always just watched the movie casually, jumping when the dinosaurs pop up and laughing at the characters' jokes. This time, however, I paid much closer attention to the actual content of the movie. In addition to the "sciency stuff," I also took notes on the overlying theme of the movie. I think it really all comes down to the basic ideas of over-reliance on technology and the potential consequences of messing with nature. Because I don't plan on genetically engineering any extinct species anytime soon, the theme of technology overuse is more terrifying to me as a potential real-world problem.

The theme of over-reliance on technology develops as a result of the way Jurassic Park was designed. Complex interconnected computer systems control and operate every aspect of the island. Dinosaur eggs are turned by a robot, doors only lock when commanded on a computer, and even the tour cars are driven by a computer! The consequences of this excessive technology use are revealed when the systems fail and all hell breaks loose in the park. Dinosaurs break through fences, locks fail, and people die, all because the computers don't work right. This is a pretty significant consequence. It makes me worry about how much we rely on computers for nearly everything in our lives today. Although we aren't likely to get eaten by dinosaurs as a result, computer failures can still lead to dire consequences in our world today. One example of this is pilots' addiction to autopilot. According to a story aired last month on ABC news, pilots only spend around three minutes actually flying commercial airplanes. For the rest of the flight, autopilot takes over. There is growing concern over whether this reliance is weakening pilots' abilities to fly manually. When autopilot fails, pilots must take over, sometimes with dire consequences. In 60% of "loss of control accidents," pilots had difficulties manually flying the plane and often screwed up flight controls, leading to the deaths of hundreds of passengers in the last decade. The Federal Aviation Administration blames these mistakes on pilots' reliance on autopilot and are now encouraging airlines to allow pilots to physically control the plane more often during flight so they are prepared when disaster strikes and the computers fail.

Dolak, K. (Producer). (2011). 'Automation addiction': Are pilots forgetting how to fly?. [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/automation-addiction-pilots-forgetting-fly/story?id=14417730

First Day of Classes!

Wednesday, September 7th, 2011 has been a date looming in my mind for months. On this most anticipated day, classes started at Wartburg College. I went into the day expecting to feel a tinge of nervousness, but surprisingly, none came. Instead, all I felt was curiosity. I think maybe its because I've never had a problem with academics in the past. Then again, maybe that means I should be worried because I've never really had to study for school before. It's not that I was lazy or unmotivated; studying was just unnecessary for me. Anyway...back to classes. My first class this morning was biology. We discussed SI sessions, went over the syllabus, got a quick assignment, and took a few notes. I was amazed at how fast the time flew by! After a quick run to the Konditorei for a cappuccino power-up, I headed to chemistry. If classes were people, today's chemistry and biology classes would have been twins. More SI sessions, syllabus run-through, easy assignment, and a few quick notes. I'm not complaining because all this introductory stuff made class easy and go by quickly, but it was starting to get a bit boring. By the time IS rolled around, I was ready for a change of pace that I finally got towards the end of class. The idea of creating a journal in the form of a blog is something new and kind of exciting to me! I tried to keep diaries and journals when I was younger, but I would always lose my enthusiasm after a few days and abandon my poor journal. I am sure (at least I hope!) that the same thing doesn't happen with this blog because I have an extrinsic motivation going for me with this, a grade! Overall, my first day of classes went smoothly. I didn't get lost, show up to the wrong class, or trip up the stairs of the lecture hall. Much of my curiosity has been satisfied because I now know much of what to expect in my college classes, and I'm excited to get into more of the meat of the courses. I will probably regret saying that next week when I'm buried under three feet of textbooks, but I'm feeling very optimistic right now! And with that, a date that has loomed so heavily in my mind for months has floated by with no consequences.