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.