My family loves to play board games; it’s quite the tradition in my house. However, someone always gets upset, or someone gets hurt, the game easily turns into anything but fun, no matter how hard we try to make it enjoyable. Paradoxically, a few months later, or another event in which all the family is around we all get excited at the thought of playing a board game, knowing how it will most likely end. What made me think to write about this in my blog this week was the most recent family event that took place about a few weeks ago…Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Day my family wasn’t all together, seeing as both my older brother and sister has fiancés and they have a couple families to visit. So our family’s Thanksgiving took place on Friday, and of course once the bellies were full and the plates and leftovers were cleaned up, everyone gathered into the living room to play a board game. This year it was my younger sister’s idea to get a new game instead of playing the usual, Family Feud DVD game, Outburst, or Charades. We got the game “Battle of the Sexes,” so we split up into boys and girls, and then realized it was uneven and they made me switch the guys side. Then it was time to lay down the rules…once they were laid down most people seemed pleased, we were just ready to start the game…and so it began.
Everything was clam and fine until certain rules which were established at the beginning of the game started to get challenged, and then whoever it was would grab the directions and we would waste about 10 minutes while someone read and analyzed the rules of the game, and of course the rules were vague in the way they were written which lead to us having to interpret them, which lead to controversy. Once, that rule was established the game would continue. Towards the end of the game some of the questions that were asked in the game began to become repeated, and so that led to us having to make up a rule such as, “If you remember the answer you are not allowed to answer.” This rule was put in place after my older sister got angry at the fact that my memory was amazing and I remembered the answer to all the previous questions, I let her make the rule and didn’t argue.
However, later when one question was repeated my older sister, Candice, remembered the answer and yelled it out, and so being the stubborn, typical person in my family I called her out on the rule which, she herself had put in place. So then she decided that I was allowed a free is. Now looking back on it now, if everyone in my family wasn’t so interested in being fair, and so obsessed with the justice of the game, a lot of argument could have been avoided…a lot. But since we all have the same genes, no rule gets looked over, and not a single ten minutes goes by without a challenge of the rules is presented. Battle of the Sexes was coming to an end and my older brother, Brandon and his fiancée, Carolyn, were growing tired.
Candice however was very awake and ready for the next game, and so a fight between games was beginning. Brandon was ready for bed and wanted to sleep but Candice wanted to keep playing, and seeing as how Brandon and Carolyn were staying the night at Candice’s apartment one could see how a problem had now been created. So the yelling began, and the insults were exchanged, feelings were hurt, and in the end we were sitting in a circle of chairs around the table playing Outburst, Candice had won, and the new rules were being presented.
Round two, everyone was playing Outburst minus my mom who had gone to bed in the midst of the drama. The first few minutes of the game were fine of course, however once it was my dad’s turn to describe the word to his team, without using it, he began to act it out, which was against the rules, and so everyone started yelling at him, because he had misunderstood the rules, well more like just didn’t hear them. The rest of the game surprisingly went pretty smooth, except that I kept forgetting to give the opposing team’s points to them on the score sheet, because I was the score keeper, but besides that the game wasn’t bad. It ended nicely, everyone was tired and we all went home or to bed.
Even though our family bonding times always end in arguments or have bumps along the way I look at it like just the way our family works. There are calm times, when things are smooth, but soon something happens to start a fight and we hit some bumps for a while, but we work through them and then things are calm, at least for a while, but at the end we forget about how badly we fight because we remember that we enjoy each other’s company, and no matter what game is thrown our way it will never change the way things are.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Lil Miss Prankster
So for this week’s blog I decided to write about something I have mentioned in a previous blog, and that is my prankster reputation. Along with much else, I inherited my dad’s act of pulling pranks, not only was I skilled but I enjoyed pulling them. Again, I didn’t start to show my true personality until I reached the age of 12, this is also when me and my dad discovered that I was going to be just like him.
I started out slow, with pulling pranks on people like my mom, who just so happens to be extremely gullible, I haven’t figured that one out, considering she is married to my dad. For me, the pranks that come to mind or I scheme are usually complete improve, on the spot thinking, it is a rare chance when I think of a scheme far in advance, and it is sought out or planned. I believe that to think of a plan on the spot is shows a lot more skill then one that is planned, yeah those can end up being amazing, but it is much more genuine when one goes with a situation at hand and turns it into a prank, like myself. Pranks just come to me, I will be sitting there and BOOM! It will hit me…an idea, and the wheels in brain start-a-moving, and then I act.
One night on the way home from softball practice my mom had offered to take home one of the players on my team. The girl lived in a cul-de-sac and she got out of the car and was pulling her bag out of the back of our car, and as she was doing so I heard one of our chairs fall out with it, I didn’t hear the girl put it back in but when I turned around I saw that she had. So, knowing that my mom had heard what I did and she hadn’t turned around to see whether or not the girl had put our chair in the back of our car, I saw a great opportunity for some fun. My mom waited and watched to see that the girl had gotten into her house, and then she turned around in the court and right when we reached the spot which we had been stopped at, I yelled “Mom! There’s a chair in the road!!” She slammed on her breaks and screamed, thinking it was our chair, I couldn’t keep from laughing and that was when she realized that her little angel was becoming a female microcosm of her husband.
Another time in which I saw a perfect opportunity to freak out my mom was a random morning when I had woken up and walked down stairs, to see my mom looking through the refrigerator with the door wide open, making a wall between me and her. Once again, “light bulb” I had it! I quietly sneaked into the kitchen and stood right up against the open refrigerator door, and then as she began to close it, I screamed “Hoodoloooo!” She about peed her pants, she let go this glass breaking scream which didn’t end even after the fact she realized it was me, she claimed she couldn’t stop screaming.
My pranks began to expand to people in my school, the “not friends” everyone has. It wasn’t to be mean it was just to mess with them, it was my way of accepting them. Anyway, one day I actually sat down and thought of a prank to pull. Me and my friend had been talking about when people in high school decorated each other’s lockers on their birthday, and we were wondering if anyone had ever had their locker decorated on the wrong day, like a random day that wasn’t even close to their birthday. We then thought it would be funny to do this to someone. Catherine, then came into the picture, I saw her as a perfect candidate of someone to do this to. We got on facebook and found out her birthday we then thought it would be funny to decorate her locker, not on a random day, but on the day right before. So she would b e like “wow my friends don’t even know my birthday…” My friend and I decided that we would do it anonymously, and that we would use bizarre objects to decorate her locker.
On the day of the prank I brought in wrapping paper one would use for a baby shower, and we made a sign reading, “Bappy Hirthday Catherine love all your friends and your fish.” We didn’t even know if she owned a fish but we thought it would make it more bizarre to add it, we bought some yugioh stickers and then we went to work. The next morning when Catherine arrived at her locker, which we only knew where it was, because it was conveniently next to mine, she was in complete shock, she was so confused and tried to figure out who did it the entire day, she asked all her friends, and none of them had any idea, she even suspected me, and of course I denied it. I waited a month before I finally told her that it was me.
Another prank that I played on the same girl, Catherine, was formulated with a “light bulb” idea but I planned it, after the idea was formed. Catherine was in my last block of the school day and everyday when the bell would ring to let us out of class the announcements would come on which always started with a list of students who needed to report to the office, and jokingly every day after that class I would tell Catherine her name was said when it clearly wasn’t and she would just blow it off and be like “okay Crystle…” So one day the “light bulb” hit me and I thought, it would be funny to get her name read on the announcements.
One day during lunch I went to the office and handed the secretaries in the office a random piece of paper out of my English binder and told her that I needed her to give this to Catherine P. and asked for her to read her name over the announcements. So at the end of the day when we were exiting our class and the announcements started Catherine’s name was read, and as always I told her and she was so surprised, she couldn’t believe it, and we laughed at the irony, or so she thought. Later that day, I went to a basketball game and she saw me and came up to me and was like “you will never believe why they called me to the office!” So I played along and was like “why?” She explained in detail how she went to my English teacher and asked her about the paper, and she was so confused for a very long time. I never told her it was me, and so I guess that is a mystery she will always wonder about.
I started out slow, with pulling pranks on people like my mom, who just so happens to be extremely gullible, I haven’t figured that one out, considering she is married to my dad. For me, the pranks that come to mind or I scheme are usually complete improve, on the spot thinking, it is a rare chance when I think of a scheme far in advance, and it is sought out or planned. I believe that to think of a plan on the spot is shows a lot more skill then one that is planned, yeah those can end up being amazing, but it is much more genuine when one goes with a situation at hand and turns it into a prank, like myself. Pranks just come to me, I will be sitting there and BOOM! It will hit me…an idea, and the wheels in brain start-a-moving, and then I act.
One night on the way home from softball practice my mom had offered to take home one of the players on my team. The girl lived in a cul-de-sac and she got out of the car and was pulling her bag out of the back of our car, and as she was doing so I heard one of our chairs fall out with it, I didn’t hear the girl put it back in but when I turned around I saw that she had. So, knowing that my mom had heard what I did and she hadn’t turned around to see whether or not the girl had put our chair in the back of our car, I saw a great opportunity for some fun. My mom waited and watched to see that the girl had gotten into her house, and then she turned around in the court and right when we reached the spot which we had been stopped at, I yelled “Mom! There’s a chair in the road!!” She slammed on her breaks and screamed, thinking it was our chair, I couldn’t keep from laughing and that was when she realized that her little angel was becoming a female microcosm of her husband.
Another time in which I saw a perfect opportunity to freak out my mom was a random morning when I had woken up and walked down stairs, to see my mom looking through the refrigerator with the door wide open, making a wall between me and her. Once again, “light bulb” I had it! I quietly sneaked into the kitchen and stood right up against the open refrigerator door, and then as she began to close it, I screamed “Hoodoloooo!” She about peed her pants, she let go this glass breaking scream which didn’t end even after the fact she realized it was me, she claimed she couldn’t stop screaming.
My pranks began to expand to people in my school, the “not friends” everyone has. It wasn’t to be mean it was just to mess with them, it was my way of accepting them. Anyway, one day I actually sat down and thought of a prank to pull. Me and my friend had been talking about when people in high school decorated each other’s lockers on their birthday, and we were wondering if anyone had ever had their locker decorated on the wrong day, like a random day that wasn’t even close to their birthday. We then thought it would be funny to do this to someone. Catherine, then came into the picture, I saw her as a perfect candidate of someone to do this to. We got on facebook and found out her birthday we then thought it would be funny to decorate her locker, not on a random day, but on the day right before. So she would b e like “wow my friends don’t even know my birthday…” My friend and I decided that we would do it anonymously, and that we would use bizarre objects to decorate her locker.
On the day of the prank I brought in wrapping paper one would use for a baby shower, and we made a sign reading, “Bappy Hirthday Catherine love all your friends and your fish.” We didn’t even know if she owned a fish but we thought it would make it more bizarre to add it, we bought some yugioh stickers and then we went to work. The next morning when Catherine arrived at her locker, which we only knew where it was, because it was conveniently next to mine, she was in complete shock, she was so confused and tried to figure out who did it the entire day, she asked all her friends, and none of them had any idea, she even suspected me, and of course I denied it. I waited a month before I finally told her that it was me.
Another prank that I played on the same girl, Catherine, was formulated with a “light bulb” idea but I planned it, after the idea was formed. Catherine was in my last block of the school day and everyday when the bell would ring to let us out of class the announcements would come on which always started with a list of students who needed to report to the office, and jokingly every day after that class I would tell Catherine her name was said when it clearly wasn’t and she would just blow it off and be like “okay Crystle…” So one day the “light bulb” hit me and I thought, it would be funny to get her name read on the announcements.
One day during lunch I went to the office and handed the secretaries in the office a random piece of paper out of my English binder and told her that I needed her to give this to Catherine P. and asked for her to read her name over the announcements. So at the end of the day when we were exiting our class and the announcements started Catherine’s name was read, and as always I told her and she was so surprised, she couldn’t believe it, and we laughed at the irony, or so she thought. Later that day, I went to a basketball game and she saw me and came up to me and was like “you will never believe why they called me to the office!” So I played along and was like “why?” She explained in detail how she went to my English teacher and asked her about the paper, and she was so confused for a very long time. I never told her it was me, and so I guess that is a mystery she will always wonder about.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Bus Station from Hell
The weekend of my dreams was only inches away, I could feel it, as me and my best friend sat at the Roanoke bus station waiting for our bus. We had rushed to get there, and due to much traffic from the Virginia Tech football game, it was amazing we made it there on time. However, once we arrived we realized that the fact that we were on time didn’t seem to matter, as the bus was not.
Almost an hour of waiting had gone by and I had already seen some of the funniest and strangest things of my life. While in the bus station there was an indoor place where we were sitting. Here there were rest rooms, vending, and a check in desk. There were a few other characters, however, that made this wait one of the most interesting I’ve ever had, which says something, considering that I have seen quite some interesting things while waiting in line for an amazing roller coaster at a theme park, many a time.
There were three so called “normal” people across from us, a girl and guy who were friendly and holding a conversation with each other and next to them a girl who didn’t talk, but once, when she was on the phone. On the bench perpendicular to us there were two gentlemen, one who sat in the same position, with the same look on his face for who knows how long, and the other who was on the search of a phone charger that would fit his phone. He gave up quickly once he asked all of the people in the station and none of them had one that fit.
There were a few wanderers outside, and on the way to the bathroom I noticed a guy sleeping on the ground. Even the worker behind the desk wasn’t what I would call “normal.” He had something painted on the side of his face that looked like a crescent moon around his eye which led down the side of his cheek. Then there was the man I found to be the most interesting, he claimed he was a veteran and he walked around with a cane, he was in and out of the building constantly, and I wasn’t quite sure if he was homeless or actually waiting on a bus. He had a few bags with him. He would stay out and smoke a cigarette or two and then come inside and start yelling at the people on the inside, that the guy lying on the ground needed to be woken up.
We all figured that the man on the ground had some relation to the veteran, but then he went over and woke the man up and told him to get up, he helped the guy into a seat and then covered him with his blanket. He asked him when his bus was, and so just about every five minutes the veteran would come back and wake up the sleeping man. At one point he yelled at the guy to get up and go outside to “stretch his legs” and “have a smoke.” He seemed to have a sweet heart but at the same time he would walk by me and give me evil glares, and he would tell the man that none of the people in the bus stop wanted to wake him up.
It was quite the night, and it hadn’t even begun, over an hour past our departure time, the next bus for a different destination had already come, picked up the sleeping man, who ended up not missing his bus, and a few others. Now there were a whole new set of characters, including Mr. Veteran, like I said I don’t know if he was waiting on a bus or if he was just the man assigned a duty of waking up the people who fall asleep. This whole new bunch, brought a whole new set of stories.
There was one family of three, a father and his two kids, one boy that was probably around the age of 4 or 5 and a girl who was around the age of 2 or 3. The little girl was very shy; when Jessie and I smiled at her she hid her face in the space between her father’s knees. The boy seemed very tired, as well as the girl, seeing as it was only 4:30 in the morning by now. You could see this by the massive bags under their eyes and the fussy tones. Jessie decided to go across the street and get us some McDonald’s breakfast. As we sat their eating our hash browns, the little girl started to warm up to us, she sat in between us and we gave her some of our hash browns and she really became really pleased with us then.
Slowly, I noticed that the father was bringing in their bags, off of the bus they had just come off of. I began to realize that the bags the man was bringing in were very unusual, they were not the typical duffle bags you take on a trip, but rather two very large body bags, a very big laundry bag, a few little bags that had toys in them, and another bag which was filled with snacks. This didn’t seem like the family was simply going for a visit anywhere. This made me wonder if maybe the family was moving somewhere. Had their mother kicked them out? Had their house been foreclosed on? And if that then where was their mother? It made me sad to see this and think about the future of these kids, and how this might affect them. Their father seemed like a very caring and loving dad.
After looking at all these new faces, and listening to some of the people talk it made me wonder where these people were going in life, and how had they gotten to where they are now. Who knew that sitting in a bus stop at the crack of dawn could get one thinking so profoundly?
Almost an hour of waiting had gone by and I had already seen some of the funniest and strangest things of my life. While in the bus station there was an indoor place where we were sitting. Here there were rest rooms, vending, and a check in desk. There were a few other characters, however, that made this wait one of the most interesting I’ve ever had, which says something, considering that I have seen quite some interesting things while waiting in line for an amazing roller coaster at a theme park, many a time.
There were three so called “normal” people across from us, a girl and guy who were friendly and holding a conversation with each other and next to them a girl who didn’t talk, but once, when she was on the phone. On the bench perpendicular to us there were two gentlemen, one who sat in the same position, with the same look on his face for who knows how long, and the other who was on the search of a phone charger that would fit his phone. He gave up quickly once he asked all of the people in the station and none of them had one that fit.
There were a few wanderers outside, and on the way to the bathroom I noticed a guy sleeping on the ground. Even the worker behind the desk wasn’t what I would call “normal.” He had something painted on the side of his face that looked like a crescent moon around his eye which led down the side of his cheek. Then there was the man I found to be the most interesting, he claimed he was a veteran and he walked around with a cane, he was in and out of the building constantly, and I wasn’t quite sure if he was homeless or actually waiting on a bus. He had a few bags with him. He would stay out and smoke a cigarette or two and then come inside and start yelling at the people on the inside, that the guy lying on the ground needed to be woken up.
We all figured that the man on the ground had some relation to the veteran, but then he went over and woke the man up and told him to get up, he helped the guy into a seat and then covered him with his blanket. He asked him when his bus was, and so just about every five minutes the veteran would come back and wake up the sleeping man. At one point he yelled at the guy to get up and go outside to “stretch his legs” and “have a smoke.” He seemed to have a sweet heart but at the same time he would walk by me and give me evil glares, and he would tell the man that none of the people in the bus stop wanted to wake him up.
It was quite the night, and it hadn’t even begun, over an hour past our departure time, the next bus for a different destination had already come, picked up the sleeping man, who ended up not missing his bus, and a few others. Now there were a whole new set of characters, including Mr. Veteran, like I said I don’t know if he was waiting on a bus or if he was just the man assigned a duty of waking up the people who fall asleep. This whole new bunch, brought a whole new set of stories.
There was one family of three, a father and his two kids, one boy that was probably around the age of 4 or 5 and a girl who was around the age of 2 or 3. The little girl was very shy; when Jessie and I smiled at her she hid her face in the space between her father’s knees. The boy seemed very tired, as well as the girl, seeing as it was only 4:30 in the morning by now. You could see this by the massive bags under their eyes and the fussy tones. Jessie decided to go across the street and get us some McDonald’s breakfast. As we sat their eating our hash browns, the little girl started to warm up to us, she sat in between us and we gave her some of our hash browns and she really became really pleased with us then.
Slowly, I noticed that the father was bringing in their bags, off of the bus they had just come off of. I began to realize that the bags the man was bringing in were very unusual, they were not the typical duffle bags you take on a trip, but rather two very large body bags, a very big laundry bag, a few little bags that had toys in them, and another bag which was filled with snacks. This didn’t seem like the family was simply going for a visit anywhere. This made me wonder if maybe the family was moving somewhere. Had their mother kicked them out? Had their house been foreclosed on? And if that then where was their mother? It made me sad to see this and think about the future of these kids, and how this might affect them. Their father seemed like a very caring and loving dad.
After looking at all these new faces, and listening to some of the people talk it made me wonder where these people were going in life, and how had they gotten to where they are now. Who knew that sitting in a bus stop at the crack of dawn could get one thinking so profoundly?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oo...GG
Everyone always has that crazy great grandma who gives you the funniest stories to tell your friends. So I am sure you know where I am going with this...I have the great grandma of all great grandma's, but we just call her GG. This lady can be so intimidating, one of my first crazy memories of GG was when my cousin and I had been visiting her at her home, and my cousin said a cuss word, and the fact that she was only 6 years old and using cuss words really made GG mad when she heard it. However I hadn’t realized that GG had entered the room and heard my cousin say this word until I turned around to see my GG hitting my cousin in the back of the neck with her cane.
In GG’s older years she has really become senile, GG has had 3 birds who have all died, and which all were given the name Mickey by my GG. Our family makes the joke that the name is cursed. One afternoon GG was over at my grandmother’s home, and my grandmother has a bird named Joey. While sitting at the dinner table I proceeded to watch GG look at Joey and say “Joey, I called you Mickey for a week and you liked it.” It took all I had not to laugh and pray that Joey wouldn’t soon die. Later that night I saw that GG was having a slice of cake before dinner, and since this is something I know that I would get in trouble for doing, I asked GG why she was having dessert before dinner, and she replied, “Im on a hunger strike, I only eat enough to get me through the day.” Once again I held back tears of joy, I didn’t understand why if she were striking against hunger she would stop eating, it was completely contradictory.
The next summer I went down to visit my grandmother, the stories seemed to get funnier. My aunt, GG’s daughter, had taken GG to look at an Old Folks Home that my aunt wanted her to live in. At their arrival at the home my GG had taken one look at the people sitting outside the place and said, “they look like Jackasses” Since GG did not want to be taken to a home she made up the only excuse which she found applicable at the moment. A few days later GG was over at my grandmother’s house and my sister and I were watching a TV show called “What not to wear” as we were watching it, out of the blue, GG says “ That girl looks like a jackass” This time I don’t think either my sister or I could hold back our laughter, she was so crazy, there was clearly no reason for GG to be calling this lady a Jackass, and so we found it hilarious.
This weekend when my grandmother came to visit she filled me in on the latest GG stories. GG had apparently overdosed on some medicine the hospital had given her and so she started hallucinating, which meant that at 4 in the morning she was calling numbers off of the front of the phone book and telling the people that there was a midget and a tall person in her apartment trying to murder her, and that there was a man in her bed. The cops showed up and found GG wandering in the parking lot, hiding from these people who did not even exist. It’s sad to say but my GG is definitely losing it, at least I know I will have some great stories to tell about her.
In GG’s older years she has really become senile, GG has had 3 birds who have all died, and which all were given the name Mickey by my GG. Our family makes the joke that the name is cursed. One afternoon GG was over at my grandmother’s home, and my grandmother has a bird named Joey. While sitting at the dinner table I proceeded to watch GG look at Joey and say “Joey, I called you Mickey for a week and you liked it.” It took all I had not to laugh and pray that Joey wouldn’t soon die. Later that night I saw that GG was having a slice of cake before dinner, and since this is something I know that I would get in trouble for doing, I asked GG why she was having dessert before dinner, and she replied, “Im on a hunger strike, I only eat enough to get me through the day.” Once again I held back tears of joy, I didn’t understand why if she were striking against hunger she would stop eating, it was completely contradictory.
The next summer I went down to visit my grandmother, the stories seemed to get funnier. My aunt, GG’s daughter, had taken GG to look at an Old Folks Home that my aunt wanted her to live in. At their arrival at the home my GG had taken one look at the people sitting outside the place and said, “they look like Jackasses” Since GG did not want to be taken to a home she made up the only excuse which she found applicable at the moment. A few days later GG was over at my grandmother’s house and my sister and I were watching a TV show called “What not to wear” as we were watching it, out of the blue, GG says “ That girl looks like a jackass” This time I don’t think either my sister or I could hold back our laughter, she was so crazy, there was clearly no reason for GG to be calling this lady a Jackass, and so we found it hilarious.
This weekend when my grandmother came to visit she filled me in on the latest GG stories. GG had apparently overdosed on some medicine the hospital had given her and so she started hallucinating, which meant that at 4 in the morning she was calling numbers off of the front of the phone book and telling the people that there was a midget and a tall person in her apartment trying to murder her, and that there was a man in her bed. The cops showed up and found GG wandering in the parking lot, hiding from these people who did not even exist. It’s sad to say but my GG is definitely losing it, at least I know I will have some great stories to tell about her.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Weekend of Generations
This weekend was parents weekend, as you all know, at Virginia Tech. For me this meant that my mom and her mom, my grandmother, were coming down. My younger sister had homecoming the same weekend and so my dad stayed up with her. I was excited to see my mom but most excited to see my grandmother, who I usually only saw about once or twice a year. This past July, my second grandfather passed away and since then I have seen my grandmother twice, including parents weekend, which makes this year a total of 4 times that I have seen her.
This is quite unusual for the average year.
Ever since I was a little girl I would spend each summer visiting my grandparents at the beach and then either we would visit again for Thanksgiving or Spring Break. So I feel as if my grandfather's passing has brought my grandmother closer to the family. Which is something I definitely enjoy. Though it was hard losing my grandfather, I am an optimist and so I saw it as a chance to get to know my grandmother better and to get closer to her. I went and visited my grandmother 2 weeks after my grandfather had died, and I had already started to notice some changes, for the better.
My best friend, Jessie, and I were going down to Myrtle as a kick off to the summer and also to spend time with Grammy. I was nervous bringing Jessie there since I remembered every summer when my family visited my grandparents they would get annoyed of us easily and always yelled at us, I was afriad this would happen while Jessie was there which would put a damper on the whole vacation. Luckily, there was only once when Grammy asked for us to do something and she was totally cool about it, the entire time Grammy didn't complain or yell at us. I was surprised and a little taken a back.
However, this made me realize that it was never Grammy that was so upset about us leaving lights on in the rooms when we left or having our toys all over the place, it was Poppy, my grandfather, and since he was always stressed about it he would yell at my grandmother who would then yell at us. I also felt like she was also a little relaxed more now as well. I really started to enjoy my grandmother's company instead of worrying about her yelling at us.
So this weekend I was very excited, I had never just spent time with my grandmother, mother and I. I really realized how much alike my mom and grandmother were and how I was quite different, but had similarties with both of them. My favorite part of the whole weekend, besides the fact that I actually felt tall for once considering that my grandmother is 4'9 and my mother 4'11, was when we went and took a picture together. Now the three of us all have a picture of 3 generations, I know that when I get older I will look back at this picture and think how cool it was, and remember this special day. I also hope that one day I will be able to take a picture of Grammy, my mom, I and a future daughter of mine, where there are 4 generations.
This is quite unusual for the average year.
Ever since I was a little girl I would spend each summer visiting my grandparents at the beach and then either we would visit again for Thanksgiving or Spring Break. So I feel as if my grandfather's passing has brought my grandmother closer to the family. Which is something I definitely enjoy. Though it was hard losing my grandfather, I am an optimist and so I saw it as a chance to get to know my grandmother better and to get closer to her. I went and visited my grandmother 2 weeks after my grandfather had died, and I had already started to notice some changes, for the better.
My best friend, Jessie, and I were going down to Myrtle as a kick off to the summer and also to spend time with Grammy. I was nervous bringing Jessie there since I remembered every summer when my family visited my grandparents they would get annoyed of us easily and always yelled at us, I was afriad this would happen while Jessie was there which would put a damper on the whole vacation. Luckily, there was only once when Grammy asked for us to do something and she was totally cool about it, the entire time Grammy didn't complain or yell at us. I was surprised and a little taken a back.
However, this made me realize that it was never Grammy that was so upset about us leaving lights on in the rooms when we left or having our toys all over the place, it was Poppy, my grandfather, and since he was always stressed about it he would yell at my grandmother who would then yell at us. I also felt like she was also a little relaxed more now as well. I really started to enjoy my grandmother's company instead of worrying about her yelling at us.
So this weekend I was very excited, I had never just spent time with my grandmother, mother and I. I really realized how much alike my mom and grandmother were and how I was quite different, but had similarties with both of them. My favorite part of the whole weekend, besides the fact that I actually felt tall for once considering that my grandmother is 4'9 and my mother 4'11, was when we went and took a picture together. Now the three of us all have a picture of 3 generations, I know that when I get older I will look back at this picture and think how cool it was, and remember this special day. I also hope that one day I will be able to take a picture of Grammy, my mom, I and a future daughter of mine, where there are 4 generations.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Swine Flu Extravaganza
On Friday, I met up with my best friend, Jessie, for lunch just like we do four days out of every week, just to be greeted with a not to happy look. When I asked her what was wrong she told me she wasn’t feeling well. So just like I do when anyone else tells me they’re not feeling well I assume it’s just some beginning phases of a cold and nothing too serious to worry about.
Later that night Jessie and I went and met up with some friends, went to Squires to shoot some pool and had a good time. I could tell Jessie wasn’t feeling well or being herself and I even got annoyed at the fact that she didn’t want to chill more after pool. However, I got over my selfishness and realized it was probably best for her to get some rest and so we called it a night.
Saturday afternoon I awoke, realized I had slept for a long time, and the checked my phone just to see that Jessie had not texted me, which I thought was weird because by this time on most Saturdays she would be lunch or figure out plans for the day. So naturally, I called her and she picked up with a sad voice, apparently I had woke her up, which again was abnormal for Jessie to sleep in so late. She told me she wasn’t feeling well and I asked if she wanted anything to eat. I then stopped by Deet’s on my way to her dorm and grabbed us some breakfast and Jessie some hot tea.
When I walked into Jessie’s dorm I could tell there was seriously something wrong with her. We ate our breakfast as she explained to me how she was feeling. I asked her if she thought it could be Swine, both of us laughed at the idea, until she searched the Swine Flu symptoms and told me she had all but one. This was the first moment in which I began to take her being sick seriously. Then she told me that when she was in the shower she put the water temperature as high as it could go and she still had goose bumps. This really frightened me, then we found out that she Schiffert Health Center closes at 12 on Saturdays and is not open on Sundays. I felt Jessie’s head and a rush of panic came over me, I could tell just by the touch of my hand she had a fever.
This began the search, I had Jessie on her lap top looking for nearby doctor’s offices or urgent care centers while I was on the phone with her mom describing what was going on. Her mom wanted me to talk to her R.A. and find out if she knew of a place. I ran down the hall to find out her R.A. was in Cali. I came back and Jessie told me she found a place online, I called them and they told me they were a hospital. I then called back Jessie’s mom and she asked me to see if there was another R.A. I ran to the room of the second R.A. on Jessie’s floor and read her white board, saying “In Richmond for the weekend.” This infuriated me how could the only two R.A.’s on this floor both be gone, what if someone were to get hurt. I called again, Jessie’s mom and she was just as upset so she told me to find another R.A. and that she was going to all some friends in Blacksburg she knew. Jessie still had not found a place closer than 43 minutes away and she said she really didn’t want to go that far.
I than ran downstairs to find the hall office, when I couldn’t find it I asked someone who just so happened to be an R.A., I told him what was going on and he called VT Rescue, the ambulance service. I talked to them on the phone and they told me if they were to come they were going to take her to the hospital. In my quick decision making, I decided that taking Jessie should go to the hospital, I wasn’t going to have my best friend suffer all weekend just because the doctor’s office wasn’t open.
I returned to the room told Jessie not to panic but she was going to the hospital. I got on the phone and called both of her parents to let them know. While in the mean time I got a nasty text from Jessie’s boy friend wanting to know what was going on and why hadn’t I told him. I told him not to worry and that she was going to be fine that I just didn’t want her to go without seeing someone. The VT Rescue help showed up and took Jessie’s temperature which was a 101 and also told me she had a high blood pressure of 160. I responded with take her to the hospital. I then took my first ride in an ambulance as a non patient and texted more people at one time then I had in my life. Everyone was worried and wanted updates of what was going on. When we got to the hospital they made me wait in the waiting room for a good while, they then allowed me to come back in the room with her.
The nurse asked me to call her mom and find out what medicine it was that Jessie was allergic to, this surprised me I never knew this about my best friend. When I called her mom she told me Jessie wasn’t allergic to any medicine. I told Jessie she wasn’t allergic to anything and she said “O that nurse is gonna be mad at me, I told her I was allergic to a medicine that started with a “D.” I looked at her puzzled and asked if they had given her any medicine that would justify for her acting so strangely. She told me no and then said when the lady asked me if I had Tuberculosis I said Yes. I replied with “what” Jessie had never had Tuberculosis. I guess it was the fever, but either way Jessie was not in her right mind, so I had to set the doctors straight.
After a couple hours and some testing they came back to say Jessie most definitely has Influenza and that they were pretty sure she had the Swine Flu. It was crazy to think just a few hours ago we were laughing at the thought. The nurse then warned me that I might get it. So far I’m good and I know that if I am to come down with the Swine Flu that Jessie will be there to take care of me, just as I have for her.
Later that night Jessie and I went and met up with some friends, went to Squires to shoot some pool and had a good time. I could tell Jessie wasn’t feeling well or being herself and I even got annoyed at the fact that she didn’t want to chill more after pool. However, I got over my selfishness and realized it was probably best for her to get some rest and so we called it a night.
Saturday afternoon I awoke, realized I had slept for a long time, and the checked my phone just to see that Jessie had not texted me, which I thought was weird because by this time on most Saturdays she would be lunch or figure out plans for the day. So naturally, I called her and she picked up with a sad voice, apparently I had woke her up, which again was abnormal for Jessie to sleep in so late. She told me she wasn’t feeling well and I asked if she wanted anything to eat. I then stopped by Deet’s on my way to her dorm and grabbed us some breakfast and Jessie some hot tea.
When I walked into Jessie’s dorm I could tell there was seriously something wrong with her. We ate our breakfast as she explained to me how she was feeling. I asked her if she thought it could be Swine, both of us laughed at the idea, until she searched the Swine Flu symptoms and told me she had all but one. This was the first moment in which I began to take her being sick seriously. Then she told me that when she was in the shower she put the water temperature as high as it could go and she still had goose bumps. This really frightened me, then we found out that she Schiffert Health Center closes at 12 on Saturdays and is not open on Sundays. I felt Jessie’s head and a rush of panic came over me, I could tell just by the touch of my hand she had a fever.
This began the search, I had Jessie on her lap top looking for nearby doctor’s offices or urgent care centers while I was on the phone with her mom describing what was going on. Her mom wanted me to talk to her R.A. and find out if she knew of a place. I ran down the hall to find out her R.A. was in Cali. I came back and Jessie told me she found a place online, I called them and they told me they were a hospital. I then called back Jessie’s mom and she asked me to see if there was another R.A. I ran to the room of the second R.A. on Jessie’s floor and read her white board, saying “In Richmond for the weekend.” This infuriated me how could the only two R.A.’s on this floor both be gone, what if someone were to get hurt. I called again, Jessie’s mom and she was just as upset so she told me to find another R.A. and that she was going to all some friends in Blacksburg she knew. Jessie still had not found a place closer than 43 minutes away and she said she really didn’t want to go that far.
I than ran downstairs to find the hall office, when I couldn’t find it I asked someone who just so happened to be an R.A., I told him what was going on and he called VT Rescue, the ambulance service. I talked to them on the phone and they told me if they were to come they were going to take her to the hospital. In my quick decision making, I decided that taking Jessie should go to the hospital, I wasn’t going to have my best friend suffer all weekend just because the doctor’s office wasn’t open.
I returned to the room told Jessie not to panic but she was going to the hospital. I got on the phone and called both of her parents to let them know. While in the mean time I got a nasty text from Jessie’s boy friend wanting to know what was going on and why hadn’t I told him. I told him not to worry and that she was going to be fine that I just didn’t want her to go without seeing someone. The VT Rescue help showed up and took Jessie’s temperature which was a 101 and also told me she had a high blood pressure of 160. I responded with take her to the hospital. I then took my first ride in an ambulance as a non patient and texted more people at one time then I had in my life. Everyone was worried and wanted updates of what was going on. When we got to the hospital they made me wait in the waiting room for a good while, they then allowed me to come back in the room with her.
The nurse asked me to call her mom and find out what medicine it was that Jessie was allergic to, this surprised me I never knew this about my best friend. When I called her mom she told me Jessie wasn’t allergic to any medicine. I told Jessie she wasn’t allergic to anything and she said “O that nurse is gonna be mad at me, I told her I was allergic to a medicine that started with a “D.” I looked at her puzzled and asked if they had given her any medicine that would justify for her acting so strangely. She told me no and then said when the lady asked me if I had Tuberculosis I said Yes. I replied with “what” Jessie had never had Tuberculosis. I guess it was the fever, but either way Jessie was not in her right mind, so I had to set the doctors straight.
After a couple hours and some testing they came back to say Jessie most definitely has Influenza and that they were pretty sure she had the Swine Flu. It was crazy to think just a few hours ago we were laughing at the thought. The nurse then warned me that I might get it. So far I’m good and I know that if I am to come down with the Swine Flu that Jessie will be there to take care of me, just as I have for her.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Better Than Handmade
The Saint Vacant shoe advertisement which is labeled “Better Than Handmade,” features a picture of two feet working on a shoe with the clever slogan, “Better Than Handmade.” This advertisement does a great job of being straight forward, clever, and humorous. The main purpose of this ad, getting people to buy their shoe, is constructed well. People pay attention to eye catching and humorous statements and so these factors alone make one want to go out and purchase the shoe.
The feet hard at work making the shoe emphasizes that this type of shoe is specifically made to fit your feet, because “it is your feet which are making the shoe.” The expression “Better Than Handmade” fits very well, people love handmade items and so the fact that these shoes are “better than handmade” was a great choice of slogan made by the shoe company, and also that they are made by your feet, and so giving the assumption that they shoes are designed perfectly for your own feet.
There is definitely an emotional argument being used here as it draws on the humor of the intended audience. Here the audience can be anyone, but the specific group the ad is targeting is men, which is noticeable by the tools and the garage/basement setting. As well as the actual shoe being displayed, which is a men’s style. As one flips through the paper or magazine the ad is very eye catching, as one does not usually see feet working on a pair of shoes as a societal norm. So the ad immediately draws the audience’s attention by the visual. Even without reading the slogan one could get the point of the ad just by looking at it, which is another important part of advertisement; simple and straight forward.
Another key factor with the “handmade” or rather “footmade” idea one gains a sense of trust, as one does when he/she hears something is handmade, there is something special about a product that has been handmade. He/she trusts that the person took special care in making the product versus mass producing it and so the as does a great job of creating that trust as well.
The background of the picture also does a lot to persuade the audience that the shoe company is hard working as there are tools, a fan, and the light on, meaning its night and the person has been hard at work if they need a fan on them. Also the picture makes one feel as if they are experienced in their shoe making abilities, they have the right tools, a designed place to work, and a very specific shoe making stand in which the shoe is propped up on. All around, the ad does a very good job of getting across their point and achieving their purpose. After seeing this ad it most definitely makes one want to go out and buy a pair of these shoes.
The feet hard at work making the shoe emphasizes that this type of shoe is specifically made to fit your feet, because “it is your feet which are making the shoe.” The expression “Better Than Handmade” fits very well, people love handmade items and so the fact that these shoes are “better than handmade” was a great choice of slogan made by the shoe company, and also that they are made by your feet, and so giving the assumption that they shoes are designed perfectly for your own feet.
There is definitely an emotional argument being used here as it draws on the humor of the intended audience. Here the audience can be anyone, but the specific group the ad is targeting is men, which is noticeable by the tools and the garage/basement setting. As well as the actual shoe being displayed, which is a men’s style. As one flips through the paper or magazine the ad is very eye catching, as one does not usually see feet working on a pair of shoes as a societal norm. So the ad immediately draws the audience’s attention by the visual. Even without reading the slogan one could get the point of the ad just by looking at it, which is another important part of advertisement; simple and straight forward.
Another key factor with the “handmade” or rather “footmade” idea one gains a sense of trust, as one does when he/she hears something is handmade, there is something special about a product that has been handmade. He/she trusts that the person took special care in making the product versus mass producing it and so the as does a great job of creating that trust as well.
The background of the picture also does a lot to persuade the audience that the shoe company is hard working as there are tools, a fan, and the light on, meaning its night and the person has been hard at work if they need a fan on them. Also the picture makes one feel as if they are experienced in their shoe making abilities, they have the right tools, a designed place to work, and a very specific shoe making stand in which the shoe is propped up on. All around, the ad does a very good job of getting across their point and achieving their purpose. After seeing this ad it most definitely makes one want to go out and buy a pair of these shoes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
