News to the Extreme
How do you feel about the wheel tax?
What do you think about Guantanamo Bay? How do you think the terrorists are being treated?
Do you have any idea of what happened to Natallee Halloway?
Do you think that principals should be required to speak Spanish?
France banned Muslim head-coverings. Should the U.S. do the same?
I could go on and on. In one week here in Bedford Indiana, I watched more news than I had probably watched in two years. Yes, I know, I'm a backward imbecile, but you have to understand where I was coming from. In the dorms at Purdue I couldn't find Fox News. "So?" you say, "Watch CNN, or listen to NPR- come on, Courtney! If you want the news- it's there." No, I don't think you understand. In my family, CNN is viewed as an R rated movie, and NPR is a bastion of liberal thought and ideas. Listening/watching either one of those would put me on the edge of familial approval- just like going to law school. (We're still fighting the battle with that one...) In the same way- the very thought of my dating a guy who is not an ardent Republican, up-to-date on every current event, and well versed in his history- well, the thought couldn't be tolerated. :)
You need to understand my family. We're all very involved in the community and in our churches. We read all the time, and are expected to form oppinions and be able to voice logical arguments for those oppinions. Poor logic is almost as bad as ignorance about national affairs. My grandmother takes notes on what she reads, even when she reads for "fun." Both grandparents are sticklers for good vocabularies and correct people skills. Both are highly educated, and expect no less from their offspring. Lucky me....
I was planning on getting up at 6 yesterday. Planning would be the key word in that sentence. My alarm went off at 6, the snooze button was hit at 6:01, then again at 6:10, 6:19, 6:28, 6:37- you get the idea. I have a disease. I acquired it as soon as I knew how to use a snooze button. (I didn't know what the snooze was for until I was maybe 13 years old. I got my first alarm clock when I was 9. Yes, I am technologically challenged, and my early morning routine has gotten shorter and shorter since I discoverd that button.) Did you know that every snooze is only 9 minutes long? I suppose the idea is that if you plan on waking up ten minutes before you leave, you can still get ready and be out the door in the one minute you have remaining. They should have made it 10 minutes. If you're trying to do the math in your head for how many 9 minute increments you have before you actually have to roll out of bed- it can get rather difficult with a groggy brain. Ten is so much easier to add and subtract. It causes real trauma when you add your increments of 9 incorrectly.
So I got up at 7:00. My roommate used to do that- she would always set her alarm one hour earlier than when she actually wanted to get up- but rather than push the snooze a bizzillion and one times (like me) she would shut it off. She slept through nearly every class before noon.
I headed downstairs and poured myself a bowl of cereal and milk. I had to add granola to the top of my cereal, because what I thought was Smart Start turned out to be bran flakes. It must run in the family, because both my mother and grandmother combine boxes of cereal to conserve cupboard space.
Now, I must explain that I am not a morning person. I've grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, but that was because I was forced to. You can't get an A in an interactive class (at 7:30 in the morning) if you refuse to interact with people before 9:00. What can I say? I'm a slave to my grades... So I started talking to people in the morning. I'm better than I was. I used to bite your head off if you woke me up before 10, and if I was forced out of bed, it was death to the first "good morning!" person I met. However, I have not been able to conquor all of my early morning "hangover." I am still a bit groggy.
I crunch on my cereal. (I always wolf it down because I don't like soggy stuff) and my grandmother comes and sits in the chair next to me. She watches me eat and then says,
"Muslims in France are no longer allowed to wear their religious head-dresses. It's causing quite a stir."
I stop mid-bite. Remember, I got up five minutes ago, and I'm completely oblivious to the fact that there is even a country named France, and there is a religion known as Islam.
"There are some people here in the U.S. who think we ought to do the same thing. I talked to one of my friends the other day and she said everyone should be free to dress as they see fit, and I said...."
I was lost. And my cereal was getting soggy as I tried to sort through this maze of information. I cannot fathom how I didn't know about this. I watch the news every night. (EVERY night- sometimes hours of it.) But I still hadn't heard about this. Probably because I'm neglecting both the radio and newspaper. My grandmother reads those too.... I have since learned that whenever there is a lull in the conversation (and often, simply when the current topic doesn't interest her) my grandmother will interpose some political comment, some breaking news, or some random evil being committed. She doesn't just read/listen to the news. She gobbles it up. Today I took two questions (the first two questions in this blog) and went around asking people about them. Only one man out of 10 kinda knew what I was talking about- and he only had an answer for the first question. My grandmother's faschination is current events, and political conservatism and it far excedes the knowledge of anyone in tiny little Bedford, Indiana. Be prepared, when I return to school, to hear me spouting conservative politics, and watching Bill O'Reilly on FOX News every night before bed. I think I may become addicted.
After breakfast I head up stairs and get ready, and clean my room. I'm not neat. My grandmother is. Since I'm living in their house rent free, I suppose it should be kept neat. I also have to look like I know what I'm doing when I leave. Being an intern, there is very little I actually do know, so if I can dress the part it keeps me from looking like a complete idiot.
I spent the morning interviewing, and writing ads. I ate lunch, took a nap, and then changed into my grubbies. Known formally as an intern, I am also referred to as "the slave." "The slave" scrubs floors on her hands and knees, bleaches out cabinets that smell damp. (Damp = Mold smell) I clean the men's restroom. (That has to be my least favorite job. Men are disgusting.) I weeded, cleaned the sludge out behind the station where the satellites are (GROSS!!!) discovered an ants nest (by putting my hands into it- they climbed all up my arm) and cleaned all the windows. I've heard the rumor that the pole barn behind the station is my next project. I don't believe anyone's been in there for years- You can open the door, walk in, and close the door, but that's about it. It's full. I do all these projects when no one knows what to do with me. I smile and say, "Well, since you have nothing for me to do, I believe I will go weed-whip the parking lot and paint the trim. Let me know if you want anything else done!"
So, being an intern/slave/handyman/ cleaning lady/ interviewer/ad writer/ anythingelseyoucanpossiblyimagine is quite exhausting and busy.
But, I am loving every minute of it.
How do you feel about Michael Jackson's jury decision?
What do you think about Guantanamo Bay? How do you think the terrorists are being treated?
Do you have any idea of what happened to Natallee Halloway?
Do you think that principals should be required to speak Spanish?
France banned Muslim head-coverings. Should the U.S. do the same?
I could go on and on. In one week here in Bedford Indiana, I watched more news than I had probably watched in two years. Yes, I know, I'm a backward imbecile, but you have to understand where I was coming from. In the dorms at Purdue I couldn't find Fox News. "So?" you say, "Watch CNN, or listen to NPR- come on, Courtney! If you want the news- it's there." No, I don't think you understand. In my family, CNN is viewed as an R rated movie, and NPR is a bastion of liberal thought and ideas. Listening/watching either one of those would put me on the edge of familial approval- just like going to law school. (We're still fighting the battle with that one...) In the same way- the very thought of my dating a guy who is not an ardent Republican, up-to-date on every current event, and well versed in his history- well, the thought couldn't be tolerated. :)
You need to understand my family. We're all very involved in the community and in our churches. We read all the time, and are expected to form oppinions and be able to voice logical arguments for those oppinions. Poor logic is almost as bad as ignorance about national affairs. My grandmother takes notes on what she reads, even when she reads for "fun." Both grandparents are sticklers for good vocabularies and correct people skills. Both are highly educated, and expect no less from their offspring. Lucky me....
I was planning on getting up at 6 yesterday. Planning would be the key word in that sentence. My alarm went off at 6, the snooze button was hit at 6:01, then again at 6:10, 6:19, 6:28, 6:37- you get the idea. I have a disease. I acquired it as soon as I knew how to use a snooze button. (I didn't know what the snooze was for until I was maybe 13 years old. I got my first alarm clock when I was 9. Yes, I am technologically challenged, and my early morning routine has gotten shorter and shorter since I discoverd that button.) Did you know that every snooze is only 9 minutes long? I suppose the idea is that if you plan on waking up ten minutes before you leave, you can still get ready and be out the door in the one minute you have remaining. They should have made it 10 minutes. If you're trying to do the math in your head for how many 9 minute increments you have before you actually have to roll out of bed- it can get rather difficult with a groggy brain. Ten is so much easier to add and subtract. It causes real trauma when you add your increments of 9 incorrectly.
So I got up at 7:00. My roommate used to do that- she would always set her alarm one hour earlier than when she actually wanted to get up- but rather than push the snooze a bizzillion and one times (like me) she would shut it off. She slept through nearly every class before noon.
I headed downstairs and poured myself a bowl of cereal and milk. I had to add granola to the top of my cereal, because what I thought was Smart Start turned out to be bran flakes. It must run in the family, because both my mother and grandmother combine boxes of cereal to conserve cupboard space.
Now, I must explain that I am not a morning person. I've grown by leaps and bounds in the last year, but that was because I was forced to. You can't get an A in an interactive class (at 7:30 in the morning) if you refuse to interact with people before 9:00. What can I say? I'm a slave to my grades... So I started talking to people in the morning. I'm better than I was. I used to bite your head off if you woke me up before 10, and if I was forced out of bed, it was death to the first "good morning!" person I met. However, I have not been able to conquor all of my early morning "hangover." I am still a bit groggy.
I crunch on my cereal. (I always wolf it down because I don't like soggy stuff) and my grandmother comes and sits in the chair next to me. She watches me eat and then says,
"Muslims in France are no longer allowed to wear their religious head-dresses. It's causing quite a stir."
I stop mid-bite. Remember, I got up five minutes ago, and I'm completely oblivious to the fact that there is even a country named France, and there is a religion known as Islam.
"There are some people here in the U.S. who think we ought to do the same thing. I talked to one of my friends the other day and she said everyone should be free to dress as they see fit, and I said...."
I was lost. And my cereal was getting soggy as I tried to sort through this maze of information. I cannot fathom how I didn't know about this. I watch the news every night. (EVERY night- sometimes hours of it.) But I still hadn't heard about this. Probably because I'm neglecting both the radio and newspaper. My grandmother reads those too.... I have since learned that whenever there is a lull in the conversation (and often, simply when the current topic doesn't interest her) my grandmother will interpose some political comment, some breaking news, or some random evil being committed. She doesn't just read/listen to the news. She gobbles it up. Today I took two questions (the first two questions in this blog) and went around asking people about them. Only one man out of 10 kinda knew what I was talking about- and he only had an answer for the first question. My grandmother's faschination is current events, and political conservatism and it far excedes the knowledge of anyone in tiny little Bedford, Indiana. Be prepared, when I return to school, to hear me spouting conservative politics, and watching Bill O'Reilly on FOX News every night before bed. I think I may become addicted.
After breakfast I head up stairs and get ready, and clean my room. I'm not neat. My grandmother is. Since I'm living in their house rent free, I suppose it should be kept neat. I also have to look like I know what I'm doing when I leave. Being an intern, there is very little I actually do know, so if I can dress the part it keeps me from looking like a complete idiot.
I spent the morning interviewing, and writing ads. I ate lunch, took a nap, and then changed into my grubbies. Known formally as an intern, I am also referred to as "the slave." "The slave" scrubs floors on her hands and knees, bleaches out cabinets that smell damp. (Damp = Mold smell) I clean the men's restroom. (That has to be my least favorite job. Men are disgusting.) I weeded, cleaned the sludge out behind the station where the satellites are (GROSS!!!) discovered an ants nest (by putting my hands into it- they climbed all up my arm) and cleaned all the windows. I've heard the rumor that the pole barn behind the station is my next project. I don't believe anyone's been in there for years- You can open the door, walk in, and close the door, but that's about it. It's full. I do all these projects when no one knows what to do with me. I smile and say, "Well, since you have nothing for me to do, I believe I will go weed-whip the parking lot and paint the trim. Let me know if you want anything else done!"
So, being an intern/slave/handyman/ cleaning lady/ interviewer/ad writer/ anythingelseyoucanpossiblyimagine is quite exhausting and busy.
But, I am loving every minute of it.
How do you feel about Michael Jackson's jury decision?
posted by COURTNEY at 7:47 AM
1 Comments:
wheel tax = good ... but not when they decide to put up signs informing you that speeding = death. Gosh. I agree with it because if you lived on 421 like me, those 18 wheelers need to be punished for all the damage they do!
i don't know much about guantanamo except that its veiwed negatively on... a very liberal news source, the ACLU, and the alternative news source I read from, truthout.org.
Who is Natallee Halloway? Let me look...oh yes, my grandma thinks she is dead, BTW.
I think everyone should know another language.
FRANCE DID WHAT? Holy mother of god. Who has any right to do that!? What is their amazing and awesome logic? No, we should not, of course not. In this "land of the free" you think that people have a choice in what to wear, particularly if it is religious. Okay, so there are muslims who are terrorists. But I'm sure that the married and modest muslim wife isn't toting a bomb under her head scarf. Give me a break. Next thing you know, German Baptists won't be able to wear a bonnet-- lord knows how CONTROVERSIAL that is.
Honestly though, why on earth is it banned? ... A good reason.
and, i realize i'm more on the liberal side of anarchy and such ;) but i NEVER through NPR anything close to democratic drabble. ... but then again, Jon Stewart is a friend of mine...
--Molly
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