National Pancake Day/IHOP

Since Lent is coming up, today was the day to indulge. It has also been declared National Pancake Day. At IHOP they serve a free small stack of pancakes so Tarrant, My mom and I decided to go for lunch. I had never been to IHOP before. In fact I’m very anti-IHOP. My sister likes IHOP because she likes pancakes and hates Waffle House. So I’ve always kind of been pro Waffle house to spite her. The food was okay. I like my homemade pancakes better. As I got up out of my booth though to walk out of the door some black stuff fell on me and it was completely disgusting. I have no idea what it was but I’m NOT going back to IHOP again!

Florida School Systems

Last night I was at my friend Rachel’s house reading the newspaper with her. The article I picked up was a Bush article. Since I am anti-Bush I like to read the things that he does. In this article it described Bush’s plan to change Florida school systems. He wants High School students to choose their majors and start taking classes for their major. I thought that making all High School students choose their career goals so soon could be a bad idea. Many students don’t know and for the ones who do know (at least the ones in Gainesville) dual enroll with the local college. I will be dual enrolling shortly but I’m still not sure what I would like to major in college.

Bush’s plan also states that sixth graders will start exploring the idea of different majors. I think that this could potentally ruin Florida school systems even more. My friend Rachel wanted to be a rock star, that’s it, all throughout middle school and high school. I had no idea what I wanted to do. The idea just scared me in middle school. I think that forcing younger generations to make up their minds too early can cause even more stress. This idea seems as if it could work for some, but not for all students. Maybe this should just be an option for honor roll students as an addition to what they already do.

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

Ever since the movie came out my friends have been talking about this series of books. I never read them when I was younger so I decided to pick up "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". As I was reading it, I was bored. The book was way too childish for me so I guess I should have discovered it when I was younger. I didn’t like the lack of details or the fact that the animals talked. I didn’t like the idea of two kids riding on the back of a lion. The way the book was just made Narnia seem so small to me, like the size of my neighborhood. I guess it’s a good book. It was just a little too late for me to read it.

White Oleandor

One of my favorite movies is White Oleander. Recently I decided to read the book. In the movie the main character, Astrid’s mother, is an artist who kills her boyfriend and goes to prison for it. Astrid then goes through 3 different foster homes in a few years. In the book however, Astrid’s mother is a poet and Astrid goes through six different foster homes. In both Astrid is an Artist. I guess that the reason that the movie didn’t include the other 3 foster homes is because the things that happen to her are too extreme for a PG-13 rating. She prostitutes herself, does a lot of drugs, gets starved, etc. I guess that it might have also had something to do with there not being enough time in the movie. I did like both the book and movie. They have their differences but both are equally good.

Vagina Monologues

Yesterday I went to go see the Vagina Monologues for my second time. I really liked the first time I saw them. I think that the people did a good job of expressing what each monologue meant. I was kind of disapointed with the people that did it last night though. Tarrant said it was the first times she’s ever laughed during "My Vagina was my Village". That specific monologe is not meant to be laughed at. And I was also disapointed with "Reclaiming Cunt".

“Night” by Elie Wiesel

Recently,
I’ve read Elie Wiesel’s “Night”. This book is about his experience during the
Holocaust. He spent time in concentration camps and lost every member of his
family along the way. Elie was only a teenager, he was starved, beaten and
became on the verge of losing faith in God.

Before Elie
and his family were sent to concentration camps Elie was a normal teenager in
his home town Sighet, Transylvania.  He spent his time
studying school and religion. He had two sisters and two wonderful parents.

As
people heard of the wars and Jews being taken away no one in Elie’s town
worried. Even when they were on the trains to the concentration camps noone
really knew or believed what was going to happen.

Over the
course of a year in a concentration camp Elie almost lost all faith in himself
and his god. He watched his father be beaten without saying anything. He saw
children being hung. Everything that Elie Wiesel knew before the Holocaust had
long disappeared.

Religious Pet Peeve

So the other day I found myself in a Christian Church. This is not a normal thing for me. I’m Unitarian and I barely even ever go to my fellowship. While I was there I got interrogated. A lot of what my lifestyle is made up of is not very "Christian" and I felt very shunned by these people. It seriously bothered me. I was completely polite the whole time and people were still being rude. psh

Tattoos

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted a tattoo. Pretty much everyone I hang out with has a tattoo and I even know a few tattoo artists. Recently I decided on cat eyes. My mother is kinda not liking this idea but this is what I want. I like tattoos and I think that cat eyes are perfect for me because of how much I like cats.

Transportation

Recently I turned 16. Most sixteen year olds get a license and a car. But not me. I had a discussion with my mother a few weeks ago about allowing me to get a permit but she’s not ready for me to drive yet. So instead I ride the city bus or ask her for a ride or even a friend. I like riding the city bus and if I had a permit I probably still would sometimes because it’s a lot more fun. My mother and I decided that maybe I can have a scooter next Christmas so I will be looking forward to that.

Birthday Fun

Yesterday was my 16th Birthday. During the previous weekend I went to Atlanta to pick out furniture from IKEA. Since I dont have pictures of my new stuff yet I will show those pictures on another post. Yesterday however was an excellent birthday. I woke up at 7:00 in the morning to watch Saved by the Bell. I grew up on that show so I figured it would be good to watch it on my birthday. Then I had a pancake with vanilla icecream on top. After that I got dressed and went to get my hair cut. My new hair cut is awesome. Then I got Starbucks. When I got home I decided I wanted to go to the mall so I went and bought a Led Zeppllin t-shirt. On the walk home I stopped at McDonalds and got a cheeseburger. Then I saw my brother and he gave me a ride the rest of the way. I opened my gifts: an art book, Buffy season 2 and a frog alarm clock and went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Farrah’s. I had a falafel burger and fried ‘shrooms. Then when I got home we had cake which was chocolate with oreo icecream and had frogs on it. Lastly I went and shot pool with two of my good friends and came home and watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was a great birthday.