Just a Quick One

I have been getting REALLY tired of all the news stories they have been reporting on TV and newspapers, etc. about the Iraqi War.  Especially in the last several months, with some political candidates calling it "a mistake."  Not to mention all the countless stories reporting suicide bombings, deaths of U.S. soldiers, and reports of mines blowing up and killing civilians and soldiers alike.  It's morbid, it's depressing, and it's giving the whole war a negative image.

War is not always a bad thing.  And contrary to what the U.S. population may believe, the war was APPROVED of by both republicans and democrats, not just in the House and Senate, but across the nation by a majority of American citizens.

There are SO many good things that are resulting from this war.  We destroyed the regime of an evil dictator who was starving, torturing, and killing his people, we then found that dictator, and brought him to justice.  We are making democracy possible for people who have never experienced it, we are ensuring freedoms all humans should enjoy.  We are allowing the Iraqi people to finally feel safe walking down their own street, and our being there and bringing down Saddam, has resulted in women leaving their homes without their concealing scarves and shawls.

And perhaps best of all, we are taking care of the most tragic victims of war, children.  I cannot even begin to imagine what being a kid right now in Iraq must be like.  The kinds of horrifying things they must see and hear.  Not knowing if their parents will come home from work in the evening, or what their future might look like, or if they will even have one.

So after hearing yet another report about a suicide bombing in Baghdad, I felt inspired to look up videos of the GOOD things the soldiers are doing in Iraq.  I found two which I found incredibly amazing and heartwarming.  And I kept thinking to myself, WHY can there not be MORE reports of these kinds of actions by the troops??  Why can't we hear more about these stories??

I must warn you, the second video contains very shocking and depressing images, but it does end on a very good note.

Please enjoy, and be confident that we ARE, in fact, doing some good in Iraq.

The Europe Post...well the first one anyway...

Many have been asking for it, and some haven't but are still interested.  This is the long-awaited "Europe Post!"  It's where I will at least start to tell you about my experience on my 20-Day tour of Europe I had this past summer from June 7-27, 2008.

Day 1:  My friends, Kelly, Danielle, and Michelle, and I left Rochester in the early afternoon on June 7.  My parents drove us to the Minneapolis Airport and dropped us off so we could catch our flight.  Anyways, after the plane was delayed multiple times, and making us wait over 4 hours at the airport, we finally took off, heading for Chicago to catch our connecting flight to London.  On our way to Chicago, we were forced to make a major detour around a storm system that was between Minneapolis and Chicago, forcing us to fly all the way down to over Kentucky, or Missouri I think, before coming around and back up to Chicago, adding nearly an hour and a half to our flight!  Originally, our lay-over in Chicago would have been nearly 5 hours long, but because of the multiple delays of our previous flight, we landed in Chicago and had just 10 minutes before the London flight was scheduled to take off.  So immediately after disembarking our plane from Minneapolis, we literally sprinted through O'Hare Airport to our gate.  Luckily making it with plenty of time to spare, though we were some of the last people to board!

As it turns out, our flight to London was delayed as well, because of TORNADOES in the Chicago area, as well as along our flight plan.  So after waiting what I believe was almost an hour sitting, waiting in line for the runway, we were permitted to take off for our 11 hour over-night flight.  It was brutal.  We all took some sleep-aids, and everyone, minus myself was able to get some decent amount of sleep.

We arrived in London early in the morning on June 8th, and then started the long process of getting our luggage, customs, and making our way to our hostel.  We took the "Tube" or "Underground" from the airport, which is the oldest and first-ever built, subway system in the world!  We transferred once I think and got off at the station which was near the hostel.  After getting lost I think twice while trying to find it, and asking a very nice British lady for directions, we found our hostel, Palmer's Lodge and checked in, by this time it was around noon and we were all ready for a nice shower and clean clothes.

So we did that, and then met up to start hitting the sights!  We took the Tube again, which was incredibly cheap and easy to use, to Central London, and Trafalgar Square.  This was our first sight that truly confirmed for all of us that we really were in London:

It's the view of Big Ben from Trafalgar Square.  After taking it all in, and absorbing the fact that we were now 5000 miles from home, we started looking around for our tour-bus office.  After finding that, we went and got lunch, which was free with our bus tickets!  We got fish and chips...of course, at this awesome place called Sherlock Holmes Pub.

We then made up our minds to hit up the Eye of London, a gigantic ferris wheel in the middle of London, right on the Thames River.  I am pretty sure it is the world's largest one, and if not, it is for sure ONE of the biggest.  We got our tickets and boarded our "car" a big clear "pod" which they put about 12 people in.  The ride takes 30 minutes to get all the way around and the views are amazing.  We were also VERY fortunate that the two days we were in London were VERY sunny, clear and HOT, a rare kind of weather for England.  This is all of us when were near the top of the wheel, from left to right, Michelle, Danielle ("DK"), me, and Kelly.  See Big Ben and Parliment to the right!?

The second picture above was when we were on the descent of the wheel.  See the taller white building on the far left?  Well right next to it, to the right, the smaller, short building is none other than MI-6!  For those of you who don't know, MI-6 is to England, what the FBI or the CIA is to the U.S.A.  and it's also where James Bond is "employed" in the movies.

After the wheel, we saw a few more sights as the sun went down on our first day in Europe.  We stopped by Buckingham Palace, the Queen was even home!  Later that night, we went down to Picadilly Circus, London's answer to Time Square, though not quite as big or as busy, but just as cool and with all the huge, lit-up signs!  We then went back to the hostel very late, after riding a real red, double-decker bus, which was probably one of the most exciting and terrifying things any of us had done!  And fell asleep quickly, being so exhausted from our day of flying and sight-seeing!  Below is our hostel, Palmer's Lodge.  I had a better picture of it, but couldn't find it...  Anyways, it was rated in the top TEN hostels WORLDWIDE by its guests!  It was extremely nice, clean, quiet, and beautiful.  You didn't even feel like you were in a hostel!

And so concludes Day 1 of our Europe Trip.  Hopefully I'll be able to get more pictures and posts up soon about the rest of the trip!  Thanks for reading!

PARIS!

So as you all know, i am in europe, as i type, the traffic of Paris, France wizzes by outside the internet cafe door.

Today, our tour group visited the Palace of Versailles. Frankly, there are no words to describe just how amazing it was.

I am having a wonderful time, and cant wait to tell all of you about it!

Sorry this post has to be short, but the french keyboards are laid out a bit differently then ours, so its incredibly difficult to type on them!

See you all soon!

It's been one heck of a ride...

Well, I figured I would get this posted quickly, since I know that in a matter of hours, my mother will be all over this breaking news story like Americans on Oil Fields.

The big story is...

MY BRACES ARE OFF!!

That's right, I am done with those pesky mouth-shredders otherwise known as braces.

Currently I am wearing two clear plastic retainers to ensure that my teeth don't shift in the now clutter-free mouth of mine. I will have these for about a month or so, when I will start trying to ween my teeth off of them by taking them out for a few hours at a time, to see if they move any. Over time, I will wear them less and less until I only wear them at nights!

But I am totally cool with this, since basically just about anything is better than braces.

For those of you who know me well, and have known me, well, lets just say most of my life, know how huge of a deal it is to be done with braces. Braces have long been known to the orthodontic world to be the final step in dental correction.

I have been in and out (though mostly in) of orthodontic care since the ripe old age of 5. (or is it 6, mom?) Anyways, it's been a very long road, and, as the title so eloquently puts it, "one heck of a ride."

I began orthodontics work in FIRST GRADE, I even remember what my first retainer looked like: Bright orange with a Donald Duck sticker on it.

I have had just about every bit of correctional appliance and technique known to the world of orthodontics, and frankly, I am happy for the experience. It has taught me a lot.

So thanks everyone, for all your support and lack of cruel mockery of my mouth work, but thanks for the good-natured ribbing! :-)

And especially thanks to Mom and Dad for investing so much CASH, care, and support into this one VERY good looking set of teeth!

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Essentials for Europe

As most of you know, this summer I will be embarking on the most spectacular trip of my short life, (thus far).

I will be taking a 20-day trip through Europe with three of my friends. We booked the trip through a website traveling company called EF College Break. (efcollegebreak.com). It is a discount "travel agency" for budget-tight college kids, and provides tours through Europe, Egypt, China, and many other countries. The itinerary is shown at left, with some discrepancies. First, we WILL be going to London before the "official" tour actually starts, since it was, as this map shows, originally part of our itinerary, but has since been removed, due to previous travelers comments of the tour, poor exchange rates, and overall high cost of visiting London.

After spending two days in London, we will fly ourselves to Amsterdam, where the new itinerary of the tour officially starts. Then, after 3 days in Amsterdam, we will travel by train through Brussels, Belgium for a short half-day stay and onto Paris, France. The rest of the shown itinerary is, for the most part accurate, save for the French Riviera part, which has also been removed due to past travelers' disinterest in it.

To get to the point, I will be leaving for said trip on June 7, and I can hardly contain my excitement. Basically I'm writing this blog to inform you, and to brainstorm ideas, and have them written out, for things (or "Essentials" as the title implies) that I am taking, or should be taking to Europe, minus the obvious things like clothing, etc.

Its important because since I will be moving from place to place frequently (about every 3 days or so, sometimes less), and so I need to be careful what I take, and its essential I pack lightly, despite being there for 20 some days.

Here is my list thus far, and I would love to hear suggestions from frequent travelers or otherwise of things you have taken and are glad to have had them:

1. I just bought an awesome little journal that I am taking to record what I did each day while I was in Europe, including all the details so I can go back later and remember EXACTLY what happened everyday I was there.

2. My camera (OBVIOUSLY), but I included it on this list since there's more to it. I currently have a 2 GB memory card which holds, I believe 1000 pictures or so...It might be 2000, but now I'm not sure... Anyways, I am planning on purchasing another memory card, hopefully a 4 GB, just to be safe and not run out of room on the memory cards halfway through the trip! (along with the camera, I am bringing all its necessary accessories, like the charger, etc.)

3. I am in need of one of those "necklace" wallets, which is worn around your neck to guard against pick-pocketing (a huge problem in many if not all European major cities.) Or some other form of a secret wallet.

4. I have gotten an "OK" to use my Grandma's European outlet converter to take on the trip, and I believe I'll be seeing her in late May, and will hopefully be getting it from her then. (obviously important since European outlets are not the same as our outlets!)

5. ???

This is the list so far, but am very much so open to suggestions. When you read this it would be great to ask others to do so as well (if they know me that is :-) ), to see if they have any suggestions.

I am also still debating on what kind of suitcase to take on this trip. When I pack, I only want to fill it from 1/2 full to 3/4 full. This way I can fill the rest of the space up with my purchases I make whilst in Europe. I am torn between taking a standard duffle-bag type suitcase, or the popular "rolling" suitcase. Both are readily available to me as well. And keeping in mind a few points of:
-Most streets in Europe are likely to be cobblestone, and difficult to "roll" a suitcase on.
-The duffle bag could get very heavy to carry.
-The duffle bag is more flexible and can be squished and stretched (to a degree) as needed.
-The "hard" rolling suitcase is expandable as well (to a degree), and will be easier in airports, etc.

I would love to get your opinions on this matter!!

Thanks for reading!

And this is the first of many blogs that will be related to my Europe trip! So keep an eye out! Later I will post my full itinerary and what we are doing in each city!!

back again

Hey, sorry everyone, please excuse my prolonged absence from blogger, I just have been so busy lately!

Today was pretty exciting, at least work-wise. For those of you who don't know, I work at Civic League Day Nursery as a teacher aide, mostly in the kindergarten-aged room. I came into work, after being called to ask if I could come in an hour earlier than I was scheduled, and seeing as how I love money, I did. Mary-Ann, my boss, who also happens to be a good friend from way back, greeted me as usual as I came into the office to hang up my coat. Then she proceeded to tell me about the "outbreak." Apparently there was a child in the room I work in who had LICE. And not only did he have it, he'd had it for the past 2 days! His mother had brought him to daycare with lice, knowing, as far as I know, about Civic League's "No Nits" policy. He had had the lice all day Monday, and was at daycare until lunch today, leaving PLENTY of time for it to spread to other children, or the staff!!

So I came in, and all the kids' stuff had been put into plastic bags, and I mean everything! Their coats, hats, gloves, snow pants, boots, backpacks, everything in their cubbies, blankets and pillows from nap time. And the entire room was sanitized. Needless to say, as Mary-Ann was telling me this, my scalp began to itch suspiciously... I highly doubt I have it, but just hearing that a kid had it gave me the weebie jeebies.

Then after that fiasco, we decide to go outside, as usual for playground time, despite the howling and ferocious winds. Well it just so happens that right next door to Civic League Day Nursery NW, is the school bus depot, or headquarters, or whatever you want to call it. The bus depot has a very large and tall antenna near its main building, on the side that Civic League is also on. The towering antenna is just a short grassy lawn and a small parking lane away from Civic League's playground.

It was quickly brought to my attention by one of the kids after we got outside, that, "the antenna is broke!" Puzzled, I glanced up at the antenna to see that indeed, one entire "section" of spokes or whatever you call them had snapped out of place, and was now laying precariously, though still attached to the main structure, on top of another set of spokes, and it was rattling and pitching in the high winds. I wasn't too worried, and went about keeping an eye on the kids so they wouldn't get into trouble. Slowly, the other classrooms trickled out, while the teachers did their best to keep the doors from flying off the hinges. It was eventually pointed out to all the teachers and the kids for that matter that the antenna was very obviously, "broke."

We had all for the most part forgotten about it whilst trying to keep from being blown over in the wind and watching the kids. Suddenly, I heard from behind me a great "CRASH!" I spun around to see the large piece of the antenna hit the ground, the crash had come from it hitting the edge of the roof on its way down to earth, luckily, it had not hit any of the parked cars nearby, but landed harmlessly in the grass. By this time, also, Mary-Ann had called the school bus company to inform them of their damaged antenna, and no one had yet come out to inspect it.

After the large piece had fallen, and the amazement slowly began to die down, we noticed that the second piece, now freed of it's heavy counterpart, was pitching even more in the wind then it had been previously. I tried to position myself on the playground so I could keep an eye on it while still being able to watch the kids. I would glance at the antenna, then watch the kids for a while, and break up fights, etc, then glance back at it. It was on one of these times that I glanced back, when I saw the section of spokes left over suddenly drop, I started to say, "There it goes!" but didn't finish, since it was suddenly caught by a small black wire, leaving the substantially large piece hanging there by, literally, a thread. Now free of its anchor to the main structure, the piece began to pitch and roll heavily flying all over the place.

By this time, the bus drivers were returning and walking through the parking lot, the other teachers and I were worried the piece may break off and hit one of them, or hit a car. Well it was probably about half an hour later, when I happened to glance at it again just in time to see the wire snap and the piece began sailing towards the earth, the wind caught it and blew it quite a bit further than the last one, and I again cried, "THERE IT GOES!!" Just at that time, a bus driver was walking by, and she either heard me, or the snap of the wire, and started running away from it, (luckily, she was plenty far away, as it turns out!), other teachers whipped around to watch the fall. This piece also crashed into the roof, but on the corner of the building, flipping the piece in further away. It landed in the grass as well, but then fell foward into two parked cars, I cringed hearing the metal spokes scrape across the hoods of the two cars.

Mary-Ann again called the bus depot, to tell them that their antenna was now in ruins on the ground. This time, they came out to inspect it, and survey the damage of the two cars. From what I overheard from across the parking lot, was both cars suffered only "a few scratches." And luckily no one was hurt. It was pretty exciting.

My hero for this week

Sorry for the lag in between my posts, but I'm just so busy that I hardly find time anymore! Plus nothing too exciting ever really happens to me. This past week, as usual was uneventful, despite me being more sick than I've felt in a VERY long time on Wednesday.

I went to bed on Tuesday night (at 7:30!!) not feeling very well, and had the LONGEST and most terrible night of my life. I was waking up every 10-15 minutes or so feeling INCREDIBLY uncomfortable. Whether it was because I was too hot, too cold, or aching, I just could not get comfortable in my bed. My back was KILLING me, my legs felt numb, my neck had about 80 cricks in it, and I had a terrible headache. Not to mention my nose was running, I had a sore throat, and a bad cough.

Needless to say, I woke up Wednesday morning feeling awful. I got up just before or around 8 AM, even though I didn't have class till 10. I tried having breakfast, and it made me feel a little better, I also took some Advil cold and sinus (since some of you know that it has worked wonders for me in the past) and some ibuprofen. I still did not feel good at all. So I sat on the couch with an ice pack on my head for a while, and debating over whether a shower would help me feel better, since for me, that is usually the case.

So I gave it a try....and....nothing. I still felt terrible. By this time, it is about 20 minutes before I need to walk out the door to make it in time for my first class of the day. I was still debating on whether or not I should go to class or not, since I HATE to miss class. For real. I hate missing it, because it just ends up being more work in the long run what with making everything up, getting notes from other students, etc. I just hate it.

Well I was still feeling so terrible, I got my pillow and ice pack, and just laid down flat on my still aching back on my bedroom floor. Surprisingly, it felt VERY good to lie down on the floor. And I started to doze off. I was STILL debating going to class at this time, and finally I just said, I am gonna have to miss at LEAST my first class of the day, Health, which I didn't really want to miss as we had a guest speaker coming in. But I promptly fell asleep. By the time I woke up, my second class of the day, Geology, was just starting, and I knew that by the time I got there, It would probably have been useless. So I just fell back asleep.

Well to make a long story short, (too late! ;-D) I found out the next day, through e-mailing my Geology professor that I had missed the Lab Exam! The lab exam that she said could only be made up if we had made plans with her AHEAD of time! I was horrified. But I explained the situation to her, how I had literally felt so sick that I honestly had completely forgotten all about the exam, and she agreed to let me make it up so long as I do so before class on Friday. Well I got it done Friday morning, and scored a 87%!! So pretty much my hero of the week is my Geology Professor, Wanda Hanlon! Thanks for that!

By the way, I do feel much better now!

The ever-elusive Wii...

The Nintendo Wii...


For some reason I am getting the feeling that I am simply not meant to have it. Since acquiring the cash for one some 2 months ago, I have been unsuccessful in my hunt for a Nintendo Wii. As my mom put it today, after yet another failed attempt at buying one, "I am getting sick of playing 'this game.'" I couldn't agree more. I am a moment away from taking my cash and spending it on another, more readily available system, say for example, the Xbox 360?

Today was probably the CLOSEST I've ever gotten at getting one. I was 95% sure that Target was going to have them today, but since I had to do the lights at church today, I wasn't able to be there at opening time. So my mom agreed to do it for me, (thanks Mom!). Unfortunately, neither of us bothered to double check the opening time for Target on Sunday, and since in reality it was 8 AM, and we thought it was 10 AM...NO Wii for us. The Wiis sold out by 8:15 AM. Yes, they were gone in FIFTEEN MINUTES. 30 Wiis gone, in 15 minutes.

I am almost certain that Nintendo is making plenty of them, but is holding them, and only releasing a certain amount at a time, in order to build demand. Well, Nintendo, I've had quite enough. It's incredibly annoying, and I am slowly beginning to think I simply wasn't meant to have one.

But so, the search goes on.

This whole weekend has just been lazy. I didn't do a whole lot, but it was fine by me. Right now I am just sitting in my room watching Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Probably just about one of the greatest movies ever made. So I'm gonna get back to that.

Nate's BACK!!

It's true. I am back.

The other day I got the sudden urge to check out my xanga, which I used to check daily, and post frequently on, but which has been out of commission since summer of 2007. I decided since few people I knew on xanga still check theirs, I'd come back here, and try this place one more time. I'll give it a better chance this time, and hopefully get more readers than before.

Like most people, I'm sure, I live off of comments. And when I don't get them, as vain as this sounds, I don't feel any motivation to continue posting regularily, if at all. So please tell me whats up if you read!! It's awesome to hear from you.

Another reason I came back and am trying to give blogging another go is my trip to Europe this summer. If there is a computer and internet available to me while I travel through Europe, I hope to come back here and keep everyone updated on my daily events.

I am at RCTC right now between classes, and my English class is about to start in about 15 minutes. So I'll have to leave it at that! Can't wait to come back and continue posting! Hope to hear from you all!