Take to the Sky

this house is like russia
with eyes cold and grey
you got me moving in a circle
i dyed my hair red today
i just want a little passion
to hold me in the dark
i know i've got some magic
buried deep in my heart yeah
but my priest says
you ain't savin' no souls
my father says
you ain't makin' any money
my doctor says
you just took it to the limit
and here i stand
with this sword in my hand

you can say it one more time
what you don't like
let me hear it one more time then
have a seat while i
take to the sky

my heart is like the ocean
it gets in the way
so close to touching freedom
then i hear the guards call my name

but my priest says
you ain't savin' no souls
my father says
you ain't makin' any money
my doctor says
you just took it to the limit
and here i stand
with this sword in my hand

if you don't like me just a little, well
why do you hang around
if you don't like me just a little
why do you
take it, take it, take it
(there she goes again
wearing those purple panties
there she goes again
wearing her heart
there she goes again)

this house is like russia
you can say it one more time
you can say it one more time
you can say it one more time
what you don't like
let me hear it one more time
then have a seat while i
take to the sky

--Tori Amos

Last week on Oprah

Oprah featured some very wise ladies on her show last, each of whom had written a book on finding the purpose and meaning in your own life. She also featured some "real life" women who had taken some of those practices described in the books to heart and implemented them in their own lives.

One of those practices is a "vision board" - a board where women placed quotes, pictures, notes of whatever it was that made them happy in life, their goals, dreams, and wishes...

A few years ago I think I would have scoffed at such an idea, but for some reason it strikes a chord with me now. I think I'm going to make a vision board and put it in my office by my desk. I'm going to place some things on the board (a pretty board, not some ugly old walmart special bulletin board that's falling apart. My immediate goal is going to creating a nice and soothing space out of my desk instead of a pit of despair (or clutter). I'm going to find a neat picture in a magazine and put it on my vision board as my first vision.

My next vision, right after I place a picture of a work space is going to be a job at Randolph school. It has always been my dream to be either a teacher at a private school or a teacher in a school that really could use someone with drive and passion. I know that's two crazy ends of the spectrum, but that's what I want as a teacher.

I don't have a teaching certification yet, but the job description posted on the Randolph website only says bachelors degree with experience in teaching a plus. I'm hoping that with a bachelors, being currently enrolled in a teacher ed program, and all of the other credentials that I have will make me at least a decent candidate for the job. It's something I want so very badly.

So, cheesy vision board, here I come.

vita.mn

I have recently, thanks to my cousin, been very interested in mass-market blogs. She has turned me on to cnet's "The Social" by Caroline McCarthy. It's not exactly my subject matter, but I find it very interesting. I've also found the gawker, a celeb watch blog, Zen Habits, and boinkology.net. But, what I've been most interested in is www.vita.mn .

Vita.mn is a large blog based on the life and activities of living in the Minneapolis metro area. I wish that Huntsville had something so interesting. There are a lot of things going on in Huntsville - some interesting, and some not. But, for the most part, you have no excuse to be bored here. I chose not to go out because it's not my thing, but there would be plenty to do if I wanted to.

The only thing I've been able to find remotely close is Huntsville Event magazine, which we carry at Starbucks. Even though this magazine is run by a person I knew in high school, I'm just not impressed. It seems to cater to the "upper crust" (I guess why it's in Starbucks), with fancy dinners, expensive charity balls and advertisements for fancy clothing boutiques, spas, and Debutante events. Huntsville might have some affluent citizens, but this magazine certainly doesn't represent the general population, or the interests of the people that might actually feel fed by such a publication.

A couple of people I know have had really hard weeks the past week. Well, actually, several people I know have had really bad weeks in the past week, and I wish there was more I could do for each of them.

I must say that I'm surprised how maturly these crises have been handled by some. And while, when I was 18 years old, I thought that my life had drama, I know now that things could have been much harder to handle with a decent head on my shoulders.

I am proud of them for sticking to it in some cases, and in other cases, I'm proud of them getting the heck out of there.

Flu

So, this is the first time in my life that I've ever had the flu.

And I'm not at all interested in the flu. This has been the most icky few days I can remember. Taking a shower was a major undertaking today. Doing my homework was ehausting. Normal every day activities have been like running marathons. Everything aches, I'm congested, I'm coughing and sneezing, and just getting up off the couch seems like an enormous waste of effort.

I'm ready to be over this flu and to move on with my life.

To reiterate

I do not like Huckabee. I do not like him here nor there. i do not like him anywhere.

The more I read about him, the more I feel he is not what our country needs. Someone so close minded toward any belief system or lifestyle than his own cannot be open hearted enough to deal with the diversity in this country and globally.

Super Tuesday

I am watching Brian Williams cover the results of thie Super Tuesday Presidential Primary.

I am watching as Huckabee surprises everyone as he surpasses Romney in the republican primaries.

I am watching astounded.

My arguements might sound as if I'm against religion, and I'm not. Just bare with me.

Mike Huckabee has catch phrases like "preserving the sanctity of life". He believes that there should be no abortion because apparently the bible tells me so. He believes that because the bible, a religious text, says that the United States should uphold laws based on this religious text. I'm pretty sure that the constitution is decidedly for the separation of church and state.

He is campaigning on a platform to do away with the IRS because the constitution doesn't have a place explicitly for the IRS, that taxation should be a responsibility of the states - constitutionally speaking.

Wait a minute... I guess it's ok to tell women what they can do with their bodies since it's in the bible even though it's not in the constitution to combine the two.

Huckabee picks and chooses what he which parts of the constitution he likes and which parts he doesn't to fullfill whatever he feels like at the moment. I respect religious conviction, but I'm afraid that if we mix his religious conviction with our not religious government, we could find some horrible situations.

Here is my message -

As young people, we have more at stake in this election than the older people - our futures are a little longer than theirs. While at the polls today, I only saw old people. LIke, senior citizen people, and those people were all voting republican. I bet they all went out and voted because in their church bullitens their preachers were promoting men like Mike Huckabee for president because if we don't vote him in, our country is obviously going to hell. Scare tactics.

If you care at all - even just a little bit, it's so important to vote and have your voice be heard. There are staggering statistics on how many young people do not vote. It's disheartening.