An Article..

on a very serious note, i read an article in a christianity magazine that my mom had. im not sure how i can write this to make sense. but i'll try.
1.) in Uganda, there is a man who is trying to overthrow the government. im not sure what his name is. so he started this army called the LRA. Lord's royal army or something. he mixes islam, christianity and mostly witchcraft in his religion, and says its a christian army. read on, it gets worse.
2.) this army, at night, abducts kids, from the ages of 7-14 because at that age, their minds are influenced the easiest. then the generals or whatever make the kids march for days, and the kids dont have proper shoes or water. the generals drink the good water. so guess what they kids drink? gross dirty water, or, well, urine. OK, GROSS! AND THESE KIDS ARE MY AGE! AND YOUNGER.
3.) if the kids cant keep up with the pace at which they are forced to march, they are killed. but not by the generals. nope, another child has to kill them. or be killed. within a week, new "recruits" are expected to have killed another child.
4.) when the LRA comes to like a town and they raid it or something, the children are expected to kill the victims. one boy was forced to beat two women to death, i think it was beat. with a machete, i think. and he was so afraid that they would kill him. so he had to. he said he kept beating them, even thought they were screaming. he was scared of being killed.
5.) when killing someone, or beating them, the children are told that if the blood of the victim doesnt spatter on their clothes, they didnt do a proper job. gory.
6.) the goal of all this is to ultimately make these children when they are older ruthless killers who have no conscience. and it works. they are forced to kill at a young age. some boys are forced to rape women. or mutilate peoples faces by cutting off their noses, or their lips.
7.) the children who do escape need serious help. mentally, and often physically. many times, their faces are beyond recongition. they are afraid of going to jail because of what they were forced to do. their families often dont accept them back, especially if it was a girl who was raped or something. some families dont get help for the children right away. one family had to bring their son in who escaped, because he had broken his hands by beating on a wall repeatedly. and none of the kids talk to the people at this clinic that is there to help them. its hard to get them to talk about what happened to them. this is a christian clinic, BTW. also, the kids dont understand what christianity is all about. no wonder.

thinking about all this shamed me. i complain when the smallest thing goes wrong for me. all my "problems" are so petty and small. nothing that happens to me compares to this, not even close. and the first thing that entered into my head after i read this article was "why?" why does the Lord let all this happen? it seems like He doesnt care. like somehow God isnt looking. and i know He sees everything that happens to these kids. but i dont understand why. maybe to show us what people are really like.
i know that i cant rush off to Uganda to stop all this. i know not everyone can go work in a clinic there. but i know what i can and will do. im gonna pray. if i dont, im not doing anything about this problem ive learned about. and i wont sit around and do nothing. praying is everything i can do.
what are YOU gonna do? will you pray ? or not?
ta

SKIIING!

ok, guys, i went skiing last night... and IT WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN! seriously, i didnt die, i got to hang out with people i really like and i got to embarass myself by trying to ski. i was also having fun hurling my meanest insult of the day at people ( people that i knew, of course) . namely: BUTTHEAD! that was fun too. but my hat didnt really work for me, so i wore jess's hat. and i hung out with jess, derek blok and andrew schipper for a while. i even went down the sweet express hill. and jess was mean and said i look like an old granny when i ski. i believe it too. o well. there were people that were insanely good... namely: chris blok, bryan denhollander, er, derek blok, and other people i didnt even know. and there were some people who were oblivious to the cold... wearing no hat and at times, even no jacket (it is prudent, i suppose, at this point, to mention no names). but if they like it like that, good for them, quothe i. so yeah. and i also saw mr. bloks other son... who looks so much like him, i almost fainted. seriously, it creeped me out. i was like "i didnt know mr. blok snowboards!" (i didnt really say that, just stressing my point here). my food was sabotaged by my philistine friends... jess! but i got her back by putting pieces of my mutilated brownie in her drink. i sound so childish. i am so childish. sick. i laughed alot, but thats me i spoze. ohoh, and the last thing i did that night was FOR THE FIRST TIME, i sat by the fire. with my good friend courtney kampus. and by other people i know. and i had fun doing that too. life is fun. and i dont have long left, so i gotta tell y'all this, since its chrismas and all:
i love you guys!! and will miss you like crazy!!
phew, got that over with.
i meant that, btw, for everyone i know who reads this blog.
ta!

Injustice.

you know, one thing that drives me insane are the guys on my bus. they never ever do anything wrong, they claim, but they get in trouble any way, becaues mr. bazen supposedly hates them. also, there are some people (no names) in my history class who get in trouble, and there first response EVERY TIME, is "I DIDNT DO IT!" i want to say to them "isnt life unfair? poor baby. always in trouble for nothing." i cant stand it. its not like they dont do what they are accused of doing. and they always say they didnt do it. they make their lives at school miserable.
but the stinky part in all this injustice is, these guys are bullies. and they think its funny to pick on the little people, who are nerdy. or different. i hate it. and they pick on the small guys. who have no one to stick up for them. and who cant beat them up. i hate unfairness. i despise bullies. i dislike injustice. life is so unfair sometimes. makes me wonder what it would be like to be unpopular. and i think, those who are popular should stick up for the unpopular nerdier kids, especially if they're younger. and ive got four weeks left (or less) to make my stand. i think i will. sigh.
injustice... tis a sad thing.

hi guys! quick note of hi-ness... im in canada right now.. and will be till tuesday. do you miss me? i miss you guys. i think i said goodbye to all my friends, if not, remind me to punch myself for you, or punch me yourself.
will update lata!

Revelation!

i finally got it all figured out. if you know me, you know i laugh ALOT and im very cheerful. but i think i laugh to cover up a major deficiency in my character. and im cheerful, because deep down, im not really happy. ive only got four weeks left in America. theres alot i still want to do. theres alot i wish i could do again, or take back. theres so many things ive done wrong. i dont want to leave, but i know i have to, so i CAN start again and leave the hurt i have and have probably caused behind me.
" laugh. if you dont laugh, you will cry." ( my motto.) and THATS why i laugh so much.

Official Notice.

well, i dont know about you, but i think this blog is going down the tubes. sooo, im gonna delete it pretty soon and get a new one when we go to south africa. tell me what you think of all this. yay, nay, or maybe so.
ta

Thanksgiving

well, this november has been great. all that turkey and stuff. yeah, its a great thought. yesterday was thanksgiving, so i decided to tell you guys what im thankful for this year. ENJOY!
1.) i am thankful that we came to america. if we didnt, i would have had a boring life and would never have met all the people i met and am friends with.
2.) im thankful for humour and laughter. goodness, where would i be without it?
3.) im thankful that i can be a christian without persecution. that would be very hard.
4.) im thankful for my family. sometimes annoying and insane, i love 'em anyhoo, theyre always there when i need them.
5.) im thankful for school. education, and that kind of thing. tons of people dont have it half as good as i do.
6.) im thankful for all my friends. you dudes understand me, make me laugh and (lamest of lame things to do) comment on my blog. love y'all!
7.) im thankful for all my stuff. like, clothes, shoes, hair straightener and all that jazz. i have alot of stuff, seriously.
8.) and last but not least, i am grateful for every breath and heart beat that i have. life is so short. it really is. i could die any second, and thats scary.

Purposes...

allow me to make clear a few things that my blog IS and what it ISNT.

1) my blog is not a place to make known any amount of gushy (etc) sentiment. THIS IS NOT A SOAP OPERA!
2.) its not a gossip session where we put people down. thats happened here, and i know its wrong. if we do discuss someone, it will have to be nice, or in jest.
3.) this is not a place to advertise the virtues of your site. if its cool, thats nice. i'll find out myself.

what my blog IS, or SHOULD BE:
1.) a site that is funny, entertaining, stupid, or all three. probably stupid though.
2.) family friendly. hoho. no, i wont start cussing and i wont write about objectional material. (not rated R stuff, any way, like, PG)
3.) a site that i will probably keep you updated from in south africa. im not sure yet.

i hope you will keep these few things in mind, since i dont want to have to face them again. tata!
have a nice life! and always follow your nose... its a good thing!

Dr. Evil and Her evil sidekick, The Cow

once upon time there was this evil person who named herself Dr. Evil. she also had a faithful sidekick named The Cow. Together they planned to take over the world. Unfortunately, there was this moron named Mr. Peas-and-Carrots who was a goody two shoes who foiled all their evil plans. So, in the end, they didnt over take the world, and they were mad. But then, one day they planned a brilliant plot to get rid of Mr. Peas- and-Carrots so that they could over take the world. So one day, they disguised themselves as waiters at a restaurant where Mr. Peas- and-Carrots was eating. They walked up to his table and seized his plastic fork and impaled him upon it. It was a sad sight. They then escaped on their getaway tandem to their secret hide-out. There they laughed until they cried and planned their over take of the world. They then over took the world, only no one knew about it, because as soon as they did, they underwent a major change of character and became the greatest advocates of "How to stop people from overtaking the world".
Isnt that cool? Dr. Evil changed her name to Dr. Cool and The Cow remained The Cow. How Sweet!

Sorry

Sorry about the vulgarity and imaturity of the last post. i hope none of you were offended. it seems some of you may have been (john) but i dont know. so, sorry, i'll post something good again soon.

Mortification!

As of this moment, i am mortified. Utterly desolated. I am going to die.
bye

Only Rupert...

this post shall be dedicated to our slightly insane but rather wonderful dog. so here we go... note: the name of the dog in this post is pronounced the south african way: ROO-pit.

Only Rupert would pee on my friend courtney every time she has come over lately.

Only Rupert would empty his bowels three times on the floor of MY room over the period of two days, after being severely chastised for doing so.

Only Rupert would welcome our guests (who didnt really like dogs anyway) by puking right at their feet, and taking care of his dierreah at their feet as well.

Only Rupert would pursue our grumpy cat out onto the roof of our garage only to pee in his terror of the cats vengeance.

Only Rupert would be able to jump to the heights he has attained for a dog of his size. He's like a circus show he jumps so high.

Only Rupert would decide to run after Morgy and me one morning as we were in a hurry to get onto the bus. Not only did he run around after us, but he almost crossed the road with us and forced my mom to run outside wearing her P.J's and gown (no shoes) to pursue him.

Only Rupert would scare all the little kids who come to our house by his happiness like he does.

Only Rupert could have ever become so special to me, despite all the grievances and misktakes listed above. Yes, thats our dog.

My Biffday!

well, right now, i dont feel like posting on the chicago trip my class went on. so ill post on this instead. yes, saturday was my birthday (or as a miskin phrase, biffday). on friday night, i had cassie bazen and my faithful side kick courtney kamp over. we hung out in my room for a while, as i got over the pain of ear piercing. then, just as we were watching pirates of the carribean, i heard some dude yelling "hey, are you home? you invite us, and then youre gone!" that was john, of course, letting me know that they had arrived. so, my friends and i trooped downstairs to meet the sikmas and play football. we had alot of fun, apart from that fact that gordon almost broke cassies (middle) finger. then, ghrad had to leave, so we (gordon, john, pete, cassie, courtney and i) just hung out laughing about life and talking as well. it was fun. we also discussed the possibilities of why rupert always pees on courtney, we still dont really know. after a jovial supper, the youngsters (us) trooped upstairs to watch the phantom of the opera... LUCKY! since it is johns favourite musical, and because im so nice, i invited the sikmas to watch it with us. and they really liked it i think. the movie was great, especially with the thoughtful commmentaries pete gave on the movie, and gordons theatrical snores in some tedious songs... but john was intenly silent the whole way through. boy...
then after the movie, came picture time! boy, was that fun! i have some great pictures i should post soon... maybe i will!
saturday: my birthday. all my buddies came over and we made the most insane movie ever... and had laughs doing it. courtney was running around in my moms old wedding dress,while kayla donned my dads old t shirt. cassie stuffed a pillow up her shirt for the "fat look", and lindsays wig, well, thats another story. i had a great day, and now i am officially fifteen!!!!! and it feels GOOOOOD!
bye!

Special Ed: and other things

well, my readers, this post concerns a special ed like theme. i should start at the beginning though. just yesterday, my group of buddies and i were approached by dan schipper and chris blok who needed a player on their co-ed football team. after some deep thought, and violent arguments, jess convinced me to stay with her (only joshing jess). any way, i got some money for pizza and so did jess. then we were on. woopwoop.
after school proved that quite a few plymouth-ites had decided to stay as well. the teams organized themselves,and the games began. our first game, well, was pitiful. we were no match for neil blok and his cronies. however, we took the beating in good stride and said "i thought we would lose that one anyway!" i also made the catch of my lifetime during that game, it was purely luck though. the next game was more of a match i think. after a series of huddles and such, we defeated mr. tenelshof's team as well. jess and i were officially named the good luck charms of the team. that suited me just fine, by the way. the next match our team sat out, which was a relief to me, i needed my rest. jess and i rolled down a hill once or twice and looked up at the sky and commented on life. we also commented on our team being fun, but odd, as we saw the guys discussing stratagems,and throwing themselves to the ground in their exuberance. we were then called upon to play another game.
this one was against mark and his side kicks, aka, bryan jeff courtney nick and kerri rozeboom. i hated that team with a great hatred. courtney almost never got the ball, and that made me very angry. also, during that game, i proved myself a better kicker of the football than darren and chris. but jess was awesome too :D! we also won that game, on account of our marvellous strategies that i didnt even understand.
now is where the special ed comes in. we were then placed against a team of 7th grade girls... and kara vanderboon. who, if you didnt know, are very very small. that wasnt in the least fair, because on our team was dominic ash, the single most tall guy in the entire school. also, dan schipper can throw a ball well, and chris can (kind of) catch, and me and jess are lucky. so, we decided to play special ed style. in other words, we really messed around. alot too, coz we only ended up winning two to nothing. so, that was fun.
the next game we played was by far the funniest in a bad kind of way. we were up against a good team with joel and arnie blok, jess's sister and some other people. well, dan threw the ball for a far one, yelling "FORE!". chris was way out at the bottom of the field, being guarded by joel. when chris caught the ball, he ran and joel grabbed his flags off. unfortunately, joel decided to pull something else off chris as well: his shorts. yes, chris blok was pantsed. i only saw him pull his shorts up, but that was enough for me. i looked at jess and we both burst into merry gales of laughter (which probably made it worse for the poor guy). any way, that was funny, but sick if you know what i mean? ah, yes, football was fun.
then, we all trooped inside for pizza. boy, did my legs and feet hurt! i sank onto the floor holding my pizza and my drink, and was thankful we didnt have to do any more playing. that was the most fun i had all week really.

now, other news: on thursday it was my sisters birthday, she turned twelve. the sikmas also came over to observe it and check out my brothers new computer. thats the second piece of news. thirdly, jess got a blog!!! its pretty sweet, she shouldnt use IM speak though... LOL! kidding jess! her blogs name is jess 56.blogspot.com.
also, i liked the conversation starters you guys put up on my last post, we should do that again sometime.

i had a great time at football as you can probably tell, and will post on something again pretty soon!

Wegner's liquor and bowling.

i am all alone in our house, do i decided to take advantage of it and do a post. this will be all about the happenings in my life of late. or, well the most significant.
let us start in the dim past of three days ago. Wednesday to be precise. we had history class... and it was fun (as usaual). only this time, we did a little play... via mrs. dykstra productions. it was about how cortes destroyed the aztec empire, and it was very funny. the actors, in their enthusiasm, had the whole class (including the director, mrs. dykstra) in fits of laughter. and if i remember correctly, trent was a body guard of cortes (matt bazen) no wonder he wasnt attacked.
then, last night, we (erika, lindsay, gordon, me, john, pete, heather bazen and kristin walma) went bowling at wegners on leonard. upstairs, mind you, we didnt know what the drunkies would have done to us if we had stayed downstairs. it was quite a lot of fun, even though i am hopeless at bowling. heather and kristin had to leave early, or left early, im not sure which. then we just sat there and discussed, well, nothing. ONLY KIDDING ERIKA!!! we talked about a lot of stuff... including where we should go now that our bowling game was over. i was sick of the smell of the alley, and there were some strange looking people where we were, so we decided to leave. we all trooped downstairs, paid and then went outside. there we stood in the dark, right next to wegner's liqour and bowling, saying we SHOULD leave soon, lest we be overtaken by mobs of drunk men, and women etc; we finally settled on the fact that we should go to red hot inn, all the way on the other side of town. so we did. when we got there, we ordered shakes from bob, who only does food. we walked on to find an amazing look alike of bob called jerry who did the counter. it was so uncanny a resemblance, i wonder if it was the same fellow... heehee. we all sat down, and laughed very hard for a while, and probably gave some of the old people in there heart attacks, i surely hope not. we then decided that we should leave, before they brought out some big fat guy to escort us out. in the parking lot, many good byes were said and we parted ways. alas, i thought, thus the night endeth.
so i did have fun... and well, youth must have its fling. so what can i say? im not sure either... thats me for you!
tootles!

The Fireworks and stuff

i am sick of my last post so i decided to put another one up. and yes, it is about friday and the happenings thereon. i had alot of fun that day. first, i had school (woopwoop) and then we went over to jess's house and did all kinds of stuff. (woopwoop). we also caught frogs... i think courtney was looking for her prince there, since she isnt going to find him anywhere else... moohaha. then courtney, sonja and i had to go to youth group, where we played way too much football.
then the fun came~~ the fireworks. i love lots of people. when we got to our assigned bridge, i found half of plymouth there... to my surprise. i also found john and pete... surrounded by gordons buddies (lifestyles of the rich and famous...or so to speak). i then went over to my friends and met some kalamazoo guys who are like six feet tall, and my age... i feel really short for some odd reason. the fireworks were cool, and the company excellent.
well, that's all for now. sorry if i bored you!
tata

ah, it is, i suppose, the cusotmary thing to write a post about the "first week of school". any way, to keep up the good old traditions, i will post one now.
i was aroused from my slumbers at about half past six, went to shower and fumbled my way down the stairs to eat my school-year breakfast: a piece of toast and a mug of coffee. after brekkers, my mom decided to have a lengthy prayer, during which the bus arrived. so, we were late for the bus on the very first day of school, great. when i got on the bus i sighed a great sigh. i was going to see the most retarded people i know once again. namely, my classmates.
when i walked into the school building, i was greeted by the sight of an ape like looking fellow who i realized was trent... sigh, he hasnt changed much, unfortunately. our class still has our retarded little "groups". i went over to the cool group, namely my group of friends and commented on what i thought the school year was going to be like-terrible.
during our assembly, erika came up and gave such a wonderful speech, i was moved to tears and almost gave her a standing ovation. it was the hightlight of my day.
the rest of the week was spent taking classes and dying in pe. we ran the mile, and that day i decided i am dropping pe, as soon as i can. gordon still parades around the building as if he owns the place, and gets many laughing at him... me included.
so, school isnt all that exciting, im probably going to hate my class and our groups... but the groups are a whole different post. one day i will post on that.
tata, i have to go, lest the wrath of gordon break upon me and consume me in my way.

"...and thus they qouth..."

here are some great (random) quotes ive gathered from all my acquaintances, and a few other sources.

i quote:

" you're never old enough to learn." a guest at our house misquoted this one.

" Your diary?ive never read your diary." my sister.

" you have two brothers, did you know that?" gordon, in second grade to a classmate, when he discovered his classmate had two brothers.

" good thing im faster than most horses." petey

" theres ground beneath the dirt!!!" courtney's profoundness.

" O, i am excessively diverted!" Elizabeht Bennet in Pride and Prejudice

" winter's round the corner!" my mom's cheerful words of wisdom.

" your voice is an annoying noise!" mrs. lamain, in 7th grade to trent knibbe.

" knock and the door shall be opened unto you, except when im sleeping" the sign on my sister's door.

" its our own family blonde joke!" my uncle mike about me, when i said something particularly stupid.

" youve waited MONTHS even YEARS for this day!!" a birthday card from my sister to my brother on his fifteenth birthday.

" im going to call him Shmo." gordon, when we recieved our dog.

" Oh, shuttup, you are so annoying!" King Julian of the lemurs in madagascar

" G'mornin!" Mr. Devries when cassie poked her head in his tent on our muskegon trip.

" Oh, oops!" john, when he ran the wrong way in our football game.

" Together! you must work together to find my murderer!" pete, as kent oliver in "the deadly bananaman"

" would you like some coffee with you milk?" my dad when gordon puts too much milk in his coffee.

" its horrible!" my cousin hannah about my haircut.

" how many days walk was your military compound from the equator?" pete asked gordon with admiration in his voice and shining eyes when we first arrived.

" youre retarded" almost everyone i meet to me, which is true.

" you look like a lion." me when morgy asked me what her hair looked like when it was really poofy.

" yay, yay!" gordon, as he jumped on a trampoline in South Africa.

" bwoo-ha-ha!" morgy, during a particularly serious moment over breakfast.

" mushroom pile!" my mom about the pile of clothing on my chair.

" firework, firework, happy fourth of july!" jess, in a very clever moment.

" fnarr, fnarr!!" gordon's evil laugh

" there's people prowling about!" courtney, as she glanced over her shoulder into the dark. this was on our muskegon trip.

and the last one:

" he who laughs last thinks the slowest." an ancient zimbabwean proverb.

end quote.

The story of X and Y

this is the sad narrative of two individuals. they will for good reasons, be left nameless and so we will call them X and Y. X and Y were not your average people. ah yes, my friends, they were mental retards. or to be politically correct, they were disturbed. and they were starting to scare the neighbourhood in which they resided.finally, after they had scared one old lady into hysterics so violent that she was admitted into the hospital and later died, they were arrested and taken to a home for the disturbed. then they were put into a little room where no one saw them. they were forgotten, but far from gone. oh yes, not yet gone.
it was a while later that our two disturbed friends decided that they didnt like their new home. so they hatched an ingenious plan (for mentals) to escape. so when the man with their rations came round the next day, they somehow knocked him out, bound and gagged him and hopped into their wheelchairs. then they frantically wheeled out, at 100 mph, and made their way to the fire escape door. on the way, they flattend an unfortunate nurse, and killed her. not daring to stop, they raced to the door, cheered on by the other inmates wishing they had the guts to escape as well.
they then wheeled downt the street and into a deserted alley. they rested there for a while and discussed (in the few ways they found possible) their predicament. where would they go now? it seemed that luck was with these two, because they discovered that the house next to them was empty. thus, they took up living in that house. from that house, in the still of the night, insane laughter was heard drifting out. the people of the town, believing the house to be haunted never dared to investigate what the cause of the noise was.
thus, their reign of terror began. they scared old ladies, and X even stole a pair of yellow rubber boots from a poor unsuspecting infant. to make matters worse, the police force was too afraid to try and catch them, and the home (prison) for mentals which previously held them, thought it wasnt their concern. so this poor little town, is still reigned by terror in the day, and laughter at night.
if you ever come across this town, BEWARE OF THESE TWO! they are dangerous, and they might just steal your rubber boots or scare your granny.

my news

gasp, our computer annoys me to bits. i cant get to download pictures because it takes way way way to long, so you'll have to wait before there are any more pictures. on a more cheerful note however, we are going to have a dog... named rupert. does that ring a bell for any of you? i think so, he arrives tomorrow. also, you might have noticed that i changed my template (again) i think i will change it often-ish, as i like to be out of the ordinary. so, tell me when you like it and tell me when you dont.oh, will someone please tell me how to get links? i need links, as i am the only one without them, practically. john, explain how to do it again... please... i never got it the first time *sheepish grin*
i think thats all for now, i dont have anything profound to say but, when it comes, it will be memorable, yes it will be.
*and the meeting is dispersed*

gordon trying to play playstation while sera covers his eyes to help her dad to win
me with my cousin finn
my uncle mike, in one of his sane moods

mike being attacked by the flowers... :D

isnt that sweet?
please comment at the end of my post called my update with pictures or something like that.. thanks
i hope you hopers for pictures are satisfied for now!

the long awaited post... with pictures!

this is a picture of my cousin sera...
i am soooo annoyed right now... my pictures wont upload... so you will have to wait to see them, i just hope the one that worked turns out ok. john, you liar, you said it was simple... maybe for you, but not for me...
any way, i had a great trip in south africa, i got to see all my family, and maybe i'll get to show you pictures soon... but now for my update:
my last post was from cape town.. from cape town we proceeded to go back to my oupa's house and from there to visit my grandmother in brits. she was very happy to see us, but she cried when she saw us, we have grown that much. it was nice to be on the farm again, and nothing has changed. all that aside, we also helped fight a fire, it wasnt that serious, but please call me a hero for that one... :D. we also enjoyed seeing our cousin jonathan, who is still very funny. all that week was spent with my grandmother and cousin.. but i forgot the cd with my pictures of that week in south africa.. stupid me.
the next week we didnt really do that much. we went to see the mukhanyo college and all their organizations, and that was really the highlight of that week. it amazed me to see how poor some of the people their were... we really are blessed here in the states...
so, the last week comes around. the most fun week of the trip. we went on a "safari" in a place called mabalingwe with the whole side of my moms family, including the cousins from england. we had an awesome time, swam everyday about, and got really really dusty...but thats part of the fun... then we flew 19 hours back to the states.
in our own house we were met by john, terry and lynette who had made lunch for us... so nice of you guys... thanks!
oh, i got a haircut too, i have like no hair left.. :D
sorry about the rush, but my dad wants the computer..bye!

My Experiences In South Africa and the Way Here

it was the unearthly hour of four in the morning when i was aroused from my slumbers by my mother saying "Are you ready?" yes my friends it was July the thirteenth, the day we were departing for south africa for the first time in three years. i rubbed the sleep from my eyes and fell out of bed, ready (almost) to go. we left the house (simeon drove us) and arrived at the airport, ready to leave. luckily, we had no real problems and the flight to Atlana began. it took us about one hour to get there. after that, we were in the rush of the airport of atlanta. after waiting for what seemed like forever at the gate to our plane, it was announced that our flight was now boarding. after another long stretch of time the flight took off. just another seventeen hours and we would be there. i was enjoying myself quite a bit, i had the seat by the aisle in our row, so i could get up quite easily to go wherever. but across from me were these rather wierd looking people. they were a man (who looked like he had never seen a razor in his life) and a woman (who had masses of messy and curly hair). i tried to look out of their window a few times, and when i did the guy winked at me! a couple times too, gross! anyway, i dismissed the winks and carried on with my movies etc. but when we landed on a tiny island for fuel, and i was arguing with my sister (nothing new) the wierdo asked me if she was my daughter... ??? i said NO! "shes my sister" a look of intense astonishment crossed his features as he asked me how old i really was. rather self-consciously i told him i was fourteen. he was amazed, saying he thought i was in my twenties, being in his twenties himself... so now i figured out why he winked at me... he thought i was his age, and i am glad im not!
anyhow, we got to our destination and went to my oupa's house... where nothing had changed from when i had last been there. it felt like i had walked out of a dream or something... wierd. but then, the next day we departed to cape town we are currently.
my uncle and aunt were at the airport to fetch us, it was so cool to see them again! i love it here in cape town, im having an awesome time... totally cool. my cousins that i havent met before have taken to us very well, and we are already talking like old friends... i love them. it shows that blood is thicker than water, eh?
well, today we went shopping and in this touristy little market place i got these braids of a different colour put in my hair. three to be exact. when they were done, i went out and paid the lady the price of twenty five rand (south african currency) each to her. the prices here seem so huge, i know, but theyre not. like the braids were about the same as three dollars each. not bad eh? but after i came out, this totally random guy who was hanging around his booth told me that they were very cute. i was rather embarassed, so i smiled ( i smile when embarassed) and thanked him... his buddy i think made this whistling noise, i must have been red. well, when we left that building he hollered after me "bye!" and i turned and waved. when i looked around a little later, he was watching me walk away... i feel so wierd. whats your opinion on this? i dunno what to think.
anyhow, im having the best time ever with my family, theyre very cool.. and fun. hope to see you all soon.... but im having too much fun to really think about missing GR.... ill see you lata!
and thats my update... from my uncles computer, cape town, south africa

Laughter, the best medicine!

We've all had days when we needed a good laugh. or something to make us laugh because we were just feeling down right blue, right? well, Scarlett has the answer to this problem for you!!! (gasp of admiration and relief). All you have to do is pick up the phone and dial 1800- LAUGH-WITH-LISA and instantly your blues will flee away! you will hear jolly gales of (fake) laughter boom down your sad and depressed ear. then, you can listen for as long as you would like until your bad mood is disspelled and you are feeling as happy as a...well, happy person.
Isnt that the best news you've heard in a long time folks? i hope so. dont forget, that's 1800-LAUGH-WITH-LISA...thats 1800-LAUGH-WITH-LISA, and it'll brighten up YOUR cloudy day!

Cause for Trangression?

There has always been one line in the Psalter which i have not liked. Its a line that comes up all the time about wicked people, and here it is: "who without a cause trangressing." now, you might not think much about this line, but it annoys me like crazy. Why? Because it implies that there can be a cause to transgress, do you get my point? If not, I'll illustrate with a short story:

There was this guy called Pedro. Pedro was a good guy (except on Fridays when he got drunk). Well, one day Pedro opened his wallet to get out his credit card to buy some more Bud Lites, when, to his horror, he discovered it was maxed out. In other words, Pedro was broke. Money-less and in the dumps. So Pedro went home to do some serious thinking. His job as a did not pay much, and he really needed some cash to keep himself going. So, Pedro worked out an ingenious scheme to go and steal some cash from his sister's rich neighbour who was away on vacation. He put on all his black gear, including leather gloves and a ski mask. Then off he went to go and do the deed. Well, when he got there, and inside the house, he discovered the random rich neighbour had an alarm system that he failed to find out about. When the police came by to pick him up, Pedro tried to run. But of course, he was caught by the long arm of the law. In the police station Pedro broke down into heart-rending sobs and claimed he had good reason to commit the crime he had commited. This is what he said. " Don't get me wrong, officer, I'm not the kind of guy who goes stealing on the weekends for fun. I had a really good reason to try and rob this guy. You see, im cold, stony broke. I have no money, and I need some for my cousin's party this weekend, coz i gotta buy the drinks. Please, you have to understand, I had a very good reason for this TRANSGRESSION." The police officers exchanged looks and then told Pedro, that no matter how his reason, it was unecessary for him to break the law. (one officer told him to get a higher paying job). And so, Pedro was locked away for his crime, all causes for his crime aside.

So, i hope you get my point now. I doubt there is such a thing for a person to sin or commit a crime for a good reason. There really is no cause for a person to sin, dont you agree?

(oh, by the way, this will be my last post for a while probably, because we're going away for a week next week and after that we're off to South Africa for a month... so, i hope you'll comment without me ( grin) and that I'll have some good stuff to write about when I come back.)

Its Hot!!!

My Goodness Gracious! The weather we've been having is hot enough to melt and ice-cream! That was a profundity, ladies and gents... (gasp of admiration). All jokes aside though, its been very very hot, and muggy too for that matter. In my professional opinion, i think its great... but there are some who would not agree with me... but thats ok. Anyhow, we should appreciate this weather because (to quote my mom) "winter is around the corner.." whatever man... oh well...
but this glorious weather has its down sides... its too hot and sticky to do much except laze about and wish for a swimming pool, if you don't have one... wish we did. So, until i have more profound things to expound my wisdom about, this will have to do... dont worry, though, next time will be great! spectacular! magnificent! marvellous! spontaneous... wait, is that a good one? never mind... bye for now!

Notification

The board of directors (thats me) has decided to inform the diligent attenders of this blog (thats you) of some changes that have taken place and hopefully will take place. Firstly, you might have arrived at my blog and wondered what has made this blog look so different. Well, i changed my template. Why? Because i was sick of all that pink... it was too pink for me and i wanted something more original. So i changed it. Secondly, i hope to soon have some links up on my blog, so if you would like a link on this ultimately cool blog (please dont laugh at that comment) notify me and i will see what i can do.
oh, how do you get links anyway?

Home Alone...

Ahhh, the house is empty except for me... the bliss of all this silence surrounding me is incredible. But wait! Was that a knock on the door? Or a face at the window? Oh, saints preseve me if its Richard... but, i must not let my imagination run away with me like that. EEEEKS! now i really think i saw something, i should call 911 just to be sure... i wish i had a gun... one never knows with these mental retards... i reeeeeallly wish i had a gun now... does anyone have a gun i can borrow? ok, i am not paranoid, just cautious, you can never be too careful, can you?
i think im losing it...

Pride and Prejudice?

Well, this post is not about the book by Jane Austen (an awesome book, by the way), but about pride and prejudice in people. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to adapt to different people and especially if they do things differently to you do? Because i have. Its not easy just to adapt and to accept differences, why? Because of pride very often. All people have a certain amount of pride in themselves, their family, country or whatever. But it gets too much when we start pointing at other people from different backgrounds and judging them for being different. In other words, we become prejudiced. I myself am guilty of this, everyone is. But, if we overcome our differences, we will see that there are people of different races out there that are very very cool! What we need to do is we need to think outside the box, and get out there and see the world is an amazing place of all different people. Isnt that what makes life as exciting as it it... i mean, what if we were all the same? The world would be so boring and dull. We need to overcome our pride and our prejudices to realize how cool the world and all the people in it are.

A day in the life of nobody..

if you had to take a look in the life of the average nobody of this world, you would probably be amazed at how boring it is. first, you would observe them awakening from their slumbers of the past night. they would probably slouch to the bathroom to take a shower, or maybe not you never know. then, they would probably slouch downstairs and eat breakfast. by this time it would be around 11:00. then they would make their way to the living room and turn on the ghastly thing we call a television and watch all kinds of junk for endless and pointless hours. by this time, it would be time for them to fill their stomachs with jnky food like potato chips and pizza. on their way back to the living room, they would stub their toe and subsequently cry for a while, or revert to foul language. after venting their spleen on that, they will then go back to the tv for a few more wasted hours of their precious time. they might after a while talk on the phone or go on the computer. then they will daydream about their dream person for a while. after dinner they will resume doing nothing and then go to bed late at night. the next day, this same pattern will be repeated.
now, in light of all this, arent you glad that you're not a nobody? so be glad, if you're ever thinking about being gloomy, at least you have a life to live, so get out there and live it!

The day i almost died

thats right guys, i almost died. i was (am) at jess bazen's house and we decided to go four-wheeling. we had alot of fun going over jumps, feet flying in the air and going on swings. and while jess was swinging, i found a squishy paintball. then i decided to throw it at a tree, but i missed... totally. anyhow, things got exciting when we were on the way home. jess went up the driveway and asked me if i wanted to drive the four wheeler (stupid me- from jess). knowing from past experience what i almost did on a go kart, i was hesitant. but jess said "come on, you can do it." i sighed, and agreed (stupid me from scarlett). well, i went pretty fast, and was doing well, until a bend came about. jess had forgotten to tell me to slooooooooow doooooown at the bend which came about (stupid me-from jess). so here we are, at the bend in the road, when the four wheeler suddenly became a two wheeler... we went on two wheels, in other words. and me, being the sucky driver i am, lost control.we jumped the "hill" that marked the edge of the driveway and went on a (fast) scenic cruise of the woods. but, alas, a tree somehow got in our way. we were not hurt, but unfortunately the tree and the four wheeler are no longer the same. jess came out of the whole ordeal only slightly mentally retarded. but i, however, am still an emotional wreck. so, when i learn how to drive a car, CLEAR THE HIGHWAY FOR YOUR OWN SAKES, AND THE SAKES OF YOUR CHILDREN (if you have any)
-- note from jess: hi everyone:D how ru? yes this is true...sniff sniff.... but I am NOT mentally retarded!!!! Scarlett is:D JK:D but it was fun bangin into the tree.. u should all try it some time;) it's a good time!!!!!!!!!! BYE!!!!!

Ode to summer!

could you hear it in the air? the joy of students as they walked out of the school buiding for the last time for three glorious, fun-filled, relaxed months! oh, even the very steps they took seemed to be a step to freedom! now there are no more snowy, bleak, cold days ahead of us... only days filled with doing nothing and soaking up the summer sun! yes, summer is definitely here folks, and its here to stay (for now). now, my charge to you, the readers, is to get outdoors and enjoy the weather and the sunlight around you! what are you doing in front of a computer when you could be at the beach, or just plain outside doing whatever? no, i say, enjoy the summer before it leaves us again... you will never regret it!
HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!

Theyre everywhere you are....

have you ever wondered as you walked innocently down the street if some mentally troubled person would run up to you and stab you in the back? because if you havent, you should... you never know when where or how the unstable in mind will launch an attack upon us, the normal population. now, i am not saying this to discriminate them, but i am saying this because of richard, our neighbourhood wierdo... aka moron... aka guy who rings our doorbell and asks if im home... i doubt he'll ever kill us, but you never know what goes on behind their masks, their faces... their shows. dont forget, that the mental, the phsycos are everywhere, watching your every move, listening to all you say, and waiting, just waiting for you to come out, so that they can get you... they are everywhere you are....
this post is not meant to trouble or disturb any of its readers... dont take me seriously