Journal 43: Mental Institute

On April 25, 2013, the junior class of Pleasant Plains took a standardized test.  Little to their knowledge, it was a test designed to inspect the mental health of the students.  There were two students who failed the test and were on their way to Pleasant Plains Mental Institute.  Those students were Katie and Allie.  However, these girls were so smart; they failed the test on purpose.  They failed this test so they could miss school and save the people at the mental institute.  They needed to save people at the institute because there was a mean supervisor named Ebenezer Syringe.  This man was evil and he liked to do experiments on the patients.  This is why Katie and Allie failed the test!  They needed to save the poor people!  They acted crazy to keep the act going on.  Katie even ate a can of sauerkraut to prove her craziness.  Allie tried not to barf when Katie was doing it.  What a brave soldier.  Allie needed to do something to prove she was crazy too, so she started talking to her dog like she normally does, but normal people think that it crazy I guess.  (Side story:  Allie went to Casey’s yesterday to pick up a pizza and brought her dog to keep her company.  She was trying to calm her dog down so she was talking to it a lot.  Little did she know the people in the car next to her had their window down much like hers, so they heard this strange obsessed dog lady talking to her dog.  Needless to say they were laughing quite a bit).  Anyway, that proved Allie’s craziness.  So Katie and Allie were admitted to the institute.  They were next to each other room to room, so they put a hole in the wall so they could talk and discuss about how to bring down Syringe.  However, this story is all of figment of Katie’s imagination and none of this happened and the mental institute in Pleasant Plains is actually an animal hospital, which showed Katie was crazy when she tried to admit herself. Poor, crazy Katie.   

Journal #42: Hero who sucks

There are many people who try to be a hero that does the right thing for the wrong reasons.  Some people try to be a hero just so they can be above other people.  For example, Hercules in the Disney cartoon, at first tries to be a hero to be reunited with his father, not for the greater good of the world.  Also, he becomes self absorbed.  This shows he was trying to be a hero, but he was doing it for glory and to be reunited with his parents, which is kind of selfish.  Batman is also a hero for the wrong reason because he only wants revenge.  This shows that he is trying to be a hero just to cause misfortune to others because some crook killed his dad.  I personally think that it is not a horrible reason to be a hero, but he should want to help the greater good.  Also, the first settlers of America were heroes who were heroes for the wrong reasons.  They set out for the spread of God, for personal Glory, and for Gold.  These are all selfish reasons because the Natives of the America's did not have gold, and they did not want a new God or religion.  Also these pioneers killed natives with violence and diseases.

I will tell a story about a hero who is near and dear to my heart.  Doctor Centaur was a caped crusader who  became a super hero who saved Peoria, IL from certain danger.  However, he was in it for all the wrong reasons.   He just wanted to earn enough money to pay for a life size sculpture of Celine Dion.  This was very wrong for him to do.  He only wanted to seem like a good hero to earn money for a personal item.  He should be working for the greater good of the world/Peoria, IL.  However, Doctor Centaur is a good friend of mine.  I told him to stop taking all this money for a measly Celine Dion sculpture.  So I became the Flaming Hot Cheeto and took over as superhero of Central Illinois.  I did it for the greater good, and I donated enough money to Doctor Centaur for Celine Dion.

Journal #41: Describe a hero

A hero is a hero.  They have big muscles.  Also they have beards sometimes.  I think that the bigger the beard, the better the hero.  Like in Lord of the Rings, Gimlie is a hero because he has a big beard.  And Aragon has a little beard that grows into a bigger and better one, showing his journey back to the throne of Gondor as heroic.  I also think that Katie H is a hero because her beard is huge.  She is looking like a wizard like Gandalf.  Gandolf is a hero too because he becomes Gandolf the white and helps to save Gondor and middle earth.  Harry Potter is also a hero because he kills "he who must not be named".  Voldemort was a jerk and tried to take over the wizard world and eventually the WHOLE world.  Dumbledore was also a hero because he had a HUGE beard.  It reached his hips which is a pretty important beard.  He also helped Harry succeed to kill Voldemort.  Mr. Walworth is not a hero because he has a little beard.  His beard resembles a billy goat.  It is a ba-aa-ba bad beard.  It is obviously one of the worst beards.  Hero's always make the right decisions.  They do the best for everyone no matter what.  Harry Potter sacrificed himself to save the Wizard world.  Aragon made a fake battle to help Frodo throw the ring into the fires of Mount Doom.  Frodo is also a hero in Lord of the Rings because he risks his life and his sanity to get the ring to Mount Doom and destroy Sauron.  This is a true indication of a hero because they risk it all for the benefit of the world.  I hope to one day be a hero.  Maybe one who does not have a beard because I am a lady and that is kind of gross to have a beard when you are a women.  Katie is not a hero anymore because she shaved her beard off and I think it will not grow back a luscious and cool.

Journal #40: Choice

They sky is mandarin,

The clouds are timber-wolf,

and I think that a plane is about to crash into Katie's nose.

The grey goose howls,

the crayfish wanders alone,

and Jessie is glum.

Why must the school be made of spaghetti,

I think that the meatballs are spoiled,

I do not think that they are necessary.

The keyboard on the computer is melting,

it hurts my hands because it is scalding,

Ouch, I think as I run into the photo.

 The camera snaps with a sneeze,

The twinkle looms out from the equestrian,

Why must the horse kick the udder.

Rudolph is sick in his bed,

His nose is green instead of red,

Plums are tasty.

Now we must go to the bazaar,

And wonder why.

Fin.

Journal #39: Spring Break

My spring break was pretty good.  The first day was a track meet.  This was one of the best track meets I have had in a while.  I got two personal records and my relay got second.  My first event of the day was long jump, and I really did not expect to do very well.  However, I did better than I ever had before.  I got two inches further than my previous best, and I got second place in the meet.  My other personal record that I set was in the 300 hurdles.  I did not think I would do very well in this either, but I did!  I got third place and I barely beat my personal record.  I beat it by approximately half a second.  It may not seem like a lot, but that was the first time I had ran it in about a year, so it was good to start out with.  And last year at the same meet I was running about three second slower, so it gives me good hopes for this year and hopefully I will be faster than ever!  Another highlight of my spring break would be going to Chicago.  Two of my friends and I spontaneously planned a trip to Chicago.  We hopped a train up to the windy city and my aunt said it was okay to stay with her.  So the first night we got there about 9 o'clock in the evening.  My aunt decided to treat us to some dessert and to drive us on a tour of Chicago, because it was one of my friends first times there.  So we ate some chocolate fondue, which was absolutely delicious.  My friend Megan wanted to go there again before we left, but I said it would be better to do as many different things as we could so we could get the most out of our trip!  We also went to the sky deck on the Willis/Sears tower.  I had to be dragged on because I am very scared of heights.

Journal #38

My job shadowing experience was very helpful.  I learned that it is positively what I want to do when I am older.  However, I job shadowed a Speech-Language Pathologist who mostly worked on patients who were older and some were dying.  I know that now I would like to work in a school or in a hospital pediatrics section.  I observed an x-ray of a swallowing exercise to see if the patient was aspirating any liquids or substances.  I also observed a shock therapy method used on a patient while she ate her lunch.  This method is apparently very controversial, but it has helped the patient.  The shock did not hurt her, but it did work her throat muscles while she ate to re-train her abilities to swallow and to talk.  I know this is what I want to do because Speech Language Pathologists truly help people. While they are not really known, they help patients relearn how to eat and to talk.  You never will know how much they really help until you cannot eat your favorite food due to a swallowing disability.  I did get a taste of the reality of the job though.  Many of the patients were old and close to their end.  The Speech Pathologist had to be honest with them and recommend a diet according to whether they wanted to fight to stay alive or just eat whatever they wanted in their last days.  This was a very sad and depressing part of the job.  Also, a gross part of the job is that you deal with a lot of nasty mouths.  You have to help clean mouths of those who cannot do it themselves in order to check their swallowing.  This was the next worst part second to the sad parts.  There was also a boring part.  The lady I was shadowing had to file a lot of "notes" after a visit with a patient so their doctor could observe what she had done.  My job shadowing was overall good though.

Journal #37

The many diverse instruments like piano and trumpet and saxophone are what I see at the beginning of this song because it is all instruments.  I also see people dancing the scat cat dance and the mash potato.  I also see a jazz club that is full of swingers and soulful people.  I think that the saxophone helps a lot with imagery. I also see a lot of colorful outfits that people are dancing in.  There are women in colorful dresses that are flowing every which way due to their swing like dance moves.  Now the song is at a quieter part, and I see the end of a day.  Similar to closing time, I see all the loners at the bar of a club, slowing finishing their last cigarette and swirling around the small amount of drink that is left in their glass.  Many people are walking out into the cold streets of New York City, but the musicians continue to play for the few who remain in the club.  The piano player seems to be done, but he joins back in after a long saxophone solo.  It seems that the piano player is getting his second wind, and whit a smile on his face, he takes of the song once again.  The people at the bar who were sad about this night ending begin to see things more positively as if the piano brought them a second chance.  You see many of the men look around as if to get in one last dance with one of the remaining ladies, although there are few still in the club.  A few couples get back up to have one last dance.  The bartender finally takes charge because he is ready to go home and sleep after a long day, so the cello or bass player starts to play a solo to quiet things down once more.  You can see the rest of the band is exhausted from a long night of playing jazz to the many people in the club. They wipe their foreheads as if to say it was a job well done.  Before you know it, the band peps up one last time to wrap up the song the way it started- soulful and passionate.  The band knew that this was their last song and they should finish it off right.

Journal #36 Being yourself

There is a great importance to being yourself!  If you try to be something you are not out, than you will never be truly happy.  This is unfair to yourself and to others.  People should know what you are like so they get a fair chance to know you.  Also, it is unfair to yourself because if you act in a way that you really do not like, than you will never be happy.  Also, you will never be able to search for who you really are because you are not being yourself. This is super important because you can also go insane if you hold secret feelings inside of yourself.  If you do not let out your true self, then you will be a very sad person.  I learned that in high school there are a lot of people who hide their true self.  They try to be like someone else so they can fit in.  This is a hard time in high school because there are a lot of fake people and you have to see who is real and who can be your friend.  I think I am mostly myself, but there are times when I keep quiet or I just agree with someone because it is the easy way out of a situation.  This happens a lot in life.  It is not called being fake all the time if you just try to solve a conflict by giving in, even if it goes against your personal beliefs.  There are times in life where you have to choose between being friendly and being yourself.  That goes for many situations in life.  You can either be mean, or you can be yourself.  It just depends how you truly are as a person when you decide how to act in a situation.  I know that there are times in life where you just want to try and be the good guy because your personality is not a mean one, but you have to shoot someone down because it is the right choice.  This is a good quality to have to a personality because you can distinguish what is write from a lose-lose situation.  You must try and come through as a person in your decisions, but life is life.  You need to be yourself, yet make all the right decisions.  Life is obviously confusing.

Journal #35

My writing has changed enormously since September the 24, 2012.  I have learned to be more thorough and to dig deep into research to find my information.  I also have learned that I need to spend more time researching because, back in September, I did not spend as much time researching as I do now.  I think that now my writing is at least one-hundred times better than in September.  My writing also now seems more intellectual and it actually raises new ideas from that of my peers.  My old writing style basically stated already known topics and did not explore much beyond the topic.  Now my writing displays new ideas and it is a lot more interesting to read than my old writings.  I also use way more support now than I used in September.  I now use more parenthetical citations to support my facts and my elaboration had progressed as well.  I think this is due to Mr. Langley's great teaching skills.  He taught my fellow peers and I how to write properly and how to make essays go above and beyond expectations.  He gave us pointers on how to make our writing better by bringing in outside facts by using extra literary criticisms in our essays.  This has helped my classmates and I get better and better as we keep writing more and more.  Another reason I am better at writing is probably due to the fact that we write an essay or analysis every other day.  We write so much that it was inevitable for us to get better and better with our writings.  Also, sentence studies have taught us to use better grammar and to also use great punctuation in our essays.  I think that all of these factors have helped my writing skills enormously.  In these past few months, my writing has gone from plain and somewhat horrible, to better and well supported.  I believe that my writing from September compared to now is horrible, and now it is awesome thanks to English Class!

Journal 34

Describe your Self.  I do not know where to begin to describe myself!  I think that each person is made up of tiny attributes and qualities that would take a lifetime to explain.  So, I will give this a shot, but I might not get into my whole "self".  So, I am a religious person.  I do not go to church every week, but I try to stay the type of person I think is the type of person God would want me to be.  In no way am I a good Catholic, but my relationship with God is between him and I, so I do not think other people should worry about where I am with my religion.  Religion is personal, and whatever works for you just seems to be the best way to worship and embrace God.  I also think I am a fair person.  I try not to judge until I know the person.  While I fail at this sometimes, I try to make sure that I keep this in mind when I see someone new or hear something about someone.  They do not need another person to judge them in their life, so I will try and give them a chance to show me who they are before I judge their actions and personality.  I think this is part of my self because it is an important quality that shapes my personality.  I know that I am not perfect and never will be, but I might as well try to be a person that people will respect.  I also think that other people shape who I am.  The influences in my life like my family and friends are a part of my "self".  They shaped me into the person I am.  Without them, I am not my true "self".  I think that one's "self" is made by numerous influences and cannot begin to be explained by a 325 word blog post, but I think I made a good start.  

Journal #33 Stress

When I am stressed out, I take a bath.  This helps me to calm down my mind and body.  I also read.  If I am reading about another world with someone else's problems, I am not thinking of my own.  Reading is very effective because it helps you think about something else.  Another thing I do is play my favorite internet game, which is the old cell phone version of snake.  I do not know why I always choose this, but it calms me down.  I also like to go for a bike ride if I need to reconnect with myself.  Enjoying nature and exercising a little help me reconnect and chill out.  I think that these help because they give me something else to focus on and also distract me from the world for a little while.  Another great stress reliever is listening to your favorite music.  The comforting sound of a familiar song help to reconnect or settle stress quickly.  I think that when you know the words to a song and you can scream the lyrics helps you think about other things other than your stresses.  I know that there are many other methods, but mine work best for me.  When you think too much about your problems and stresses, it is easy to wallow in your own personal pity party.  However, it is sad to just accept defeat of your problems, so you need to find a method that keeps you cheery and optimistic.   If you let your problems rule over you, how could you ever be happy and want to solve them?  I think that my methods work great for me, and that is all I need.  My favorite method is probably listening to music or taking a bath.  Sometimes, music sings me to sleep and it helps me fall asleep thinking about the song rather than staying awake thinking about my stresses. So, if you are down in the dumps or just need a little stress relief, try any of my methods and I am sure you will find one that works to calm you down in an instant!

Journal 29: Nature in Control

Nature in control is a scary thing.  Many of the natural disasters in the world are devastating.  It is frightening to think that we cannot control our surroundings all the time. If nature really had control, it would probably kill all humans.  Most likely with a zombie apocalypse, nature would slowly make all humans into brain sucking zombies. I think if I was nature, I would throw in a couple of tornado's to accompany the zombies because humans kill nature.  Humans release a huge amount of toxic substances such as carbon dioxide or nuclear waste.  If you have ever seen The Simpsons on television, there is a joke fish who has three eyes.  This may be a joke on the show, but there are many mutations common in the world now.  In rivers in the United States, there have been frogs found that have three or four legs.  That is kind of crazy if you ask me!  I think that nature should be left alone.  However, as humans, we destroy a lot of beauty in nature due to our urbanization and development of land.  Our farms are destroying the soil by over planting.  Our cities are making millions of pounds of trash each day!  We also let dangerous gases into the atmosphere, and this changes our weather and damages the Earth little by little.  I think that if we all returned to the methods of the founders of the United States, we might be able to save nature.  We should start churning our butter with those churners that look like plungers.  We should also start using candles again to save energy and electricity.  We should also heat our bath water with a teapot to save heating bills and yet again nature.  We need to learn how to be more frugal and also to conserve what is important.  The most important change to make would probably be to use horse and buggy again.  Now we only use horses as a filler in beef and it grosses everyone out.  I do not think that nature is in control as much as we think.  We are controlling natures death.

Journal 32

I would like to revolutionize the way people think.  I think it would contribute most to the world if I tried to revolutionize American politics.  Our government is very corrupted and I think that I could help in some way.  It seems that America has lost its honest touch.  While some may argue that it is efficient, I do not think a country founded on equal opportunity should be controlled by corrupted businessmen and dishonest officials.  I really think that this could be helped if we were to only let a certain amount of time to be served by certain officials.  There are congressmen who have been serving for thirty years.  How are we supposed to progress as a country if we have minds in congress that are stuck decades in the past.  I think that there should be a certain amount of total years that you can serve.  That has been effective for presidents limited to two terms. I think that should be a universal theme in all areas of government.

On another note, I should probably address the zombie issue.  I know most of my blogs lately have revolved around this topic, and I think it has revolutionized the way people think about zombies.  Zombies are a true issue in our country's future.  I think that we should also put an international warning on zombies.  If you have ever seen the movie Contagion,  then you probably know what I am referring to.  She picked up a disease from a cook who did not wash his hands after touching a pigs mouth.  She then spread this disease all over the nation and eventually the world.  We should be ready for this and this readiness regimen I thought of will help us all.  First, you should always have an emergency crossbow.  Second, you need to always have imperishable food items just in case you have to lock yourself in your house.  Third, you need a really good zombie killing outfit accompanied by a name.  That is what I call revolutionary thinking!

Journal 31: Gossip

Gossip can be harmful.  Katie Hayworth gossips all the time.  I told Miss Katie that if she gossiped, than she would grow a mullet and she would never be able to cut it into a different hair style or grow it out.  Unfortunetly, she did not believe me when I told her, so she kept on gossiping day and night.  She gossiped so much that she started to run an online magazine that said all the gossip in the county.  One the tenth night after her magazines debut, she noticed her hair was shorter than she thought.  However, she kept on publishing embarrassing story after embarrassing story.  It was getting pretty late, so Katie decided she would finally go to bed, and then work on the website again in the morning.  

Like usual, Katie woke up at 6:45 in the morning to shower.  First, she had to sort through her numerous twitter notifications and texts.  So she finally looked at all the latest news and gossip, and decided to head for the shower. She turned the water up as hot as it could go, and stepped into the steam.  She squeezed some shampoo into her hand, and she lathered it into her hair.  There was something strange about her hair today...the usual bouncy curls that jumbled on the top of her head seemed to be more wavy, like they were shorter.  But the on the back of her head, her long hair still remained.  When she felt the chopped front of her hair, she realized what had happened.  She thought back to what her good friend had once said, "If you gossip too much, you will grow a mullet and it will stay like that forever".  Katie quickly washed the shampoo out of her hair and ran to the fogged up mirror above the bathroom sink.  She resembled a soggy Billy Ray Cyrus back in his "achy breaky heart" days.  Her heart was probably more achy and breaky that his ever was as she looked at her horrendous mullet.  She needed to find a way to get her precious curls back.  She rushed to her iPhone and deleted her magazine at once.  She could still feel the mullet getting choppier as she craved to write the gossipy stories she read this morning.  Then she died.

Journal #30: Civil Rights

Everyone is entitled to Civil Rights in my opinion.  I think that no matter what your race, religion, or gender is, everyone should be equal.  In the 1960's, Civil Rights were being fought for by a particular race, African Americans.  There were peaceful leaders such as Martin Luther King.  He tried to follow the ways of Ghandi and that made him more of a peaceful leader.  Some other leaders that were more radical were people like Malcolm X.  He was more extreme in his measures.

I think that there are certain groups that need Civil Rights.  First of all, when the zombie apocalypse happens, zombies will need equal rights.  They will either protest their rights and try to achieve them, or they will eat what little brains congress has in order to get them.  They might not be allowed to vote and where there is not equality, there is tyranny!  We need to give them rights or else our brains will have little chance in the future of the United States and even THE WORLD.

I also think that dogs need equal rights.  Dogs are cute and cuddly and nice, so they deserve a little bit of attention in our society.  We need to let dogs be able to speak their minds in the politics.  I think dogs are being oppressed in this corrupt society.  They are being held on leashes and collars.  That is no way to live in this "equal opportunity  society.  That is why I let my dog run around free in the forest.  If our government promises us equal opportunities  why do they not exist.  My dog can not vote and he is twenty-one in dog years.  He does not have social security benefits and he will not get workers compensation if he gets hurt on the job.  When he got ran over by a car, no one gave him workers compensation.  This is obviously a travesty in the world.  This world is crazy indeed.

Journal #28

Being in a different area or culture from what I am in now would be very strange.  I think I would be scared for a while not knowing the customs of these people.  I would be nervous of offending someone or not understanding something that is super important to them and their culture.  I know that this summer I would love to go to a different country for a mission trip just to help them out and also to get knowledge on their culture.  My options right now look like Mexico, to help on an orphanage.  I think that it would be great to learn about their culture also while helping them with whatever they need.  I already know the Spanish language, I think it would be easier to go to this area as opposed to a different country who spoke a language I had no idea how to speak.  It would be awesome to travel to world, in my opinion.  I would love to travel around Europe to experiences all the diverse cultures in the area.  I would love to have bag-gets in Paris, see art and culture in Venice, and also  see Big Ben in England.  It would also be a dream to see Ireland because my Irish heritage and to see the places that my family has seen.  I would not be as worried going to Europe because there are many people who speak English in these areas.  I think that it would be great to see all these places.  I would try to look up the cultures and customs of the places I go to prevent any mistakes I might make while being there.  I think that it is a big culture shock as an American because we are allowed to act so many ways.  In other cultures, the way we act would be insane in their opinion.  I think that it why it is important to know the customs of where you would like to go before you travel there and commit.

Journal #27: Miles from Home

If I was miles from home I would be very homesick.  While it is my dream to travel, I will never want to stay away from home for too long.  I think maybe a month or two is my max.  I am the baby of my family, so I have been spoiled and protected by my family.  I would miss my mom and dad so much.  My mom and I are very close and we tell each other everything.  If I could not talk to her every day about what happened, I would be very upset.  I would miss my dad too.  He makes me laugh and also cares about what is going on in my life.  If I couldn't talk to him either, I would be so sad.  Also if I was miles away from home, what would I do during a Zombie apocalypse?   I need to be with my family so I can save them from the brain sucking zombie creatures.  I am very experienced in killing zombies due to my hours spent crushing the un-dead's  corpses.  I am very good at killing zombies, and I think that my family needs my talents.  Also, if I was in a different country I would be all alone when fighting zombies.  I need a close clan to fight with just so they can have my back in my few moments of weakness.  I need to stay close to home in case of a zombie apocalypse.  However, everyone knows that America is the best place to live during a zombie apocalypse.  Due to a majority of the population being either lazy, stupid, or obese, it would be easy to survive due to the hunger of zombies being satisfied by the first people to go.  Also, America has many grocery stores flooding with overly processed foods that can live through an apocalypse.  This will give the few American survivors food for a while.  This is a positive of living in America.

Journal #26

I was really excited to go to Florida two summers ago.  My mom said that it was a good possibility that we would be able to go during the month of June.  We would be able to go for a week and we would also get to see my Aunt Sally who lives in a town close to Destin, Florida.  I was so excited and I started to pack my bag the day after school was over for the year.  Nothing could be better then spending time on the warm Florida beach and sipping tropical drinks.  I also bought new swimming suits and also cute summer clothes ready to be worn in the hot Florida sun!  I love being in the warm sun, and also I was so excited to see my Aunt who I had not seen for a few years at this point.  I also am friends with my aunt's neighbor, who I was looking forward to seeing as well.  However, my mom said to me a few days before we were going to leave that we had to stay home because Jake had to do football practices.  I was so mad.  Also, my brother in college could not get of work and so he could not go as well.  This was such a disappointing event for me!  I love Florida, and not being able to go made me really upset.  I wanted to see my aunt, and I also just wanted to go to the beach and see the ocean.  Disappointments are normal to experiences throughout life.  If everything turned out the way we planned, life would be very boring.  "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans" -John Lennon.  This quote shows that planning everything will not make it certain that things go the way you want.  Bad things happen and plans change, but mostly disappointments can be turned around in a certain condition.  Disappointments are just an accepted part of life, but it is what comes in reaction to these disappointments that makes you a good person.

Journal #25: Giving

Giving is an important part of life. If you do not give enough in your life, then you will not receive much from your life.   There is balances within life, and I strongly believe in karma and such.   For Christmas, I gave my mom a scrapbook.  It bookmarked all the important moments in her life including the birth of her lovely daughter Allison Christine McNamara.  This was something that I enjoyed giving very much.  She said it was her favorite gift of Christmas because it was something unique and made from the heart. I like giving because it makes you feel good about life.  It is also nice to receive.  I think that giving is better for your moral, but I think receiving boosts your mood for a little bit.  While receiving and giving is lovely and is the theme of Christmas rather than our holiday named THANKSGIVING, we should do it more often.  We should give people love and kindness and take it if they give it as well.  In a world without giving and receiving, life is rather drab and unemotional.  I think that these are important things in life.  I like to get things because it makes me happy to wear a new shirt or write with new pens, but I think that giving someone and seeing their face light up makes every heart melt.  Giving, giving, giving, is the thing that makes the world go round.  Actually, gravity does that.  One day, everyone will live on the moon and we will see the American Flag planted by Neil Armstrong not waving in the non-existent wind on the moon. I hope our government gives money to NASA so that every boy and girl can dream about looking at the zombie ridden Earth safely from the moon.   That way nobody will have to worry about eating the brains of your lovely family members.  That would be quite a relief in my opinion.  I am actually very good at killing zombies on call of duty, but that is irrelevant   I hope we give the gift of money to NASA so we can all be saved.