trying to decide on a new layout. picked this one for now, but there were a couple others that caught my eye... what do you think?
So, I have Mr. Snuffy 
Love him!
Today, tomorrow, and Thursday = no school! Super happy about that
Worked 10 hours yesterday which is good. need the hours. (normally work 2.5-3/day, which doesn't add up to much)
Good night <3
This is snuffleupagus from seasame street.
I saw [her?] at the antique place yesterday.
She has a wind up metal thing on her leg that plays the sesame street theme song.
and i totally fell in love with her.
but i didn't buy it.
it was like $9.
I really shouldn't be spending $9
[says the girl who just spent $8 on pizza street for herself and hannah]
i told my mom about it.
its not like i was attached to that character on seasame street when i watched it when i was a kid, but it was just so cuddly and soft and huggable and i love wind up musical objects.
can't stop thinking about it.
sooo. maybe i can convince my parents to come with me and buy it for my birthday.
i'm fairly sure they would if its still there.
i used to be a big fan of stuffed animals and then it kind of went away eventually, but this one is special.
this was one random entry.
can't think of anything else to talk about.
or, rather, don't feel like talking about anything else.
here is my sadddddsss writing skillllz. for phil class. love you connelly.
wooo! I DID NOT LIKE WRITING THIS RESPONSE!
I blame my sad, sick, poor little underdeveloped brain.
its all environment and genetic's fault. pshaw!
HERE YOU GO:
One Free Act!
…Or not.
It is argued that every action can be traced back to a person’s genetics or environment. Each action has a cause. I cannot find a single act that hasn’t been put into being to some extent, but I’ve noticed how some acts are more controlled than others. Over the course of this weekend, I’ve considered many events in my life (as well as others’ lives) and I was disappointed to find that every single one of them had causes. Though potentially beneficial, it is super annoying to think so many outside sources have control over me.
Since every event has its cause, I’ll consider the current one that is bothering me the most: this response. It is a little amusing to claim that the way I wrote this was “destined” to happen and I have no control because my environment and temperament propelled me. So, this response is being written at this point in time, in this certain writing style, for several reasons. The explanation of the causes follow.
CAUSES FOR NOT RESPONDING TILL ALMOST LAST MINUTE:
I’m writing this Sunday night. I got sick this weekend (super environmental cause!). I was literally in bed for 18+ hours from Friday to Saturday and then I laid on the couch all day. Then I slept some more in bed. I was physically incapable of writing this paper any earlier because I could barely keep my eyes open, let alone sit up and think of a good response to the questions you asked.
My temperament definitely contributed to this response. When I don’t understand something, I get annoyed. I hate the feeling I get when I’m missing a very important point that I could and should be making. I spent a lot of time this weekend fuming over what is free will in relation to caused acts and what I could claim to be free. When I got well enough to start typing the response, I had no idea what to say. All the events seemed boring and stupid to me and I felt I didn’t understand the topic well enough (I still don’t). I didn’t want to write a response if it was going to be terrible.
CAUSES FOR HAVING WRITTEN THIS RESPONSE AT ALL:
I had told my mom I was doing this response, and being the lovely environmental cause she is, she commented on how it didn’t look like I had even started. I hadn’t really, except for looking up a few definitions concerning causation. A few minutes later my temperament went into an “I’m going to tell myself I don’t care if this response is stupid even though I really do” mode. I really wanted to have a response to turn in tomorrow. Once I tried to stop caring so much about perfection, I was able to start writing. I became firm with myself and decided that I would indeed do this, and I wasn’t going to sleep until this response was printed out and ready to take to class in the morning. Desperate for a topic, I picked this response and found that I could come up with a bunch of causes fairly easy.
At this moment, I cannot come up with a free act. Maybe I will some day. Until then, I’ll have plenty of un-free acts to contemplate about. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
who makes you the person you are?
>Reflection Assignment for Philosophy Class
>not the greatest response ever, but you may find it interesting.
The People Responsible
Almost everyone I have encountered has contributed to making me the person I am today. The way all people treat, react, and view me has helped mold my personality. The more people are present in my life, the larger effect they have on me. The people who have made the biggest contributions are my parents, friends, and impressionable encounters.
The majority of my life has been spent around my parents. They taught me their religions (They switched from Catholicism to Mormonism to a variety of Church of Christs). This switch between religions/belief systems has contributed to my outlook on church, God, and moral principles. It also contributed to my second-guessing ways. Some other things that my parents instilled into me were their family values and approaches to money and happiness. I have learned from observing their triumphs and mistakes and it has made me into the person I am today.
My friends have given me a glimpse into the outside world, a place very different from home. They give me a second perspective (which is often conflicting with my parents). My experiences with them have influenced the way I react to situations today. They helped form my perceptions and feelings about countless issues. I discovered so many new things and expanded my interests thanks to my friends. My favorite music, books, and activities are largely due to my friends’ suggestions and ideas.
Teachers, acquaintances, neighbors, and countless others have also affected my personality. My constructive, encouraging teachers made me more confident in certain areas of my education as well parts of my lifestyle. The harsher people I’ve come into contact with have contributed to my introverted, very private nature. Past neighbors have taught me that blood relatives are not the only kind of family you can have. They also helped me with the way I now approach my education and imagination.
While there are some fundamental personality traits I believe I was born with, these traits have been enhanced and developed because of the people I interacted with. My parents instilled core values and helped support them by being positive role models. My friends are responsible for many of my experiences, passions, and developed opinions. People I frequently saw, or those who left an impressionable impact, accentuated the person I am in a variety of ways, from my approach to love to education. Those who are in my life are those who make me who I am.
so. the basic boringness going on in my life right now:
college. Its really weird, I'm only taking 3 classes the first 8 weeks and then tacking on another 2 in the last half of the semester.
one i'm taking now is online, so I only go to school for one class a day.
taking philosophy and loving it so far.
taking 3D animation, which is going to be really basic, but I think I'll enjoy it nevertheless.
astronomy [online] is easy. all the talk about the big bang is tiring though.
work:
trying to keep this job, but they keep docking my hours. sending me home early.
and besides the hour issue, they take advantage of me. when other people don't do their job and clean up after themselves, I'm expected to pick up their slack. One night I cleaned two classrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the gym. I'm just tired of being a custodian half the time I'm at work. If I wanted a custodian job I'd apply for one and get payed more.
I love the kids and that aspect of my job. I really don't want to leave. And I may not have to. Talked to my boss about the hours issue and we're going to try to work something out. I don't want to have to look for a new job either.
But whenever I think about it... I don't think i'm going to get those hours that I need.
thinking about teaching psychology. or something in the psychology field. but i'm definitely not going to make any solid decision anytime soon.
if I took 20 credit hours this summer (if it's allowed), I could get my associates at the end of the summer.
literally getting my AA in less than a year 
it would be so hard, but worth it. I love working hard. And I want to have more job opportunities asap.
ummmm, boring entry ceases NOW.
on the search for the perfect layout.
i had sort of given up on layouts for awhile.
and now that i've gone back to look...
I've realized that all of my favorite places are down and I have to find new talent.
I am so particular about layouts.
ii like the one I'm using now
((thanks sstarscream))
but i'm not sure if i'll stick with it.
we'll see. i'm also lazy about changing it
((as you've probably noticed))
I've noticed that I haven't been posting [public] xanga entries very consistently[/recently]
and I've found out in the past month or so that some of you still read it
[or would, if I would actually update!]
so. I'm thinking. Maybe I should make some more public updates for your lovely eyes.
I shall try it. Its just weird to write stuff and then find out people read it but don't comment.
KMSG
English 101
8 November 2009
Recycling Versus Garbage
Recycling has become a common and popular practice among people today. Companies remind customers to recycle their products, businesses have designated bins scattered throughout their buildings, and average citizens can help start their programs for their communities. But despite all positive claims people make for recycling and the increase in participation, is recycling truly beneficial? The question immerging today is whether recycling is an effective response to waste from an environmental, economical, and personal standpoint.
Environmentalist’s main objective is to help earth by saving resources and avoiding as much waste as possible. They claim that recycling reduces pollution, saves resources, and eases the impact people make on the environment. Recycling cans takes less than a quarter of energy to make new aluminum cans than using virgin ore (qtd in Martin 103). Sam Martin illustrates the benefits of recycling by explaining that “If all morning newspapers read around the country were recycled, 41,000 trees would be saved daily and 6 million tons of waste would never end up in landfills” (107). On the other hand, Tierney argues “recycling newsprint creates more water pollution than making new paper: for each ton of recycled newsprint that’s produced, an extra 5,000 gallons of waste water are discharged”. Also, most trees are planted for the intention of harvesting and there is a market incentive for private landowners to replant trees- almost three million acres every year (Reed 155). Those opposed to recycling dispute that it does not reduce pollution and actually wastes resources. Recycling requires more trucks for curbside pickup which results in air and noise pollution. Anti-recyclers also argue that we produce twice as much output per unit of energy as we did 50 years ago and we use less resources due to improved engineering (Benjamin 79). The energy consumed to manufacture a mug and wash it is so much more than the manufacturing of a disposable cup that it would take 1,000 uses before the mug’s energy-consumption-per-use is equal to the cup (Tierney).
The economics of recycling is another issue both environmentalists and anti-recyclers face. While recycling is a more expensive process, making and maintaining landfills is also very costly. The demand and value for recycled items is very low- many states have to pay in order to get rid of their recycled matter. But for other states, landfill fees are high, it is costly to transport the garbage to a distant location, and it is cheaper to recycle at a plant that is nearby. Tierney points out that recycling programs require administrators, campaigns to explain the rules, enforcement agents, and extra collection workers and vehicles. He also notes that collecting a ton of recyclable items is three times more expensive than collecting a ton of garbage. The market price for recycled materials is so low that some cities have to pay private recyclers to take it off their hands. On the other hand, recyclers insist that if communities treated recycling as a replacement instead of an add-on to disposal systems, split the collection crew in half, and replaced half its collection days with collection of recyclables, recycling would be a much more cost-effective and successful system (Platt). When communities recycle in high levels, it costs less than trash collection and disposal. Recycling also creates more jobs than landfills and incinerators, for things such as building recycling centers, sorting, and recycling-based manufacturing.
Personal attitudes towards recycling are a critical contribution to its effectiveness. The more participation, the more cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly recycling is. One difficult problem recycling faces is many people view recycling as forced labor. It is a time consuming and occasionally gross activity when the recycling involves rinsing out materials. In contrast to the “forced laborers”, others consider recycling a morally uplifting activity and enjoy having a cause to contribute to.
The choice to recycle can be based off of several decisions. Efforts to save resources and energy can be argued from both sides, with more support for some materials and practices than others. Money –your tax dollars– is an additional criteria that mainly depends on the area. Lastly, participation and personal convictions affect the effectiveness of recycling. Chaz Miller, an editor of Recycling Times, says “There’s been a messianic zeal that’s hurt the cause. The American public loves recycling, but we have to do it efficiently. It should be a business, not a religion” (qtd in Tierney). Now the American public has to decide whether they should recycle based on their belief systems concerning the environment and marketing.
Works Cited
Benjamin, Daniel. "The Benefits of Recycling Are a Myth." Garbage and Recycling. Ed.
Mitchell Young. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2007. 79-80. Print.
Martin, Sam. "Recycling Can Reduce Pollution." The Environment. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf.
Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2005. 103-07. Print.
Platt, Brenda. "The Five Most Dangerous Myths About Recycling." The Benefits of Recycling
Are a Myth. Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Sept. 1996. Web.
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. MCC-Blue River Library. 19 Oct. 2009
.
Reed, Lawrence. "Recycling Is Often Wasteful." Garbage and Waste. Ed. Bruno Leone, et al.
San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. 155-56. Print.
Tierney, John. "Recycling Is Garbage." The New York Times 30 June 1996. Web. Opposing
Viewpoints Resource Center. MCC-Blue River Library. 19 Oct. 2009
.
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