Friday, April 15, 2011

A Letter to My High School English Teacher

(Note: I apologize for any *bad* words or any other grievous errors in this post)

I found out today that my beloved English teacher, we shall call her Ms. S, was "let go" by one of my high schools (I went to 3). To say that I am upset about this turn of events is like saying BP spilled a "little" oil in the Gulf.
My two years (more like a year and a half) spent with Ms. S was one of the high points of my junior and senior year of high school; maybe that makes me a nerd, but it's the truth.

The first year (my junior year) at my new school, I was so nervous about failing and my performance anxiety was so bad, especially when it came to my academic performance, that I literally vomited . To this day I still can't eat bananas (Sorry TMI). Fun fact! Any who, I remember I always used to go after class and after school and constantly bombard Ms. S with the same questions over and over about the assignment she had given us; amazingly, she was patient with me and she took the time to make sure I understood everything and tried to reassure me.
You might think this is no big deal, but many a teacher before her had tried and failed to teach me while also actually being nice. Also take into consideration that my own mother once said that I could "drive Mother Teresa to drink." (She does have a point.)

The time she took to help me was worth it, at least to me. I never got anything less than an A on any of her writing assignments (or tests for that matter) and I did some of my best writing in her classes. I also read some of my new favorite books: Tess of the D'Ubervilles <3, Lord of the Flies (minus the whole Piggy dying thing) One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, MacBeth, The Good Earth, etc.


(Oh and who could forget that *fabulous* movie adaptation of Beowulf we got to travel to KC to see in the theaters?)




I honestly think that one of the reasons she may have been let go is because, well, you know that teacher who is really good and ethical, the type of person whose moral compass always points true north and who believes that you "get" the grade you earn? The kind of teacher we need more (not less) of? Well, I think the reason Ms. S was fired was because sometimes the people in power at a school aren't always the people whose moral compasses point true north. (I should know...I graduated a semester early and I actually spent a year in therapy thanks to some rather unethical treatment by the school. Hopefully I'm not scarred for life...but that's a story for another day.) Or maybe they're just idiots. Sorry I know that's not very flowery or even very nice but let's be honest, sometimes, its the gosh darn truth! (Not that I'm bitter or anything!) 


But here's to you Ms. S! The best English teacher I've ever had! Maybe one day Hollywood will make an awesome movie about you featuring a young Katherine Hepburn (because she's classy and well-spoken)!

-RRR

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sunday Confessional Pt ?

G'day mates!
Another Sunday, another wasted weekend! And lucky for y'all, another confessional! And away we go!

#1: This is hard to admit but *gulp* but my cat Shnookums aka Choop has a drinking problem.
Unfortunately A.A. is not nearly as welcoming as they claim because when I brought him in they were less than friendly. Jerks.
But no seriously. Choop has kidney failure so he is constantly drinking water. He even has a drinking fountain that purifies the water!


#2: I'm struggling with Arabic this semester. I got an A+ last semester but I honestly think it was just because the teacher loved me. We didn't learn nearly enough and now I'm behind in this semester's class since they all had a different teacher. Ugh

#3: I most likely have Aspergers. I was diagnosed with a NVLD when I was a kid but now my doctor is thinking it's more likely that it's Aspergers which is weird because I totally understand figurative language..you should see me in my Hispanic Literature class!

#4: My dearly departed AWESOME dog KJ was a swimsuit model. Not really, but my sister took a photo of him on the beach near our house in Florida and his hair was all a-flowin' and I thought to myself "if dogs had a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, my dog would totally be on the cover" lol.


#5: I clearly have an unhealthy attachment to my pets lol.

But yep, that's all for now folks!

Keep Reading!
-RRR

A Clear Winner in Honey-Flavored Greek Yogurt!

Greek Gods' honey-flavored greek yogurt is delish but it has just a few hundred calories too many than I'm willing to spend on something that's sposed to be healthy; and greek yogurt is in fact healthier than its wimpy American counterpart: can you say protein (it's pronounced pro-teen)?!?! I've been trying to eat healithier lately and that's lead me on a quest to find a healthier, but still tasty, variety of honey-flavored Greek yogurt. I know there are tons of reviews out there reviewing other flavors of Greek yogurt, but there are none out there for honey (RACISTS, trust me I've actually checked. So I went to three different grocery stores, I kid you not, and picked up a slew of different brands of yogurt and the results were oh-so-conclusive; but alas, in order to find out who the Big Kahuna is, you'll have to read on!

#4: Oikos
(In VERY last place) Yuck. Just yuck. I am not exaggerating when I say I literally almost vomited when I ate this yogurt. If you've ever had the unfortunate experience of having the stomach flu, then you know what stomach acid tastes like. Well, if you were to mix some yogurt with that and put it in a yogurt container, seal it up, and send it off to the grocery store to be sold for a ridiculous amount of money, you would be the Oikos company, because that is clearly what they did. I did not taste any honey, or any yogurt for that matter, just a horrible very bad no good overpriced blob of stomach acid. Needless to say, I don't recommend this yogurt.

Tied for the #2 spot: Fage and Open Nature:
Fage is a favorite in the Greek yogurt world and I see why: they're product is so creamy it's almost custard-like! Plus it has really honey on the side! My one gripe is that the honey didn't seem to mix well, both physically and taste-wise, with the actual yogurt!
Open Nature is a fairly new brand but I think it's going to wind up with quite the following if for no other reason than their 6 oz container of organic honey-flavored Greek yogurt containing only 140 calories and 16 grams of PROTEIN! 16! That's more than some protein bars! Plus it tastes pretty darn good!

#1: Dannon Greek!
What a surprise huh? I highly highly recommend this yogurt! It is everything I want in my Greek yogurt-- low in calories, high in protein, creamy consistency, delicate honey flavor. It is mmm mmmmmmmm good! I mean day-um! I'm glad I bought 3 of these bad boys on a whim when I was at the grocery store because they are so going to be one of my new breakfast staples!
Also, if you're like me and trying to find a filling breakfast look no further...I have found a great combo: oatmeal with wheat germ, an orange (high in fiber and super high up on the satiety index) and a container of Dannon's Greek yogurt! Nom nom nom nom!

Your welcome lol!

Keep reading
-RRR

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Monthly Goals!!!

Okey dokey so I'm going to be posting a bunch of posts after this one but I wanted to keep em all separate because that's how I roll ya know??
Any who, research shows that if you tell people what your goals are, you're more likely to follow through and accomplish those goals so what better way than to post em here?
My big goal for this month is something I need YOUR help for: I want to reach 500 page views this month!!! So tell your friends, lovers, neighbors, cats with opposable thumbs, and even that homeless guy down the street to head on over to my site! It'll be a grand ole time!!

Another thing I want to accomplish: I want to lose 7 pounds!

And that's all for now folks!

KEEP READING!!!