so here i sit with julianne in our news room at school. i just finished a desktop publishing assignement where we had to make a page of the newspaper and lay it all correctly. hurray its done!
anyways. ive learned once again that we dont always get what we want! im tired of learning this lesson! lol. so despite unfortunate circumstances, i managed to bake a lovely batch of chocolate chip cookies. and i can hear girls all over going ’shes gonna eat them all!!’ (guys who dont understand: girls eat when they are cranky, disappointed etc. etc. and yes i ate about three cookies, plus one this morning for breakfast. and i have another in my lunch.) and i keep having to remind myself that IM not the one who is in control, God is and although i may think i know what is best for myself. im usually wrong. and i wish i would just learn this lesson and know it so i dont have to be reminded so often!! MAN!!! but once again i have just given it over to God and begun to relax and not worry so much about what is in store for me in the future. so yay! maybe i wont need that last cookie after all! (we’ll see….they ARE pretty tasty!)
so hopefully this day will go well and i can go home and spend time with my bestest friend steph. and hopefully i wont gorge myself with junk food and candy that i have hidden in my room.
luv ya’ll. cya

ok , so today in my current events seminar one of the lead class discussions was about abortion. after one of the presenters said a bunch of facts and about the history of it in canada, she asked what we thought of it, where we stood. i was the first to answer and i said it was wrong and women dont have a right to choose. that it was murder and life started at concecption. what an uproar our class went into! one guy was like ‘whats the difference between killing a cow and killing a fetus ,if murder is murder?’ i couldnt even believe he said that! one girl compared being pregnant to having cancer. (u can probably imagine that i got a lil angry) and when i asked her how she could say a thing like that she simply replied ‘because i hate F******* kids!!!!’ (the look on juliannes face when she said this was :O !! total shock..as was mine.) a fellow christian, a guy, said that the purpose of sex was for having kids and making families, and if you werent prepared to have a kid then you shouldnt be having sex in the first place. because even if you practise safe sex you could still end up pregnant.
man, having a topic like this in class and being verbal can sure make you a few enemies!!
and after class, a few minutes ago, in fact, a girl in my class who i knew was a christian came up to me and said ‘ i agree with everything you said i was just having a hard time saying what i meant.’ so that made it worth it.
i cant help but feel sorry for these people , theyre so mixed up and missing the truth!

Then hate me when thou wilt; if ever, now;

Now, while the world is bent my deeds to cross,

Join with the spite of fortune, make me bow,

And do not drop in for an after-loss:

Ah, do not, when my heart hath ’scoped this sorrow,

Come in the rearward of a conquer’d woe;

Give not a windy night a rainy morrow,

To linger out a purposed overthrow.

If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last,

When other petty griefs have done their spite

But in the onset come; so shall I taste

At first the very worst of fortune’s might,

And other strains of woe, which now seem woe,

Compared with loss of thee will not seem so.

so yes. this past weekend i ended up with a lil touch of the flu and i havent been able to shake it all the way yet. so i stayed home today, which was a good decision cus i feel like crap. BUT it makes my homework situation more difficult. i was going to do my interview today, (for my next assignment article ’someone who works at the college’) and im hoping to do miss bakker (joelle’s aunt jo) so i’ll have to give her a call. but its easier to do it in person, so im hoping she’ll have time for me. otherwise im royally screwed!

and hurray for the conservatives!! im now a responsible adult. haha i totally voted for the first time yesterday. it was….kinda boring. lol but hurray for the conservatives!

im planning a hunger awareness weekend! whooot, it’ll be grand!

im gonna go watch the cosby show. its cool. love me!

ok. so being in journalism and whatnot im required to read the news and know what is going on. i only do this to a certain extent cus im just getting back into the swing of school. BUT holy crap is it overwhelming reading the news! ok, so two more miners just died. after a whole wack of them, like 12 or 13 died just weeks ago. i feel so terrible for these families, they must be scared shitless every day when their family members go down into those mines, not knowing whether they’ll come home that night or not. i cant even imagine what its like for these people, especially if they don’t have God in their lives to give them strength and faith to get through it every day! then there is that journalist who is being held captive and could very possibly be dead by now. they did say they were going to kill her if the US military didnt release all the muslim women being held captive. so i guess everyone is just praying that she comes out alright somehow. people are starving to death in african countries, people in ethiopia are fired at by the police when they protested the ethiopian orthodox church for being aligned with the ruling party.

so every time i read the news i just realize more an more how incredible it is to live where we do and have the minor problems that we do. sure. i have cancer and stuff but im not being shot at or fleeing the country because there isnt anything to eat. i have medication and doctors (no matter how long i have to wiat for them) and i have school and more than enough food and water.  its incredible that ive been so blessed and put into such a good situation.

Well. Julie has informed me that she’s put an ad out for the needed cabana boys for our secret island. and of course it sounds like it will be wonderful! but, you must understand we arent looking for the usual, tall, incredibly handsome blondie. These new cabana boys must be able to think a little, i will not stand to have my orders messed up! and a little talent is required so that we can be properly entertained. perhap some music? perhaps some drama? perhaps a little magic? and the cabana boys are going to have to be able to do at least some simple cooking. me and julie and our sure to be guest joelle, wont have time to cook, what with our busy tanning, swmming etc. etc. ooo and if they have a steady hand and can handle putting on nailpolish, thats a bonus!
any takers???

but anyways.ive been doing some thinking and pondering. what is it that makes the ideal boyfriend/girlfriend ?? cus i think that person should bring the best out in you. right?

anyways i had to do a presentation on the african crisis in niger and kenya. i learned there is literally no plantlife etc. there. the livestock, which the people live off of are dying. 90% of them are dead. the people are fleeing the country in search of food. the situation is dire, and its been like this since 2004! when the UN put out requests for money aid, again and again they got practically nothinig. just in recent months they only got one third of the $30 million they asked for. this is one thing i dont understand. why doesnt anyone care about africa???

Well. today i babysat at Ybemas. (Ray told me that Jeff is doing okay but the recovery is going to be very long. And his short term memory is going to be not so good for awhile. Apparently he should hopefully make a full recovery, its just unsure how long that is going to take.so we are praying for him alot.) anyways, little kate was sick. she threw up before i got there and unfortunately i had big messes from the other end to clean up throughout the day:P. ew. ew. ew.

so i think for my wedding i want to take off with my groom and go to somewhere like…the bahamas and get married there. take my honeymoon and then come bak and have a big reception party. i think its a good idea.

tonight is bugsys. yay! (for anyone who cares.)

i think i would like to live in a fairyland. i would be able to fly, have pretty wings….ooo i see bubbles and sparkles galore! all the pretty fairy people would live in adorable little houses and treehouses in the forest, with beautiful waterfalls and everyone will eat candy all day long. except at night when it gets dark then we roast non-candy food over the giant bonfires. and we have lots of pixie dust to spread to all the people who arent as nice as we are, and we help them to smile. yay!

so first of all, i would just like to say goodbye to my msn space. it doenst work very well. and hello wordpress! okay. but anyways. i just had surgury on my arm, and it all went very well. so im in the whole healing process. but ive been quite blessed, it could have gone alot worse and been much more complicated.

nick got me thinking about my wedding. i want to go to an island…or scotland even…and get married there. have my honeymoon, and come back and have a big reception party. that would be perfect i think!…but then i would end up missing having my dad give me away….but i guess maybe our parents could come and maybe a maid of honor and best man..then we leave to somewhere else…..but i dont have to worry about that anytime soon!! i think i may just be undateable! it COULD be because i have fat braincells. *nick*

and today i went back to school and discovered that now its a little painful to write, but my arm and hand have to gain back strength so i gots to stick it out!

at young peoples this past sunday we talked about how God does things to remind us and show us again and again that we aren’t the ones in controle. we are always thinking that we know what God is planning in our lives and that we know what path God wants us on. But we’re constantly thrown curveballs, little reminders to get us back thinking straight.

Without the hardships in other countries, there would be no Canada as we know it. Canada is built on the backs of the people who immigrated.
Hardships in other countries, such as poverty, lack of freedom, and a desire for adventure and a new beginning, brought people to Canada. It all seemed like a good idea, a new start, freedom, adventure. What better way to start your life?
Between 1891 and 1921, Canada welcomed around four million immigrants. The beliefs and cultures of these people are what established Canada. Even with the religious and political differences of the people, they managed to work together to make a good beginning. Compared to present-day Canadians, they were all quite conservative.
The main religions of the people living in Canada were Catholic and Christian. The Bible-based values and traditions the people held were the strong foundation for building a successful, respectable country. In Toronto, over 55 per cent of the population call themselves Christian. Only once people began to stray from God’s standards did Canada begin its downward spiral. Now, we live in a society filled with people who have very loose morals.
The largest group of immigrants from a particular place would be a tie between the British Isles and France. Italians, Germans and the Dutch are next in the ranks.
Entering into Canada was not as easy as simply deciding to go and buying passage. Anyone who desired to immigrate had to be able to support themselves, and had to be an upstanding person. They could not be involved in any illegal activity like prostitution, alcoholism, or thievery. A new country does not want to fill itself with people who are completely dependant on it, especially when it is just getting on its feet.
For years there were ‘preferred’ immigrants, such as the Dutch, British and French.  Anyone from the Middle-East or Asia had a more difficult time entering into Canada. But as the 1960’s came with the Humanitarian movement, Canada changed some rules and made it easier for all ethnicities to come. Which is how it should be, all humans are created equal.
Still, those from Asia, or the Mid-East received a hard time once they arrived. Many would say racism was a big factor, and it most likely was. The normal, middle-classed immigrants probably had rarely had the opportunity to travel to far places. They probably had never come across people who did not look like themselves. Canada still suffers from racism, but people are now prone to violence much quicker than they used to be. People use their prejudices as reasons to strike out in anger, to prove their point. As cliché as it sounds, nothing gets solved with random violence.
Ontario was and is the most popular place for immigrants to go. Specifically the city of Toronto, now, 70,000 immigrants come every year from 169 countries. There are more than 80 ethnic groups and over 100 languages. There was a better chance at getting a decent job in a big, bustling city than in a small, rural town. When you go to Toronto, it is overwhelming, not only is there millions of people all over the place, but everyone looks different. Toronto is somewhat like the Epcot Center in Disney World, there are people from nearly every country in the world. You can eat any kind of food, hear all sorts of languages, music and meet all types of people. The subway, the go-trains, and just driving in the busy streets are as thrilling as any amusement ride.
Ontario was and is the most popular place for immigrants to go. Specifically the city of Toronto, now, 70,000 immigrants come every year from 169 countries. There are more than 80 ethnic groups and over 100 languages. There was a better chance at getting a decent job in a big, bustling city than in a small, rural town. When you go to Toronto, it is overwhelming, not only is there millions of people all over the place, but everyone looks different. Toronto is somewhat like the Epcot Center in Disney World, there are people from nearly every country in the world. You can eat any kind of food, hear all sorts of languages, music and meet all types of people. The subway, the go-trains, and just driving in the busy streets are as thrilling as any amusement ride.

A world without ethics is not a happy one. In every walk of life, people have to follow a certain code of conduct. Without such a code, no one would get anywhere in life. There would also be a lot of frustration and anger because no one would help each other.
Reporters have to be ethical, or they will run out of people who are willing to help them. Keeping to the ethical guidelines is not hard. Always letting people know that they are a reporter, being fair and objective and not sensationalizing their stories keeps their reputation clean. Also always stay within the law, being truthful and not making a habit out of using people for your own advantage. Breaking these rules has a large potential for blowing up in your face.
A clean reputation means people will be willing to answer questions and talk to a reporter. Without the willingness of the citizen, being a reporter would be incredibly difficult. Reporters cannot be everywhere at once, meaning they will not have first hand experience of everything that they need to write about. In order to get a story right, questions need to be asked and different perspectives gained in order to get the truth.
It is a reporter’s duty to let their audience know what the truth is. People need to know what is going on not only in their communities but in the world. Everyone should know how the decisions of others affect their lives.
When reporters decide it is alright to do underhanded, dishonest things to get the information they want, they lose their credibility and ruin their reputation. A ruined reputation means the loss of contacts.
A reporter with bad credibility is much like the story about the boy who cried wolf. If a reporter lies they lose credibility and no one will believe them when they finally tell a true story. That could be a problem, especially if it is a story of importance. If no one is willing to trust what is written, their career is over, what good are they?
Yet there are those people who decide they are above ethical rules, they do not need to treat others in a respectful way. Getting what they want is all that matters. As a result, reporters who have lied to their audiences and gotten caught have few choices left. Retiring from the job or starting completely over, knowing they may never be successful again are really the only choices they have.
Jayson Blair, Jack Kelly, Janet Cooke and Jason Hay are all ‘reporters gone bad.’  They decided that following the ethical code was not worth the trouble and discovered they were wrong.
Jayson Blair reported for the New York Times. He wrote many things that were not true, such as quotes from people he never talked to. Blair also lied. He said he went to places all over when he really was at home.  He committed journalistic fraud, ending his career before he reached 30.
Jack Kelly was a foreign correspondent for USA Today. He even won awards for his reporting. He made up quotes from people he had never talked to. He was fired in January 2004.
As a reporter for the Washington Post, Janet Cooke made up people. She wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning columns on these fake people, they were supposedly a 10-year-old heroin addict and his mother who were living in the slums.
Plagiarism and making up direct quotes is what Jayson Hay did to get himself fired. Another man with his career ruined before he reached 30.
These writers had to learn the hard way just how important ethical behaviour is. What kind of life is it when there is no trust and the once-loved career is no longer an option?
For many people, using ethical behaviour is like second nature. If everyone practiced such behaviour in their everyday lives, it would easily become second nature.
In the end, it is not worth losing everything, simply to write a front page story. Some things are more important than fame, like truth, honesty and trust. It is better to write and never make the front page or win awards but have your credibility and reputation.