Today I am embarking on two goals. They seem really fun to me!
1) Project 365. Basically, you take one photo a day. That one photo describes your day, a new haircut, meeting a new person, doing something new. I think it's a great idea, because it's so easy to forget about the little things. And those little things are what makes up your life. So maybe I'll try and post my pictures up here. Not always everyday, but I'm going to try and see if I can put all of them up.
2) dayzeroproject.com Do 101 Things in 1001 Days. That's about 2.75 years, which is quite a lot. You make your own list, but they have great reccomendations. I got a lot of ideas! So I'll post each one of them on here, once I've done them.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The day they all disappeared was bright and warm. Later on I would wonder why it wasn’t raining, or thundering, or even hailing. You would think that such a horrible day for man kind would leave some sign of destruction on the earth. But I guess we were the destruction, and that day was a cleansing.
The first day was like something out of a dream. My parents were gone, but my brother wasn’t. I think that if I’d lost him too, my story would’ve played out like the others.
We had panicked, when we realized that our parents were gone. The cars were still in the driveway, and there was no sign of foul play in our house. My brother couldn’t stop crying, but even then I knew I didn’t have the luxury. I dialed 9-1-1. The phone rang over and over again. No one picked up.
This made me angry.
And when we walked to our neighbors house and pounded on the door, I became even more mad. Both cars were in the driveway. I knew the Morrisons didn’t like me, but this was ridiculous. Fighting the urge to kick down the door, I sat down on their porch and finally took a look around. It was 9:30 on a Tuesday morning, but every driveway had cars in it.
“What the hell is going on?” I muttered.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” a deep voice from behind me answered. I jumped up and turned around. A dark haired guy in a leather jacket was standing in the Morrison’s doorway.
“Who are you?” I asked suspiciously. I knew everyone on the street, but I had never seen him before.
“I’m Luke, the Smith’s nephew,” he answered, “I’m staying at their house for a week.”
“Where are they? I’m kind of having an emergency.”
“They’re gone. I’ve spent the last hour looking for them. No one’s home on the street, either.”
I cursed. “Where the fuck is everyone? ”
“I don’t know what happened. I called my aunt and uncle, but their cell phones were on their dresser.”
“My parents left theirs as well. They left everything.”
“Let’s take a drive down to the police station. They didn’t pick up when I called, but this is way too important to ignore for even one more second.”
We piled into his uncle’s pick up truck and sped down to the station.
“The streets are empty,” my brother said. “Why aren’t there cars on the road?”
“There’s a car,” I said. We looked in horror as a blue Volkswagen emerged over the hill in front of us, and began to speed down. There was nobody in the car. “Luke…” I whispered.
“I know.” He kept looking forward. He didn’t even blink when the car hit a store front and exploded. Simon whimpered in fear, and I reached out to grip his hand. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew that something was wrong, Everything was silent, there was a sort of emptiness in the air that I had never felt before. I tried to copy Luke’s nonchalant demeanor, and managed to hold it for exactly one minute. It broke when I saw the bus in front of the bus stop. Its doors were open, and the engine was still running. A briefcase lay on it’s side on the sidewalk.
It only became weirder. Most stores were dark, but some had their open sign up, with their doors open. We walked into the first coffee shop we saw. There were two cups on the pick up counter, and another one leaking on the floor. Luke hopped over the counter and fiddled with some machines.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m thirsty. How do you like your coffee?”
“I can’t believe you! Do you even realize what’s going on? How can you be making COFFEE at a time like this?” I realized I was screaming, and abruptly stopped talking. My words sounded even louder in the silence, and I became self conscious.
“Look, I know there’s something really fucked up going on, ok? But I think a lot better when I have my morning coffee.”
We left the shop with lattes, and walked down to the Police Station. The doors were open, the lights were on, but nobody was behind the desks. The entire downtown area was empty. We went back to my house, and I logged on the computer, while Luke turned on the TV. There wasn’t anything on my newsfeed from around six o’clock. Normally people were on here all night.
I was abruptly aware of how stupid I was. The whole town was missing, and here I was on Facebook. I went into the living room. Luke and Simon were staring at a grey screen. My brother looked up, “Every channel is like this. Why?”
“Nobody’s controlling the channels anymore,” Luke answered. “Whatever’s going on, it’s not just in Iron River.” He finally looked at me, and I realized that even though he sounded fine, he was as terrified by all of this as I was.
I tried to get a grip on things. "OK. We're still here. Maybe other people are left."
My brothers head jerked up. "Who cares? Mom and Dad are gone, and I called everyone! No one picked up! Who cares who else is here?"
"Simon, there are probably people left all alone. They're probably as scared as we are."
"I agree with Simon," Luke said. "We need to worry about ourselves right now. We can look for people tomorrow."
I sat down on the couch. "So what are we supposed to do?"
Luke had his cell phone to his ear, "I need to go back to Georgia."
I was confused, "Go back to Georgia?"
"I can't reach my family. I need to go back and look for them. Maybe some of them are still there."
"You can't leave us," I begged him. "We need you." I already knew how true those words were. I'd only known him for an hour, but I knew I couldn't carry on with out him.
"I'm sorry," he said and stood up, putting on his jacket. "I'll be back after I find them. I'll come back as soon as I can."
As he pulled away from the house, he was still talking, "Find everyone you can. There's not going to be any electricity left, you're going to have to grow and make everything by hand." He cupped my chin with his hand, "Don't worry. I'm going to come back."
He smiled and drove away. I didn't realize that I'd been crying until I tasted my tears.
The first day was like something out of a dream. My parents were gone, but my brother wasn’t. I think that if I’d lost him too, my story would’ve played out like the others.
We had panicked, when we realized that our parents were gone. The cars were still in the driveway, and there was no sign of foul play in our house. My brother couldn’t stop crying, but even then I knew I didn’t have the luxury. I dialed 9-1-1. The phone rang over and over again. No one picked up.
This made me angry.
And when we walked to our neighbors house and pounded on the door, I became even more mad. Both cars were in the driveway. I knew the Morrisons didn’t like me, but this was ridiculous. Fighting the urge to kick down the door, I sat down on their porch and finally took a look around. It was 9:30 on a Tuesday morning, but every driveway had cars in it.
“What the hell is going on?” I muttered.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” a deep voice from behind me answered. I jumped up and turned around. A dark haired guy in a leather jacket was standing in the Morrison’s doorway.
“Who are you?” I asked suspiciously. I knew everyone on the street, but I had never seen him before.
“I’m Luke, the Smith’s nephew,” he answered, “I’m staying at their house for a week.”
“Where are they? I’m kind of having an emergency.”
“They’re gone. I’ve spent the last hour looking for them. No one’s home on the street, either.”
I cursed. “Where the fuck is everyone? ”
“I don’t know what happened. I called my aunt and uncle, but their cell phones were on their dresser.”
“My parents left theirs as well. They left everything.”
“Let’s take a drive down to the police station. They didn’t pick up when I called, but this is way too important to ignore for even one more second.”
We piled into his uncle’s pick up truck and sped down to the station.
“The streets are empty,” my brother said. “Why aren’t there cars on the road?”
“There’s a car,” I said. We looked in horror as a blue Volkswagen emerged over the hill in front of us, and began to speed down. There was nobody in the car. “Luke…” I whispered.
“I know.” He kept looking forward. He didn’t even blink when the car hit a store front and exploded. Simon whimpered in fear, and I reached out to grip his hand. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew that something was wrong, Everything was silent, there was a sort of emptiness in the air that I had never felt before. I tried to copy Luke’s nonchalant demeanor, and managed to hold it for exactly one minute. It broke when I saw the bus in front of the bus stop. Its doors were open, and the engine was still running. A briefcase lay on it’s side on the sidewalk.
It only became weirder. Most stores were dark, but some had their open sign up, with their doors open. We walked into the first coffee shop we saw. There were two cups on the pick up counter, and another one leaking on the floor. Luke hopped over the counter and fiddled with some machines.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m thirsty. How do you like your coffee?”
“I can’t believe you! Do you even realize what’s going on? How can you be making COFFEE at a time like this?” I realized I was screaming, and abruptly stopped talking. My words sounded even louder in the silence, and I became self conscious.
“Look, I know there’s something really fucked up going on, ok? But I think a lot better when I have my morning coffee.”
We left the shop with lattes, and walked down to the Police Station. The doors were open, the lights were on, but nobody was behind the desks. The entire downtown area was empty. We went back to my house, and I logged on the computer, while Luke turned on the TV. There wasn’t anything on my newsfeed from around six o’clock. Normally people were on here all night.
I was abruptly aware of how stupid I was. The whole town was missing, and here I was on Facebook. I went into the living room. Luke and Simon were staring at a grey screen. My brother looked up, “Every channel is like this. Why?”
“Nobody’s controlling the channels anymore,” Luke answered. “Whatever’s going on, it’s not just in Iron River.” He finally looked at me, and I realized that even though he sounded fine, he was as terrified by all of this as I was.
I tried to get a grip on things. "OK. We're still here. Maybe other people are left."
My brothers head jerked up. "Who cares? Mom and Dad are gone, and I called everyone! No one picked up! Who cares who else is here?"
"Simon, there are probably people left all alone. They're probably as scared as we are."
"I agree with Simon," Luke said. "We need to worry about ourselves right now. We can look for people tomorrow."
I sat down on the couch. "So what are we supposed to do?"
Luke had his cell phone to his ear, "I need to go back to Georgia."
I was confused, "Go back to Georgia?"
"I can't reach my family. I need to go back and look for them. Maybe some of them are still there."
"You can't leave us," I begged him. "We need you." I already knew how true those words were. I'd only known him for an hour, but I knew I couldn't carry on with out him.
"I'm sorry," he said and stood up, putting on his jacket. "I'll be back after I find them. I'll come back as soon as I can."
As he pulled away from the house, he was still talking, "Find everyone you can. There's not going to be any electricity left, you're going to have to grow and make everything by hand." He cupped my chin with his hand, "Don't worry. I'm going to come back."
He smiled and drove away. I didn't realize that I'd been crying until I tasted my tears.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
my proffession is to always find god in nature
i'm going to start my national park segment with michigan. later on, i'll talk about the ones that i really want to go to from across the country.
YAY!!!! I'm going there this summer! 42 miles of hiking, sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, lakes, forest, and 40 miles of shoreline on Lake Superior. You can get a permit to go backcountry camping in the area. I'll take some more pictures of all the beauty that this place offers when we GO THERE! We really have to spend two or three days there so we can tackle all 42 miles.
SLEEPING BEAR DUNES
i'm so happy. we're going to 2 out of 3 of the national parks in michigan in our UP trip this summer!
if you go there, you have to take the Dune Trail to Lake Michigan. while it's only a 3.5 mile round trip, if anyone has ever climbed a sand dune, they know that it's difficult. but worth it.
there's 100 miles of hiking to do, spread between 13 trails. each trail has something different to offer, and different levels of difficulcy.
ISLE ROYALE
my mom went backpacking there in the '80s with a few friends. she says it's gorgeous. there are more than 165 miles of scenic hiking on that one island, which is perfect for me. the only problem is that you have to take a boat or plane over to the island, which can get kind of pricey.
my mom said that she saw deer, moose, all these amazing things that you get when you're on an island that is 98% designated wilderness.
PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LANDSHORE
YAY!!!! I'm going there this summer! 42 miles of hiking, sandstone cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, waterfalls, lakes, forest, and 40 miles of shoreline on Lake Superior. You can get a permit to go backcountry camping in the area. I'll take some more pictures of all the beauty that this place offers when we GO THERE! We really have to spend two or three days there so we can tackle all 42 miles.
SLEEPING BEAR DUNES
i'm so happy. we're going to 2 out of 3 of the national parks in michigan in our UP trip this summer!
if you go there, you have to take the Dune Trail to Lake Michigan. while it's only a 3.5 mile round trip, if anyone has ever climbed a sand dune, they know that it's difficult. but worth it.
there's 100 miles of hiking to do, spread between 13 trails. each trail has something different to offer, and different levels of difficulcy.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page
so i've decided that im going to get real serious about this blog! even if nobody reads it... im going to about actual events, like politics, travel, even fashion. this is going to become a big part of my life, so hopefully someone might be interested.
im so intrigued with travel. i plan on making it a big part of my life. so i'll be talking about trips i've been on, trips i want to go on, and so on. maybe i'll even explore each country, and talk about what everyone should see there. WHO KNOWS?
here's starting... my latest trip was to the state park in ludington, mi! this is the third year in the row that i've gone with my family. you can tell that this is a beautiful place.
i went hiking everyday, usually with my cousin sarah, and then anyone else who wanted to join us. i spent time on the beautiful lake michigan. i walked up to the lighthouse a few times. i saw cranes, baby ducks, swans, snakes, chipmunks. i played whiffle (?) ball on the beach with my family. i relaxed in front of a fire.
im so intrigued with travel. i plan on making it a big part of my life. so i'll be talking about trips i've been on, trips i want to go on, and so on. maybe i'll even explore each country, and talk about what everyone should see there. WHO KNOWS?
here's starting... my latest trip was to the state park in ludington, mi! this is the third year in the row that i've gone with my family. you can tell that this is a beautiful place.
i went hiking everyday, usually with my cousin sarah, and then anyone else who wanted to join us. i spent time on the beautiful lake michigan. i walked up to the lighthouse a few times. i saw cranes, baby ducks, swans, snakes, chipmunks. i played whiffle (?) ball on the beach with my family. i relaxed in front of a fire.
but really, hiking was my favorite part. im so excited for the pictured rocks in the UP in a few weeks! that'll be even better than ludington.
because of my recent trip, i'm going to start talking about all some of the national parks in the USA later.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
if slaughter houses had glass walls, the whole world would be vegetarian
IT'S TRUE.
I've been a locto-ovo vegetarian since may 2007, and I recently became a pescetarian (which means I eat seafood.) It started when I watched this horrible, HORRIBLE video by Peta, showing how animals are raised in today's world. I'm not saying that ALL places are like this. But a lot are.
My beliefs are changing. Sort of.
I'm coming to terms that animals eat other animals. It's the way of life for most species. But humans are different. We dont catch our prey in the wild (or not most of us). What we do is enslave the entire species, stuff them in small, dirty cages, treat them horribly, and then kill them. We're a cruel species.
So now I'm thinking that I might be mostly a vegetarian, but sometimes eat Amish meat, or animals that have been proven to be treated kindly. I wont do this too often, though. I lost 20 pounds when I stopped eating meat, clearly it's a healthier lifestyle for me.
I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this one. (Even though I know it'll only be read by Amy and Corey haha)
I've been a locto-ovo vegetarian since may 2007, and I recently became a pescetarian (which means I eat seafood.) It started when I watched this horrible, HORRIBLE video by Peta, showing how animals are raised in today's world. I'm not saying that ALL places are like this. But a lot are.
My beliefs are changing. Sort of.
I'm coming to terms that animals eat other animals. It's the way of life for most species. But humans are different. We dont catch our prey in the wild (or not most of us). What we do is enslave the entire species, stuff them in small, dirty cages, treat them horribly, and then kill them. We're a cruel species.
So now I'm thinking that I might be mostly a vegetarian, but sometimes eat Amish meat, or animals that have been proven to be treated kindly. I wont do this too often, though. I lost 20 pounds when I stopped eating meat, clearly it's a healthier lifestyle for me.
I'd like to hear people's thoughts on this one. (Even though I know it'll only be read by Amy and Corey haha)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
hey corey, sorry im stealing your idea from you!
now, if anyone hasnt noticed, jean jackets are in style. i used to think i hate them, but now i think the exact opposite! how cool does cameron look?!
this jacket is about 25$ from H81!
and my jeans or black skinnys, a white tshirt, i believe i have the PERFECT clubbing outfit. now i just have to get someone to come dancing with me...! (hint hint)
now, if anyone hasnt noticed, jean jackets are in style. i used to think i hate them, but now i think the exact opposite! how cool does cameron look?!
this jacket is about 25$ from H81!
and then you pair that with my GORGEOUS dsw shoes....
and my jeans or black skinnys, a white tshirt, i believe i have the PERFECT clubbing outfit. now i just have to get someone to come dancing with me...! (hint hint)i also just bought a pair of boots for the winter. i found them in a discount shoe store. they were still kinda expensive, so my mom and i split the price. they're actually gray, not brown. my other pair of boots smelled like feet (very gross). i figure that these boots will last me quite a few years.
ANYWAY! that was my biggish fashion blog.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
My lovely week at the beach
The past week, I stayed in a ginormous house with a bunch of family friends. We played poker, spent time on the beach, playing in the waves and swallowing way too much salt water.
On a truly superficial note: I love the effect that salt water has on your hair! It makes it all wavy and messy, just how I like it. If anyone else likes it, here's a handy little do-it-yourself recipe. Go out and buy a thing of sea salt, it's pretty cheap, about 2$. Mix a two or three tablespoons to 2 cups of water, let it dissolve, and then put it in your hair! VOILA!
Anyway, here's a little list of all the fun things I did!
ONE: Timmy and I went kayaking out in the ocean. We saw a million dolphins! One was like, 50 feet away from us. We could see them jumping around. Did you guys ever hear a dolphin breathe? It's so funny, like a loud puffing noise. So I was basically the happiest person ever for 10 minutes.
TWO: Judy, Anna, Emily, Jake, my mom and I went parasailing. It's a cool sensation, you're just floating high up in the air. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be, but it still a great thing to to. That was on my bucket list, which maybe I'll put up later, and now I can check that off. Of course, I'm doing that with Amy, Kristen and Corey later this summer too!
THREE: On Saturday, I got up bright and early to go on a jeep tour. We drove around an area that is full of expensive houses near the beach. The interesting thing is that more than 100 wild spanish horses are allowed to roam free. It's illegal to go withen 50 feet of them (which is hilarious, since I saw more than one horse on people's front yards, hanging out), feed them, or do anything to harm them. I just think it's a great thing.
FOUR: I slept on the hammock outside. Which may not seem like a big idea, but I've never slept under the stars before. It was very cool, if a bit buggy.
Anyway, I'm pretty much overjoyed with my life. This summer could not be better. When I get home, I have a few days to go dancing with some friends, which I've been waiting awhile to do, see some movies, and just get some friend time. Then I'm off to Toronto for a weekend, to celebrate my Nona's birthday. It'd be nice to find something fun to do, but we probably wont do anything but get chinese.
Then a week at Ludington with my family. That means more time on the beach, hikes in the beautiful woods, hanging out with my cousins, and just relaxing.
Another week on Lake Superior with my best friend Elyse! Vollyball, swimming, more fun time!
And then one of the best! Corey, Kristen, Amy and I are going on a trip to the UP! We'll be hiking the sleeping bear sand dunes, parasailing in Mackinaw City, tubing, hiking, camping. The list goes on and on, OK?
I'll talk about each of my trips when I get back.
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