everything is gonna be all right, be strong, believe...

The Skyscraper and the Airplane
This is essay is very interesting in that it told about the history behind the physical components involved in 9/11. The author did not choose to investigate the reasons behind what or who caused the crash, he simply went into the skyscraper and airplane themselves, their history, and their connection in relation to the events of 9/11. This is especially interesting at the end of the essay where the Goodheart brings out the example of one of mankind's creations taking the place of another. That which had destroyed hovers above the havoc it has wreaked, its presence there veiwed as an aid, and yet it had just destroyed so much. The major concept in this essay was that with every creation comes the potential for greater destruction. He mentions the story of Anna Karenina in which the author brings out the father's fear at the birth of his new child. The father is afraid because he 'realized that he has brought into the world a new means for him to be hurt beyond all previous imagining.' He talks about how sky scrapers are male and planes are female. Planes are female in that they are like the womb, providing sleep, food, warmth, etc.

People take for granted the amenity of skyscrapers. They simply trust the structures, trust that they will hold up, that they will not come crashing down under the weight of the people within them, that the conveniences within them such as elevators and bathrooms will function properly, and that they are safe from the elements and disaster within them. The author points out that within a structure (built for securtiy and safety,) one is at greater risk than one is simply standing on the ground. So, people have come to trust skyscraper just as they trust every other human structure. Except for airplanes. Airplanes eximplify complete trust. The control of what is happening to one's self and to one's surroundings is entirely relinquished to the pilot and those who designed and constructed the plane. This causes people anxiety, and thus, flying is still not as fully trusted as standing in a skyscraper.

I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known...

Do we control technology, or does it control us?
This is an interesting question. We have have invented technology, developed it, and brough it to what it has become, and yet we have created for ourselves something of a trap at the same time. We have created something on which we are completely dependent. Perhaps at first, technology was simply a convenience, but it has become more than that to the modern generations of youth. We are now unable to function in our society without the aid of technology. However, as we are the creators of technology, we are ultimately in control of it, and all fully functional humans have the capacity of living without the aid of technology, just as the people in the ages before us did. This is important to remember. If, for example, our technology was wiped out by some national or natural disaster, would human life continue to exist in America? If the catastrophe had not wiped out all life in the process, then yes, life would continue. We would rise to the occasion and continue living, rebuilding what was lost, perhaps not in the same way, but it would be rebuilt none the less.
Is necessity the mother of invention or vice versa?
In some ways, Invention creates more necessities, as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, and yet, the technology and inventions were probably developed as the result of necessity. The statement goes both ways. If the inventions were removed, people would continue to live on though.

After all that we've been through, I know we're cool...

Hey! ok so my friend Heather's shoes like fell apart at work today. We both went into work for the first time in like, a while, and she has these flip-flops that she wears like obsessively. She's had them for like three years or something, so they were doomed to fall apart one of these days, but anyways, we were there at work and all of a sudden she's like, 'Annie, my shoe.' And I look over there and she's holding her broken flip-flop. She of course has classes tonight, like for hours and hours, and wasn't going home before hand, so it was either wear my shoes (which weren't even technically mine), or come up with some ingenious way to fix hers! so she was determined to walk to rolly polly's to get her lunch, and she wore my shoes for that, but to school tonight, she insisted on wearing her own. So, we were faced with the lovely task of fixing hers, armed with a proficiency of staples, a roll of packing tape, and a variety of other office supplies. I started out with the stapler. This method did not produce the desired results, and the staples were kind of digging into her foot even though they were like, going down into the shoe. So we tried the packing tape. This didn't really work either, even combine with the staples. Out came the black clips. You know those clips that hold papers together (not paper clips) but the big black ones that are kind of like jaws or something...I don't know how to describe them). Anyways, we have tons of those in the office, like multiple small buckets of them, so we tried those, and it worked! Unfortunately, there was now a large black object on the sole of her shoe which she had to step on, making walking a bit uncomfortable. We went for the packing tape again. With this we created sort of like, an air cushion over the black clip. And of course, she started sticking to the floor and kind of squished when she walked and all sorts of lovely things like that, but I'm assuming she's walking around school wearing that flip-flop right now. And that was the tale of the flip-flop. Interesting wasn't it? lol.

In other news, I got a french manicure the other night. That was really fun. She did these pretty flowers on my ring fingernails, and their really cute. What else has been going on...I got two new piano students! I taught them for the first time on Saturday. They're sisters, and it was really fun. It has been raining, like every day for forever. And now the hurricaine is coming. I hope it isn't too devestating and poeple aren't hurt. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, but it usually goes by rather quickly. Speech class is tomorrow, but we don't have to give speeches, which is good because I don't really want to give a speech, but it's actually really fun to listen to people talk and to find out more about them, so it won't be as much fun, not getting to hear them, but it will still be ok. Ok, I'm done for now. Good bye! :) lol

there's a place on the corner of cherry street...

Ok so I played soccer today, as I do every Tuesday and Thursday, and I knocked someone over again. lol. I don't exactly expect myself to knock people over, and considering that I'm rather small, I don't exaclty think people expect me to either. But anywayz, I did, so that's interesting. It's rather diffictul to play soccer in the kind of heat we've been having lately, but it wasn't as bad today as it has been in the past. Tuesday, it was horrible. Our coach usually lets us out early though because of the heat. So anywayz, I don't really know what to say now. I love the new Gwen Stefani song, Cool. It's my new ringtone. The music video is awesome too, because it's like, kind of classic. I personally think Gwen Stefani looked better with darker hair, but the white hair is cool tool lol. I have to go back to work on Monday. That's not really a bad thing though because I like my work, but I haven't been in in a couple of weeks because I started school and all. I like my work because I get to edit stuff and do all sorts of stuff with computers, but that can be really annoying when the computers screw up. One of my biggest pet peeves is when technology ends up hindering rather than aiding, but its ok becuase it really helps a lot of the time. But I've devoted far too much time fixing technology than ever should have been spent on something that is supposed to help. But that's ok. As long as it helps most of the time lol.

My friend just started school at Clayton this week, and it was like really freaky because this kid we knew when we were younger is in like all over classes and he's like stalking her now, so that's just a little wierd. I'm having a hard time finding time to eat while I'm on campus, which means I'm walking around hungry all day which can be very annoying, I must say, but I've taken to carrying multiple granola bars in my purse so perhaps that will remedy the situation. Because all my classes are like fifteen minutes apart and I have to spend all that time actually getting to the class since they are all on opposites sides of the campus. Quite fun. lol. I'm going to be in excellent shape by the end of this semester lol. I'm so glad my hair is brown again lol. It's naturally light brown, but this summer I put sun-in stuff in it and it kind of turned it a lovely shade of red/orange lol. Actually it was a cute color some of the time, sort of strawberry-blondish, but when I would get out in the sun it would sort of the change it back to that awesome orange color, which wasn't so great lol. So I decided to dye it back to brown, and it's natural again! lol. I'm also growing it out some. I've had it like super short for like, three years or something, I dont' know, but I'm going to only have it semi-short now, at least for a while. If I like it longer, I can continue to grow it, but if it doesn't turn out so well long, I'll just chop it off again lol. I've enjoyed having short hair, but it does get very annoying alwayz having to fix it and never being able to just like get up and go or whatever. So yes, that's the history of the my hair, for the past three years lol. Anywayz. Just thought I'd share that.

just a day, just an ordinary day...

I had to go down to Gordon today. I don't normally have classes on Wednesdays, just Tuesdays and Thursdays, but today was the presiden't convocation or whatever, and as I am a freshman, I had to be there. lol. But it worked out ok. I went shopping afterwards and stuff, so that was fun. It's so interesting to be in a big crowd like I was today at the convocation. It's fun to just like sit back and watch people and how they relate to one another and stuff. You can learn a lot about people by watching them, not just like one indivual, but a group in general. I had to give a speech last night at public speaking class. That was kind of interesting. I don't mind public speaking that much just because I've had to do it a lot over the years with school and stuff, but still it's not like my favorite thing in the world. Anywayz, my speech was supposed to be like an introduction to me, so I did it on my phone, lol, which is kind of funny, but it was ok kuz I talked about like where I work and that I love music, and how I love to talk to my friends, and how I'm a multi-tasker, and that I love to take pictures, and stuff like that. So anywayz, that went ok. It was interesting to listen to everybody else's speeches.