ELEVENTH IN LINE




About This Blog
A blog about my life, universe, etc. At any given time you might find something endlessly interesting or just me ruminating on something else, which no one (not even myself) finds interesting. That's the way blogs go, I suppose. Anyway, I was eleventh in line, and you weren't. Hah!

About Me
Name:
Sarah
Age:
26
Residence:
Columbus, OH
Religion:
LDS
Political Score:
5.00/-2.15
Job:
Temp @ JPMorgan Chase
College:
Ohio State University
Majors:
Political Science, International Studies
High School: Home Educated
Hobbies:
Reading, standing in line for things, writing, research
Resume:
HotJobs
Email:
lloannna@gmail.com

About My Family
My mom is a
lawyer in Pickerington; my stepdad and dad are computer guys, and my stepmom (who works with my dad) is an engineer. My sisters are, in order of age, a photographer, an artist, and a person too young to have her own website. My brothers are, in order of age, living up north, and again, a person too young to have a website. At some point soon I'll be collecting links for my aunts, uncle, and cousins. ^_^

Message Services
(Please see the notes below the Comment Policy before sending me a message)
AIM:
lloannna
ICQ:
29395930
Yahoo:
lloannna



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Star Wars: Episode 3 Line (Hollywood)
My Star Wars Line page






NaNoWriMo 2007:
My Novel: Cipere Lumen

Official NaNoWriMo 2006 Winner


NaNoWriMo 2006:
My Novel: The Manatee Conspiracy

Official NaNoWriMo 2006 Winner


NaNoWriMo 2005:
My Novel: Beyond the Cliffs of Kefira

Official NaNoWriMo 2005 Participant



NaNoWriMo 2004:
My Novel: sul Okyar tir taTz'ileea

National Novel Writing Month

Monday, September 19, 2005
 
Arrrrr!  
Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day, me buckos. In honor o' that, today's post be full o' richy, piratey goodness.

I've got too much t' do, and not enough time t' do it, but it's me day off and I don't care. I'm probably goin' t' reschedule t' LSAT, just t' give meself more time t' get that score up. Honestly, I think I'd be improvin' smartlyer if it weren't for t' fact I was already gettin' a pretty decent score, mateys. I'll defin' take it in December, though, should I move t' date aft once (i.e. I won't move it aft t' February if it looks like me score be still stuck below 160 at t' end o' November.)

In oth'r news, it's less than two months t' NaNoWriMo, and I've actually got a plot I be likin' this year, mateys. I think last year's project was fatally flawed, in that th' story I wanted t' tell had characters I liked, but no day t' day conflict.

Jus' now I got a call from t' Blackwell campaign for gov'nor. T' race mus' be heatin' up now, I takes it.

Lastly, we did our rehearsal for Sharin' Time yesterday. I keep havin' to remember what things sound like to yer average 7-year-old -- I'm changin' th' stuff to make it easier, not harder (me bilge rats had a very hard time understandin' th' concept, and I think "good or bad" is easier than "which one is good") and I'm also goin' to bite th' bullet and use 100 lb. Bristol instead of th' drawin' paper I got (me test quote pages got totally trashed in rehearsals.) I may also go ahead and create "hold to th' rod" props to place along th' path to th' Tree of Life, provided I can find me some rod pieces that will look all ri' (I don't think th' ought to be shiny, see.)

Oh, jus' a fair word o' warning, me hearties -- Lost premieres this week, and Battlestar Galactica goes on i' fall hiatus. Apparently th' powers that be only want one good TV show on at a time anymore, the blaggards. Shiver me timbers!

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Sunday, September 11, 2005
 
Sharing Time is here again...  
The Primary Presidency revised the Sharing Time schedule and I didn't get a copy -- which meant that today I found out I'll be doing the presentation in two weeks.

Given the brevity of our preparation period (we'll get an hour to go through our lesson next week AND do any preparation for the presentation) I basically came up with a presentation on my own, and the kids will help me execute it. It's a little annoying, since I'd wanted them to contribute more to it this time around, but I think I've got a good way for them to help out more effectively during the presentation than they did in February -- and realistically, given the age group I'm dealing with, I'd probably end out making most executive decisions myself anyway.

Anyway, the idea is pretty simple. Our theme for September is Choose the Right; I decided to go a slightly different direction than the basic "which are the right choices to make" simply because we've done that the last two weeks, and the kids in general aren't participating as much as I'd like them to. Also, it's hard to get all 40+ kids to participate when brainstorming.

So we're going to do a choices thing, but instead of choosing actions, we're choosing words. More exactly, the kids will be evaluating two statements, and deciding which one is the word of God, and which is the word of Man. And yes, it's been fun collecting stuff for the word of Man side.

The format is going to be a trek to the Tree of Life. The child (or possibly two children, for a race) will start at the back of the room, and try to move forward towards the Tree of Life I'll have by the chalkboard. They'll have to pick the word of God to move a step forward (this is a take on Lehi's dream, and the hymn "The Iron Rod," where "the iron rod is the word of God.") The rest of the group will help them (the child or children trying to get to the front of the room) decide which one is the word of God, probably by raising their hands. When the child makes their selection, one of my students will hold up either a giant black "X" (for the word of Man - the incorrect selection) or a giant "CTR" shield (for the word of God - the correct selection.)

I'm hoping that some of my selections will be tricky enough that we'll get a few wrong answers, because a) wrong answers make them pay more attention to the next few questions and b) one of my kids will have nothing to do but hold up a giant "X" and I don't want them to stand around bored for 20 minutes (I know, I know, it's really terrible.) The rest of the kids in my class will be in charge of holding up posters with each reading on them; I've got 7 active students, so hopefully they'll be able to keep up. One kid will be holding the Tree of Life poster, which leaves 4 holding quote/scripture posters. I'll be buying a lot of poster board (and spending about 2 hours writing scriptures and quotes out on those poster boards... ugh) this week.

If it's a race, the kids will take turns answering which one is right and which one is wrong. If it's not a race, we may end out trying this twice -- either way, I've made 20 selections for each category. I haven't yet paired them up with one another, which I want to do for maximum effect. I'm not sure I'll get all 40 posters (yeah, exactly) done, so I'll probably also start with the best ones.

Anyway, here are the selections. First, the word of Man:


"Evil is just a point of view" - Anne Rice
"Find your own road to the truth."
"If a real God exists, we'd never be able to tell he was there."
"If there was an all-powerful God, he would have made all good, and no bad." - Mark Twain
"If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words." - Korihor
"No one can depend on anyone but himself."
"No one can really know if a choice is really right or wrong. It just depends on what you think."
"No one can tell if something is actually true."
"Nobody can tell me how to live my life"
"Nothing is evil which is according to nature." - Marcus Aurelius
"The end excuses any evil." - Sophocles
"The only way to get rid of a temptation is to give into it." - Oscar Wilde
"There is nothing either good or bad." - Shakespeare
"These things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers." - Korihor
"Thou shalt not commit sins, except if thou art unhappy and think it will make thou happy again."
"What happens on earth is the only thing that matters. You shouldn't worry about returning to live in Heaven or what God might think of what you're doing."
"Whatsoever a man does is no crime." - Korihor
"When a man is dead, that is the end thereof." - Korihor
"Ye say that those ancient prophecies are true. Behold, I say that ye do not know that they are true." - Korihor
"Buy it. Sell it. Love it." - eBay



This is the finished, merged list, with scriptures -- I'll post the references in a little bit, once I sort out which scriptures I decided to use in place of my original list.


Evil is just a point of view. -- For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.

Find your own road to the truth. -- If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

If there was an all-powerful God, he would have made all good, and no bad. -- Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil.

If a real God exists, we'd never be able to tell he was there. -- Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

If thou wilt show me a sign, that I may be convinced that there is a God, yea, show unto me that he hath power, and then will I be convinced of the truth of thy words. -- Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

No one can depend on anyone but himself. -- Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

No one can really know if a choice is really right or wrong. It just depends on what you think. -- The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

Buy it. Sell it. Love it. -- No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Nobody can tell me how to live my life. -- Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Thou shalt not commit sins, except if thou art unhappy and think it will make thou happy again. -- Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness.

Nothing is evil which is according to nature. -- For the natural man is an enemy to God.

No one can tell if something is actually true. -- He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Whatsoever a man does is no crime. -- Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.

The end excuses any evil. -- Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to give into it. -- Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

What happens on earth is the only thing that matters. You shouldn't worry about returning to live in Heaven or what God might think of what you're doing. -- For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

There is nothing either good or bad. -- And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Ye say that those ancient prophecies are true. Behold, I say that ye do not know that they are true. -- He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

These things which ye call prophecies, which ye say are handed down by holy prophets, behold, they are foolish traditions of your fathers. -- And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

When a man is dead, that is the end thereof. -- Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.


(yes, I know, a few of those word of Man quotes were originally meant sarcastically, or ironically, or what have you -- the point here is not "OMG, Anne Rice is EEEEEVIL!", the point is that these are wrong ways of thinking... heck, some of those, I wrote myself, because the original stuff was way over the head of your average 6 year old... I've also already shortened some of those scripture verses, and will probably shorten some of the others... that is, the quote will be all-scripture, but might not be that entire verse; again, trying to reflect the fact that I'm working with 40 kids who were, for the most part, born after 1999)


Anyway, considering I pretty much came up with that during spare time between meetings, and while talking with my students, I think it'll work out well. If I have time, I'll try to get Laura to take some photos of all the posters. There'll be 43 of them in all if I get them all done (1 Tree of Life, 1 CTR, 1 "X", 20 word of God scriptures, and 20 word of Man quotes.) Whee...

[edit: I did some editing of the selections, and edited the post to reflect that... also, I merged the two lists because I've now paired them up with one another, and added Technorati tags. ^_^]

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Monday, September 05, 2005
 
WOOT!  
The Church has finally, finally posted an MP3 version of the Old Testament! They've had a streaming version (I think .wma) for a little while, but for some reason the MP3 set was missing the OT for ages. Now it's there! I've got 92% of the book of Genesis already saved. WOOT!

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"I'm Okay" - Katrina Site  
In case you're hunting for information on a relative/friend missing in New Orleans/the rest of the Gulf -- or if you're from New Orleans/the rest of the Gulf -- you can search OR enter yourself into the database I've linked on the sidebar. It's a cute little green and white button that says "I'M OKAY." No really, go look.

This should be of particular help to anyone interested in the following ZIP codes:

-New Orleans, LA and surrounding area: 70000 through 70499
-Biloxi and Gulfport, MS and surrounding area: 39426 through 39595
AND 35450 through 39425 AND 39596 through 39772.

Those are the ones that are so bad, UPS and FedEx can't bring stuff in; they don't have power, other utiltiies, or clear roads (the second and third ranges in the Missouri area say to expect massive delays.) If you've gotten out of those ZIP codes and/or know someone who lives in/was visiting one of them, this is the database for you.

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Thursday, September 01, 2005
 
Louisiana Companies  
Lots of individuals live in New Orleans, and have lost their homes and workplaces. And lots of companies are based in New Orleans, and have lost stock and warehouses and computer equipment... their stock prices probably aren't going up right now, and they may not have insurance to cover their losses, let alone reestablish their businesses. One of the things that has most helped third world countries is plain old capital investment in local ventures... so in the long term, why not invest in some New Orleans based companies?

The New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau website is still running, and gives a partial list of NO-area companies.

Some of these sites are down, and some seem to go up and down periodically. The company/brand names are all pretty unique, though.

And if you or someone you know owns a small business in the affected areas, you should contact the Small Business Administration for assistance. There's a good overview of what's available here.

FRENCH MARKET HOT SAUCES
Tony Chachere’s
Zatarain’s
McIlhenny’s Tabasco sauce


BEANS
Camellia


BEER AND SPIRITS
Abita Beer
Dixie Beer (note: not their own site)


COFFEE AND TEA
Community Coffee and Tea
French Market Coffee
Luzianne
New Orleans Coffee Company


CONDIMENTS, SPICES AND SPICEBASED FOOD MIXES
Blue Plate Mayonnaise
Crystal Condiments
Magic Seasoning Blend
Melinda’s Original Habanero Pepper Sauce
Rex Pure Foods and Horse Shoe Pure Products
Steen’s Syrup


GRAIN PRODUCTS
Watermaid and Mahatma Rice
Reising and Zip Bread
King Cakes
-- Haydel
-- Gambino
-- Randazzo


List courtesy New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. Fall 2004.

(I deleted Southern Comfort from the list, because they are now based in Louisville, KY -- they still might be a good choice to help rebuild in the area, though, since they're originally a New Orleans company)

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To those who keep coming to my site,  
Looking for instructions on how to setup a Greatland tent? I have two words for you: Pray. Hard.

Seriously, I gave up. I suggest buying a new tent instead.

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In case you were wondering...  
Yes, LDS Humanitarian Services is working on Hurricane Katrina.

The best way to donate seems to be to go through your local ward clerk -- just fill out an ordinary tithing slip and mark "Humanitarian Fund." You can also send funds to the Humanitarian Fund directly (the link has the phone number, address, and website.) Remember that if you use a credit card instead of a check, the credit card people take out a processing fee -- that's a standard issue, and might be a good reason to donate directly to the local branch of a national or regional charity.

For information on the Church's efforts, including information on the safety of Church missionaries and members in the area, go here -- I'll update this post if and when they put up more recent information.

And as for non-LDS charities, Strengthen the Good is doing a donation matching program, and InstaPundit has a ton listed. LDS Humanitarian Services is even in there now.

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Because only so many people can be eleventh in line.