Alyssa's Spiel on Textbooks

I HATE texbooks. A lot. To be more specific, I hate the questions in textbooks. It seems like they are always really really stupid and off-subject, especially the essay/written response questions. To prove my point, I've provided a few examples from my lit book, and you can decide if they're made up or not.

Example 1:
In the story, "My Grandpa Died and it Made Me Really Sad," a boy's grandfather dies and he is very depressed. What could have happened to prevent the boy from feeling so sad? Write a 10-sentence paragraph to explain your answer.

Example 2:
The story, "Priscilla Is the Way She Is" is about a girl who is different from the kids in her school. If Priscilla were from Mars instead of Illinois, how would the story change? Please use a 10-sentence paragraph to properly explain your answer.

Me: Teacher, do we really have to answer these questions?
Teacher: (not paying attention, chatting on Facebook) Hmm....? Oh, um YES. You absolutely MUST do all the questions to receive full credit... Oh, look! It's Joanna Martin! I went to high school with her...

Example 3:
"Life and the Changes That Happen in It" is a story about a person who has a life-changing experience. Write about a life-changing experience that you've had and include details in a 10-sentence paragraph. If possible, use all of the vocabulary words included for this selection.

List of Vocabulary Words:
1. equanimity
2. victuals
3. defalcate
4. osteopath
5. tautological
6. hidebound
7. froward
8. hermetic
9. nocuous
10. erstwhile

Example 4:
In, "My Friend Cliff," a girl jumps off of a cliff and nearly kills herself. In a 10-sentence paragraph, write about a severe injury or near-death experience you've had. Include details tto describe the pain and suffering you went through. If needed, you may use a dictionary to find more words to use.


That's all for today, folks. I'll be here all week- or longer.

Facebook is Ruining My Life

If anyone is wondering why I haven't posted in a month, it's because of Crackboo- I mean, Facebook. Or rather, more beacause of my darling mother, who I have the privilege of sharing a computer with (lame, huh?) and who is also way more addicted to Facebook than she is willing to let on. She is on there 24/7, and I find myself constantly in fear that she will discover some new game like Mafia Wars or Farm Town just as she's starting to get sick of the whole thing, and then the 3-month-long cycle of exhausting our poor laptop will start all over again. These are some really long sentences, huh? I guess I type a lot when I'm complaining...

Help Me Choose!!!

Kay, so long story short, I am marrying one of these bachelors in a roleplaying game called Harvest Moon, but I can't decide which one!!!! There are two different versions of the game: More Friends of Mineral Town and Island of Happiness, so take your pick of each! I've provided a picture and brief description of each one, so leave a comment with your choices!!!! (please)


Mineral Town Bachelors:


Gray







Gray moved from the big city to live with his crotchety old grandpa and learn the trade of blacksmith (-ing ?).He's moody and misses the city, but made a commitment, so he'll stay.


Short description: moody, but sweet once you get to know him.


Dr. Trent





Dr. Trent is the town doctor. He's dedicated, hard-working, and easy to win over. Sometimes he gets a bit too wrapped up in his studies, but he's sweet and sensitive.

Short description: hard-working (a bit too), sweet, easily won over




Cliff





Cliff's life story is pretty tragic. He grew bored of his life in the city, so he moved to Mineral Town. When he ran out of money, he returned to his home in the city to find that his mother had died and his sister had run away. Depressed, he returned to Mineral Town and was able to get a job at the Aja Winery. He isn't a man of many words, but is a dedicated church-goer and would make a devoted, loving husband.

Short description: quiet, devoted



Kai







Kai is a lady's man, in all sense of the term. He's rebellious by nature, and comes to Mineral Town every summer because he can't stand his parents. He's polite and funny, and I'm sure there's something ladies find intriguing about the mystery hair underneath his bandanna. Or maybe it's his absurd liking for the color purple. Either way, this guy is a real lady-killer.

Short description: lady's man, funny, likes purple




Rick





Rick's family runs the town's poultry farm. He's insanely over-protective of his sister, and has a tender spot fr his mother, Lillia, who is ill. Rick's father, Rod, is gone on a quest to find a rare flower that will cure his mother's illness, leaving Rick to take care of the family. He's an all right guy, except for he really likes chickens. (just a bit weird, don't ya think)

Short description: over-protective, caring, responsible, likes chickens.


I'll post Island of Happiness bachelors tomorrow. Thanksabunch.

Alyssa's Speil on E-mail

Is it just me or does anyone else keep getting e-mails from the absolute STRANGEST senders? I get crap from people I have never even heard of. Isn't that just a bit ridiculous? So, anyway, just to mention a few of these people...

First off, there's the self- improvement category. This is the group of people who've decided that my looks are inadequate and it is pivotal that I improve myself. They range from Wu Yi Tea, who's decided that their wonderful concoction will significantly improve my weight, and in the process give them the opportunity to plant a bajillion cookies and possibly a virus into my computer if I just click their stinking link. I mean, who would buy something called Wu Yi Tea anyway? Next comes the folks at Slimming Solutions, who are so dear to my heart. They want to sell me something called "hoodia" and I would be really surprised if anyone actually knows what hoodia is. And then, of course, there are the cookies and viruses I would receive if I clicked their link.

Next is the online college category. These people are great, I'm sure, but give me a break! I've still got at least 5 years before I go to college, and, personally, I wouldn't go to an online college even if I was desperate. How do you even graduate from those places? They e-mail you the diploma and you print it out? Anyway, it's a load of crap and I would be the happiest person in the world if they would stop sending me things.

After that are the dear, dear folks at Liberty Medical. I just want to wrap my arms around them and squeeze them REALLY tight. One time I even sent them a message asking them to please stop sending me junk because, in my opinion, I shouldn't have to worry about medical crap for a LONG long time. The next day I had 5 new messages from them.

Who has gotten e-mails saying that someone is searching for them? Does anyone find that creepy? I don't see how receiving e-mails saying this is different from some deranged lunatic coming up to me on the street and saying "Someone is searching for you" in a really creepy voice. Maybe he'd even have a weird eye that went in a different direction than the other one, and he'd be wearing these old dirty cut-offs and a flannel shirt that smelled like garbage and after he told me that he'd ask me for money... anyway. You can see how this freaks me out.

Now, after posting this, I don't expect anyone to ever ask me why I haven't answered their e-mails. My inbox has become a mine-field. What sucks the most is that it seems like when I've almost sorted through all my mail, the next day 20 new junk mails come in! It's never ending! It's gotten to the point where I've deleted important stuff, like when dad sent me an Amazon gift card for my birthday, and I actually DELETED it! That in itself should prove how harassed I am. In short, I pretty much don't think e-mail is he greatest invention ever anymore.

Alyssa's Speil on Teachers

I would like to start by imploring someone to tell me how to spell speil. Now that that's over with, I will OFFICIALLY start by saying that I value my education. I love learning and all that, but, I'm sure everyone in the history of the world who will ever read this will agree with me when I say that some teachers (or teacher's habits) just BUG me. For instance, some teachers, when givng a lecture and upon seeing a student's hand raised, will, instead of just figuring out what the DARN question is, try to answer the queston BEFORE the sudent asks it. Does anyone else see the problem with that? Let me provide an example:
TEACHER: So, I want you to do this graph project-
STUDENT: -raises hand-
TEACHER: And... it's due on September 12th...
STUDENT: -hand still raised-
TEACHER: And... it should be on poster board, but you can pick whatever color you want...
STUDENT: -hand still raised-
TEACHER: And you should type yor essay because I have a hard tim reading some people's handwriting...
STUDENT: -hand STILL raised-
TEACHER: (begins to sweat) And... uh... your essay should be double-spaced...
STUDENT: -hand rasised, begins to tap foot impatiently-
TEACHER: And... um... uh... you can use any brand of computer paper when you print your essay...
STUDENT: -hand STILL raised, arm starting to get sore from being raised in the air for so long-
TEACHER: (feeling light-headed) And... it doesn't matter if you have an HP or a Mac...
STUDENT: -hand STILL RAISED, arm really sore, becoming increasingly annoyed with teacher-
TEACHER: (sweating profusely) And... um... my favorite color is green...?
STUDENT: -hand STILL raised, arm sore, mentally and physically exhausted-
TEACHER: (sweat cascading down face, shirt-front completely soaked, becoming delirious) My house payment is past due, and I forgot to feed my dog this morning, and I ran out of milk because I left the carton out and the cat clawed it apart and drank all the milk...
STUDENT: -ARM IS ABOUT TO FALL OFF-
TEACHER: -FAINTS FROM MENTAL EXHAUSTION-

I know I am exagerating, but can you see what I'm saying? It gets to te point of being ridiculous, and the teacher still won't SHUT UP.
But, alas, don't think this is done! Oh, no, I have many more teacher-related pet-peeves, and this speil WILL coninue. I'm just sick of typing right now.
Good day to all, please immensely enjoy yor week.

Supercoool Bookshelf

So I found this totally acksh new bookshelf on the web. If you're in a reading slump, go ahead and pick a book, any book. They're all totally awesome. Currently, I'm caught up in the Inheritance Series (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr), and they are quite possibly above Twilight on my Best Book Ever list, but I'm still not positive... anyway read the books and email me after. Oh, the discussions we'll have!!!
P.S. Thanks Dad for the Amazon giftcard. It's a lifesaver. :)

The World Hates Me!

It's officially official. The Sims 3 is coming out next year, and it requires a 128 MB video card. What do you know? Another game I can't play because of my handicapped computer. Hoorah for whoever decided to enhance picture quality! Right now I could just HUG them.
Welcome to the 21st century.