Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everyone! Finally, 2008 is over. And finally 2009 is here. Do you all have New Year's Resolutions? Well, here are mine:

1. Keep God in my busy life and have a deeper relationship with him.

2. Do my best in everything (especially homework and studying).

Well, I hope everybody has a great year in 2009. Just an update on school and such. My class is in Building 3, but part of the roof caved in, so three grades have to be in the same room! (But it's bigger than an average classroom.) And we have a ton of homework. Over Christmas Break, we had to do a three page timeline (which is huge) and a book report. It was definetly not a relaxing vacation. And I got a laptop for Christmas. And my family got a Wii. That's it for now. Bye!

My Opinion on Black Friday (And Cyber Monday!)

I know it is a bit late for posting this, but here is a paragraph (actually two!) which was assigned for school on what I think Black Friday is:

Another holiday follows Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday of November. The next day is Black Friday. It marks the customary start of the Christmas shopping season. Because of this, most of the stores will have their inventory on sale. This encourages people to be fighting to be first to get the best deals. With the stores packed full, it is definitely not a good idea to shop on Black Friday. Even though every ad promises the opposite, there will be better sales and not as big as a commotion.
This situation of rushing consumers brought a terrible event upon a Long Island Wal-Mart. After opening the doors of that New York superstore, an employee by the name of Jdimytai Damour was trampled and killed. Still, some rushed customers did not bother to stop and evacuate the building after the death. News of this consequence of the wave of passionate shoppers on Black Friday spread throughout the world. It is very saddening to think that several humans don’t care about others because of shopping. Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when electronics are priced lower, are not the days to do your Christmas shopping. Not everyone should shop those two days. I do not think it is wise to shop on these shopping holidays if deaths are all that will be produced from it. To make sure no more deaths come from these shopping days, we shouldn’t shop on Black Friday of Cyber Monday. Besides, Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus’ birth, not material things. It should be a peaceful time; not a time for killing people for presents.

OMG! I haven't posted in forever!

I am really, sincerely sorry. The last time I have posted on this blog was...in the end of September! I don't know what to say. Well, we got our report cards and VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) essay results. The report cards were not all that bad, and I got third in the contest and won *drumroll* FIVE BUCKS! Yeah...it's pretty awesome. Oh, and we took this Bible test on Friday. It was...different. As my teacher likes to say, "It's not fill in the blank anymore; it's fill in the paragraph." Though, it wasn't really really long, it was hard to manage my time. Which is a really sad confession. I am a procrastinator. Anyway, I got 99% because my teacher doesn't give 100%. My class went on a field trip to the Nordic Heritage Museum on Thursday. And on the way there (it's in Seattle) we went to Krispy Kreme! I love their doughnuts! Don't you?

Don't forget to celebate your country's veterans tomorrow! They have done so much in the history of the U.S. Don't let it just be another day off of school.

Beware of Roses!

This was part of an article from Green at MSN.com. Basically the gist is: Some Ecuadorian and Colombian rose growers are using water and chemicals banned in the U.S.

The 200 million rose stems that arrive in the U.S. for Valentine's Day each year require tons of pesticides, and it’s estimated that some 20 percent of the chemicals used are illegal here. A 2007 study by the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) found that more than 66 percent of Ecuadorian and Colombian flower workers were plagued by work-related health problems -- including skin rashes, respiratory problems, and eye problems -- due to toxic pesticides and fungicides. ILRF also found that "flower workers experience higher-than-average rates of premature births, congenital malformations and miscarriages," and were subjected to 70- or 80-hour work weeks in high season.

And it gets even worse:

But the risks of pesticide use in floriculture are not confined to Latin America. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S floriculture industry is one "of the heaviest users of pesticides in all of agriculture." Some of the highest-use pesticides in California’s floral industry, for example, include methyl bromide, a hazardous chemical that is also a top ozone-depleter; acephate, an organophosphate neurotoxin hazardous to humans and highly toxic to bees; and chlorothalonil, a "likely carcinogen." Methyl Bromide is being phased out elsewhere, but the floriculture industry has won repeated exemptions to the Montreal Protocol, the landmark treaty phasing out substances that deplete the ozone layer.

We need to stop using these chemicals and make the world a better place to live! (Thanks to Mr. S. for talking to the class about this.)