Padd Solutions

Wow... Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, and the less-famed Billy Mays. All gone in one week!

I was disappointed to learn Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina, confessed to having an affair. He was definitely one of the rising stars of the Republican Party, and a possible presidential challenger to President Obama in 2012. One the surface, he was everything the conservative wing of the GOP looked for: in addition to being fiscally conservative--he declined some of the government bailout money, for example--he has very strong social conservative credentials. In particular, he campaigned on family values, including marriage. Now, no one is perfect, but cheating on your wife is a pretty big screw-up. Especially in such a public way. If that weren't enough, apparently Mrs. Sanford discovered his affair in January and he promised to cut it off. And what does the dumb@$$ do? He disappears for a week--without telling anyone--to go and see his mistress in Argentina. Uh, wow.

This demonstrates the danger of campaigning on family values. Democratic politicians have affairs, too, but Republicans are held to a higher standard. As well they should be--just like Democratic politicians who don't pay their taxes are justifiably criticised, the bar is set high for Republicans in the area of morals because they're the ones who make family values an issue. So, when a high-profile GOP politician has an affair, it gives the entire Republican party a black eye, and it hands the Democrats and their sympathizers in the liberal mainstream media a golden opportunity to accuse all conservatives of hypocrisy.

Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

Ever have those moments where you stop, take a look back, and wonder how the time flew by so fast?

I had one of those today.
I mean, when I look back it seems like just yesterday that I was still in high school. Granted, it wasn't a super long time ago, but still. It seems like I blinked and... here I am! Living my own life, doing my own thing, working for the summer at an awesome newspaper... everything is so...
different now.
Good different, definitely, but it's still just so weird to look back. Who knew I'd be where I am today? It's so great to know that God always has good plans for your life, and if you trust Him with it He'll get you to the very best place for you.
Another thing that hit me today is how much everyone has changed since high school. Yes, I know, it happens. But I mean, every single friend I've had since like, the 2nd grade, is either getting married, is already married, is pregnant, or has already had a baby! It's really kind of... weird. hahah

Anyway, enough with the trips down memory lane. My editor googled me today and found my story in other newspapers. Woohoo! My La Conquista girls rock band camp story made it on the wire! It's sort of old news, but the reason I'm bringing it up is because the Houston Chronicle used it, and so did the El Paso Times, and the Fort Mill Times! (To assist with confusion: when your story gets picked up by the Associated Press they put it on the wire... then it can be used by other newspapers.) So that's totally awesome!

Well, other than my little "oh how the time flies" moment, I've got nothing deep or thought provoking to say today. All is well in the land and, well, I can't wait until this weekend! (Yes, yes I did have to throw that in here somewhere. I figured this was a good place. hah)

AC's president might finally be announced tonight!
I wish I could go and hold up a sign that says, "VOTE FOR MATNEY" on it. hahah
He's done such a great job so far, and has been overseeing all presidential duties for quite some time now... so what's the question here?

In other news...

I get to see Chris in 3 days! I cannot even tell you how excited I am! If I really wanted to annoy you, this entire blog would be filled with a million smiley faces.
:) :) :)
Okay, I won't inflict such pain.
But really, why do people have a problem with smiley face emoticons? I think they're fun! Plus, at times, it's really hard to get across the feeling or emotion behind something you're saying. Enter - emoticons! It's perfect! Whoever originally realized you could make those little things is a genius. 10 points for them!

I have a sad update on the house explosion. All three people who lived in the house were found dead. The woman's death (Deletha Baker) was determined as due to stab wounds as opposed to the actual blast. Obviously that opens a whole new can of worms. Now not only does that family have to deal with the deaths of their loved ones, but they have to sort it all out amidst the fact that it was done on purpose! The investigation is still going on, and I assume it will be for quite some time. The more it unravels the worse it gets. What a horrible thing to happen. Again, keep them in your prayers! (For updates, check out caller.com)

So, online summer biology is kicking my butt. I knew it would be hard, but it is way beyond that! Speaking of which... I need to go do labs and take my exam...

Oh and by the way... everyone should go to AC's Wonderland night! I totally would if I was in town. I haven't been there in so long! Plus, it's a good deal. GO GO GO!



:) :) :) ;)

A couple of events coming up for AC students or those looking to start at AC in the fall...

Wonderland Night is Friday, July10th! If you're a current AC student and would like a great deal to spend a day at Wonderland, go by the CUB basement at the Washington Street Campus, and all other Campus Assistance location. Tickets are on sale through July 8th at 4:00, and are $13 apiece. This includes park entrance, handstamp (this means you get to ride most of the rides!), minature golf, and dinner. A great deal available now to AC Students!

Badger Boot Camp is coming up June 23rd, and again July 22nd, from 8:00am - 3:00pm. This event is for potential students and parents to learn all about what Amarillo College is all about! The event includes lunch, T-shirts, prizes, entertainment, and social events. ***Please note--you MUST be pre-registered to attend, and the June 23rd event has already been booked. Pre-registration for July 22nd is open now through July 17th--first come, first served!

For more info on Wonderland Night and Badger Boot Camp:

Badger Boot Camp
http://www.actx.edu/studentsuccess/index.php?module=article&id=28

Wonderland Night
http://www.actx.edu/activities/index.php?module=calendar&view=event&event_id=215&sch_id=1

Thanks, all! Take care! :)

It was pink I swear!
Haha That's what popped into my mind when I read that after the state's recent attempt at eliminating red light cameras, Amarillo is increasing them!! That's crazy.
Personally, I think it's a pretty screwed up system. I mean, most people, if they know a stop light is photo inforced, are going to slam on their breaks when they see a yellow light. Can you say 'accident waiting to happen?' It's ironic to me that something designed to decrease accidents actually has the potential to increase them. I don't get that at all.
I read about this on Amarillo.com. You should read it. The irony of it all will make you laugh. Or make you angry, as it apparently did to many who left comments.
According to the story rear-end collisions have increased and red-light-runners haven't decreased very much. But oh wait! Money is being made off of all the tickets issued by this ridiculous system so it's completely justified, right?!
Wrong.
Definitely go read the story.

Anyway, TGIS!!! (Thank God it's Saturday!)
I slept in today and it felt goooood. Now I have errands to run, cleaning to do, and laundry to wash!

So I'm super excited. I get to see my boyfriend, Chris, in 6 days! I can't wait! It's really hard to be so far away from eachother for so long. Anyone who has maintained a relationship long distance for even a short amount of time can attest to that. Our track record is pretty good though. Up until this summer, every summer we've been dating (that's a lot of summers... we've been together for 6 years) he's been on harvest with his family. His dad has a customing harvesting company. Every year Chris has driven either a combine or a semi-truck for the entire summer. It was really hard to be away from eachother like that, but I think it pretty well prepared us for this summer.
Anyway, I can't wait to see him!!!

When it rains it pours.
Yesterday was the most eventful day I've had so far at The Caller.

During the afternoon yesterday we heard over the police scanner that there was a house explosion. We knew they said explosion but we didn't realize the magnitude of it.
Since our day crime reporter was off this week, I was covering, so they sent me.
When I got where I was going (Flour Bluff), I had to park a couple blocks over because the police had the streets blocked off. My adrenaline was pumping, and with video camera and reporter notebook in hand I trudged toward the scene.
What met me there was ghastly. Smoke made the area eerie, as if it wasn't enough already. House insulation was all over the streets for blocks... it was even in the palm trees. People were walking around, some crying, most shocked at what was in front of their eyes. I interviewed a few people and learned that the house literally exploded. The roof blew about 50 feet into the air. There wasn't a wall standing.
The smoke was consuming. It was like breathing in a chimney... with a fire in the fireplace. Finally we got to a place where it wasn't blowing right towards us (by "we" I mean all the media people and some witnesses). On our first briefing we were told that the remains of one person were found and had been sent to the medical examiner. The family of the residents were trying to call them but couldn't locate them. Their phones just rang and rang and rang...
We also learned that other remains had been found, but they were unsure if they belonged to the first victim or a second.
It was suffocatingly hot. Everyone was pouring sweat. I feel bad for the fire fighters... that gear must have been smoldering.
I was pretty much composed until I saw the puppy.
Apparently the house had two dogs. A couple guys managed to pull one out, but flames blocked their way to the other one after the initial explosion.
A neighbor carried this pitiful looking puppy... they were taking it to the vet...
That's when the adrenaline slightly wore off and my stomach started to turn.
The whole situation sort of hit me all at once. Family members of the home owners had arrived. They were all crying or yelling or on their cell phones. They recognized both vehicles outside the home, which meant it was likely that the unaccounted for were in the house.
My heart goes out to them. It was such a horrible tragedy.
I was left when my roommate Susan got there to continue covering the story.
But things like that just don't slip out of your mind.
No, it stuck there. In fact, it stuck there as if it were a permanent fixture. I just couldn't shake the images and the faces of those family members...

Turns out all three people who lived in the house were killed in the blast.
Please pray for their families.

Sometimes being a reporter feels like being continually beat over the head with a bat. It's one tragedy after another after another... and somehow you have to manage to shake it all off enough to cover the next story that is right around the corner.
I managed, but not without lots of prayers and deep breaths.

All day today the family of those people floated through my mind.
Again, please please keep them in your prayers.
(To read more on this go here: http://www.caller.com/news/2009/jun/18/authorities-respond-house-fire/ The story made national news as well)

To the family members of this horrible tragedy... my heart goes out to you and my prayers are with you. May God bring you peace in this great time of need.

Everyone should have a dog.
I know, that's totally random. But as I was thinking about my busy day, and coming home from said day, it dawned on me that it is extremely welcoming to have a sweet little puppy hyper-excited and happy to see you when you first walk through the door. Sugar, my roommates puppy, has become my buddy. When I get home she gets so excited that her entire body shakes and she wags her tail so fast it looks like she's in danger of taking flight! What a great "hello!" to come home to after a day like today.
(I'm trying to put a picture of her on here so everyone can say, "Awwww!" at her cuteness, however it won't let me at the moment.)

Work, school, work, school...

Argh! I'm tired!

This morning I got to work a little early because I knew I had a pretty full plate. Full plate ended up being the understatement of the day.
I had a 2 p.m. deadline on a story but had to be at a press conference at 1:30, so I had to get it done in time for that. I managed, but not without being glued to my desk for 4 straight hours.
Most of the day was just busy work, nothing super exciting.

HOWEVER, the story that I finished yesterday made the front page today and was a HUGE spread!!!! I was SO excited! Check it out on caller.com: http://www.caller.com/news/2009/jun/16/chicas_rock/
Oh and be sure to look at the pictures too (not shot by me but they really help give you the full effect).

Now that I'm home from my busy work day, it's back to the books!
Oh the life of a student...

Ironically, it's usually the professors who push us the hardest that we remember as the most influential.
Check this link to read more about his Mead award...






(hats off photo credit: http://www.oscefa.org/ via google images! :)

I'm finding that sometimes reaching a contact for a story proves to be harder than nailing jello to a tree.
It's like those ridiculous books, "Where's Waldo?", except... I can't find Waldo!!! Arggghhh. haha
I mean seriously, why have a cell phone if you never answer it? And to that extent, why have a voicemail on said cell phone if you never return phone calls?
I must say, it's quite frustrating.

I got a really neat story in The Weekender today! (The Weekender is part of the paper, but smaller) Seeing it in the flesh is more impressive, as it has color and photos and sits across two pages! But if you'd like to check it out, go here: http://www.caller.com/news/2009/jun/11/shrimporee-offers-big-fun/
It even has a huge tease on A1 with a cute little shrimp character dude on it. (Newspaper Vocab check: Tease - a little blurb, usually with a picture, outlining a story and what's in it. Intention is to make people open the paper and find the story, then of course, read it. A1 - front page of the Caller-Times.) I'm going to try to attend the event I wrote about in this story this weekend... I mean, why not? haha

So the last few days for me have been pretty... blah. Yes, blah would be a good word.
I can guarantee most people will stop reading at this point. I mean, who wants to read about blah-ness? Get over it, life isn't all Zorses and fairytales...
On the plus side, my boyfriend of 6 years, Chris, got in to the fire academy! All he has to do is complete the math class he's currently in. So that's a HUGE answer to prayer! On the blah side, academy stuff has conflicted with the plane ticket he already had to come visit me. At this point he may not get to visit at all. So that has had me supremely bummed out this week.
I'm still praying for something to change so that he can come visit though.

My best friend Bekah is coming to visit in July, so that's a big "yay!". We're going to have a wonderful girl's week. Quite possibly our last big fling before the ring... She's getting married in January. :)

That's all for now...
Hopefully I'll get some good pictures of my Shrimporee festivities (mmhmm, go read the story through the link above!) this weekend for you all to envy. I mean, good shrimp and redneck games... who could resist?

Something I need to get off my chest...

One of the current hot topics--although you wouldn't know it if you watch most mainstream media--is Carrie Prejean was stripped of her title as Miss California. The pageant organization claims it's because Ms. Prejean failed to honor the terms of her contract by making required appearances. (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/10/prejean.dethroned/index.html).

I've got one word for Donald Trump--Bull!!! Ms. Prejean is absolutely right when she says the real reason is for giving her opinion of traditional marriage at the Miss USA pageant. Officials decided they wanted to get rid of her, and they fired her on a technicality. Incredibly, in an interview today with FoxNews' Sean Hannity, Ms. Prejean claims the "appearances" she failed to meet were an offer to appear on a reality TV show and--wait for it--an offer to pose for Playboy! (http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=5920746&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/)

Whatever the reason, there's a larger issue here. For the record, I believe in equal rights for women. I was raised by a single mom who put herself through college and became a teacher. My grandmother also played a large role in raising me, and she was a teacher while also raising three children. So, I'm very supportive of equality. However, it seems that the feminist establishment in recent years is, shall we say, selective of the women they choose to support.

Personally, I take a libertarian view of most moral issues. As a Christian, I also believe marriage should be only between a man and a woman. However, since I also believe only God can judge someone, and because I have a hard enough time living my own life without living someone else's, if two people of the same gender choose to have a union together, so be it--they will have to answer for their actions in the end.

This view is not only shared by Ms. Prejean, but also the majority of the people of California, who earlier this year voted down a proposal to allow same-sex couples to be married; and, President Obama is also shares this view. Apparently, however, a young, intelligent woman like Ms. Prejean is not allowed to speak her mind if it contradicts what the far-left believes. Perez Hilton, one of the Miss USA judges and the guy who asked the marriage question, even posted a YouTube video where he actually called her a "dumb bitch!"

The response from the feminists for this outrageous statement? Zip! Nada. Unbelievable.

Unfortunately, this has been a pattern of the feminist establishment for a long time. I first noticed it back when Bill Clinton was President. He used his position to receive sexual favors from a female intern. Not a peep from feminists, who widely supported Clinton. Last year, Hillary Clinton was treated roughly by the press, and feminsts came to her rescue. Sarah Palin, however, was treated far worse by the mostly liberal mainstream media, and not a word from feminsts. You would think, regardless of Palin's political views, feminists would support a woman who is the first female governor of her state, and one of the few female governors in the nation. Many in the media criticized not just her politics, but her family, her looks, her intelligence, etc. Silence from the feminists.

Incredibly, just recently, David Letterman made an extremely bad joke about Palin's daughter. He said that while in New York, Palin's daughter would be "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez. He may have been referring to 19 year old Bristol, but actually it was 14 year old Willow that accompanied her mother. Whoops! Here we have a middle-aged white man suggesting a 14 year old girl would be statutorily raped, so I figured that finally someone had gone too far, and the feminsts would be outraged. Well, wrong again Bill!

I always thought that one of the objectives of the feminist movement was that women are allowed to have their own opinions and can speak their mind. Apparently, that isn't true--women are not free to have their own opinions unless it agrees with the liberal orthodoxy. I have a question: WHAT THE HELL WAS THE STRUGGLE FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS FOR?!?! In my opinion, the silence of feminists is a spit in the face to any woman who has ever suffered the consequences for daring to be independent and having their own opinions.

What's your view about this? Please post your comments and lets have a dialogue. Thanx!

Hi y'all! Thought I'd tell you a little more about me, since I know you've been waiting with baited breath since my last blog haha! :D

I'm what you'd call a non-traditional student. I just turned 36 this past Sunday, so I'm older than your typical fresh-out-of-high school student. I'm single, never married (came close once!), and no kids (at least, none that...ah, we've all heard this lame joke enough lol!). I live with my grandparents--my grandmother has lymphoma, and my grandfather has dementia, so they need someone who can look after them full time, and I was available. It works out pretty good for everyone--they have someone there for them, and I don't have to worry about rent or mortgage!

I decided to return to school last year because I was not happy with my life at the time. I was in the insurance industry for 11 years, and I was making a very good living, but I had grown very dissatisfied with my job. I was promoted in March of last year, but the job turned out to not be what was promised. Things got to the point that I couldn't stand it anymore, and I pushed the issue with my superiors to the point where I was fired in August. Well, you know what they say: don't rock the boat unless you're ready to suffer the consequences!

At first, I was in a state of shock. I had NEVER been fired in my life, and I didn't know what to do. Even though I was miserable in that job, most people prefer the devil they know to the devil they don't. But it didn't take long for me to realize that this was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. The weight of the world was off my shoulders! So, I made up my mind to take advantage of this situation, and move forward.

I decided that now is the time to follow my dreams. You know the old saying: find out what you like to do, and find a way to get paid to do it. All my life, I've been a sports nut. My perfect weekend is holing up in my recliner and watching football from Saturday morning to Sunday night! I decided to pursue a career as a play-by-play sportscaster, and AC is the perfect place for me to start.

Fortunately, I don't have to start from scratch. I have been to college before: when I graduated high school in '91, I went to Texas Tech. My original goal was to go into the Air Force, like my dad. I majored in electrical engineering; however, I crashed and burned my sophomore year, and never really got going again. I didn't have a Plan B, and eventually flunked out. This time, I'm doing it the right way! I have a plan and a goal, and so far, I'm making straight A's!

To whoever has read this far, my advice is this: follow your dreams! It's never too late to do what makes you happy. Believe me, you don't want to get caught in a dead-end job that makes you miserable. I've had to make a considerable sacrifice in my lifestyle, but I'm as happy as I've ever been, going to school and working two part-time jobs. So, whether you've just graduated high school and will go to college this fall, or you're older but you're stuck in a rut, do what makes you happy. You'll be much better off for it!

So the above cockroach is just a picture I found on google, and looks like the ones around (and now in, apparently) our apartment.




Ew ew ew ew. I hope that Susan is the only one of us who ever has a cockroach encounter in our apartment.

Let me just tell y'all a very funny story about my first week here at the Caller!

So I'm in the middle of my to-do list in the newsroom, and one of the editor's comes over to me and says, "The Zorse is out. We need you to go cover."

My response, naturally, was "What in the heck is a Zorse?!"

Well, apparently it's a zebra/horse. Yeah. Weird. So I said okay, and headed out to check on the Zorse escape they [supposedly] heard over the police scanner.

So I'm driving through this neighborhood with HUGE houses, thinking the whole time, "Surely I'm in the wrong place! This is like, a regular neighborhood. Where would somebody keep a zorse?"
Well I finally get to a gravel road. I drive down it in my little Scion TC, and end up in front of a gate. The gate has barbed wire in some places, apparently to keep large animals out, but I don't notice this until later.
It's locked, so I call the newsroom and one of the reporters tells me to climb over, or through, the gate to get to the house (aka mansion) up the driveway past the gate.
At this point I'm like, okay, well, I'm the intern and hence need to "prove myself." It's either get this story or leave, right?
So I chose to check things out. I wiggled my way through a BARELY big enough space in the fence. Yes, at this point I'm officially trespassing. haha
Well the sight I see when I get through this fence gives me a serious shock. Standing not 20 or so feet in front of me are zebras. Like, real-life, true-blue, zebras! And you got it... a zorse! A 6 ft. tall zorse no less!
To my left is this HUGE, well, watering hole I suppose you'd call it in this situation. With these beautiful palm trees everywhere, wide open spaces on all sides, and a gorgeous mansion up the road. Except, standing in front of me are 5 zebras and a zorse... all very wild animals. I am now faced with two choices: Turn around and crawl back through the fence, or get the video I was asked to get and the interview I need by somehow meandering up to and past the wildlife standing in between me and my destination.
I chose option 2.
Zoe the Zorse. Yes, it's legit.
So here I go, slowly and cautiously, walking up the driveway. As I got closer the zebras ran off a little ways, but the zorse didn't move until I was pretty close.
Well as I carefully tread up the driveway I heard hooves behind me... close behind me!
I turn around to see...
a donkey. hahaha He's just meandering along, following me up the road like, "Hey, let's be pals!" Yeah. Awkward!
I finally make it to the house. I knock and ring the doorbell a couple of times and no one's home. Bummer, all that for nothing. As I turn around to walk back I glance over at some bushes and I see this horn. That's right, a huge horn sticking out of the bushes.
I thought to myself, "Of course. Why wouldn't there be a disturbingly long horn sticking out of the bushes? I mean seriously, zebras, zorses, donkeys... why not?"
As I cautiously move to a position where I could better get a view of what the horn belonged to, I realized it was a longhorn. A full-size long horn. He was just munching away on the grass, minding his own business.
That was the point when I thought it best to get out of there.
I got a little more video footage, and walked as fast as I could without causing any wildlife disturbance back down the driveway.
The whole time the scene in The Lion King where the wildabeasts stampeded through the gorge is going through my mind. Ha!
Well I made it back through the hole in the fence in one piece. I wasn't stampeded, and was able to witness a really cool, totally random, and very rare sight!
The story ended up not being a story, as the zorse was safe inside the gate and none of the neighbors had seen him out.


Crazy Corpus Christi folk and their wild animals...
hahaha

To check out more on Zoe the zorse, go to:
http://www.caller.com/news/2008/sep/03/rezorseful-escape-artist/

Finally, my blog is set up! It took awhile, considering I'm in Corpus Christi for my summer internship. This past semester I won the Texas Community College Journalism Association (TCCJA) Journalist of the Year (JOY) award. My reward is a 10 week internship at the Corpus Christi Caller Times.
First of all, I'm lovin' it! I really like Corpus... it's beautiful.
Second of all, I really like it at The Caller! Everyone there has been so awesome and I'm getting so much experience! The world of college journalism and real-time reporting is much much different, so it's really neat! Needless to say, the pace at The Caller is quite a bit faster than on The Ranger! hahah
As I figure this thing out I will be blogging a lot more. So this is it for now!

Summer '09 is here, and so is a new crew of bloggers! I know this will be great news to all of you who live and die by AC's Blog haha! :)



My name is Bill, and I'm a Mass Communication - Broadcasting major. I've just completed my first year at AC, and will graduate with an Associate of Science degree next year. I will then transfer to a four-year university--which one, I haven't decided yet--to get a bachelor's degree, probably in Broadcast Journalism.



My goal is to become a play-by-play sportscaster. Hopefully, one day you'll see me on TV calling the game for your favorite football team!

OK, that's all for now. I will provide more details in upcoming posts later on. Thanks for logging on!