"The Piano" is Amazing

I came across this video a year or two ago and I thought it was absolutely amazing--I cried my heart out the first time (and several other times!) I saw it because it really touched me.
Here is this old man, telling his life story through music. You see a friend die in his arms, his wife fade from his life, and a boy from the past transform into a modern boy, whom I see as his grandson.
The music is beautiful, the animation is awesome, and the story is incredible; it breaks your heart, but forces you to smile in the end.



What do you think?

Where Does the Time Go?

I can't believe it's been a year! I've been planning on writing for so long, but just haven't--no excuses! But here I am, ready and excited to get back into the swing of things!
So where does the time go? This time last year, I was finishing up my last six courses in college, excited and nervous and so much more to be graduating. But I did it!
In May, I received my Associate in Arts in Journalism, but didn't have any real plans on what to do as far as a career. I just wanted a break from six classes, wedding planning, & a full-time job!
A month after graduating, I said "I do" to the love of my life, Kevin. We had a wonderful wedding and our honeymoon was perfect--it was literally the most relaxing, fun, best time of my entire life.
After the honeymoon, I just took it easy, continuing to work full time at a local restaurant with no real plans for the future. Then one day, my current job came to me.
My current boss--who I'd known since high school--came into the restaurant to drop off newspapers and asked me what I was up to. After explaining that I just received my degree, he told me that they were looking for help at the paper. I got an interview immediately and took the job in September.
I love my job. I'm always doing something different and meeting new people that things never get boring or routine. I love the people I work for, those I work with, and our clients.
A month after starting the job, I got another, pleasant surprise... Kevin and I were going to be parents! I was so excited, shocked, nervous... overwhelmed! But we couldn't be happier.
The months have flown by and now here I am, 31 weeks pregnant, expecting our little baby boy to arrive on June 28, a day after our one-year wedding anniversary.
So that's been my life for the past year. Things have been crazy and they still are, but I'm really excited about my new family and our future.
Hopefully things aren't so crazy that I miss out on another year of blogging!

What is it about Chinese Water Torture?

As usual when I have a mental block, I surf the net in hopes of getting an idea. Well, I was reading a blog on The Junk Drawer about annoying ice cream truck music and I thought about something that annoyed me the other day...

There's a show on the Discovery Channel that I'm sure you've seen--Myth Busters. Well, I was watching it one night and they were doing an experimnent with Chinese water torture. They tested it out with two of the cast members. One was strapped in and the other was not. Well, the guy who was not strapped in had to pee quite badly. The girl who was strapped in began to cry after a while and wanted to be unfastened from her seat. Although I am an irritable person, I thought this was nuts. I've always wondered how something like this could drive you literally insane... and then it hit me--literally.

The other day, I was doing something with the faucets in my tub and the water from the shower head kept dripping on my head. I'm not sure why, but after three drips, I wanted to freak out. After just three small drops, the water had driven me nuts. I was alone in the bathroom and I stood up, huffing and puffing, with no hope of a brighter day. I was mad, furious, pissed off, as if someone had done something to make me angry. So... I'm not sure what it is about dripping water, but if I had been on Myth Busters for the mentioned episode, I would have been the one to freak out--strapped in or not!

Save Energy: Kick the Clocks!

Yesterday afternoon when I finally forced myself out of bed, I sat down with a bowl of cereal, cup of coffee and National Geographic. There was an article about saving energy and how the author and his wife decided to do an experiment. They wanted to see what their "carbon footprint" was and decrease it. Well, there were a lot of interesting things to be said about the amount of carbon and pollution that electricity, cars and lawn mowers put into the environment.

The article, "Saving Energy: It Starts at Home," was written by Peter Miller and published in this months issue of NG. He talks about how much carbon each kilowatt of electricity puts out, as well as how much pollution lawn mowers contribute to the atmosphere, among other things. Did you know that a push mower can pollute the air as much per hour as eleven cars? A riding mower as much as 36 cars. I thought this was crazy. But what interested me concerned the electric bill.

Since I moved into my apartment in July, my electric bill hasn't been higher than $42. So naturally, I try to keep it that low for two reasons: to save money & to do my "part." Well, Miller mentions that "electronics in standby mode (things that are plugged in but not turned on) can add up to 8 percent of a house's electric bill" (NG 71). Eight percent doesn't seem like much, but it adds up, and every penny counts, especially when money's tight.

So after I read the article, I made a decision to unplug all of the things that I don't use on a daily basis. This included the coffee pot and microwave in the kitchen; the TV, radio and lamp in the spare room; and the lap top charger and lamp in the living room. My fiance walked into the kitchen a while later and asked, "why is the coffee pot turned off?"
"Because I only use it on Tuesday and Thursday mornings," I answered.
"Well I use that for the time."
"Good luck, 'cause I unplugged the microwave, too."

At this point, I chuckled to myself a little, and every time I tell the story, I chuckle a little more as my listeners laugh. So, even if he ends up plugging all of these things back in, I got a good laugh out if it in the process (and saved a few minutes worth of energy)!

Random Photo Wednesday: Where's the Rainbow?

I chose this photo by scrolling down through the pictures on my phone and randomly stopping. I forget where we were going, but I remember that kevin was driving and all I could see, all around me, was white. It had snowed earlier that day or the night before (I can't remember) and the snow was still fresh and hadn't drifted much. I took a lot of pictures like this one, but this is just the one that I happened to land on. It was a pretty day, but I can't wait for spring! Actually, I can't wait for the end of May (graduation, then the wedding!), but I guess you can't have the rainbow--or the pot of gold--without standing in the rain for a bit.

Are you Tweeting?

So recently, I heard about this thing called Twitter. The first time I heard about it was a few weeks ago, and it involved John McCain. I thought it was just another place to blog. But it's not. All you do on Twitter is "Tweet." What is Tweeting? It's simply answering the question "What are you doing." Yup, that's it!

Those of you who have MySpace and update it frequently probably update your status. In a nut shell, that's what Twitter is. You simply update what you're doing as frequently as you wish in 140 words or less. It's that simple. But why has it become such a craze, so quickly? Maybe because it doesn't take much effort? Who knows. And who knows why everyone is so interested in what other people are doing at any given moment of their lives.

Yes, I have one, too. Why? I'm really not sure... Because it was there? Anyway, you can find me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SallyHazel. Maybe I'll "see" ya there!

Obama, What if Your Mom had had an Abortion?

In the first few weeks of his presidency, Barack Obama made it very clear that he supports women's rights to legal abortions--not just with words, but through his actions surrounding former abortion policies. Some believe that single women, rape victims, those who must struggle to survive, etc., should get abortions because it is the "responsible" thing to do when it comes to the life of the unborn child. However, the following video really makes you think...



...I don't think there's much left to say.