Bucket List

Here is a list of the top twenty-five things that I would like to do before I die(or happen after I die):
1. Write a best-selling book series
2. To be remembered for being who I am today
3. Go to England
4. Be on The Late Night Show with Jay Leno
5. Sky dive
6. Go on an Africa Safari
7. Go to a good college
8. Write a script for a television show
9. Start a family
10. Become a profession square dancer (ya right, just joking)
11. See the Great Pyramids
12. Own a large house
13. Become a philanthropist (5-cent word of the day)
14. Own a yacht
15. Run a marathon
16. Have a major television special about me after my death
17. Join a bowling league
18. Sing karaoke at a bar
19. Go snorkeling in a shipwreck
20. Go to the Olympics
21. Ride in a hot air balloon
22. Race in a sports car
23. See The Great Barrier Reef
24. Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans
25. See the New York Yankees win the World Series

The Olympics So Far

Our family has been watching a lot of the Olmpics these last few weeks and I have enjoyed watching them so far. My favorite events to watch have been the skiing and snowboarding competitions. I enjoyed seeing Linsey Vonn get the gold metal in her skiing competition. I only recently tried to ski and I found it extremely difficult. I fell down many times and I even found it hard to get my ski boot on when I first started. It is very hard to imagine doing skiing at over fifty or sixty miles-per-hour.

I also watched Shaun White get a gold metal in the half-pike snowboarding competition. I think it is amazing how he gained so much air-time without looking like he put that much effort in it. I can now fully appreciate why the expectations on him were so high going in to the Olympics.

Lent

This year I decided to give up on my current hobby of drinking coffee. I think I probably drink coffee far too much and it would be a good,though slightly hard, much needed change.

I think that God is pleased at where I am right now. I know that I still have a lot to learn about myself and my faith. However, I know that the first step in order to achieve holiness is to remember how much you have to learn.

I think that modesty would be something that I would be "graded" on. I think that modesty is very important especially if you are taking more difficult classes. I try to show modesty and compassion to everyone. I believe that that sort of belief will help me far more in later life then just getting good grades. I am not saying that grades are not important. What I am saying is that I do not think it should be the primary focus in anyone's life. God should come first, then your friends, and finally yourself. I find it extremely annoying when people try to compare me with others. I think that some types of competitions are unnecessary and redundant. People should focus more on bettering themselves, both intellectually and spiritually, and stop comparing themselves to others. The only thing that really matters in the end is how we have treated each other and what we have given back to humanity. Okay, now I will get off my soap box.......

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has always been exciting for me. My family and I always do something fun together. This Valentine's Day we are going to watch the new movie that just came out: Peter Jackson And The Olympians: The Lighting Thief. I think that Valentine's Day is about spending time with the most important people in your life. My dad usually surprises my mom with a several cool presents. Some times this surprise is forgetting to give her a card! Despite the fact that our extended family does not live close to Illinois, holidays are still fun in my family. I hope that you all have a good Valentine's Day!!!

Super Bowl Sunday

I enjoyed watching the football game. I did not think that the commercials were as good as some years. In that category I was slightly disappointed. I was also disappointed with the halftime show. I did not think that the band played very well or was even in tune with the music at all. But in the overall playing level by both teams, I was pleased. Both teams seemed to be playing hard and the game was very close. I was rooting for the Saints the entire time. I only lost faith in them once slightly when they did not get that one touchdown. I threw small party at my house to whom I only invited one person. I enjoy hanging out with this person and playing ping-pong with him. So, overall, my Super Bowl Sunday was very memorable in a good way.

Snow Day

My snow day was alright considering the circumstances. I wish that the teachers did not assign as much work to do for the snow day. It's hard enough to shovel your driveway and that of my elderly neighbor's, do the extra work, and do several errands that I did with my family. I would prefer an extra day in June then a snow day that is more like a work day. What is also annoying is that I, assuming that there would be school tomorrow, did not bring home all the necessary notebooks. Also, I almost forgot to look online for one of my classes. I did the assignment, but I almost emailed it to my teacher late. I think that there should be more that just one free day each year. I also believe that there should be at least three days worked into the schedule next year in order to keep my sanity along with the sanity of my fellow classmates. I think that the online assignments should at least have several days before they are due in case you forget to do it on the snow day. I think a snow day should just be about snow and sleeping late.

My Olympic Expectations

I think that the Olympics should be the best of the best included in each country around the world. It should also be about be about the competition and not about politics. The Olympics would probable not be as much fun to watch if the competition had too many amateurs competing in it. I also think that the Olympic committee should be more watchful concerning cheating. They should make sure that all competitors are not taking any drags that are unfairly giving them the edge over their opponents. I think that this type of abuse, and many others, probably happens all too often enough when it comes time for the Olympic Games. Their policy of no cheating should be zero tolerance.
My favorite Olympic sport is skiing. I enjoy watching the racers race down the hill and get the flags. I like the unpredictably that comes with the races and I always root for someone. Many times I even root for the underdog. I even tried skiing last week and it was as invigorating as I imagined. I hope to go on many more skiing trips in the future.

Winter Doldrums

I think that Notre Dame should allow sweatshirts in class. The sweatshirts that they do allow are not sufficient to keep me from being cold. I have already tried them on several times and found that they do not stop me from being cold. The East hallway seems to be the coldest. Another solution to this problem would be if Notre Dame turned up the heat all around the school. This courtesy would be very much appropriated by myself and my sister (and probably many of my peers) both of which are very cold during the schooldays.
Another thing that would make this January better would be if the weather warmed up. I do not like bitterly cold weather. The type of weather that I prefer the best ids in between cold and warm weather.