Global Warming

        Today, we are going to talk about Global Warming. This is a serious issue that we need to deal with. We messed up this world and it is up to us to fix it. 

    Now, my teachers, parents, and role models always say that we can change the world and I do believe that but how can we change the world if we don't get the chance to change it. But we can - what I am about to say is probably really cheesy but it is true - if we really believe and band together. 

   Okay, so, one of the major changes that come with Global Warming is the temperature rising and that can be very dangerous because that affects the weather to which means more hurricanes, volcanoes, tsunami, and much more natural disasters. But we can help stop it. 

 Climate Change has happened constantly over the history of the Earth, including the coming and going of ice ages. Climate Change is different because people are putting Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere very quickly. 

  Green House Gases are part of the reason why this is happening... there is simply just too much of them. Water Vapor. The most abundant greenhouse gas, but importantly, it acts as a feedback to the climate. Water Vapor increases as the earth warms, but so does the possibility of clouds and precipitation, making these some of the most important feedback mechanisms to the greenhouse effect.  

Carbon Dioxide. A minor but very important component of the atmosphere, Carbon Dioxide is released through natural processes such as deforestation, land use changes, and burning fossil fuels. Humans have increased the atmosphere CO2 concentration by 48% since the industrial revolution began. This is the most important long - lived "forcing" of climate change.  

And a lot more of other Greenhouse gases this is affecting every day life for us. When we use electricity, plugging in devices, driving cars, and cooling homes, and also when we burn fossil fuels. We can chnage the world though.       

first blog: starting out

 Okay I am not really used to this and I don't exactly know how to do this but I do know why I am doing it. Before I get into that, maybe I should tell you some stuff about me. First of all my name is Abby. K. I go to Rowe Middle School in Milwaukee, Oregon. I also feel like this blog is really important. I feel like it's important because we have real problems that need real solutions and we need to do what we can. 

The problems we are facing are stuff like: Global Warming, Homelessness, Wars, Food and water security, Lack of political freedom and political instability, Lack of education, Safety, security, and well being. woman rights (people may have changed it but it can still happen and it is.),  sexual harassment (may not seem like a big problem but it is), black lives matter, E.T.C. 

I care about this planet and I know a lot of people do but we are not taking care of it like we should. There are still wars, there are still broken people in the world, and there are still problems. But people - including myself sometimes - are too obsessed with themselves to wake up and notice that our world is in danger if we don't do anything. I know that is heavy to carry but the truth can be heavy. I may be a child but that doesn't mean that I don't know the problems and that I don't have the solutions. 

Maybe kids, tween's, young adults, teenagers, maybe even a four year old or six year old are what we need to fix this. The world is broken I am not gonna lie, and I know that a blog probably is more happy than this. This isn't about my life it is about all the 7.9 billion people in the world. I am sorry that this is not that happy but real life isn't always happy. 

I get if you don't want to read this because it might be depressing and it might not exactly be what you want to read but it is IMPORTANT! I guarantee that this will get you thinking and it will be important. Now, if you want to know more I will be posting and blogging at the end of or in the afternoon of saturday everyday. 

This is something that needs to be done, This is something that needs to end, and this is something that needs to stop! All of it, not just global warming, not just war, and not just black lives matter everything. And that may seem like a lot and it is but it is also worth it.

 So, if you care about this world and if you want to do better then you will continue reading this blog because it is extremely important that we take care of this world because it is the only one we've got and even if no one reads it I will keep posting because we have to do something and 0 reads lead to 1 which eventually lead to 10, which leads to 20, which leads to 50 and goes to 100 and up. 

Goodbye, Hopefully someone will read this and find it interesting.      

WORK SHENANIGANS

For awhile, I was trying to keep coworkers from knowing that I was on Facebook. I wasn't sure I wanted them to read my oh-so-deep thoughts (usually, they're silly, but sometimes...) or see pictures of me or my family. Not that we would be doing anything inappropriate - but I just wasn't sure I wanted those worlds to collide (any Seinfeld fans out there remember that episode?).

Well, now I have FIVE coworkers who are also my Facebook friends. Yes, I caved. I figured, eh. I'm not a "works-for-the-CIA-and-if-I-told-you-what-I-did-for-a-living-I'd-have-to-kill-you- super-spy-girl" so what could be the harm?

Now I KNOW - I can't tell work stories on FB anymore! Grrrr! That works out great for those of you who read my blog and don't Facebook. You'll get to hear these gems (ha) whereas my FB buddies will be left out in the cold.

Ok. So here's one. We have 3 stalls in the ladies' room at work. For some reason, everyone loves the first one. Not sure why. We just do. So I got done using the first one and walked out to the sink area. Right then, a coworker came in and opened the door to the first stall. See? Everyone's fave. She goes, "Uh oh. We're out of toilet seat protectors. I hope you don't have any BUTT BUGS." Oh. My. Gosh. Have we crossed a line here?? She is a good-natured person and a fellow sales associate (we people in sales ARE a different breed), but still. I was so caught off guard, I kind of stammered a response and then high-tailed it (no pun intended) outta there!

So another one. Why must the Most Annoying Coworker in the World - "MACW" insist on talking to me at 8 in the morning? About stupid things. I have asked her not to talk to me before 9:30 but she just laughs. This morning, she told me all about how she loves plants and she's such a plant person and "I feel so much better now that I got 2 plants last night one was a [such and such-can't remember] palm and one was a [blahbity blah don't know what she said] and I'm just so glad because in my last apartment, I never got any sunlight but now they can just drink it in and oh did i tell you - i talk to my plants and it makes a difference people say it doesn't but i know it does people think i have a green thumb but i just tell them no i don't - i just talk to my plants they love it and they thrive because of it if you don't talk to your plants they........................zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ARGH!

Seriously.

Then, I'm not very nice, so when she was done with her soliloquy, I go, "I hate plants" which is true, but still. I probably could have withheld that statement. It probably would have been more polite. But I didn't care. I had already listened to her drone on about angels and how to tell if one is real. Yes, you read that right. See, REAL angels won't touch you. So. If you're approached by an angel, you simply say, "Angel, shake my hand." If the angel extends its hand, you run. That's not a real angel.

Sounds like a Deep Thought to me.

Thank you for letting me vent. Safely. (deep breath in)

I LOVE/HATE YOU, FACEBOOK!

I'm soooo glad you can delete what you post on other people's walls on Facebook!

When I was in middle and high school, there were 3 main guys. The most popular guys. And they weren't just popular in our grade - EVERYBODY loved them. Josh, Ryan, and Rob. They were friends. And they were hot. (Looking back, they were NOT hot, but we had very few choices in Ronan. And, I might add, I'm almost POSITIVE that Josh SURELY regrets his decision to get his senior picture taken with denim shortalls, no shirt, and one strap undone. But that's another story.)

Anyway, I am Facebook friends with these three guys and even though high school was 20 years ago, I still feel a little nervous when I think about Facebooking any of them. So I usually don't.

But today is Rob's birthday. He "friended" me a few months ago. He's said some nice things about my family photos. I figured, ok, no need to be nervous here. It's just Rob. Rob. It's fine. He's bald, has been married 2 times, and has 6 kids. It's no big deal. I'll wish him a happy birthday on his wall. No. Big. Deal.

So I hurriedly typed a message.

I tried to be quippy and different from the boring happy-birthday-and-that's-it messages. I liked what I came up with. I just said, "Happy Birthday, Rob. Hope it's a good one. 39 FOREVER!" There. Done. Ahhh. I've evolved. I sent the message with no nerves. Lassiez fare. IIIII'M BREEZY!

Over the next 2 hours, I received email notifications that others had written birthday greetings to Rob. I measured them against mine.
"Happy Birthday, dude." Uh. Yeah. Tooooo 1995.
"God bless you on your birthday." Only on your birthday? Too judgy.
"happy birthday" Really? Not even in caps?? Booooor-ring.

Contented sigh.

Then it hit me. We are not 40. We are not 39. Rob is turning THIRTY SEVEN today!!!

Oh, brother. I deleted the post and I will NOT replace it. I haven't evolved enough.

DON'T KNOW HOW TO TITLE THIS ONE

Not. Muslim. Okay?

I Love Bloggin

He's a Christian.

These were all titles I considered for this blog entry. The first one seemed a little too negative. The second one seemed a little too "I'm-a-truck-driver-usin-a-CB". The third one doesn't encapsulate it well enough. So here. Just read on.

By Perry Bacon Jr. and Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writers Thursday, February 3, 2011; 12:37 PM
President Obama called his Christian faith "a sustaining force" in his life in an unusual speech Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, where he acknowledged persistent questions about his religion and offered perhaps his most detailed comments about his spiritual beliefs and practices.
Obama, who has faced a persistent number of Americans who mistakenly believe that he is a Muslim as well as questions about why he only occasionally attends church, described how he "came to know Jesus Christ for myself and embrace him as my Lord and savior."
He acknowledged questions about his faith.
"My Christian faith, then, has been a sustaining force for me over these last few years, all the more so when Michelle and I hear our faith questioned from time to time," he said to a crowd of about 4,000 at the Washington Hilton hotel. "We are reminded that ultimately what matters is not what other people say about us, but whether we're being true to our conscience and true to our God. 'Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you, as well.' "

WAR. What is it good for?

I haven't been posting a whole lot, as you may have noticed, because I've been using Facebook so much. However, this blog is the perfect medium for this topic. I don't want EVERYONE to see my honest opinions - only the chosen few whom I know and trust!

I'm from a small town. The population is MAYBE 3,000. Recently, a 21-year-old soldier from Ronan was severly wounded when he came upon an IED. His left leg was amputated at the hip, his right leg was amputated at the knee. He also lost all of the fingers on his left hand. His family has started a Facebook page for him and the pictures of him in the hospital are pretty shocking. And they didn't even show the main injuries, thankfully.

I don't know this soldier personally, but I know his family. I graduated with his cousin. I talked with her and she is deeply saddened by all of this, naturally. So even though I don't know him, I joined the Facebook group page. The family is very excited that there are almost 1300 group members. They feel loved and encouraged, which is exactly the point.

I am feeling so conflicted about the whole thing. So many of the sentiments are hero-focused: You are my hero. I don't know you, but I look up to you. You are the town hero. You are a true hero. My cousin/brother/friend/dad is in Afghanistan too and you're all my heroes. It's because of you I have freedom.

You get the picture.

And I don't disagree with these sentiments. I really don't. He IS a hero.

He was awarded a purple heart yesterday. The head guy in the marines (can you tell I DON'T have a military background??) came to the hospital and personally presented it to him. There were several pictures on the FB page. All the comments were very supportive: You're amazing! Way to go! Congratulations!

Here's the problem I'm having. Why are we celebrating such a tragedy. Here's this young man who was a wrestler in high school and had a penchant for coaching it even. I guess he was on a tenuous path in high school until about his junior year and he turned himself around. He has pictures on FB from just this May where he was at an amusement park, living life to its fullest.

Then he got sent to Afghanistan. Apparently, U.S. soldiers do a lot of foot patrol there. The Afghani soldiers know this so there are thousands of IEDs, so much so that CBS recently did a story about the large numbers of wounded soldiers, specifcally amputees, coming out of Afghanistan.

Why? Can someone tell me? Why are we there??

I mean the specific reasons. I've already heard that our soldiers are fighting for our freedom, but I don't see that in this case. How is getting blown up in Afghanistan protecting me from another 9/11 IF that is even a valid reason for starting this war.

I'm no war strategist - not by any stretch of the imagination - but couldn't we operate on the DEFENSE rather than the offense? I mean, if a group or country from Afghanistan moves onto our soil in a defensive way, then we'll fight back. I understand that a LITTLE more than this. We are invading this country, scaring their citizens, killing and maming our soldiers, and at the very least, changing the destiny of the young men and women fighting.

From the sounds of it, the soldier from my home town is a fighter. He's tough. He's resillient. He's not one to get stuck in the mire. He is the life of the party and doesn't let much get him down. I'm sure his outlook on life will help him through the journey and what people are saying is true: God DOES have a plan for his life. But a "bigger" plan? That's what so many of them are saying. Is losing limbs a bigger plan?

There is an element here of "we're experiencing this tragedy, we have to make some kind of sense of it or we'll go crazy so we'll say it's better, we'll reward it, we'll box it in a container marked 'meant to be.'" Maybe then it won't hurt so much. I get that. I totally get that. We all DO that.

I just can't bring myself to celebrate something that I find so senseless.

HAPPY HOWLOWEEN

Pictures are coming, but until then....

We waited and waited for a new friend to bring some costumes to us for Bella. First, she forgot them on Wednesday. Then she said she'd bring them Friday. But wait. She decided to go out of the country for a few days. Then she said Saturday for sure. Huh uh. She got back late from her trip. I finally gave up and bought 2 costumes off people from Craigs List: a dog and a mouse. Then, lo and behold, the new friend showed up this afternoon. The costumes she brought were all soooooo darling: 2 giraffes, a leopard, a fairy princess, a hunny pot from Winnie the Pooh, a pea pod (Abby's size and she wore it), and one other one that I can't remember right now. At first, Bella wanted NOTHING to do with ANY of the costumes. Then she finally put the leopard one on. It was the only one that was styled like a coat and not a full body suit. But then tonight, she chose the mouse costume. She was soooo cute. She went to maybe 3 houses. The rest of the time, she was perfectly content to be pushed in her stroller while playing with her flashlight from Gwamma Hezzy.

Abby was the cutest little pea pod! She did really well. She generally does not like her car seat so the fact that she was ok being pushed in it for an hour was great! The weather was very mild, thankfully.

Greg was able to join us this year! Yay! Being that Halloween was on a Sunday night, he didn't have to work! :-)

On a totally separate note, I can't WAIT for the elections to be OVER. I'm soooo tired of the ads and phone calls.

Okay, I DON'T want to end with that mini-rant! Halloween was lots of fun. Oh yeah - Bella ate her first Tootsie Roll. Now THAT'S entertainment!